PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic Career in music

I became a musician because of talent.

I've made a living as a musician since I was a young adult, from my talent, plus a lot of hard work, and constantly reacting to the changes in the music biz.

How?

First, you must work to be proficient on your instrument. Practice, practice, and then practice some more.

You must be versatile, and be able to play whatever style of music is in demand. And you must do it better or have another edge against your competition.

Learning more than one instrument is a plus. Learning to sing properly, sing well AND playing another musical instrument well is recommended.

Be versatile: My main instrument is voice and sax, also, by extension, wind synthesizer. I can double on drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards. Being able to double has landed gigs for me that another competing sax player didn't get.

Be versatile: Learn to express yourself authentically in different genres. I've played in rock, country, jazz, folk, blue, symphonic, easy listening, disco, and salsa bands. When opportunity knocks, be prepared.

Be versatile: I've been in a duo since 1985 http://www.s-cats.com - and we play music from the 1920s to the 2020s. With over 600 songs, mostly chosen by our audiences, other than during the COVID lockdown, we've never been out of work. Being a musical chameleon helps you stay booked. The gig wants dance music? We can do it. Dinner music? We can do it. Background music? Rock music? Disco music? Country music? We can do it. And so on.

If you want to become a professional musician, your occupation will dominate your life. If you aren't ready for that, pursue it as a sideline. You will practice a lot, constantly learn new songs, analyze the market and adjust your skills, develop enough business skills to keep yourself booked, and be prepared for the ups and downs of the business.

Don't expect to become filthy rich, 99% of us don't get there, but plenty of us are living a happy life. I almost 'made it' once, but the record company wanted to exploit us instead of pay us, so negotiations failed. But there is always a chance, so don't give up hope, either.

I had a day-job for 5 years, while gigging on the weekends. After a band breakup, I wanted to try out what being normal was, and for me, normal was overrated. My day-gig was a field engineer for a manufacturer of Cable TV electronic equipment. It paid well, but wasn't for me.

If I stayed at that job, I would have made a lot more money than I've made as a musician. On the other hand, I'm much happier being a musician. Even if I drive an older car, and don't have a lot of luxury items, I'm living a better life. I live simply, but I have zero debt, the house is paid off, and I take vacations.

I make my living doing what I would do for free if I didn't need money. Instead of saying, "I have to go to work today," I say, "Oh boy! I GET to go to work today!!!"

It's not a career for everyone, and with DJs, people singing to karaoke tracks, sports bars, and other diminishing opportunities, it's more difficult today than it was in the past. That doesn't mean it's impossible, but it will take work, dedication, and some business smarts.


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