| StoreTags: living, $, bills
Author: delete on April 03 2007 Viewed 3235 times. 11 people liked this blog. You can rate it below if you haven't already.
People who enjoyed reading this: jogn, daswesen, frnortnr, Unknownforce, j_chot, bbwax, jp, VC, oscar, sclr, ignatius
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i'm working as a technical support agent @ big telecommunications company in athens, gr. my shift varies (8.00-16.00/16.00-00.00/00.00-8.00), although it's supposed to be 8 hrs/day i have to work a lot more than that. the round trip to my cubicle is more than 2 hrs in traffic jam, i'm answering phone calls and listening to angry people who's broadband connection doesn't work swear constantly. i'm paid 600 euros/month for this and there's no possibility of a transfer to a better position before my military service, which will probably be in 3-4 years from now. i'm also studying applied physics and i'll probably need a couple of years to finish that.
i'm sick of this job, i was sick of any other job i've done so far and i've done a lot. until now i always thought that living off my music is something i'd never do because i don't want to force myself write stuff and because my music is not good enough yet. however, this doesn't sound that bad at this time.
i could work on my music for some months, find ways to produce interesting stuff, improve the quality of my tracks and hopefully find a record label that will sign me. i can be unemployed for a small period of time because i've made some savings. before getting into any of this, i wanted to ask for some advice to those of you who actually make a living by making music.
is it possible to live on record deal money without being a major name? do you afford paying insurance fees for health care & pension? is it possible to make savings on top of the above?
i'm seriously thinking about doing this, the way i see it there's something very wrong about the way most people struggle to make a living today. i think i'm killing my brain everyday, in a few years i'll be a vegetable. also, i'd like to move out of the city someday, so working at home would help. i've also contemplated on finding a "real" job, something that will be on the subject i'm studying, but i don't think it's going to be any more satisfying / less frustrating than the job i have now, plus i'll probably have to do something i don't like for more than 10 hrs/day. i don't feel i'm built for a career and i have to find a way to pay the bills. | |
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04/03/07
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jdg
simple answer: find a new job.
04/03/07
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jogn
Do you know what's wrong with the way people are trying to make a living? Consumerism. Virtual slavery. Corporations. Usury.
04/03/07
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Squeal
Hey I graduated in Applied Physics! For me that meant ditching all the quantum physics mumbo-jumbo and focusing on master's level Acoustics courses.
As far as $ music, I don't know. I would definitely think about doing it if I didn't have the responsibilities that I have. I tend to think it's a pipe dream, but I never tried it. Good luck!
edited: Apr 03 2007
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delete
jdg: here's a list of the (serious) jobs i've done so far
- insurance agent
- network admin
- sound & image recording/editing @ tv channel
- construction site worker (no kidding)
+ lots of other not so serious stuff like translations, typing, ocr scanning, web design
none of them meant anything to me
04/03/07
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tooth
DOES anyone on here make a living making music?
If it's really what you want then you have to go for it but making music as an artist is not a career choice.
"A true artist will let his wife starve, his children go barefoot, his mother drudge for his living at seventy, sooner than work at anything but his art." George Bernard Shaw
That's nuts, but the point is if you ARE an artist, you don't really have a choice.
04/04/07
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astroboy
you can not survive from record sales!
if you really want to make money, you have to play live gigs. at least 1 or 2 per week.
that means that you have to be constantly touring.
that's not the most comfortable way to live.
i play about 50 gigs per year and don't really earn any money with it.
i record and release records (cd & vinyl) and don't earn any money with it.
i run a label and... lose a LOT of money.
so i have absolutely no clue who to make a living with music...
edited: Apr 04 2007
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Jetsom
I don't know anyone who releases music (which they get paid for) and doesn't have a day job.
Edit: Universities in the UK and elsewhere seem to have plenty of famous/'signed' musicians doing ft or guest lecturing in any aspect of being a musician/producer. I'm sure they have their fingers in many pies to keep them going.
04/04/07
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fjckls
start squating man!
04/04/07
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astroid
i am an arranger for a tv composer, i make about 1/4 of my money doing that, currently. i haven't done it for very long. it is very demanding, the deadlines are insane.
i don't have a day job, but it's sometimes a trick balancing all my gigs (most of which are audio jobs). in feb of this year, i worked every single day, usually for more than 8 hours.
but, it's great. i work from home, have some promise for the future, and keep sharp with my music/audio chops. compared to the other combinations of jobs i've had, i much prefer it. even more than when i was doing a bunch of playing live with various bands. mainly what i prefer is the honesty with which the financial stuff is handled.
04/04/07
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Jetsom
I used to make music for a library, something like 7-10 euros a tune! Couldn't survive on that (I was being had, probably), but similarly, I enjoyed the demands of the deadlines and getting into some disciplines, making things I would never have made (you don't have the same expectations as when you make your own music, which is refreshing, made me reconsider a lot of the expectations I had of my own music). But I was being had, couldn't support myself on that money. Refuse collection was far more lucrative (no shit)
04/04/07
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bbwax
if you did a survey of "name" electronic musicians, even those on well-known labels, you'd probably be surprised at how many had to have dayjobs or freelance somehow in their spare time to make ends meet. i can't say this is a fact but i have read more than once in interviews and been surprised when artists talk about something something at their dayjobs and how they had to have flexible working conditions to allow for mini-tours, etc. there are very few "rockstar" style lives in em.
i say find the best possible field - something you halfway enjoy at least, finish school, get good at something so you have some control over employment situation (ie, if the job sucks you can easily find another), and start saving some money. you'll have less stress and more spare-time to work on music. then when you are good enough at music to earn a living at it, you can transition into it gradually at your own pace instead of starving while trying to break in.
my 2 cents.
04/04/07
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jp
i don't have a dayjob. i gig solo & with two groups. i apply for grants (which is still quite reasonable here). i apply for artists residencies. i work for other artists. i teach at university.
and: i have very low costs. i don't have a car (don't need & want one). i have a very cheap flat. i don't smoke. i don't have kids.
but: forget record sales. unless you sell 100000 copies its not getting you any money. you just record a cd to get reviews and send it to venues. and to swap with other artists.
edited: Apr 04 2007
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soundhdack
Lots of good things said here. I especially liked the George Bernard Shaw quote in tooth's post, very funny! I would agree that art chooses the person. I also agree that if you can make money doing something other than your art, then make it. Money from art is slow in coming. If you can be an artist and a celebrity then you will get paid. If you can only be an artist then sooner or later you are going to have to find means to support yourself, even if you live off of your mother until she turns seventy! The other thing is that sometimes art as a profession chooses the person. I'm always a little jealous when I read interviews about financially successful artists that I admire who say that they just fell into it. That it all just happened without their intending it to happen. Some people are lucky. If given the choice between being lucky and good, which would you choose? It's a choice many of us wish we had.
04/04/07
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VC
Sigh... i feel you man, I've been working on shit jobs few years ago and grew VERy tired of it. Now i have a debt that will get me locked up soon, and I feel i couldn't care less about graduating, which is pretty ridiculous really, since it would grant me atleast somewhat secure income.
04/04/07
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dach
I imagine your current job will pay more and be lots easier than making a living through music.
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