The 7 Stages Of Being A Professional Musician

#musicindustry #musicbusiness #musicproduction

Timespamts
0:00 Intro
2:04 Stage I
3:46 Stage II
5:08 Stage III
7:42 Stage IV
10:07 Stage V
12:19 Stage VI
14:25 Stage VII

[Nightmoore]

I laughed SO hard at the "crash and burn" section. I don't think you've ever really grown as a creative person (in ANY field) until you experience the "I might be a genius" to "I might be mentally disabled" transition. And it tends to happen pretty quickly.

[edmontoraptor]

Damn. I'm about to turn 25, I have a bachelor's in Music Composition and when you answered the question "what will you do if it doesn't work out?" "I guess I'll just die" is basically what I would answer too...

[danjwalker]

I'll bet $100 that I'm the least competitive musician. There's no way any musician is less competitive than me. I challenge you to prove you're less competitive but I bet I'll win.

[billsybainbridge]

Friendly Amendment from a 57 year old who is rediscovering musical joy: Stage 8 is where the greater influence of your endeavors (both musical and social) comes back home to you to remind you of your further relevance in the larger cultural context, and where your freedom to experiment is not only highest, but your feedback of "social draw" from your life is immediate and supported in a much more authentic way. It is the actual "Fulcrum of Parasociality" and is the most balanced of your journey thus far - neither self-deluded nor clouded by the delusions of others regarding your notoriety.

"You kids get off my lawn!" gets replaced by "Thank you for enjoying my lawn, come back anytime so I can tell you my story about it, and you can tell me YOUR story about it!" :)

[soysos.tuffsound]

I'd more so call myself a music professional than a professional musician. I'm 56 now and feeling more creative than ever, doing so many interesting projects I'd never imagined and enjoying the benefits of the many years of wonderful experiences. My music career has not gone according to the plan of my teenage self, but my wife and I do make a decent living creating art together (she's a choreographer and visual artist). I wouldn't say I've been through all your 7 stages or in that order, every "music career" is different. I'm just grateful to be having so much fun and feeling so inspired much of the time. My advice? Surround yourself with beautiful artists and collaborators and you can't go wrong. You might not get rich and famous, but you'll be happy! Thanks as always for the great subjects and thoughtful approach.

[eyevenear]

The other day i checked who are the artists I listened to the most on Spotify over a span of more than 5 years. You are 2nd place, that is crazy consistent. and I'm not even 30 years old. You are a big inspiration for many producers of my age.

[sheireland]

You are not just a musician. You have gift for storytelling. Now it’s time to write a book. Subscribed!

[logsnein]

Can't wait for your reality/existentialism series!

[jimmahey]

I'm 47 and for the most part this was spot on. Thanks for the laughter 😁

[exyl_sounds]

ngl, 11:10 that advice is SO simple, and it really is, but I really needed to hear it and I'm really grateful I found your channel from Venus Theory. Sir, you have restored the creative juices I thought I had tragically lost with your funny words

[SyncrisisVideos]

I'd say a lot of hobbyist musicians just live that Stage VII life from the get.

[hazmatforhumanity]

I was never able to break out of the "local musician" part of my "career" and while I've managed to squeeze out a few albums that I'm proud of (and some that I am working on now) It has always been an uphill battle. I'm 39 now and I'm hoping to, at this point, sell enough albums to keep my hobby funded. My job and personal life was always such a hinderance to my studio time and i sometimes regret getting a full time job instead of dedicating myself more fully to music. But here I am. I came so close to submitting something for your contest but I just couldn't find the time to get it finished. I look forward to your future videos and to dropping the link to my album for the discord folks to pick apart in the future!!!

[uhhhclem]

Those are also the seven stages of being a professional software engineer.

A friend of mine's in his 70s. He was in Dr. Hook, which should give you a pretty good idea of when in his life he became irrelevant as a professional musician. For the last 35 years he's been working in a music store, selling guitars, getting paid modestly, and enjoying the security of having employer-provided health insurance. He makes music every day. (He commutes by bus, and sits in the back of the bus playing his guitar into his phone.) Every so often he gigs. He doesn't have the slightest hint of ambition. He's in his 70s, for Christ's sake. I know few people who are as happy with their lives as he is.

[samecoff]

This video is going to become required viewing for all of my students who are planning careers in music. Brilliantly executed as is your usual standard!

[tiagofalcao]

If there is something that "the internet" has taught me over the years, is that anything can happen at any given time. Of course, it's pretty improbable that your career will turn around again, and you see a sudden "rise to fame", but it's not impossible... if you are pretty talented, but people simply don't know yet to fully appreciate the scope and depth of what you compose, the rise can still be something in your future. Especially to someone that composes what you compose... ;) I sure hope you keep doing what you do best, and that you can get through life without caring too much about money. Surely, one day people will say "Remember The Flashbulb? That guy was awesome... only now we fully understand the depth of what he did..." :) best of luck to you, Benn

[voicedrifter]

Fantastic video Benn. I feel like you're elegantly speaking to multiple audiences here, those considering or already on this journey, but this also helps bring some clarity (dare I say closure?) to those of us that maybe followed other paths in life and always wondered, "what if?". Such a profound bit of content man. Please know that you are proving to be every bit as relevant in my middle-aged life as you were back in college when I used to park the car out in some green space somewhere, throw on some Pale Blue Dot, and look to the stars for the meaning of life. Now it's just taken a different, evolved form.

[nickhaldin]

I’m a little late to your channel, but i really appreciate the reality check you incur on here so often. Its really great to hear someone successful, yet not famous in the classical sense or even having a charting song, talk about this kind of stuff. Its really valuable for us that are trying to eke out an existence in the difficult music industry of today

[AndyChannelle]

I earned 28p (about 35c) on spotify last month. I’ve been playing for about 35 years.

[themattwilson]

When you showed the photo of Mark is the moment I realized why I even clicked on one of your videos. I lived in Humboldt for 10 years and knew the Mucca band very well. I knew I had met this guy before but I could not remember where for the life of me! Great stuff here, Benn! I remember helping Mark move all the Mucca gear into a new studio and can confirm that Mark did like giving work to musicians!

[SeedtoStage]

If you're all in "You're not betting on fate you are wrestling with time." My experience in a nutshell. The truth is that most people make great music, it's whether you have the work ethic and time management skills to do all the things. Most don't.