Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Mint Invader · Post by **Mint Invader** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:30 am

Well. Which of you use music as your main profession? Is it what you do for a living?

gjm · Post by **gjm** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 2:24 am

if teaching music counts then yes, but if thats not considered real musicianship, then no. I build stuff as a hobby.

leedsquietman · Post by **leedsquietman** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 2:28 am

been there, done that ... then got a proper job which pays the bills and the mortgage and didn't involve working all the hours god sends for literally peanuts, having to make coffee and do sandwich runs, pick used syringes out of the toilet garbage with a pair of marigolds while trying to avoid HIV/Hep B and C and septicemia from dirty junkies in theband or their group of hangers on.

Had some great times though, especially in the wee hours recording bands or my own music for free on big name API and SSL consoles and 24 track studers etc. BUt there are very few who can make a prosperous living from this gig, but for those who do, I salute you because I know all the hard work and the crap you had to deal with for years to get to that point ....

Nowadays I work in education, but still keep my hand in by having access to the board's media room facilities where I am one of 3 volunteer sound engineers, where we record the schoolboard choir and youth choirs from schools, and have a PTHD3 rig, plus Logic STudio 8 and Cubase 4 and some tasty instruments, mics and outboard gear ...

moddog · Post by **moddog** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 5:36 am

yes......it can be done. read music. read manuals.

aisling · Post by **aisling** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 5:49 am

I tried for 15 years to make a go at it.....Got out of college and tried a "desk job" for 6 months and said "screw this" I wanna rock!. Like Leeds stated, the odds are astronomical.....I have had so many "almost" stories that never manifested.....Played stages from NYC to SF, and at the end of it all had mostly a lot of debt to show for it. I even went back and acquired an AS in audio engineering thinking I could get into the engineering/producing aspect of the biz. I tried it for a while, and realized that I was more of an artist than an engineer....
Now I am back In the real world, a licensed EMT and trying to get into nursing (I like the 3 day a week shift kind of jobs...that leave a lot of open and flexible schedules....health care seems to be a good fit in that arena)
Back in the 90's, some of my peers got the major record deals......after tours, they would come home....broke, strung out.....and working $7.00 an hour landscaping/delivery jobs....yet they were "rock stars" with songs on national radio. It was craziness to think of the time and energy they exerted for such little return.....then the label dropped them....

UKRuss · Post by **UKRuss** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 5:56 am

aisling wrote: I tried for 15 years to make a go at it.....Got out of college and tried a "desk job" for 6 months and said "screw this" I wanna rock!. Like Leeds stated, the odds are astronomical.....I have had so many "almost" stories that never manifested.....Played stages from NYC to SF, and at the end of it all had mostly a lot of debt to show for it. I even went back and acquired an AS in audio engineering thinking I could get into the engineering/producing aspect of the biz. I tried it for a while, and realized that I was more of an artist than an engineer....
Now I am back In the real world, a licensed EMT and trying to get into nursing (I like the 3 day a week shift kind of jobs...that leave a lot of open and flexible schedules....health care seems to be a good fit in that arena)
Back in the 90's, some of my peers got the major record deals......after tours, they would come home....broke, strung out.....and working $7.00 an hour landscaping/delivery jobs....yet they were "rock stars" with songs on national radio. It was craziness to think of the time and energy they exerted for such little return.....then the label dropped them....

We could be twins.

You know what though, I enjoy it so much more now that it is my hobby and not my 'job'.

aisling · Post by **aisling** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:00 am

UKRuss wrote: You know what though, I enjoy it so much more now that it is my hobby and not my 'job'.

I raise my glass to that

john doe by choice · Post by **john doe by choice** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:13 am

Toured as a DNB dj for 5 years, with little to show for it at the end...tour managed and played openers for a killer jazz band for more gigs in less than a year than I played in the previous 5, and still, little to show for it except a few good stories and fewer great friends. In film school now, majoring in writing/directing, minoring in cinematography, and loving it. Music on the side (mostly soundtrack work, which I love), and recording tracks/sets just to hand out to friends.

stringtapper · Post by **stringtapper** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 7:10 am

All my income currently comes from fellowships where I teach freshman ear training and sight singing, assist with the lectures and produce a podcast for a course on American popular music, and work in a preservation studio at the school's music library. I also gig on the side; playing bass, trombone, and singing tenor/bass depending on what the gig is.

So I guess technically all of my income comes from performing music or from music-related endeavors, but I'm really just a graduate student working on a terminal degree in music theory. I chose this route so that I could (eventually) have a stable job where I could always be involved with music in some way and also have the time and flexibility to pursue my own musical goals. So far it's working but graduate music school sure is burnout city.

littlepig · Post by **littlepig** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 7:36 am

stringtapper, you wrote;

but graduate music school sure is burnout city

Do you mean that the people are already burnt out when they start or they get burnt out by the school? Just curious...

the_viirus · Post by **the_viirus** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:02 am

I do consider music a profession for me, but I have a primary day job.
You know...until music is something that I do full time because there is a demand for it.

stringtapper · Post by **stringtapper** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:20 am

littlepig wrote:stringtapper, you wrote;

but graduate music school sure is burnout city
Do you mean that the people are already burnt out when they start or they get burnt out by the school? Just curious...

Hehe, sometimes it's a bit of both. But what I really mean is that for myself and many of my colleagues it seems to be the norm is to have a teaching fellowship at the school, but also work some other "real" job on the side (mine just happens to be in a studio on campus) as well as gigging, and then you still have your studies to tend to, e.g. attending classes, shittons of reading, writing papers, writing theses or dissertations, submitting articles for conferences, etc. And then of course there's more because it's music school after all, so there's practicing, attending and performing in concerts and recitals, the usual music school biz.

I guess the thing about it is that you're hardly ever "off" as it were, you get home and there's still work to be done, and this is all before regular old "life" issues are counted. It's no 9 to 5 that's for sure, but it's the life we choose, at least for a while.

the_antagonist · Post by **the_antagonist** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:24 am

iv not made it big. Iv worked normal jobs since I dropped out of college. Iv got a desk job that I love, a beautiful wife and daughter, mortgage. and generally happy. If I don't make it. it wont be the biggest deal.

but what kind of example am I to my daughter if I didn't put my fucking back into chasing the dream.

SubFunk · Post by **SubFunk** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:42 am

if working for an event / audio company and doing from sound engineering to all sorts of other audio related work (including writing from time to time, very rare lately, though..) counts, then yes.

aizo · Post by **aizo** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:51 am

where's choice "C - it fucking should be?"

that's my vote

Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Do you music for a living

Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)

Re: Is musicianship your main profession? (Poll inside)