The Details on Making a "living" as a Musician

Factual Questions
1

This was a tough one – a situation that walks the edge of fact and opinion. What I’m looking for are matter of fact answers. To get there, I felt it was necessary to present the background and basis of my questions as they apply to me specifically. Otherwise, these are just opions.

Back Story:

There is a predominant fork in my life immediately following high school (age 18). I gave myself 2 options - attend music school for a degree in percussion performance and composition, or enlist in the Navy. I enlisted in the Navy and did so under the nuclear program to reap the most educational benefits. I did well enough in my early years and eventually was accepted to and graduated from the US Naval Academy. I always figured I could “go back” to music when all was said and done. After 12 years of honorable service, I’m at the point in my life.

Initial Goals of Both Forks:

Music: to have a career doing what I loved and what I was good at.
Navy: to grow and mature as a person, to leave town as it were, to get an education, and possibly travel

Combine the above - I wanted a solid foundation to fall back on in case a career in music never panned out the way I wanted/expected. I find it ironic that my Navy career hasn’t turned out like I expected either. I was only going to do 6 yrs; I’ve been in for 12 and have a college degree too.

Basis for a Personal Comparison:

My best friend in high school (he was a grade ahead of me and 1 year older), whom I would later be the best man at his wedding, went the exact route I had intended to go: music school with a degree in percussion performance and composition. We have remained very close friends over the years and are still close to this day. Observing his life has given me a few insights into the life I want or do not want through a career in music.

For example, there a few core ways to earn a living as a musician.
[ul]
[li]Rock Star - get lucky, get famous, profit[/li][li]Session Musician - more on this below[/li][li]Professional Musician - member of a symphonic band or orchestra[/li][li]Instructor - primary earnings off of teaching only (be it school or private lessons)[/li][li]Composer - putting music to paper full time. I am grouping conductor/music director in here because in career scenarios they are usually one in the same.[/li][/ul]

With being a “rock star”, there can be some real talent there but I think it’s a safe generalization to say that the majority of this success comes with being lucky; a right place right time scenario. A professional musician as I’ve defined it will make a living from a refined music scene, however this income will need to be supplemented with another “day job” which is more than likely private lessons (this statement is based off of talking to other musicians over the years - symphonies do not pay well, if at all). Instructors are your college professors and high school Mr. Holland’s. A full career can be had from being an instructor without any source of outside, music related income. Composers would be those that write full time and can include being a conductor as well. If you’re a really good composer, you wouldn’t have to do anything outside this as well. If you’re really, really good, you can make rock star livings - while also maniacally laughing because you forced “Pieces of Me”, as sung by Ashley Simpson, on the rest of the world.

It’s the Session Musician I want to talk about:

Personal Musical Background:

I have continued to develop and maintain my musical chops through my years in the military. My mallet chops aren’t where they should be but my battery skills (drums) are top notch. My real talent hasn’t necessarily been in music itself but more so in musical awareness. What I mean is being able to practice the correct way (seeing a flaw or mistake in your playing and fixing it, further developing) and knowing when to do what, where (having taste and tact as applied to whatever style of music you’re playing). It is because of this I feel like I would be able to make a serious and comfortable living as a musician. When I practice, I practice. My individual sessions usually run from 2-4 hours. I take it very seriously. I always expand my notions of what I should be studying as well, thus keeping me on the edge of versatility.

My journeys in the Navy have brought me all around the world. I have made it a point to become locally involved in music wherever I’m at. In the U.S., I have sat in with both military and civilian musical groups. When I was overseas in Japan, I was the house drummer for a guitar player who recently went national (though that is a little bit different in Japan than the U.S.). When time and stability was permitting, I gave private lessons. Please keep this in mind though: even being as involved as I was, these activities occupied an extremely tiny portion of my time.

Opinions on the matter, or ‘not wanting to become a whore’:

So there are two ways I’ve been looking at this lately. One can either make a living or get by. My best friend I mentioned earlier is geographically limited in the sense that he cannot go to where the music is. Other commitments prevent him from moving to a bigger city or music scene. For a time, music sustained him completely. He has since taken up a day job as a property manager because he was tired of the in-state travel. As he put it, he would have to “whore himself out” for the work. He’d literally travel to the other side of the state for a day’s worth of lessons. Sometimes the lessons he gave were to people who had no business taking lessons in the first place: he just needed the money. Thus, job satisfaction issues. He would much rather have focused on the performance aspect of his musicianship. This, in my humble opinion, is getting by.

I want to make a living through the playing of music. It’s my conclusion that what I call the “session musician” does this through the playing of music. He relies on his musical talents to earn him this living vice the “luck” component of super-stardom.

I should mention too that there is the music degree / no degree debate. That is a pretty big component through-out my back story. In the end, I really find it non-applicable for what I want to do. What I want to do is NOT write the next mathematically balanced symphonic chart. (I feel like I should cheap shot this in here as well: do professional ball players have ball playing degrees? No. They are talented and experts in their craft.) In today’s age, music degrees are really good for 2 things – landing you a teaching job at a university / school and getting you into debt. Theory and advanced techniques can be learned just as well, if not better, through clinics and other sources. The sound engineering aspect does not apply to my situation.

Ah yes, the factual questions for the teaming millions!

I have heard many examples of how musicians make money through playing. Vice posting something like this on a music board, SDMB is a pretty respectable establishment actually and I’d much rather have your responses then say the responses of your typical faire of 13 yr old industry experts or the embittered trolls who hang out because they held themselves back from making it.

Some well paying gigs are unionized. How do music unions work? Are they, and if so, how much so are they a good ol’ boys network (ala shipping pilots)? How does one get unionized? Any personal experiences on the matter?

What sort of entity would one register as if not unionized for tax purposes?

From my limited observations of the industry at large, things appear to be in your favor if you’ve been in the same geographic location for an extended period of time. That is to say a long term Chicago resident would have a better gauge of the music scene then a new comer. Given my unique background, and thus mobility, are there programs or paths in place to by-pass this? Is this what a talent agency does? Do talent agencies exist for this type of purpose? ** (FYI, just moved to and plan on transitioning out in Chicago) ** Besides being noticed during performances, what are other ways to get the word out that aren’t complete wastes of time (Craigslist, for example)?

While I have my own opinion on the value of a music degree, what is the real-world credibility given to musicians with non-musical degrees? I understand this question may be more opinionated and non-factual in its answers but I feel it relevant and important never the less. This is a tough one to tackle because of many variables. The weight of your educational institution comes to mind. A music degree from Julliard vs. a B.S. from Podunk U. or A music degree from Podunk U. but a Masters in Philosophy from Harvard. **Am I correct (real world here) that it’s not what your degree is in vice where it’s from and the path you took to get there? **

What is the current state of the live performance entertainment industry? Is what I want to do, the area between rock super-star and “traveling salesman” even exist? To clarify further, the income level I am referencing is $50k to $100k annually for a comfortable life. I didn’t mention this earlier, but I am tour ready. I am not adverse to travel. What I am adverse to is the constant point A to point B to simply get by.

If you made it this far, thank you very much for reading. Please dissect my notions and generalizations, call out my contradictions, and provide as much info as you can. I’ll revise and clarify anything that needs it. As well as provide more questions as they arise. I am going to do the best to keep follow on questions fact based. I need facts to decide.

You never want to ask one drummers opinion of another, haha.

In Closing:

If the military has taught me anything, it’s this: I need to be happy doing whatever it is in life. Life is too short to not enjoy what you do - even if the money is good. Ideally, I’d like to have a comfortable standard of American living.

But gosh, happiness is so important.

2

I don’t know if my brother belongs to a musicians’ union, but I don’t think he does.

He was, I think, a composition/performance major. His instrument is piano. Specialty: jazz performance.

He has “made a living” in music for 25 years or more. He taught high school music for a few years, has been a church musical/choir director, played lots of clubs/private parties, did a short tour with a well known jazz band, accompanied Jazz workshops, taught private piano lessons, recorded a couple of CDs of his own and recorded with other regional musicians.

He and his wife–a middle school art instructor/author/illustrator–own a nice house in our smallish New England town, do some traveling, see shows in Boston and New York. They are by no means living hand-to-mouth.

The key is networking. He knows tons of people involved in music, local and statewide.

3

Look up Dopers like pulykamell, drumgod, **percussion **and a few others.

I am a semi-pro guitar player who hangs out with a lot of pro and semi-pro musicians. There is NO money to be made as a session man these days - EVERYBODY has their own home studio and so there is no premium placed on session cats the way it was back in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

My drummer is a record producer and has seen the music business crumble around him. The spot production and session work he gets is not enough to live on and he is totally connected in the US and UK - has platinum records on the wall, does work with top bands, etc.

Steve Lukather is one of the top session guitar players around. He has been writing a back-page column in Guitar Player which basically says “don’t even think about trying to be a session player - it is a lost art.” He offers one or two counter-examples - e.g., film score work - but those jobs are locked up by a few other top players…hereis a reference to Lukather’s columns on a popular guitar message board…

Sorry I am coming into this thread with bad news, but it is all I got. You know that line in the Incredibles: “when everyone is special, no one is”? Well, when everyone can record stuff in their basement and get it on youtube, then breaking in as a sideman or session player is gone - everyone can do it…

My $.02

4

Not everyone can do it. There is a difference being a good drummer and a really great musician. But that doesn’t prevent bands who make money having a terrible drummer.

How do you seperate yourself from the pack? It doesn’t seem as easy as just being the better player. I would have assumed that being a session, unionized player, you have have an air of legitamacy.

From what you’re telling me that’s not the case. And thinking about it, it does make some sense. Mass marketing is no longer bound by pre-youtube rules.

I agree with “it’s who you know” as well. Musicians get gigs and can’t commit. They recommend somebody they know, etc. These networks take time to establish. Only in Chicago for 2 months, I have an upcomming gig at Buddy Guy’s (which alas, I’m doing for free because I want the exposure).

Is there a definative musician pool? And if so, how do you get in?

Since the session cat is more or less dead by the previous admission, how does one get auditions for the big acts? The serious players? The jobs that actually pay money?

5

It’s very much a small circle. I couldn’t even imagine how I would break in. I have stories of country players basically moving to Nashville and taking ANY GIG POSSIBLE - no pay or very little - simply to get heard. Over time, they move up the ranks and if they are top players (and being a top guitarist in Nashville is saying something - they are a whole 'nother league of skilled), they may get some session work.

It basically requires a full-body commitment, knowing the odds are extremely unlikely that you will make more than a subsistance living from gig to gig while picking up other crap work on the side which fits your hours and flexibility needs.

Not pretty - and again, I am sorry for taking this position. I would prefer not to.

6

I understand that position though.

The one thing I would want to avoid would be to incrue debt through living hand to mouth - and taking jobs that waste your time.

I was thinking about leaving the Academy 1/2 way through and going into music then. A wise man (who convinced me to stay) told me to get the best of both worlds. A good, solid career and lifestyle while doing music on the side. This way you keep your passion and keep it fun.

I would ultimately be worried about the music no longer being fun.

By the same token, anytime I see a band that I’m not in - or a band with a terrible drummer, I feel that my talents are being wasted because I’m not in his shoes.

7

I am a music major who studied piano and organ, doing a master’s degree in musicology. However, those on here who’ve seen me post questions about law school, know that I no longer want anything to do with pursuing music as my sole source of income. I think you can be happy performing on evenings and weekends with a daytime job.

I know some absolutely phenomenal musicians who have had to supplement their income with teaching and desk jobs. In fact, as a music historian, I can say that it’s pretty much been a constant for centuries in Canada and the U.S. Musicians always had to supplement their income with selling sheet music, repairing instruments, etc.

It’s a very unstable and unreliable as a career. I don’t know how the “musician’s union” is in your neck of the woods, but here, it seems more like a guild that offers suggestions as to how much to charge for performances, and yell at you if you give free gigs to get your name out there. I don’t have the time for them, but it’s likely different if you’re in an orchestra or big band.

8

Dude - let’s be clear about this: if you are working as a session musician, the music WILL NOT BE FUN. It will be your job. Please think about that. You will look at your instrument VERY differently in a few years when you HAVE to take that bullshit, low-paying gig working with those musicians you hate because that is what working musicians MUST do to keep their names out there and get paid.

Of the pro musicians I know - whether they do studio work or play in their own bands - if they get brief glimpses of their love for music in the countless gigs they must do - they see that as the rare exception.

You are threatening to sound like someone who watches action movies and wants to join the Army.

9

You have to be able to differentiate between your creative tracks/moments and your rent-paying tracks/moments. There is absolutely no reason that you can’t have both. Too many people walk in with this false 17-year-old ideal that every note played should be straight from the gut. No. Session time can be as simple as doing your scales at home. It is practice time, that you get paid for.

And every one of those lucky few who does manage to make a gut-wrenching hit, eventually gets sick as hell of playing that hit over and over and over again at concerts. It’s just a myth.

It’s just like a marriage. You have to make time for the starry-eyed loving parts, and accept that the majority of it is taking out the trash and getting the laundry done.

10

In the US it’s also very useful for getting group health insurance at a decent rate.

11

This is a very insightful and profound statement, thank you.

I guess the answer to “making a living” depends on how I defining my “living”. And I think avoiding music as a necessity and approaching it as a passion to enjoy is the right way to go.

There are several differnet way to do this with music incorporated into it, such as a music shop, music company rep, etc.

I’m also now convinced that you don’t have to do music full time to still “do it full time”. And this actually makes me feel pretty relieved. The key would be positioning yourself in life to take advantage of any great opportunity if one presents itself.

So to make a living as a musician is to not be a musician. :dubious:

antonio107, I’d be interested to talk more about your being a music historian for my own personal coureosity. I brought up the Music Union in my original post because of this one time… I was at a debutante ball in Washington, D.C. An absolutely great big band was playing the evening. During one of the sets, I approached the band director and bought him a drink. We had a great discussion about music, and this and that. Then I asked him if he wouldn’t mind letting me sit in towards the end of the evening when everything cleared out. Talk about taboo. He explained the union thing and fines for letting me play because they were getting paid. I couldn’t wrap my head around the whole concept back then other than it was just another thing for somebody to make money on something else.

12

This makes sense.
I just got off the phone with a bass-playing, lawyer buddy of mine I met when I first moved to Chicago. He is friends with musician who plays in the theatre circuit and makes a great living doing just that. Granted, this is all heresay. He plays 2 shows a day, 6 days a week. Unionized. But, he said this is an extremely tight network to get into. Food for thought I suppose.

13

Hey; I tried.

14

How about disability insurance? Not to take anything away from healthcare (I guess they wouldn’t have that here in Canada, what with socialism and all), but it seems to me the biggest uncertainty is getting injured or sick in a way that compromises your ability to play, possibly permanently. I presently can’t bend my thumb without the help of a lot of naproxen. If I needed to play piano right now, to pay my rent right now, I would probably be in tears, no lies. I know that can be said for any profession, but the most minute of injuries seem to become that much bigger when you use your body to, say, play an instrument versus work at a desk.

15

Exactly, which begs the question:

What does an individual or group register as for tax or “officially recognized entities of some sort” purposes? I’m sure national acts pay taxes from their concert earnings. They have to hire and fire ground crews. Specifically, this would apply to un-signed groups.

16

Another semi-pro here with slightly different experiences and contacts from WordMan, but similar conclusions.

First, because I have played in fairly well-paid cover bands for most of my life, I know lots of professional musicians, defined for my purposes as people who have never had a “real” job in their adult lives. I have played in bands with these folks, played at gigs where they were also playing, taken lessons from them, and become friends in other ways. All of these people are more or less stationary, geographically.

The ones who play for symphony orchestras in big cities make the most money with the least amount of scrambling. The full-time unionized symphony players in this county make a living. The symphony business as a whole is struggling, and the players aren’t getting rich, but they make middle class money with benefits working what amounts to a part-time job. They can usually add to their income by playing with touring Broadway shows that hire some musicians at each venue, playing with the local opera company if there is one, playing at events with quartets or other ensembles, teaching, and transcribing.

The pop and jazz players have a tougher time. To make a middle class living, they need to take any gig that comes along, teach, transcribe if they know how, play for any recording sessions that might happen in their home town, mostly advertising stuff. They also need a spouse with a real job for benefits.

The last category of professional musicians that I’m acquainted with is Nashville cats. I have met about ten of these guys, and I have always managed to spend some time talking with them about where they are and how they got there. They got there by going to Nashville and playing wherever, whenever and for whatever amount they could. One guy described it as “competing for $50 gigs against ten guys who are better than Chet Atkins”. Most of the people who try this route fail. The ones who succeed, and I’ll define succeed in a bit, have the following attributes: they can either play anything that can be imagined on their instrument, or they play what they play in such a distinctive way that it sets them above the crowd; they are creative on their instruments, able to do inventive things based on vague suggestions from a producer or singer; they get along with and can play with anyone; they are personally disciplined, punctual, tireless, dependable; and finally, they can’t envision doing anything else.

Success for these guys consists of playing music for what they consider a middle class living. Some of them spend most of the year on the road, some play sessions for wannabe singing stars, some get an occasional real session for a signed singer. I have talked to musicians who make well under 6 figures who spend a good part of each year touring with country icons. They are not getting rich, and they are not saving for retirement. Only two of the ten own houses, and both of those have working spouses and full-time worship leader jobs in addition to their session and touring income.

A recent Vintage Guitar issue had a story in it about the flood in Nashville, and the impact that it had on journeyman Nashville players. There was a guy in there, a busy session player, who had lost vintage guitars that were uninsured because he couldn’t afford the insurance.

I think this may be my longest post ever on SDMB. If I had to sum it up in a sentence, I would say that what separates most stars and journeymen from me, and maybe from you, is that they can’t envision doing anything else.

17

Guys I know who tour with national acts get 1099s. They are not employees.

18

I met a very talented musician playing a tribute to Kate Bush in Chicago a few years back. He had a regular gig playing for the Blue Man Group. Not only was it a very nice gig and a great paycheck, the hours let him play all sorts of other shows. I asked him about how he had got into that, and the answer was pretty much what you would expect - he had played with someone else in the band, another player left the band to move to a different city and he got invited to audition.

I know far too many talented musicians not making a living to have any idea what actually works other than “networking”. I suspect it’s a lot like dating - the more you want it, the worse the results. Only when you couldn’t care less will the gigs pop out of the woodwork.

19

This is how I felt, or how I remember feeling until/when I joined the Navy.

Having grown up and matured in this environment (though mature and military are oxymorons, ha!), I have a taste of something different. It’s different in the sense that barring loss of life, it is probably the most stable and secure job on the planet. Completely opposite from the topic at hand, and hence my detail thought process and post. My friend I mention often tells me he is envious because I have a set schedule and routine to everything my job entails. I tell him I envy him for the exact reasons - and that he is doing music. Which I sure hope I’m just not wrapped up in a grass is always greener sort of loop.

The word choice here is great: envision. And I think it’s different from me - I don’t want to do anything else. The joy I get from playing is immense. ‘Want’ is not a strong word because one can ‘want’ or ‘not want’ and still ‘do’ or ‘not do’ a thing. Envision is pretty deep. With my background now, I can see myself doing other things and finding enjoyment in those things. It might not be the same, but it exists. Way back when, I was all envisionment.

20

Also, the Nashville pros have their own way of writing chords that keeps the work in a select group.