PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic Is there still a career in music?

Depends on what you mean.

Having a career and making it famous are two different things.

It's always been difficult to make a living as an artist of any kind, but plenty do it.

Agreed, "making it big" requires a lot of luck. Talent can be an asset, but isn't necessarily needed. Knowing the right people and being in the right place at the right time is more important.

I met Tom Scott one day about 30 years ago. He was leading the band for some superstars (Steve and Eydie) and just got a gig on TV. We got to talking about success.

He said (paraphrasing): There is a sax player playing in a Holiday Inn somewhere like Valparaiso Indiana that could put me in his back pocket but I was in the right place at the right time, I had the right connections, I showed up straight and could do the job.

Aside from making it big, if you play music at a local level and can carve out a niche for yourself, it's not as easy as it used to be, but still possible. If you can monetize your presence on the Internet that could work. You could be a DJ and even play along with the tracks if you want, I know a wind synth player who does this.

I could go on. Like any business, it's all about supply and demand. You need to see the demand and fill it better than the others. Timing is important too. In the early days the Internet was wide open, now it's flooded so you need more creative promotion to get noticed.

I'm still making a living doing music and nothing but music. In my area, I noticed a big retirement market, and decided to aim towards that in the early 1990s. I'm still working. Before that it was singles clubs, hotel lounges, and cruise ships. Plus I write aftermarket products for Band-in-a-Box at http://www.nortonmusic.com and for a while I gave private lessons to sax players and computer musicians.

I have a friend who is not a great musician, but is good at getting gigs. He farms out work to other musicians and takes a percentage of what they get paid.

Songwriting is tough. I remember reading stories about how songwriters tried to get past the 'gatekeepers' and to the artists back in the cassette days, like including something in the package as a tacit bribe to the gatekeeper.

But if you know a recording artist or are a relative to someone in a publishing company, it could be easy.

If your career doesn't involve being the next Kanye or Nicki it's possible to have a career in music, but not guaranteed. Most new businesses fail in the first 5 years. And if you are lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time with the right connections and can do the job you might make it big.

I almost made the big time once. I was in the opening act for major stars while their songs were #1 on Billboard and was in negotiations with a major label. The negotiations fell through over money (the label wanted all the money).

Still, I get up in the morning, go to bed at night, and in between do what I want to do. I make my living doing music and nothing but music. The house is paid off, and I'm definitely not living the life of luxury, but I'm free and happy. In other words, I'm successful.

So while it might not be as easy to have a career in music as it was decades ago, it's still possible, but it's never been guaranteed.

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