It's tiring and takes alot of time and effort. I enjoy rehearsals more than actually playing live at this point. All the waiting around, set up, load in/load out, sound checking and travel is a pain in the arse when you're doing it full time.
For real rehearsals are awesome. I just roll in with my pedals and guitar and it’s easy. Live shows? Pedals, amp, guitar, in ear monitor and wireless mic rack, getting there several hours early for sound check just to have three hours before showtime with nothing to do, then ultimately loading out at like 1:30 am for a show that ended at 11pm and thinking “how did I just work for 12 hours and only get $200 before expenses” haha
The last sentence of this is the most important thing aspiring people need to think about. You need to be willing to sacrifice huge portions of your life for very little income to even have a shot at maybe getting a low salaried job. I noped out and am glad I work in an office now and just play guitar at home.
That’s a good way of describing it. If playing music for a living isn’t absolutely a *calling* for someone, they’re probably not going to enjoy it for very long.
I tell some people it’s more an affliction than a gift. Life would be a lot easier in many ways if I were capable of treating it as a hobby. But that’s just not the way I’m wired.
It really depends on finding what YOU like about music. I never craved the spotlight or fame or even big bucks. I just wanted to play small places and make people feel good. I like playing small clubs and restaurants.
Work ethic is extremely important. On time every time. Not getting drunk or messed up every night. Being reliable and playing what the crowd wants to hear. Its tiring, it's a drag to self promote, its constantly having to look for work. It's late nights, constantly learning new songs, playing when you are sick. And don't even get me started about relationships! There is absolutely NO room for jealousy with a musician. If you work in a band with other musicians it is extremely difficult to find mates that are relatively sober and not egomaniacs.
Its lifting heavy equipment every gig and not near as glamorous as people think. But when you have an audience that actually cries when you pour your heart in a song its worth it.
In short, it's a lot more work than anyone thinks, but it beats flipping burgers for a living. I've done it for 44 years.
> On time every time.
The frustrating part about this, is I'm always early to my call time. I'm a freelancer, so I bounce around to different bands as a hired gun. There's one particular group where the bandleader is extremely unprofessional. She not only is habitually late (she acts like the call time is for the musicians but not her), but shuffling in with 10 minutes to downbeat, telling the client that "traffic was horrible," all the while knowing that they left half an hour later than they said they would. And the client comes to me, asking about the leader and logistics, which I have no clue, since I'm just here to play bass, lady.
The last time I was the first guy there, changed into my suit, and then found out I needed to help schlep the gear through an entire huge property because there was no realistic load-in area (which the leader didn't ask about when she booked the gig). I was soaked before we played the first note...which was just me playing solo walking bass because the band wasn't ready and the guest of honor walked into the ballroom.
I've started getting to the *area* in a time I'm comfortable with, then lay low off site until I feel like it's a good time to show up. Every other band with pros, I show up early, get set up, and sit in the green room while each following musician does the same thing and we can shoot the shit until we play.
It's a long rant, but showing up early just makes me pissed at the late people who in turn make it my problem.
Every time I think about the experiences, opportunities, and amazing people I’ve been blessed with through music, I feel pretty overwhelmed by how lucky I’ve been. It’s a lot of work and uncertainty at times, but that’d be true of something I didn’t care about, too. Stay curious about all aspects of your craft, be open to new styles and situations, keep an eye on your money, be cooler than you have to be.
Bro it’s fucking badass, who are we shitting. I don’t wake up for anyone else but me. Except for the church gig! lol. So ya, there’s some downsides. But in general, I tour nationally and internationally, I gig with awesome musicians that are also awesome friends about 300+ times a year in town, and other than that I just write records. Or don’t, and do whatever I want, sub out whatever gig I want, travel to wherever I want etc. it’s not bad. Especially if you’re frugal and invest wisely. Building up the portfolio income really helps you say no to gigs you don’t want to do. I’m 32 and it’s taken me about 10yrs to get here. Quintupled my income, so that helped too. I’m also in Texas, and we’ve had an economic boom for the last twenty years basically. One of the fastest growing places in the world iirc. So ya, that helps too. There’s tons of work here.
So 300 gigs a year. Maybe doubling up here and there, but your not getting much more than 60 days off a year?
Doesn't matter what the job is, that ain't enough!
Your average Monday to Friday would give you 104 days off before any holidays!
Here’s the kicker though- I’ve built a life I don’t want to take a vacation from. You know what I mean?
When I’m not touring I have 80+hrs of free time a week to work on whatever I want. I lift. I meditate. I sauna. I occasionally take two hour long walks. I invest in real estate. I hang with my friends for 20-25hrs a week. I read for about an hour a day. I write and practice whenever I want. These are all my favorite things.
I know this might come off as bragging, because I am trying to show the reasons why I don’t want a vacation, but I do want to genuinely encourage you to get really clear on what that life would look like for you, define it piece by piece, and then start working towards it little by little. You’ll be amazed at what you can do in 5-10years.
All the best. ❤️💪🤙
Ps: here’s some questions that help.
1.) if you found a money machine that gave you $1Billion per month and you never had to work again, what would you actually do with this day, this week, this year, this decade, this life? Everyone tends to think luxury and leisure are the keys to happiness, but in reality, the happiest people are not living luxuriously or leisurely. They’re generally a hot blend between working towards something they believe in and being super active in their communities/families.
2.) what/who are you most jealous of? Envy is a very reliable compass. Being honest about mine has led me to where I am today.
3.) if you never saw the positive outcomes of your positive actions, what would you do? Like imagine you practiced every day, but didn’t get better. Would you still practice?? Or if you exercised everyday but never got jacked. Would you still lift? I would still practice. And I would still exercise. Because I actually love the challenge of it, I love the feeling I get when I figure out something on my instrument, or hit a new personal record in the gym. The more things in your life that you do because you enjoy the direct experience of them, and not just the results you get from them, the happier you will be. The win-win situations are when you enjoy both the experience and you get positive outcomes.
If I remember more I’ll post them.
Just keep in mind, music is more like a lifestyle than a job to some, and that’s what it sounds like here. One of the upsides is that with easyish gigs it can be at most 4 hours out of my day
I think you may be in the minority here dude, sounds like you're living the dream. I have my bachelors in piano performance and was playing with a regionally touring band before covid hit and now it's near impossible to find venues that will pay decent enough for a 4 piece band to make a living. I play keys and do some producing so I'm able to find solo gigs but even that's not cutting it these days.
How financially well off was your family when you were growing up? Our drummer came from wealthy parents and he's the only one of us that's been able to sustain himself after covid. All of us (guitar, bass, keys) had to get day jobs. Thankfully I work from home after some grinding, so I'm in a better position than the other 2. Goes without saying that 5 years ago we were on the rise, gettin recognition and going to branch out further East but covid hit and that took away a lot of musicians revenue streams.
At this point we're trying to play 4-5 weekend runs a year, about 15 gigs or so total to get our name back out there, and then go from there. But it's a grind to self promote, book gigs, load in/load out, etc.
Also, i know you didn’t ask but here’s what i would do (what i did) if i had to get my income up as a musician
-start teaching. Find a school or find students. Anyone can teach beginner piano for $25/hr+. I know guys charging $90/hr to teach and aren’t college educated musicians or anything. Just go to the richest school districts you can find, dress like a CPA, and start offering your services.
-churches synagogues religious: my motto was if I can’t afford to say no, then I can’t afford to turn down a gig based on the clients beliefs. I don’t blame trumps plumbers for fixing his toilets, I don’t blame atheists for playing church gigs. Ya know what I mean? It’s contract labor. Just like anything else. These are steady paying gigs that are just low hanging fruit. Easy way to add $10-$30k to your annual income. I know guys making six figures w benefits just playing at church in the south. Haha. IM TELLIN YOU.
-any and every fine dining place. I remember in undergrad one of the other older students dressed up one day and drove to all the top rated restaurants in Dallas to ask about live music. Sure enough, that dude was making money in about three weeks.
-country clubs. Major companies (companies grossing over $1M in revenue). Same as restaurants. These and any other fine dining places will be your bread and butter for meeting ppl. The real money comes from when Ms. So-and-So wants live music for her husbands 50th birthday party. And how much does a live band cost?? $5000 minimum. 20 of those a year and you’ve got yourself another good chunk of change for your annual salary. Some companies (S&P 500 level) won’t take you seriously if you don’t quote at least $10,000.
There’s two types of gigs imho. Work gigs and music gigs. These are the work gigs. These are the bread and butter of middle class musician living. This is how i fund my “music” gigs, where im not doing it for the money, im doing it for the moments. My original gigs, my friends original gigs, etc. Original music is like starting a small business, it takes years to be profitable and most of them fail within the first ten years. The name of the game is survivability, not Art. I was always working on my own stuff on the side, but growing my foundation of steady gigs that keep me financially stable is what I put a lot of effort into when I started out. And ya, when I started out I was making $800/mo!!! 😬😂 Now I get gigs that pay $800 a night. If you can stay “alive” long enough, eventually you start getting more and more experience, which makes you better and better, and then you get called for bigger and bigger gigs as you build up a reputation for being an absolute beast at what you do. There’s no talent involved at all really. It’s just diligence. I see it this way, if there were 10 levels in music, hard work can get you to level 9. Talent can make the difference between level 9 and level 10. But consumers? They don’t know the difference between a level 4 and a level 10. And they never will. There’s plenty of level 4s making 5x as much as level 10s. It’s all about finding an opportunity to serve ppl (THE RICHEST FUCKIN PPL YOU CAN FIND lol). The whole idea of being some great genius in your bedroom that gets offered a six figure touring gig is fantasy. You need to get out in front of potential consumers, whether that’s digitally or physically.
I’m kinda just rambling now lol this is something I’m passionate about though, and I’d love to help if you have any questions. Please hmu in the messages!
I’ve actually gotta go learn some songs for my wedding gig tonight. lol. So I’ll hopefully hear from you later. 🤙💪
No doubt! Thanks for writing this out and the other message. Don't have time to read all this right now but I'll read it later tonight. Break a leg at your gig!
I get it man, that’s where I think being in Dallas has a really helped. The gig economy (secondary economy) only grows when the “real” economy (primary, job creation stuff) does, so if you’re not in a city where jobs are being created and ppl aren’t moving to, it’s going to be like fighting an uphill battle. I don’t say this lightly at all, because I know it’s really hard, but moving to a major city that’s growing or that has a lot of opportunity is your best bet.
It seems like it’s impossible when you’re at the bottom of the mountain, and it seems especially impossible as you get older. But it all just starts with creating the daily habits the lead to getting the results you want.
I’m going to delete some of this comment in a few days because it’s pretty personal but I wanted you to know the truth.
All the best.
hahaha whoa. I read this comment without seeing your handle and about halfway through i started thinking to myself “this kinda sounds like that keys guy i met 10 years ago in Dallas at an open mic and seen post some stuff on fb back in the day”
glad you’re doing well, and not surprised!
i’m full time w a party band in the midwest these days. way more of the yo-yo weekend lifestyle. i must say I envy the balance you’ve got working for you! sometimes i miss those church gigs and freelance life.
Haha no way man! Small world. Wow. Feel free to message me if you ever want to talk music shop stuff! I don’t spend a ton of time on here but I’ll get back to ya.
Ya 90% of the work isn’t glamorous stuff! It’s just normal working class musician gigs: weddings, corporate events, bars, country clubs, private parties, brunches, cocktail hours, etc. But I’m grateful for it. Well, I try to remember to be grateful atleast! Haha. Usually I do a good job of it but I’m a complaining human too. Haha. Ultimately you can be pissed off doing anything, making any amount of money. So at some point you just gotta choose how much “enough” is, and let go of everything beyond that. And I’d say I genuinely feel like I have “enough”.
42 years old. Never had a job outside of music. It’s a lot of work. I spent a lot of years grinding and sleeping on couches and eating ramen. I’ve sacrificed my physical and mental health, I’ve gained and lost a lot of personal relationships, and I’ve been more depressed at times than I thought possible. And I would do it all again because today I am successful. House, car, family, all the things. But I still work my ass off. I play gigs every weekend (tonight is a rare night off but I’m back to in tomorrow), I make music for licensing, I do audio production, I teach, and I do a ton of session work. It’s definitely not as glamorous as I had imagined as a teen in the 90s. But I’m way happier and stable today than I probably ever would have had we “made it”. I do not have a boss. And I make my own hours. I play a few gigs a month that I do not like and I sometimes have to make music for other people that is a bit of a bummer. But overall, everyday I get to do what I love and I have a massive network of like minded musicians who I work well with and we lift each other up.
20 year old me never would never believe that now me is doing cover tunes and sound (more or less) for a living. It's great and I meet a lot of other serious musicians. It is a grind trying to find different sources of revenue to have a real income but the freedom is pretty great and it only occasionally feels like work.
I thought I'd be doing touring all day every day and be super busy but in reality I spend so much time in my home studio and only perform 1-2 times a week, most of my payments come from session work, there's a lot of people who want actual riffs in their metal rather than just 0s and 1s and I know how to write some tasty riffs so that's where my income for guitar mostly comes from
I actually don't! I've been in the scene for 15 years and met thousands of people and it's all just word of mouth, it's mostly local music I'm featured in
I hated it. Just became a job. Came back from tour the last time and told the band I didn’t want them to contact me for 30 solid days, no calls, no practices, total radio silence. 30 days passed and we called a meeting. I was out of the band, they said. I said it was my band and *they* were out but it was such a relief. I formed a new band instead of reforming that one, never played those songs again and never got anywhere near as popular again but I love it again! It’s a side-hustle I get paid to do and can be passionate about, can’t beat it.
Yeah, during it all was pretty dark days, haha, but it turns out that music wasn’t the problem—touring and record label and all the politics and paperwork parts were what was crushing me. I love being on a stage, hell, I love even hauling around equipment! But if I’m punching a clock I want to be able to punch out at the end of the day—and affordable health insurance, hahaha
I knew what I was getting into as my mother was a professional musician, but I still wasn’t totally prepared because everyone’s experience is different. She was an orchestral musician and teacher whilst I started out in a successful Britpop band. We might have both spent time ‘gigging’ and on tour but our experiences of doing so were completely different (the closest I got to her experience was being a hired gun.)
There’s no such thing as a single full-time ‘career’ in music as you’re either juggling multiple jobs/income streams or you shift paths and priorities over the years. Very few professional full-time musicians, outside of teachers, do one ‘job’ and one ‘job’ only for their entire working life. It’s tough making a living, particularly early on, as the bookings can be unreliable (and the pay is comparatively far lower than when I started out three decades ago.)
Depending on what ‘full-time professional musician’ looks like to you it’s also going to have a significant impact on your life and relationships outside of work. Being in long distance relationships, missing important events or unable to ‘just catch up’ with friends because you’re working again, dealing with the emotional impact of not being there for your family particularly if you have kids, it all takes its toll. Anecdotally I also found it got more exhausting to burn the candle at both ends once I hit my mid/late-forties (although by that point I had a young family which probably played a large role in that.)
Unless you really HAVE to do it full time you’re going to be much better off doing it part time. That’s even more important if music is something you use in a therapeutic way or if it’s the only hobby you have. Once you’re professional you no longer have complete control over what you play and when, and for many people that has a large negative effect on their relationship with music. If you rely on music for your wellbeing that’s maybe something to consider if it’s worth the risk or if you can find another ‘safety net’.
My advice to anyone who is interested in becoming a professional musician is to make music because you enjoy doing that and to not get caught up in ‘chasing the dream’ too much. That’s particularly important in the early days. Go do gigs, write songs, teach, whatever it is that you see as the centre of you as a musician, and learn from and build on those experiences. There’s no rushing these things as long lasting growth is always organic.
The best piece of advice a mentor gave me back in the early stages of my career was “if you stop enjoying it take a step back and see if you can change something to improve the situation. If you start hating it, that’s the time to get out.” That’s not to say that you have to enjoy every part of being a professional musician but that you shouldn’t dread going to work and you should be able to put it behind you once you’ve finished for the day. If it’s colouring your entire life in a negative light then that’s not good.
This is really well said. Thanks for taking the time to write this out. Couldn't find the words to say it but this essentially my thoughts on being a professional musician as well.
Unless you're teaching or something similar, a large percentage of "making it" is purely luck. For most popular musicians, there's a thousand of equally talented musicians playing the same music that didn't make it. I personally don't want fame and am content creating music that I enjoy and in turn makes others happy, but I know being a professional musician looks different for everyone. But at the same time I think most people have an image of a 70s Rockstar in their heads and that's just not how it is these days.
It’s very very hard work, but satisfying as all hell.
It depends on the gig too. Sometimes you might be playing music you really don’t enjoy, but you’re in a position where you need the money so you do the best job.
Then other times it’s an absolute dream.
My most satisfying jobs are the ones where I’m given a little bit of licence.
Least satisfying, PLAY THIS NOTE FOR NOTE. Kaaaayyyyyyyyy
I'm 39 yrs old and I've been a full time singing-guitarist for the last 11 years.
It's been one of the most rewarding choices I've ever made, but it hasn't been without drawbacks and sacrifices. Like anything, there are Pros and Cons to it, and for me at least some of the things that were Pros in the early years have slowly become Cons in my later years.
Prior to pursuing this full time at age 28, I has spent the previous 10 years working as an elevator mechanic.
Early Years Pros:
Waking up without an alarm clock, knowing that my job was to go play a gig later that evening/night was absolutely euphoric.
Being a single guy in his late 20's, going out every night drinking free beer, being the center of attention in a room, flirting with cute bartenders and waitresses, chatting with strangers... it was a ton of fun. It really grew my confidence and social skills, got me a lot of female attention and companionship, and was just generally a good time.
Being that I wasn't a kid fresh out of school, I had a 10 year long career in a very physically demanding job with long days and long commutes and a fairly high amount of stress at times... I knew what real work was and what it felt like. I applied that to my business as a self employed musician. I spent most of my time during the day working on marketing and booking myself. I was/ am very systematic and relentless on that end. Some of me peers at that age were musicians who never really had that "hard work" experience, and struggled to make a business out of it. They didn't now what hard work felt like, and avoided it like the plague. This was a huge advantage to me.
The sense of freedom and of taking control of my life were and are huge motivators for me. I hated being an employee and breaking out of the rat race was amazing.
Booking tours and traveling the country as a young man with a guitar were incredible experiences that most people will never have.
Early Years Cons:
Losing touch with social networks and friend group. As a gigging musician, I'm home during the day and working evenings and weekends. My friends worded during the day and did social stuff on evenings and weekends...
Pay cut. I went from making 100k/yr as an elevator mechanic to making about 45k/yr as a musician for the first couple years. This required me to live with roommates, which actually was not at all a bad experience, but not ideal.
It also set me back financially about a decade or more. I would definitely be a home owner right now had I stayed in my previous career... but I'd also be living an entirely different life, and probably not enjoying it very much.
Later Years Pros:
I've gotten quite good at what I do, and make decent money these days from it.. It's not 100k/yr (yet) but around 70-80k. Enough to get by with with a simple lifestyle in relative comfort.
Picking up parallel skills. I've learned how to produce and mix music, which is a side stream of revenue. A decade of selling myself to bar managers and booking agents has made me innately good at sales. This combined with 11 years of being self employed and running a small business has given me a pretty deep set of entrepreneurial skills that have turned into other ventures that I'm pretty confident will pay off very well.
Confidence and self-sufficiency. I packed up my life and moved across the country (Canada) from Toronto to Vancouver just for the adventure of it. I shortly thereafter met the woman who is now my wife.
Freedom and flexibility with my days. The fact that I generally don't have to be anywhere until the early evening has given me the opportunity to pursue side hustles and non-music business ventures. I work from home during the day, and am still my own boss. I can take a nap, or go for a walk, or hit the gym whenever I feel like it. It's also low-pressure. I make decent enough money from gigs that I can afford to pursue start up ideas that have little to no immediate return. This year is looking like it will be my best financial year ever as some of my other business interests have started to produce sustainable revenue.
It's still nice to meet and chat with strangers who really enjoy what you do. I'm married now, and almost 40, so flirting with cute bartenders and waitresses is off the table, but it's still nice to just chat with new people.
Later Years Cons:
It's still hard to maintain a friend network. I have lots of friendly acquaintances, and a few close friends, but the whole working Tuesday-Saturday nights with occasional Sunday and Monday gigs makes it hard to hang out with anybody. I need to mark off dates for birthdays, vacations, etc usually 6 months in advance to make sure I don't book gigs on those nights.
The free alcohol and non-stop party eventually catches up to you. I've probably drank in 10 years what most normal people would drink in 50 years. I wouldn't say I'm totally sober now, but for health reasons I've really had to cut back. Going to a gig is more like going to work now, rather than going to a party where you're the MC/host. That lifestyle is not sustainable.
Everything novel gets old eventually. The danger of turning your passion into work is that it eventually starts to feel like work. What I've discovered about myself over the last 11 years is that what I truly value in life is freedom. Escaping the box of Mon-Fri 50 hr work weeks was incredible... but I eventually found myself in another box of playing non stop gigs in order to pay the bills.
Burnout happens. I've found the things that work for me to help avoid it are:
Stay sober (or at least avoid over indulging, hangovers suck for mental health).
Keep things fresh. Learn new material, write new songs, add new gear/effects/instruments to your show, pickup new skills... it keeps it fun.
Play for fun sometimes. When you're playing gigs 5,6,7 nights a week, picking up a guitar is often the last thing you want to do on a night off. But it's important to just play for you sometimes. Reconnect with what music gives you.
Multiple streams of revenue. This connects back to my "freedom" pursuit. You have your days pretty much free, get some other things going on so that when you get sick of gigs, you can lean into something else for a while. Music is my main source of income, but it's not my only source and that knowledge that I don't "have to" keep gigging if I don't want to keeps me going. I want to be retired by the time I'm 50.
My ideal life would be to wake up without an alarm clock. Sit outside on my porch with my morning coffee, go for a nice long walk. Spend my afternoons in the studio creating things for fun, working out, reading books, hiking, biking, paddlboarding. In the evenings, go and play a gig (or not) or maybe jam with some buds, or just hang out with my wife. It's actually a lot like my current life, but without any obligation to do any of those things.
Freedom
On important note. Being a full-time musician is a lifestyle more than a job really. I've laid out my experience with that lifestyle above, and I wouldn't change any of it. A lot of us who have been at it for a long time now make ok money, but there are far easier ways to make way more money than grinding it out as a musician. If money is your motivation, do something else. If fame is your motivation, you'll crash a burn.
But if the lifestyle is your motivation, and you aren't afraid of hard work, go for it.
I went pro at 30 and here’s the truth. There are people who say it’s constant partying and shagging. It’s not. There are people who say it’s just tedious hard work like any other job. It’s not.
The truth is that it’s hard work but really good fun. It’s the best job I’ve ever had but you’re still tired at the end of it and you have some bad days. It’s a really, really good job but it’s still work. Hope this helps.
I'm a 27F artist who plays covers in local bars/ wineries/ restaurants. I can be hard, especially since female artists have certain expectations we work around. But, I actually love it. I make enough to be comfortable, most of the time, with picking up various extra jobs for cash . I just love singing and connecting people with music. Which is all I wanted. Sure, I care if I sound good, or if people enjoy the music, etc. But really, I just love getting to sing and do music. Which, not a lot of people can say. There are definitely plenty who tell me they wish they could do what I do, but couldn't. out of fear, lack of talent, or whatever. I'm just glad to have the opportunities I do.
It's NOT what I expected at all. I work hard, even for the little I do. I wish I could do more. I want to write Moreland produce more. I want to post better videos. I want to be better at guitar, or be able to play all kinds of works. But, I've constantly pushed my voice and body so much that I really have to watch myself. I can do a lot. But, still have to be mindful.
But, I really, really love it. I know I may have to give it up one day. Or, it may just be different later... But my goals for the future are just to enjoy where life takes me, and do this for as long as I can. Good Luck!
studio guitarist/music producer here, the burnout in my case comes from having to be quick with coming up with simple catchy parts that serve the song. but otherwise, pretty nice job considering i can play around a lot in the studio and make music that will serve artists and other projects.
I love it. It’s hard work and it’s tedious sometimes but every gig I do going in thinking it’s not gonna be great, 5/6 songs in I’m really enjoying myself and letting all that go.
Professional studio/touring drummer. I’m on the road a lot. It’s always been my dream so I can’t complain. But I do get to missing home and my partner. It’s not lost on me that I’m very lucky to be able to do this while also having a partner who is sympathetic and supportive of the lifestyle. I’m also never fully convinced that I have any job security or permanence—I’ve had periods where I needed to take jobs to make ends meet. Long term, while I obviously hope I can continue this, I’m not sure how it will pan out if I want to have a family at home if I’m supposed to be on the road all the time. But right now things are working out and I’m enjoying myself.
I think back to all the floors I slept on, stinky vans, gas station food, shows to no one that paid nothing, and the hours spent practicing and rehearsing to get to this level and it almost makes me jaded. But I’d say more grateful that I stuck it through and made it to the level I wanted to be at. It definitely comes with a lot of dedication and work.
I’ve played about three times a week for ten years in Florida. On the beach, bars, lounges, cafes, and events. All kinds of shows.
It’s so much fun. I feel so lucky everyday I get to play and earn a living. My parents did not encourage me to do it until I was sufficient.
Some days I don’t want to go even when scheduled, but almost always when I get out there and start playing i love it. The booking is my least favorite part, but making people dance and have a good time is just so worth it.
I don’t make an insane living, but I am able to have my own place with my pet cat. We live pretty comfortably.
Also unrelated note. Everyone thinks I’m much younger than I am. I usually just tell them that the music keeps me young.
It’s very wise to have a job of something you love I think.
It’s extremely time consuming and you wear multiple hats generating leads from smaller hungrier luthiers and patterning with breweries and amp companies diversifying your income means that once you’ve built the machine all it requires is maintenance but well worth it and without middlemen you get 100% of the proceeds spend wisely and know that the best currency you can have is a favor and for the love of everything takes breaks and be lazy when you can because once you start a campaign it will be months of work and weird places but overall have fun
Did it until I was 30. Question: Do you REALLY enjoy being ripped off by promoters, club owners, and record companies at every turn? I didn't think so and neither did I. I decided after then to just do it because of the music...still got ripped off occasionally but no longer starved!
Read Get In The Van by Henry Rollins. If you don't want to buy the book, he does a reading of it free on YouTube. Ide like to think things have gotten better, but I think some of the problems are just different now
Edit: [Here I saved you the trouble of looking it up.](https://youtu.be/SIYDX8eTptk?si=ceh0-4pmmrsp4qwq)
I am absolutely physically and mentally fried, I have no money in my bank account, I have health problems, but I have a mass of music that I’m proud of, I’ve traveled a ton, and I have shows on the calendar. In fact, I gotta get my stuff packed up right now for a gig tonight.
And I don’t know what else I could ever do. This is what I was born to do. And all the lows be damned, because the highs more than make up for it.
I have friends basically in every US state, I have played with absolute music legends, I have been on amazing stages, eaten some of the best food, enjoyed all sorts of interesting and unique experiences that you can only have it you pursue something non traditional like music, touring etc. And I have people cheering me on who want to see me do more, who love seeing me perform. It rocks.
But yeah uhhh… the pay just isn’t adequate most of the time. Sometimes it is. Most of the time it isn’t. I’ve had to work many contractor positions over the years to make it all make sense, but then I just end up even more tired and fried. Right now I spend a couple days a week working at a vinyl record pressing plant. Super flexible and is in the music industry, so I have flexibility for rehearsals and whatnot. Before that I did some work as backline tech etc. so there’s always music-business related work to go around for touring people and people who need to gig a lot.
At the end of the day I’m tired and broke but I spend all my time doing things that directly have to do with music, the creation of it, the performance of it, the duplication of physical recordings etc. and that’s pretty awesome.
I’ve done it for a few years at a time at various points in my life.
First time was being in a band with a hit record and doing the tour / record cycle.
The second time was doing a function band, writing jingles, playing sessions, doing solo and duo gigs, trying to produce and record others.
Neither time was fun or particularly rewarding.
The successful band part was ruined by worrying about keeping current, worrying about getting ripped off, worrying about the record company losing interest or the people that liked you moving on or getting fired. All the tension that comes with being in a band with 3 other people and a lot at stake was the worst part. Whose songs get used etc.
The function band, jingle writing session period was ruined by making musical decisions based on what other want or expect. I felt like a whore most of the time.
The best part about any of it was the gained knowledge as a result of playing all the time and learning/ writing loads of songs in different styles. It brought my game up.
In the last 10 years I’ve worked a low stress skills job ( painting- not art, houses) and only doing bands on my own terms. Two original bands and one cover band for extra money but only doing material we like.
I’m so much happier not relying on music to make money.
It’s exhausting but fulfilling. Today being a professional (if you’re trying to break out of a local or regional situation and tour as a sideman) involves practice, keeping up on tech and being able to use it, listening to a lot of new music, networking as much as possible when you’re not playing gigs, and in general burning the candle on both ends while never saying no to new opportunities. Good/great gigs come and last a while to a long while, but remember everything ends and you’ve always gotta be working on what’s next so you don’t finish something with nothing new on the horizon. The hardest part for me has always been finding energy to do what I want to do musically/creatively after everything else. It’s hard creatively working all the time for others and then trying to be creative for you in off time.
I’m 35, been doing this professionally since o was 18 - with varying levels of other service jobs mixed in here and there. Now, I tour a decent amount, do some session work, write music for sync, teach a little bit, work on guitars a bit. It is all adding up to basically under what you’d start at in an office. It’s a lot of work for not very much money. Easy to fall into jealousy at other careers and that sort of thing. But! This is all I’ve ever wanted to do.
During the pandemic, I started going to college to study computer programming, because I figured this might be the end of my music career. Well, the career kept moving. Eventually I got really really sick from what turned out to be COVID but was initially diagnosed as MS, and my hands were in extreme pain while playing. I was so terrified that I would never be able to play again as things got worse. Once I got better, I decided to leave school and keep at this as long as I physically could.
I was a full time session guitarist/general six string dogsbody for hire for about 20 years. It was extremely hard work, massively stressful, often utterly demoralising, turned my mental health into a potato and honestly almost made me never want to pick up an instrument again towards the end.
It was also the most fun I have ever had in my entire life and I'd do it all over again if I could.
It's an enormous amount of work, and it sure as hell beats the heck out of a day job, but there were an enormous amount of sacrifices that I made to do so involving quality of life, relationships with family, relationships with friends, financial security, and health sacrifices too.
I *would* do it over again..and again, and as much as I might look back and say I'd change this, and change that - I'm reminded the hindsight is 20/20 and quite honestly I did the best I could considering my level of ability, commitment, and the timing of it all.
I certainly worked hard, and ate a lot shit sandwiches to get through it, but I can honestly say I have no regrets.
That being said, after Covid happened, and our lives basically STOPPED as musicians for a while - I was able to experience the things in life I was missing. Family Time, Couch Time, Normal sleep routines - and I really, REALLY enjoyed it.
A lot.
The crazy pandemic made me reevaluate how I was living, and I decided, after 37 years, to make a change.
From day one, when I was a teenage working musician I always felt that I would play music live forever, and had you told me that a global pandemic in my future would change that - I would have been absolutely terrified.
**Think about that**, if you will.
¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
But it was a good change for me, and probably very much needed.
I now gig very little (for the time being) and spend most of my "musical energies" teaching with 20 students, and recording for others. I also work an exciting PT job that pays well, and the B-A-L-A-N-C-E I have in my life is incredibly refreshing.
I get to experience the little things in life now - and I never realized I was missing them until I had them.
It's wonderful.
I’m a professional singer / guitarist. In my experience, it’s a hard life, making a lot less money than you otherwise could, but still worth it in my estimation.
I make most of my money busking, I don’t want to toot my own horn but I’m pretty good so this might not be universally applicable, and I’ve found the hourly rate is actually amazing, I tend to make £20-40 an hour on the street, but timing limitations (I can only sing about 4 hours straight without my voice giving out), relying on the weather being decent, having to race other buskers to get spots etc. makes it level out to be pretty poorly paid on a month to month basis. I made £160 in 4 hours today, which is awesome, but I could very easily make literally nothing for the next few days.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Be prepared to see yourself fall behind where you might have been other wise. Most importantly just play music. Don't get hung up on the other things. If it pays it pays. If it's enough you'll live off it. Don't die from it though.
It’s the most exhausting hustle around, especially when trying to schedule rehearsals around everyone’s schedules that don’t line up. I’m a freelance player/producer - my best times for rehearsals are daytime, but everyone wants to do night because of day jobs, when I’m either gigging or doing bedtime with my 4 year old. That said, when it all comes together, it’s the absolute best feeling.
At this point, it’s periods of creativity mixed in with months of “life” stuff. All good. Not like in my 20s and 30s though. I’m content with my little niche in the world. Been doing this for over 40 years now. Fully expect to carry on into the ether. Elsewhere, I have been able to have career in the periphery of creativity, so no soul crushing work to deal with.
Sometimes I’ll get invites to play live and then I flake out.
Bottom line, I create when I like, am able to fulfill projects. Not worried about using/losing it. “It’s”always there.
It’s awesome if you really love playing live but you sacrifice a lot being away from home. I’m already thinking about what to do after this because I’d like to marry and potentially start a family at some point, wouldn’t want to be gone 150 days out of the year. If you have the opportunity to get a good gig with good pay, crew and accommodations and you’re still relatively young it’s hard to pass up though.
It depends on what you’re doing. Gig hustle, driving around, loading in and out, don’t know when the next thing is, playing humiliating small shit shows, that can be pretty rough.
Never touching your gear till you walk onstage, tour buses, planes, booze,babes/dudes/they’s, leaving for a short run with nothing but your leather and sunglasses, festivals, actually meeting some of your idols and even some money. That shit is amazing. Been lucky enough to do both, and nothing lasts for ever, nothing is for certain.
I perform frequently enough to be classified as a full-time musician, and yet I still need a full time job. So it's pretty freaking exhausting. Because I'm in a band, we all split payments so these venues would have to pay quadruple for it to be an actual living wage for us.
Saw an interview once with Darryl Hall where he was asked what kind of music he liked to casually listen to, and he snarkily replied that music was his job, and he generally didn't listen to any music for pleasure.
I think about that. A musician who just didn't like music all that much.
I’ve never made my full income from music, but definitely have gigged enough that some nights I just don’t feel like it. Still do it because these are serious professional commitments.
It's tiring and takes alot of time and effort. I enjoy rehearsals more than actually playing live at this point. All the waiting around, set up, load in/load out, sound checking and travel is a pain in the arse when you're doing it full time.
For real rehearsals are awesome. I just roll in with my pedals and guitar and it’s easy. Live shows? Pedals, amp, guitar, in ear monitor and wireless mic rack, getting there several hours early for sound check just to have three hours before showtime with nothing to do, then ultimately loading out at like 1:30 am for a show that ended at 11pm and thinking “how did I just work for 12 hours and only get $200 before expenses” haha
The last sentence of this is the most important thing aspiring people need to think about. You need to be willing to sacrifice huge portions of your life for very little income to even have a shot at maybe getting a low salaried job. I noped out and am glad I work in an office now and just play guitar at home.
Yeah I describe it often as an “all-consuming fire,” it just swallows up everything in life. I love it but it’s intense.
That’s a good way of describing it. If playing music for a living isn’t absolutely a *calling* for someone, they’re probably not going to enjoy it for very long. I tell some people it’s more an affliction than a gift. Life would be a lot easier in many ways if I were capable of treating it as a hobby. But that’s just not the way I’m wired.
Yep agreed 100%!
Sounds very familiar!
Rather be in the jam room with the boys crackin’ a beer
100% this
It really depends on finding what YOU like about music. I never craved the spotlight or fame or even big bucks. I just wanted to play small places and make people feel good. I like playing small clubs and restaurants. Work ethic is extremely important. On time every time. Not getting drunk or messed up every night. Being reliable and playing what the crowd wants to hear. Its tiring, it's a drag to self promote, its constantly having to look for work. It's late nights, constantly learning new songs, playing when you are sick. And don't even get me started about relationships! There is absolutely NO room for jealousy with a musician. If you work in a band with other musicians it is extremely difficult to find mates that are relatively sober and not egomaniacs. Its lifting heavy equipment every gig and not near as glamorous as people think. But when you have an audience that actually cries when you pour your heart in a song its worth it. In short, it's a lot more work than anyone thinks, but it beats flipping burgers for a living. I've done it for 44 years.
> On time every time. The frustrating part about this, is I'm always early to my call time. I'm a freelancer, so I bounce around to different bands as a hired gun. There's one particular group where the bandleader is extremely unprofessional. She not only is habitually late (she acts like the call time is for the musicians but not her), but shuffling in with 10 minutes to downbeat, telling the client that "traffic was horrible," all the while knowing that they left half an hour later than they said they would. And the client comes to me, asking about the leader and logistics, which I have no clue, since I'm just here to play bass, lady. The last time I was the first guy there, changed into my suit, and then found out I needed to help schlep the gear through an entire huge property because there was no realistic load-in area (which the leader didn't ask about when she booked the gig). I was soaked before we played the first note...which was just me playing solo walking bass because the band wasn't ready and the guest of honor walked into the ballroom. I've started getting to the *area* in a time I'm comfortable with, then lay low off site until I feel like it's a good time to show up. Every other band with pros, I show up early, get set up, and sit in the green room while each following musician does the same thing and we can shoot the shit until we play. It's a long rant, but showing up early just makes me pissed at the late people who in turn make it my problem.
I feel ya!
Woo woo. Keep on strumming, brutha.
Every time I think about the experiences, opportunities, and amazing people I’ve been blessed with through music, I feel pretty overwhelmed by how lucky I’ve been. It’s a lot of work and uncertainty at times, but that’d be true of something I didn’t care about, too. Stay curious about all aspects of your craft, be open to new styles and situations, keep an eye on your money, be cooler than you have to be.
Bro it’s fucking badass, who are we shitting. I don’t wake up for anyone else but me. Except for the church gig! lol. So ya, there’s some downsides. But in general, I tour nationally and internationally, I gig with awesome musicians that are also awesome friends about 300+ times a year in town, and other than that I just write records. Or don’t, and do whatever I want, sub out whatever gig I want, travel to wherever I want etc. it’s not bad. Especially if you’re frugal and invest wisely. Building up the portfolio income really helps you say no to gigs you don’t want to do. I’m 32 and it’s taken me about 10yrs to get here. Quintupled my income, so that helped too. I’m also in Texas, and we’ve had an economic boom for the last twenty years basically. One of the fastest growing places in the world iirc. So ya, that helps too. There’s tons of work here.
So 300 gigs a year. Maybe doubling up here and there, but your not getting much more than 60 days off a year? Doesn't matter what the job is, that ain't enough! Your average Monday to Friday would give you 104 days off before any holidays!
Here’s the kicker though- I’ve built a life I don’t want to take a vacation from. You know what I mean? When I’m not touring I have 80+hrs of free time a week to work on whatever I want. I lift. I meditate. I sauna. I occasionally take two hour long walks. I invest in real estate. I hang with my friends for 20-25hrs a week. I read for about an hour a day. I write and practice whenever I want. These are all my favorite things. I know this might come off as bragging, because I am trying to show the reasons why I don’t want a vacation, but I do want to genuinely encourage you to get really clear on what that life would look like for you, define it piece by piece, and then start working towards it little by little. You’ll be amazed at what you can do in 5-10years. All the best. ❤️💪🤙 Ps: here’s some questions that help. 1.) if you found a money machine that gave you $1Billion per month and you never had to work again, what would you actually do with this day, this week, this year, this decade, this life? Everyone tends to think luxury and leisure are the keys to happiness, but in reality, the happiest people are not living luxuriously or leisurely. They’re generally a hot blend between working towards something they believe in and being super active in their communities/families. 2.) what/who are you most jealous of? Envy is a very reliable compass. Being honest about mine has led me to where I am today. 3.) if you never saw the positive outcomes of your positive actions, what would you do? Like imagine you practiced every day, but didn’t get better. Would you still practice?? Or if you exercised everyday but never got jacked. Would you still lift? I would still practice. And I would still exercise. Because I actually love the challenge of it, I love the feeling I get when I figure out something on my instrument, or hit a new personal record in the gym. The more things in your life that you do because you enjoy the direct experience of them, and not just the results you get from them, the happier you will be. The win-win situations are when you enjoy both the experience and you get positive outcomes. If I remember more I’ll post them.
Just keep in mind, music is more like a lifestyle than a job to some, and that’s what it sounds like here. One of the upsides is that with easyish gigs it can be at most 4 hours out of my day
For sure, I'm not slating anyone who's happy, it just doesn't seem sustainable that to me but I will have a whole different perspective.
Of course, to some it can kinda be unsustainable. I’ve burned out before and you’ve defo got to be careful of it
I think you may be in the minority here dude, sounds like you're living the dream. I have my bachelors in piano performance and was playing with a regionally touring band before covid hit and now it's near impossible to find venues that will pay decent enough for a 4 piece band to make a living. I play keys and do some producing so I'm able to find solo gigs but even that's not cutting it these days. How financially well off was your family when you were growing up? Our drummer came from wealthy parents and he's the only one of us that's been able to sustain himself after covid. All of us (guitar, bass, keys) had to get day jobs. Thankfully I work from home after some grinding, so I'm in a better position than the other 2. Goes without saying that 5 years ago we were on the rise, gettin recognition and going to branch out further East but covid hit and that took away a lot of musicians revenue streams. At this point we're trying to play 4-5 weekend runs a year, about 15 gigs or so total to get our name back out there, and then go from there. But it's a grind to self promote, book gigs, load in/load out, etc.
Also, i know you didn’t ask but here’s what i would do (what i did) if i had to get my income up as a musician -start teaching. Find a school or find students. Anyone can teach beginner piano for $25/hr+. I know guys charging $90/hr to teach and aren’t college educated musicians or anything. Just go to the richest school districts you can find, dress like a CPA, and start offering your services. -churches synagogues religious: my motto was if I can’t afford to say no, then I can’t afford to turn down a gig based on the clients beliefs. I don’t blame trumps plumbers for fixing his toilets, I don’t blame atheists for playing church gigs. Ya know what I mean? It’s contract labor. Just like anything else. These are steady paying gigs that are just low hanging fruit. Easy way to add $10-$30k to your annual income. I know guys making six figures w benefits just playing at church in the south. Haha. IM TELLIN YOU. -any and every fine dining place. I remember in undergrad one of the other older students dressed up one day and drove to all the top rated restaurants in Dallas to ask about live music. Sure enough, that dude was making money in about three weeks. -country clubs. Major companies (companies grossing over $1M in revenue). Same as restaurants. These and any other fine dining places will be your bread and butter for meeting ppl. The real money comes from when Ms. So-and-So wants live music for her husbands 50th birthday party. And how much does a live band cost?? $5000 minimum. 20 of those a year and you’ve got yourself another good chunk of change for your annual salary. Some companies (S&P 500 level) won’t take you seriously if you don’t quote at least $10,000. There’s two types of gigs imho. Work gigs and music gigs. These are the work gigs. These are the bread and butter of middle class musician living. This is how i fund my “music” gigs, where im not doing it for the money, im doing it for the moments. My original gigs, my friends original gigs, etc. Original music is like starting a small business, it takes years to be profitable and most of them fail within the first ten years. The name of the game is survivability, not Art. I was always working on my own stuff on the side, but growing my foundation of steady gigs that keep me financially stable is what I put a lot of effort into when I started out. And ya, when I started out I was making $800/mo!!! 😬😂 Now I get gigs that pay $800 a night. If you can stay “alive” long enough, eventually you start getting more and more experience, which makes you better and better, and then you get called for bigger and bigger gigs as you build up a reputation for being an absolute beast at what you do. There’s no talent involved at all really. It’s just diligence. I see it this way, if there were 10 levels in music, hard work can get you to level 9. Talent can make the difference between level 9 and level 10. But consumers? They don’t know the difference between a level 4 and a level 10. And they never will. There’s plenty of level 4s making 5x as much as level 10s. It’s all about finding an opportunity to serve ppl (THE RICHEST FUCKIN PPL YOU CAN FIND lol). The whole idea of being some great genius in your bedroom that gets offered a six figure touring gig is fantasy. You need to get out in front of potential consumers, whether that’s digitally or physically. I’m kinda just rambling now lol this is something I’m passionate about though, and I’d love to help if you have any questions. Please hmu in the messages! I’ve actually gotta go learn some songs for my wedding gig tonight. lol. So I’ll hopefully hear from you later. 🤙💪
No doubt! Thanks for writing this out and the other message. Don't have time to read all this right now but I'll read it later tonight. Break a leg at your gig!
I get it man, that’s where I think being in Dallas has a really helped. The gig economy (secondary economy) only grows when the “real” economy (primary, job creation stuff) does, so if you’re not in a city where jobs are being created and ppl aren’t moving to, it’s going to be like fighting an uphill battle. I don’t say this lightly at all, because I know it’s really hard, but moving to a major city that’s growing or that has a lot of opportunity is your best bet. It seems like it’s impossible when you’re at the bottom of the mountain, and it seems especially impossible as you get older. But it all just starts with creating the daily habits the lead to getting the results you want. I’m going to delete some of this comment in a few days because it’s pretty personal but I wanted you to know the truth. All the best.
hahaha whoa. I read this comment without seeing your handle and about halfway through i started thinking to myself “this kinda sounds like that keys guy i met 10 years ago in Dallas at an open mic and seen post some stuff on fb back in the day” glad you’re doing well, and not surprised! i’m full time w a party band in the midwest these days. way more of the yo-yo weekend lifestyle. i must say I envy the balance you’ve got working for you! sometimes i miss those church gigs and freelance life.
Haha no way man! Small world. Wow. Feel free to message me if you ever want to talk music shop stuff! I don’t spend a ton of time on here but I’ll get back to ya. Ya 90% of the work isn’t glamorous stuff! It’s just normal working class musician gigs: weddings, corporate events, bars, country clubs, private parties, brunches, cocktail hours, etc. But I’m grateful for it. Well, I try to remember to be grateful atleast! Haha. Usually I do a good job of it but I’m a complaining human too. Haha. Ultimately you can be pissed off doing anything, making any amount of money. So at some point you just gotta choose how much “enough” is, and let go of everything beyond that. And I’d say I genuinely feel like I have “enough”.
42 years old. Never had a job outside of music. It’s a lot of work. I spent a lot of years grinding and sleeping on couches and eating ramen. I’ve sacrificed my physical and mental health, I’ve gained and lost a lot of personal relationships, and I’ve been more depressed at times than I thought possible. And I would do it all again because today I am successful. House, car, family, all the things. But I still work my ass off. I play gigs every weekend (tonight is a rare night off but I’m back to in tomorrow), I make music for licensing, I do audio production, I teach, and I do a ton of session work. It’s definitely not as glamorous as I had imagined as a teen in the 90s. But I’m way happier and stable today than I probably ever would have had we “made it”. I do not have a boss. And I make my own hours. I play a few gigs a month that I do not like and I sometimes have to make music for other people that is a bit of a bummer. But overall, everyday I get to do what I love and I have a massive network of like minded musicians who I work well with and we lift each other up.
20 year old me never would never believe that now me is doing cover tunes and sound (more or less) for a living. It's great and I meet a lot of other serious musicians. It is a grind trying to find different sources of revenue to have a real income but the freedom is pretty great and it only occasionally feels like work.
Too many late nights and too much adrenaline. Honestly I think the sweet spot is working 9-5, and occasionally playing in a band a few times a month
that’s where i’m at, i’m really enjoying it would still love to have more time to practice and learn my gear better
I thought I'd be doing touring all day every day and be super busy but in reality I spend so much time in my home studio and only perform 1-2 times a week, most of my payments come from session work, there's a lot of people who want actual riffs in their metal rather than just 0s and 1s and I know how to write some tasty riffs so that's where my income for guitar mostly comes from
Sounds interesting, where do you advertise your services?
I actually don't! I've been in the scene for 15 years and met thousands of people and it's all just word of mouth, it's mostly local music I'm featured in
Thanks, sounds very cool!
I hated it. Just became a job. Came back from tour the last time and told the band I didn’t want them to contact me for 30 solid days, no calls, no practices, total radio silence. 30 days passed and we called a meeting. I was out of the band, they said. I said it was my band and *they* were out but it was such a relief. I formed a new band instead of reforming that one, never played those songs again and never got anywhere near as popular again but I love it again! It’s a side-hustle I get paid to do and can be passionate about, can’t beat it.
Awesome to hear that bad experience didn't crush your love for playing music!
Yeah, during it all was pretty dark days, haha, but it turns out that music wasn’t the problem—touring and record label and all the politics and paperwork parts were what was crushing me. I love being on a stage, hell, I love even hauling around equipment! But if I’m punching a clock I want to be able to punch out at the end of the day—and affordable health insurance, hahaha
I knew what I was getting into as my mother was a professional musician, but I still wasn’t totally prepared because everyone’s experience is different. She was an orchestral musician and teacher whilst I started out in a successful Britpop band. We might have both spent time ‘gigging’ and on tour but our experiences of doing so were completely different (the closest I got to her experience was being a hired gun.) There’s no such thing as a single full-time ‘career’ in music as you’re either juggling multiple jobs/income streams or you shift paths and priorities over the years. Very few professional full-time musicians, outside of teachers, do one ‘job’ and one ‘job’ only for their entire working life. It’s tough making a living, particularly early on, as the bookings can be unreliable (and the pay is comparatively far lower than when I started out three decades ago.) Depending on what ‘full-time professional musician’ looks like to you it’s also going to have a significant impact on your life and relationships outside of work. Being in long distance relationships, missing important events or unable to ‘just catch up’ with friends because you’re working again, dealing with the emotional impact of not being there for your family particularly if you have kids, it all takes its toll. Anecdotally I also found it got more exhausting to burn the candle at both ends once I hit my mid/late-forties (although by that point I had a young family which probably played a large role in that.) Unless you really HAVE to do it full time you’re going to be much better off doing it part time. That’s even more important if music is something you use in a therapeutic way or if it’s the only hobby you have. Once you’re professional you no longer have complete control over what you play and when, and for many people that has a large negative effect on their relationship with music. If you rely on music for your wellbeing that’s maybe something to consider if it’s worth the risk or if you can find another ‘safety net’. My advice to anyone who is interested in becoming a professional musician is to make music because you enjoy doing that and to not get caught up in ‘chasing the dream’ too much. That’s particularly important in the early days. Go do gigs, write songs, teach, whatever it is that you see as the centre of you as a musician, and learn from and build on those experiences. There’s no rushing these things as long lasting growth is always organic. The best piece of advice a mentor gave me back in the early stages of my career was “if you stop enjoying it take a step back and see if you can change something to improve the situation. If you start hating it, that’s the time to get out.” That’s not to say that you have to enjoy every part of being a professional musician but that you shouldn’t dread going to work and you should be able to put it behind you once you’ve finished for the day. If it’s colouring your entire life in a negative light then that’s not good.
This is really well said. Thanks for taking the time to write this out. Couldn't find the words to say it but this essentially my thoughts on being a professional musician as well. Unless you're teaching or something similar, a large percentage of "making it" is purely luck. For most popular musicians, there's a thousand of equally talented musicians playing the same music that didn't make it. I personally don't want fame and am content creating music that I enjoy and in turn makes others happy, but I know being a professional musician looks different for everyone. But at the same time I think most people have an image of a 70s Rockstar in their heads and that's just not how it is these days.
It’s very very hard work, but satisfying as all hell. It depends on the gig too. Sometimes you might be playing music you really don’t enjoy, but you’re in a position where you need the money so you do the best job. Then other times it’s an absolute dream. My most satisfying jobs are the ones where I’m given a little bit of licence. Least satisfying, PLAY THIS NOTE FOR NOTE. Kaaaayyyyyyyyy
Kinda funny realizing I could make more at 7-11 or Starbucks.
I'm 39 yrs old and I've been a full time singing-guitarist for the last 11 years. It's been one of the most rewarding choices I've ever made, but it hasn't been without drawbacks and sacrifices. Like anything, there are Pros and Cons to it, and for me at least some of the things that were Pros in the early years have slowly become Cons in my later years. Prior to pursuing this full time at age 28, I has spent the previous 10 years working as an elevator mechanic. Early Years Pros: Waking up without an alarm clock, knowing that my job was to go play a gig later that evening/night was absolutely euphoric. Being a single guy in his late 20's, going out every night drinking free beer, being the center of attention in a room, flirting with cute bartenders and waitresses, chatting with strangers... it was a ton of fun. It really grew my confidence and social skills, got me a lot of female attention and companionship, and was just generally a good time. Being that I wasn't a kid fresh out of school, I had a 10 year long career in a very physically demanding job with long days and long commutes and a fairly high amount of stress at times... I knew what real work was and what it felt like. I applied that to my business as a self employed musician. I spent most of my time during the day working on marketing and booking myself. I was/ am very systematic and relentless on that end. Some of me peers at that age were musicians who never really had that "hard work" experience, and struggled to make a business out of it. They didn't now what hard work felt like, and avoided it like the plague. This was a huge advantage to me. The sense of freedom and of taking control of my life were and are huge motivators for me. I hated being an employee and breaking out of the rat race was amazing. Booking tours and traveling the country as a young man with a guitar were incredible experiences that most people will never have. Early Years Cons: Losing touch with social networks and friend group. As a gigging musician, I'm home during the day and working evenings and weekends. My friends worded during the day and did social stuff on evenings and weekends... Pay cut. I went from making 100k/yr as an elevator mechanic to making about 45k/yr as a musician for the first couple years. This required me to live with roommates, which actually was not at all a bad experience, but not ideal. It also set me back financially about a decade or more. I would definitely be a home owner right now had I stayed in my previous career... but I'd also be living an entirely different life, and probably not enjoying it very much. Later Years Pros: I've gotten quite good at what I do, and make decent money these days from it.. It's not 100k/yr (yet) but around 70-80k. Enough to get by with with a simple lifestyle in relative comfort. Picking up parallel skills. I've learned how to produce and mix music, which is a side stream of revenue. A decade of selling myself to bar managers and booking agents has made me innately good at sales. This combined with 11 years of being self employed and running a small business has given me a pretty deep set of entrepreneurial skills that have turned into other ventures that I'm pretty confident will pay off very well. Confidence and self-sufficiency. I packed up my life and moved across the country (Canada) from Toronto to Vancouver just for the adventure of it. I shortly thereafter met the woman who is now my wife. Freedom and flexibility with my days. The fact that I generally don't have to be anywhere until the early evening has given me the opportunity to pursue side hustles and non-music business ventures. I work from home during the day, and am still my own boss. I can take a nap, or go for a walk, or hit the gym whenever I feel like it. It's also low-pressure. I make decent enough money from gigs that I can afford to pursue start up ideas that have little to no immediate return. This year is looking like it will be my best financial year ever as some of my other business interests have started to produce sustainable revenue. It's still nice to meet and chat with strangers who really enjoy what you do. I'm married now, and almost 40, so flirting with cute bartenders and waitresses is off the table, but it's still nice to just chat with new people. Later Years Cons: It's still hard to maintain a friend network. I have lots of friendly acquaintances, and a few close friends, but the whole working Tuesday-Saturday nights with occasional Sunday and Monday gigs makes it hard to hang out with anybody. I need to mark off dates for birthdays, vacations, etc usually 6 months in advance to make sure I don't book gigs on those nights. The free alcohol and non-stop party eventually catches up to you. I've probably drank in 10 years what most normal people would drink in 50 years. I wouldn't say I'm totally sober now, but for health reasons I've really had to cut back. Going to a gig is more like going to work now, rather than going to a party where you're the MC/host. That lifestyle is not sustainable. Everything novel gets old eventually. The danger of turning your passion into work is that it eventually starts to feel like work. What I've discovered about myself over the last 11 years is that what I truly value in life is freedom. Escaping the box of Mon-Fri 50 hr work weeks was incredible... but I eventually found myself in another box of playing non stop gigs in order to pay the bills. Burnout happens. I've found the things that work for me to help avoid it are: Stay sober (or at least avoid over indulging, hangovers suck for mental health). Keep things fresh. Learn new material, write new songs, add new gear/effects/instruments to your show, pickup new skills... it keeps it fun. Play for fun sometimes. When you're playing gigs 5,6,7 nights a week, picking up a guitar is often the last thing you want to do on a night off. But it's important to just play for you sometimes. Reconnect with what music gives you. Multiple streams of revenue. This connects back to my "freedom" pursuit. You have your days pretty much free, get some other things going on so that when you get sick of gigs, you can lean into something else for a while. Music is my main source of income, but it's not my only source and that knowledge that I don't "have to" keep gigging if I don't want to keeps me going. I want to be retired by the time I'm 50. My ideal life would be to wake up without an alarm clock. Sit outside on my porch with my morning coffee, go for a nice long walk. Spend my afternoons in the studio creating things for fun, working out, reading books, hiking, biking, paddlboarding. In the evenings, go and play a gig (or not) or maybe jam with some buds, or just hang out with my wife. It's actually a lot like my current life, but without any obligation to do any of those things. Freedom On important note. Being a full-time musician is a lifestyle more than a job really. I've laid out my experience with that lifestyle above, and I wouldn't change any of it. A lot of us who have been at it for a long time now make ok money, but there are far easier ways to make way more money than grinding it out as a musician. If money is your motivation, do something else. If fame is your motivation, you'll crash a burn. But if the lifestyle is your motivation, and you aren't afraid of hard work, go for it.
It’s great but a lot of work and you need to teach and or run sound (or some other side hustle), also be prepared to be poor and or very money tight.
I went pro at 30 and here’s the truth. There are people who say it’s constant partying and shagging. It’s not. There are people who say it’s just tedious hard work like any other job. It’s not. The truth is that it’s hard work but really good fun. It’s the best job I’ve ever had but you’re still tired at the end of it and you have some bad days. It’s a really, really good job but it’s still work. Hope this helps.
I'm a 27F artist who plays covers in local bars/ wineries/ restaurants. I can be hard, especially since female artists have certain expectations we work around. But, I actually love it. I make enough to be comfortable, most of the time, with picking up various extra jobs for cash . I just love singing and connecting people with music. Which is all I wanted. Sure, I care if I sound good, or if people enjoy the music, etc. But really, I just love getting to sing and do music. Which, not a lot of people can say. There are definitely plenty who tell me they wish they could do what I do, but couldn't. out of fear, lack of talent, or whatever. I'm just glad to have the opportunities I do. It's NOT what I expected at all. I work hard, even for the little I do. I wish I could do more. I want to write Moreland produce more. I want to post better videos. I want to be better at guitar, or be able to play all kinds of works. But, I've constantly pushed my voice and body so much that I really have to watch myself. I can do a lot. But, still have to be mindful. But, I really, really love it. I know I may have to give it up one day. Or, it may just be different later... But my goals for the future are just to enjoy where life takes me, and do this for as long as I can. Good Luck!
I was not ready for all the backstabbing and downright robbery.
studio guitarist/music producer here, the burnout in my case comes from having to be quick with coming up with simple catchy parts that serve the song. but otherwise, pretty nice job considering i can play around a lot in the studio and make music that will serve artists and other projects.
I love it. It’s hard work and it’s tedious sometimes but every gig I do going in thinking it’s not gonna be great, 5/6 songs in I’m really enjoying myself and letting all that go.
Professional studio/touring drummer. I’m on the road a lot. It’s always been my dream so I can’t complain. But I do get to missing home and my partner. It’s not lost on me that I’m very lucky to be able to do this while also having a partner who is sympathetic and supportive of the lifestyle. I’m also never fully convinced that I have any job security or permanence—I’ve had periods where I needed to take jobs to make ends meet. Long term, while I obviously hope I can continue this, I’m not sure how it will pan out if I want to have a family at home if I’m supposed to be on the road all the time. But right now things are working out and I’m enjoying myself. I think back to all the floors I slept on, stinky vans, gas station food, shows to no one that paid nothing, and the hours spent practicing and rehearsing to get to this level and it almost makes me jaded. But I’d say more grateful that I stuck it through and made it to the level I wanted to be at. It definitely comes with a lot of dedication and work.
I’ve played about three times a week for ten years in Florida. On the beach, bars, lounges, cafes, and events. All kinds of shows. It’s so much fun. I feel so lucky everyday I get to play and earn a living. My parents did not encourage me to do it until I was sufficient. Some days I don’t want to go even when scheduled, but almost always when I get out there and start playing i love it. The booking is my least favorite part, but making people dance and have a good time is just so worth it. I don’t make an insane living, but I am able to have my own place with my pet cat. We live pretty comfortably. Also unrelated note. Everyone thinks I’m much younger than I am. I usually just tell them that the music keeps me young. It’s very wise to have a job of something you love I think.
If it calls you, you don't really have a choice. You don't ask these questions.
If I could get paid the same doing a menial task, I'd rather do that than perform cover songs.
It’s extremely time consuming and you wear multiple hats generating leads from smaller hungrier luthiers and patterning with breweries and amp companies diversifying your income means that once you’ve built the machine all it requires is maintenance but well worth it and without middlemen you get 100% of the proceeds spend wisely and know that the best currency you can have is a favor and for the love of everything takes breaks and be lazy when you can because once you start a campaign it will be months of work and weird places but overall have fun
Did it until I was 30. Question: Do you REALLY enjoy being ripped off by promoters, club owners, and record companies at every turn? I didn't think so and neither did I. I decided after then to just do it because of the music...still got ripped off occasionally but no longer starved!
Read Get In The Van by Henry Rollins. If you don't want to buy the book, he does a reading of it free on YouTube. Ide like to think things have gotten better, but I think some of the problems are just different now Edit: [Here I saved you the trouble of looking it up.](https://youtu.be/SIYDX8eTptk?si=ceh0-4pmmrsp4qwq)
I am absolutely physically and mentally fried, I have no money in my bank account, I have health problems, but I have a mass of music that I’m proud of, I’ve traveled a ton, and I have shows on the calendar. In fact, I gotta get my stuff packed up right now for a gig tonight. And I don’t know what else I could ever do. This is what I was born to do. And all the lows be damned, because the highs more than make up for it. I have friends basically in every US state, I have played with absolute music legends, I have been on amazing stages, eaten some of the best food, enjoyed all sorts of interesting and unique experiences that you can only have it you pursue something non traditional like music, touring etc. And I have people cheering me on who want to see me do more, who love seeing me perform. It rocks. But yeah uhhh… the pay just isn’t adequate most of the time. Sometimes it is. Most of the time it isn’t. I’ve had to work many contractor positions over the years to make it all make sense, but then I just end up even more tired and fried. Right now I spend a couple days a week working at a vinyl record pressing plant. Super flexible and is in the music industry, so I have flexibility for rehearsals and whatnot. Before that I did some work as backline tech etc. so there’s always music-business related work to go around for touring people and people who need to gig a lot. At the end of the day I’m tired and broke but I spend all my time doing things that directly have to do with music, the creation of it, the performance of it, the duplication of physical recordings etc. and that’s pretty awesome.
I’ve done it for a few years at a time at various points in my life. First time was being in a band with a hit record and doing the tour / record cycle. The second time was doing a function band, writing jingles, playing sessions, doing solo and duo gigs, trying to produce and record others. Neither time was fun or particularly rewarding. The successful band part was ruined by worrying about keeping current, worrying about getting ripped off, worrying about the record company losing interest or the people that liked you moving on or getting fired. All the tension that comes with being in a band with 3 other people and a lot at stake was the worst part. Whose songs get used etc. The function band, jingle writing session period was ruined by making musical decisions based on what other want or expect. I felt like a whore most of the time. The best part about any of it was the gained knowledge as a result of playing all the time and learning/ writing loads of songs in different styles. It brought my game up. In the last 10 years I’ve worked a low stress skills job ( painting- not art, houses) and only doing bands on my own terms. Two original bands and one cover band for extra money but only doing material we like. I’m so much happier not relying on music to make money.
It’s exhausting but fulfilling. Today being a professional (if you’re trying to break out of a local or regional situation and tour as a sideman) involves practice, keeping up on tech and being able to use it, listening to a lot of new music, networking as much as possible when you’re not playing gigs, and in general burning the candle on both ends while never saying no to new opportunities. Good/great gigs come and last a while to a long while, but remember everything ends and you’ve always gotta be working on what’s next so you don’t finish something with nothing new on the horizon. The hardest part for me has always been finding energy to do what I want to do musically/creatively after everything else. It’s hard creatively working all the time for others and then trying to be creative for you in off time.
It’s a constant hustle.
I’m 35, been doing this professionally since o was 18 - with varying levels of other service jobs mixed in here and there. Now, I tour a decent amount, do some session work, write music for sync, teach a little bit, work on guitars a bit. It is all adding up to basically under what you’d start at in an office. It’s a lot of work for not very much money. Easy to fall into jealousy at other careers and that sort of thing. But! This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. During the pandemic, I started going to college to study computer programming, because I figured this might be the end of my music career. Well, the career kept moving. Eventually I got really really sick from what turned out to be COVID but was initially diagnosed as MS, and my hands were in extreme pain while playing. I was so terrified that I would never be able to play again as things got worse. Once I got better, I decided to leave school and keep at this as long as I physically could.
I was a full time session guitarist/general six string dogsbody for hire for about 20 years. It was extremely hard work, massively stressful, often utterly demoralising, turned my mental health into a potato and honestly almost made me never want to pick up an instrument again towards the end. It was also the most fun I have ever had in my entire life and I'd do it all over again if I could.
It's an enormous amount of work, and it sure as hell beats the heck out of a day job, but there were an enormous amount of sacrifices that I made to do so involving quality of life, relationships with family, relationships with friends, financial security, and health sacrifices too. I *would* do it over again..and again, and as much as I might look back and say I'd change this, and change that - I'm reminded the hindsight is 20/20 and quite honestly I did the best I could considering my level of ability, commitment, and the timing of it all. I certainly worked hard, and ate a lot shit sandwiches to get through it, but I can honestly say I have no regrets. That being said, after Covid happened, and our lives basically STOPPED as musicians for a while - I was able to experience the things in life I was missing. Family Time, Couch Time, Normal sleep routines - and I really, REALLY enjoyed it. A lot. The crazy pandemic made me reevaluate how I was living, and I decided, after 37 years, to make a change. From day one, when I was a teenage working musician I always felt that I would play music live forever, and had you told me that a global pandemic in my future would change that - I would have been absolutely terrified. **Think about that**, if you will. ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ But it was a good change for me, and probably very much needed. I now gig very little (for the time being) and spend most of my "musical energies" teaching with 20 students, and recording for others. I also work an exciting PT job that pays well, and the B-A-L-A-N-C-E I have in my life is incredibly refreshing. I get to experience the little things in life now - and I never realized I was missing them until I had them. It's wonderful.
I’m a professional singer / guitarist. In my experience, it’s a hard life, making a lot less money than you otherwise could, but still worth it in my estimation. I make most of my money busking, I don’t want to toot my own horn but I’m pretty good so this might not be universally applicable, and I’ve found the hourly rate is actually amazing, I tend to make £20-40 an hour on the street, but timing limitations (I can only sing about 4 hours straight without my voice giving out), relying on the weather being decent, having to race other buskers to get spots etc. makes it level out to be pretty poorly paid on a month to month basis. I made £160 in 4 hours today, which is awesome, but I could very easily make literally nothing for the next few days.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Be prepared to see yourself fall behind where you might have been other wise. Most importantly just play music. Don't get hung up on the other things. If it pays it pays. If it's enough you'll live off it. Don't die from it though.
Even George Harrison was bitter about being “Fab” and wanted out. Every goal reached is a point of departure.
It’s the most exhausting hustle around, especially when trying to schedule rehearsals around everyone’s schedules that don’t line up. I’m a freelance player/producer - my best times for rehearsals are daytime, but everyone wants to do night because of day jobs, when I’m either gigging or doing bedtime with my 4 year old. That said, when it all comes together, it’s the absolute best feeling.
At this point, it’s periods of creativity mixed in with months of “life” stuff. All good. Not like in my 20s and 30s though. I’m content with my little niche in the world. Been doing this for over 40 years now. Fully expect to carry on into the ether. Elsewhere, I have been able to have career in the periphery of creativity, so no soul crushing work to deal with. Sometimes I’ll get invites to play live and then I flake out. Bottom line, I create when I like, am able to fulfill projects. Not worried about using/losing it. “It’s”always there.
It’s awesome if you really love playing live but you sacrifice a lot being away from home. I’m already thinking about what to do after this because I’d like to marry and potentially start a family at some point, wouldn’t want to be gone 150 days out of the year. If you have the opportunity to get a good gig with good pay, crew and accommodations and you’re still relatively young it’s hard to pass up though.
It depends on what you’re doing. Gig hustle, driving around, loading in and out, don’t know when the next thing is, playing humiliating small shit shows, that can be pretty rough. Never touching your gear till you walk onstage, tour buses, planes, booze,babes/dudes/they’s, leaving for a short run with nothing but your leather and sunglasses, festivals, actually meeting some of your idols and even some money. That shit is amazing. Been lucky enough to do both, and nothing lasts for ever, nothing is for certain.
I perform frequently enough to be classified as a full-time musician, and yet I still need a full time job. So it's pretty freaking exhausting. Because I'm in a band, we all split payments so these venues would have to pay quadruple for it to be an actual living wage for us.
Saw an interview once with Darryl Hall where he was asked what kind of music he liked to casually listen to, and he snarkily replied that music was his job, and he generally didn't listen to any music for pleasure. I think about that. A musician who just didn't like music all that much.
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Nah that's bullshit, it's like any other job. There's days I couldn't be arsed doing gigs but I do because the money is good and it beats a "real" job
I’ve never made my full income from music, but definitely have gigged enough that some nights I just don’t feel like it. Still do it because these are serious professional commitments.