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The key here Notes is what I mentioned earlier. You married the singer. Imagine her as a stay at home mom with you the sole support for the family and you would not be a musician.



What's different between that and any other Ma and Pa business? I used to eat at an Italian Restaurant, Papa was the chef, Mama was the hostess, ran the register, and waited tables, and the kids waited and bussed tables.

And raising kids is not for everybody (and shouldn't be as we are over-populated) plus stay at home moms went out with the 1950s. I don't know many couples with one salary anymore.

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<...>The internet is vast. Music hosting sites are one of the main categories. I wouldn't be surprised if the number of them is in the millions.<...>



Music hosting sites are not the only way a musician makes a living. Most musicians I know make a living by gigging. And I do know a number of musicians who make their living by playing music.

Just because you can record something and put it out there doesn't mean you can make a living at it. I know weekend painters, or those condo-ladies who paint water-colors and show it in local art fairs (that's probably a fair comparison),

There are a lot of amateur or semi-pro painters, photographers, dancers, actors, writers, and others who dabble in the arts, and then again, there are a lot who make a living doing those very same arts.

Most small businesses fail in the first 5 years. That includes produce marts, real estate agencies, retail outlets, restaurants, dry cleaners, auto repair shops, software start-ups, and anything else you can think of. There are a million reasons to fail in a small business, and most of them do fail.

But some also do not fail. A very small percentage get rich and famous, and the majority that make it, make a living doing it, and nobody outside their area ever knows about them.

If you are not a superstar, it doesn't mean you failed. You could do quite well for yourself with a local clientele in any small business. It depends on your talent, business skills, timing, and a few things that are not in your control.

And it's not only music jobs that dry up.

But what about the factory workers in Flint, Michigan? They lost their jobs when the GM decided to outsource. Is this any better than being a musician? They may have been doing better than me in the 60s, but I'm doing better than them now. The things that were not in their control led to their hardship.

I have a friend who worked for Sears, and was downsized. He ran out of unemployment, did little odd jobs when he could, and finally had a nervous breakdown. The things that were not in his control got to him.

Accountants (CPA's) are being replaced by Tax Cut Software.

Turnpike Toll Takers are being replaced by auto-responder devices.

Hotel jobs are scarcer due to teleconferencing and high airline fares.

Pilots and flight attendants are no longer secure in their positions.

Factory luthiers are being replaced by computer-operated jigs that cut out perfect guitar shapes.

Printing typesetters are all but replaced by computers (my father was one all his life).

Newspapers are being replaced by the Internet.

Record companies are being hurt by downloads and file sharing.

One person with a CAD program can do the work of 10 draftsmen/draftswomen.

One pharmacist now has 20 assistants doing his/her work which puts 19 other pharmacists out of work.

What about the people who used to make film for cameras, and those who made their living developing them?

Videotape manufacturers?

Vinyl Record manufacturers?

Radiologists are now being outsourced to Asia. The x-rays are digital, they go over the internet, and the diagnosis comes back. Another elite profession outsourced.

Even the USPS is in trouble because of e-mail!

And it isn't new, the ballad of "John Henry" runs it back to the days when railroad workers slung a sledge hammer and got replaced by the steam driver.

And these are a few examples.

The world changes, and as it does, some jobs will get eliminated. Musicians are not the only ones in this position.

To take the example of "freelance musicians" hear mournful coda as the jobs dry up, and instead of "freelance musicians" substitute auto-workers, Certified Public Accountants, Pharmacists, Drafts-persons, typesetters, TV and other appliance repairmen/women, steel workers, machinists, and hundreds of other trades and you will pretty much have a similar story.

I'm still making a living as a musician, and a number of my friends are. True, there aren't as many jobs as there were in the past, but it's the same with many other professions.

You can be a self-employed business person, or you can work for a giant corporation and become a "wage slave" (yes, that's what they call you) or find a place in-between if you can. None of these positions are secure. The days of my father's who set type for the newspaper until he got his gold watch and retired are gone.

Times change, businesses change, and just about everything you are doing now will become obsolete in the future.

I was a Cable TV Electronics Field Engineer for 5 years while playing music on the weekends. I was testing the "real world" with the electronics skills I learned in college. The company laid off up to 15 years. Nobody I know got called back. Instead the new plug-and-play technology allowed them to hire people with much less skill and training and therefore would work for much less money. And all the Cable TV manufacturers were also laying off, so there was no place for me to go. I went back to full-time music, and haven't regretted it.

Playing music turned out to be more secure than electronics engineering.

And life is short. There is no guarantee of the promised afterlife, although we all hope there is one. So what's worse? Living as a wage slave, enduring the week, and waiting for the weekend while you have some false security and the constant risk of being downsized? Or doing something that you love so much for a living that it doesn't seem like you are working.

I don't say I HAVE to got to work today. I say I GET to go to work today. I'm living a very happy life. I play music for a living. I don't take orders from anybody, but live by the decisions I make for myself. I have fun on the job. I like it so much that more often than not, I work without taking a break. Not because I have to, but because I'm having too much fun to stop. I'm living a happy life, what could be better than that?????

A wise man once said, "If you do for a living what you would do for free, you will never work a day in your life." -- and other than the two "day jobs" that I had (phone repairman and Cable TV Engineer), I've never worked a day in my life.

When you get to the end of your life, and if you have a moment to reflect on your life, and you can truly say to yourself, I had a great time while I was here, you are successful. If you made a zillion dollars but endured your work week and simply existed for your 2 week vacation all your life, you were a failure. At least that's the way I see it.

I'm having a great time. I've played music in most US states and foreign countries all the way to the People's Republic of China. I lived on a cruise ship for 3 years. I've warmed up for famous stars and met famous musicians on equal terms, peer to peer, not fan to star. I almost made the big time myself. I've been intimate with more women than most men get to and in the end found the best woman for me, my soul mate Leilani. I've rubbed shoulders with the richest of rich and the poor and downtrodden and been treated with respect by them all. I'm treated as an artist, not an underling or employee. It's a lot better than climbing telephone poles, stuffing mail into a box, or working in some office.

If my son or daughter wanted to be a musician, I would explain the business to them in detail, and if I thought they would be happier as a musician than a corporate wage slave, I'd encourage it.

And for all the corporate types that keep telling people that they cannot be artists for a living, I remind them the fable that ends with the phrase, "Sour grapes."

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Last edited by Notes Norton; 12/13/10 06:16 PM.