I've been pondering these days about the misconceptions of the music industry and the lack of understand many people have. So I'd like to ask this community - How many of your have professional careers or skills the DO NOT relate to music? Technology has put musical and other artistic tools in the hands of just about anyone...even a 4 year old. Competition in the market has remarkably increased, and the average payout has drastically decreased. Many users have a dream to be a successful producer, engineer, artist, etc. Does this prospect make you disregard the need for higher education? Will you pursue some professional/valuable skill outside of music to increase your opportunities in life? If your case it the latter, do tell.
I grew up as musician (from age 4) before the technology was at grasp (born in the late 80s). Fortunately, I always had a computer and piano (thanks to a Jewish man who wanted to throw them away). I also spent a lot of time in the music industry environment from young because my brother grew up with some members of the Wu Tang clan among other soon-to-be artists in the early New York hip hop era. While I had much inspiration exposure, my father was cut from a different breed. School and church were his strict policies. Long story short - I pursued computer science and construction management. It turns out, you can make just as much as a "successful career producer", and still have time for music.
Music itself, for me, is a passion and obsession. I don't care about money or fame (still ghostwrite when the price is right) Still, because of my passion, discipline, and clever exposure, I landed some cool gigs - my favorite of 2017 was hosting NAMM with Spectrasonics (the guys who make Omnisphere) and getting to play in front of, and shake hands with the legendary Stevie Wonder...a graceful experience.
I get it - some people just want to do music only. Others may think they don't have alternate opportunities. I just want to confirm that there are many opportunities that will earn you a comfortable lifestyle while having time for your musical "lottery ticket". Don't discount college. Additionally (I get a lot of shade for this)..I don't think anyone needs to pay over $10,000 to learn music engineering and production. There are popular schools out there preparing people for living wage. I think less than half of graduates actually get to a point where they gross near $70,000 annually (which is almost struggling in NYC). I had private piano lessons from age 4 to 12. I don't know how my father did it on a super tight budget. At one point he hustled the teacher down to $12/hr...decent back then I guess. I learned production by reading software manuals...particularly Reason 1.0. I asked many questions....even getting mixing and ProTools advice from Just Blaze over the phone...and I don't remember a word of what he said XD..maybe because I abandoned ProTools in the early days of Ableton.
Now is sooooo much easier, because there are better tools and....YOUTUBE! Often our fear of missing out knowledge or desire to be around the influential people can distort our reality of what we can accomplish with some DIY research. At the least, take advantage of the free education that is out there for music production. Use that tuition money to diversify your value (engineering, law, medicine, science, etc). So just in case you don't win the music lottery, you can still break the six figure barrier. This will also prevent you from "selling out" with $15 beat leases and $50 exclusives to pay your mortgage or rent.
I didn't mean to write an essay, but I had recent discussions with other talented musicians that have diversified themselves. They have solid careers and/or business investments outside of music while still getting commercial syncs with big names like SongsPub and Milk&Honey. It would be selfish if I didn't share some perspective that one person may need.
Peace!
I grew up as musician (from age 4) before the technology was at grasp (born in the late 80s). Fortunately, I always had a computer and piano (thanks to a Jewish man who wanted to throw them away). I also spent a lot of time in the music industry environment from young because my brother grew up with some members of the Wu Tang clan among other soon-to-be artists in the early New York hip hop era. While I had much inspiration exposure, my father was cut from a different breed. School and church were his strict policies. Long story short - I pursued computer science and construction management. It turns out, you can make just as much as a "successful career producer", and still have time for music.
Music itself, for me, is a passion and obsession. I don't care about money or fame (still ghostwrite when the price is right) Still, because of my passion, discipline, and clever exposure, I landed some cool gigs - my favorite of 2017 was hosting NAMM with Spectrasonics (the guys who make Omnisphere) and getting to play in front of, and shake hands with the legendary Stevie Wonder...a graceful experience.
I get it - some people just want to do music only. Others may think they don't have alternate opportunities. I just want to confirm that there are many opportunities that will earn you a comfortable lifestyle while having time for your musical "lottery ticket". Don't discount college. Additionally (I get a lot of shade for this)..I don't think anyone needs to pay over $10,000 to learn music engineering and production. There are popular schools out there preparing people for living wage. I think less than half of graduates actually get to a point where they gross near $70,000 annually (which is almost struggling in NYC). I had private piano lessons from age 4 to 12. I don't know how my father did it on a super tight budget. At one point he hustled the teacher down to $12/hr...decent back then I guess. I learned production by reading software manuals...particularly Reason 1.0. I asked many questions....even getting mixing and ProTools advice from Just Blaze over the phone...and I don't remember a word of what he said XD..maybe because I abandoned ProTools in the early days of Ableton.
Now is sooooo much easier, because there are better tools and....YOUTUBE! Often our fear of missing out knowledge or desire to be around the influential people can distort our reality of what we can accomplish with some DIY research. At the least, take advantage of the free education that is out there for music production. Use that tuition money to diversify your value (engineering, law, medicine, science, etc). So just in case you don't win the music lottery, you can still break the six figure barrier. This will also prevent you from "selling out" with $15 beat leases and $50 exclusives to pay your mortgage or rent.
I didn't mean to write an essay, but I had recent discussions with other talented musicians that have diversified themselves. They have solid careers and/or business investments outside of music while still getting commercial syncs with big names like SongsPub and Milk&Honey. It would be selfish if I didn't share some perspective that one person may need.
Peace!
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