Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

[irrelevance]

Im 40 and Im a master at ableton(enough to write techno) and I have three kids and a wife and a 9 to 5 full time job. I own a digital label with my brother that releases to beatport, itunes, juno, traxsource, trackitdown, amazon, etc. The label is picking up over the last year or two but it will never be anough to quit my day job. Nor should you. You dont need more time. You should have plenty even with a full time job.

our label

http://www.illbomb.com

Would you have been able to get to where you are now as a business without your brother as a partner?

I have recently started some collaboration with my brother in law. I have produced for years in isolation which has been a great way of finding my own sound and ways to motivate myself over the years. But I also think it has held me back as motivation ebbs projects would fall by the wayside. However I have found collaborating on a project to be incredibly rewarding, liberating and just good fun! It's great to work on a track and at some point through the process say "okay now you see what you can do with this" It's keeps the creativity and energy flowing.

[irrelevance]

I wouldn't agree that one should wait or count on feedback from external sources to justify ones life path.

I agree others should not dictate your passion and art in the broad sense. But there's a massive economic angle to this discussion and money is an exchange mechanism involving external sources. In that respect, 3dot is spot on.

I hear that. But markets are fickle and feedback on what the market wants and what you are able to(want to) give are completely different. it's not as straight forward as 3dot suggests imo.

[3dot...]

[disclaimer - didn't read through the whole post]



if art is your "calling"..
you will be given feedback from the outside world telling you so

I wouldn't agree that one should wait or count on feedback from external sources to justify ones life path.

every life is justified... is my reference point..
I was not even insinuating that conformity is the answer...
one would argue that if a leaf falls in the forest....
although every leaf has a purpose (imo)

[prebentious]

Shameless bump. I want to hear from even more people making some kind of living from their music. Angstrom, you do cool stuff...got any insights? Funken, same goes for you?

I make music full time (60-80 hours per week or more) composing for dance companies and accompanying dance classes.
It pays my frugal bills by I never get ahead. No regrets but I sometimes lie awake wondering how I'll ever provide for children in the future.
I'm 30 years old.

In general, I think people's capabities are far beyond what they imagine, and you seem like a hard worker, so I believe you could pull it off. The question is whether its worth the many inevitable sacrifices.

[bluskreen]

this is such a great thread. I'm in a very similar situation as the OP, and can totally relate to most everything you wrote.

I've been making music for over 20 years now, and there have definetly been ups and downs. From playing every show I could for years for no money till 3am on a weeknight and getting up at 6 am the next day to work a hard labor job, to recording multiple albums (some im proud of, some im not) to signing a record deal and touring all over the US with my best friends (and still barely making enough money to just get by), and going from DIY to a semi major label to an indie and back to DIY(all have good and bad, and there was never really a time I was NOT DIY). At this point I've really come full circle, realizing that success is really whatever YOU think it is (listen to Ian MacKaye on this http://youtu.be/XdcnzVrZFqU.

There is a part of me that wishes I could just leave all responsibility behind and go back to doing music full time, but I know from experience that the good times are not ALL the time and most things that people associate with being "signed" are illusions. For me, happiness is the love and support I get from my family and friends, and this feeds into the music I make, as well as the frustration and depression that results from every day life and the daily grind.

Its all about balance. There is no solid answer. It is learned and achieved based on the decisions you make everyday, and I don't think I'll ever stop learning.

Hope this helps in some way.

All the best to you man.

[bluskreen]

The question is whether its worth the many inevitable sacrifices.

Ditto:)

[fatrabbit]

I thought I should link to this blog which I remembered might have some articles relevant to your decision making.
http://calnewport.com/blog/about/

Scroll down to 'If you're new, start here', particularly the '...working world' section. He basically argues that following your passion is bad advice. He's just released a book on the subject (So Good They Can't Ignore You) that might be of interest to you.

[thegoodsirjames]

Thanks a lot guys, I am loving this thread more and more. Irrelevance, nice point about collaboration - I've been thinking along those lines as I seem to have about 50 tracks at 90% completion - I think I need the motivation of another person there! bluskreen - thanks for sharing your experiences, that's exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for. I know everyone's path will vary slightly but there will also be common aspects to every human experience imo, and that's why we are able to talk and write - in order to learn from each other and use the knowledge.

Mostly I think everyone is right that it's probably a question of getting a more reasonably balanced week. Long work hours plus 2 very young kids doesn't leave much time for anything else.

Thanks for the link fatrabbit - going to check it out...

[kuniklo]

In my opinion trying to make a living with music is very likely to mean either going dead broke or making a lot of compromises with your art in order to be popular. And, as others have said, the life of a professional touring musician doesn't really accomodate a family very well.

Keep your day job and use your free time to make exactly the music you want to make, IMO.

[8O]

Just came across this Steve Albini quote - http://machinery.tumblr.com/post/443078 ... think-that - and reminded me of this thread. I'd go with that.

[Semuta]

Hey, here's a few (ok, 6) cents from me, being 40 and having spent 4 years out of corporate IT in order to pursue my dream of making music for a living...

1. The story of Siddhartha is relevant, in that a life in pursuit of knowledge does not necessarily come with anything resembling success in the western sense of the word. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhartha_(novel)
2. No one should tell you not to do it, it's your dream (myself included, for all that I'm back in corporate IT, and reassembling my studio, since I wound up selling most of my stuff over the 4 years of my adventure), I'd do it again in a heartbeat, the only question is when.
3. You'll have to carefully define what success means to you in order to get something out of this venture. If it's calculated in financial terms at the start, it's statistically unlikely you'll look back on the experience at the other end, however that comes to pass, and view it as a success.
4. Watch One Piece (anime) -I generally avoid mainstream media.
5. Study Die Antwoord -some people that made it happen; on their own terms.
6. Read the 4 agreements.

[dsu]

If you look around you can find interviews with Philip Glass who worked day jobs to support his music. Here is one for example article.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 88870.html

The key point from my perspective is that the idea that value of your music is connected with you music's capacity to support you is mistaken. Very inspiring and he is still composing at 75 which gives me reason to hope.

[thegoodsirjames]

Hey 80 thanks for reviving this. I didn't think I'd get any more advice but now I've got some great new posts and some cool links (which I have checked out, thanks guys)

[djamadeus1]

I'm doing exactly what "thegoodsirjames" is thinking about. I need to read more of the replies to avoid speaking out of turn on his subject. I've only read the first 2 pages so I don't know even if you answered the question "what type of music you like or make". I'd also like to hear some of your stuff Sir James (I do House Music myself). I'm very interested in this subject and will be in touch soon.

Peace out.

[intensemojo]

mid-life crisis? Buy a corvette.....

If you can take on the risk and recover if you fail then I say go for it. On this rock once.