MUSIC & MONEY: Why So Many Musicians are Always So Broke?

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[JadedJade_]

I dated a man for 5 years, we lived together for most of that time. He’s a sound engineer firstly and a musician. He was interning at a studio for a long time- no income. His parents really supported him, while I paid my half. Eventually the studio hired him for minimum wage (for maybe a year and then the studio went out of business) I supported him immensely and he took the second bedroom to make it into a home studio. He is a gifted engineer, And he taught me a lot about recording and music in general. Eventually I realized that I was paying way more than he was and I was completely BROKE. My school debts weren’t getting paid off... he was shorting me on rent because he was buying gear. He would have clients over to the apartment and record sessions all day and night- we’d get the hydro bill and it would be $500 or more and he’d want to split it 50/50 with me even though he was writing it off as a business expense on his taxes. The whole time I was working full time and struggling alone because he was never around. I tried to be understanding but in the end I just couldn’t continue living that way.

[TheDarianHernandez]

Thank you for posting this! I myself am a younger musician however, I do make sure to maintain a steady financial life.

[Sam-dcbg]

Kind of weird watching this after seeing so many amateur musicians online repeating "have no plan B" and "follow your dreams, and the money will follow" over and over again.

[typhoongalaxy]

being any type of artist is a rich folk hobby-career, for anyone else it's a curse

[pasijutaulietuviuesas]

I'm a young musician, and even though I don't live with my parents, my University stipend pays for my roof and food. The biggest fear I have is that after my studies, if I don't earn enough money, I would have to work in a job unrelated to music and that it would tire me so much that I wouldn't be able to play music anymore due to exhaustion. That's why these reality checks and tips that you provide are really worth gold to me. I'm open to the idea something other than music would pay for my bills, but I couldn't accept with not being to play anymore.

[icevelvetzen]

I quit music, and work a decent-paying job. At one stretch, I didn’t touch a guitar for nearly a decade.

But dammit, I’m back in it and just for fun and living out my dreams from my basement, LOL.

[jimbee]

words of wisdom that are applicable to about any self employment situation. i encourage the younger folks especially to listen. you can save yourself a lot of future pain.

[ljtgnke]

Good advise. One of the best pieces of advice I can give any musician is don't play for free. Your time, talent and energy is valuable. Don't fall for the club owner who wants you to play a free gig as an "audition" so the club owner can decide if they want to hire you. The club owner is making lots of extra money off of the extra drinks he is selling while there is a band playing.
Don't fall for the "pay to play" scam where the club owner expects you to sell a certain amount of tickets, on your own, with no help from him before you make a percentage of any ticket sales sold after that. This is not "free exposure for your band", it is your band being taken advantage of. Offer a reduced rate if you want to play a gig for a charity. Do not play it for the "warm and fuzzy feeling" you may get, as the people in charge of the charity are making money to run it. They don't do it for free and neither should you. Consider all of the time, effort and money that went into practicing, driving to practice, the cost of instruments, amplifiers, cords, stings, etc. And the time spent learning your instrument. Then ask yourself "why should I do this for free?" If someone asks your band to play for free, ask them to ask 4 or 5 electricians or plumbers to come out and work for 4 or 5 hours for free, and let you know how that goes for them.

[daveduffy]

Society rewards what it values. That is why my IT jobs pays well but my gigs don’t come close.

[StanJohanson]

I sat on my stuff for close to 26 years. Changed careers 3 times and just recently decided to publish them. I have always used music to keep my sanity. Due to my location I never really had the chance to test them in the real world. With today's technology it is easier to reach more people at any budget that you set for yourself.

[trinitytunes]

Great essential info for is so key to success....younger people need to learn this so badly....thanks again.

[aeksinsang]

was hard in early 20's when reality kicks in.

[damien]

I giggled all the way through that and read the comments with a smile, I have another hobby/skill.... Photography, and the same advise runs through that communication network, but EXACTLY the same. The cost of the equipment ~ think guitars are expensive? ~ The thousands of hours honing the skills, the hours of editing work on not-cheap software using not-cheap computers, and the requests are identical: Weddings, gig's, event's, charities, on and on and on and on. But without fail you will get offered the 'exposure' comment, the 'good cause' line, "its just a few hours and a couple of clicks" crap. Then do something they aren't happy with and life as we know it will end.
As soon as the stories start in photos, my normal defunct factory setting response: "Got a phone? Does it have a camera? Use it"
Same would go for music: "Got a phone? Download music and share your headphones"

[JulianFernandez]

On point tips. Young folks, listen up! Shed more and spend less! :D

[lenzoid]

Hello Andrew, very interesting video. Just a quick thought: time is more than just money. Time is invaluable. There's a saying that goes like, money that has been spent can be earned back, time can never be regained.

[jaym]

Thank you for some very valuable insight / thought regarding music & were a person wants to go with it, I think that this issue is not thought about much or too late very good subject to bring up, for me I think about part time teaching due to health reasons, but I keep an open mind because " ya never know what can happen that you never saw coming !", .

[wolowolowolo]

I'm a pro drummer and I've been thinking about quitting...

[jamesduff]

Humans don't live long enough life spans to be able to pursue their passions.

[protoolsfanatic]

1 out of a million make a living in a band. music industry blows chunks. 1 million for them 1$ for you. unless you are Metallica or Paul Mcartney, Mick Jagger, do not expect to make alot of money. 1 contract=bankruptcy for most. use online for advertising and then get 12 songs or so mix and mastered (make sure they are catchy tunes) and sell them on distrokid.

[vaughnutube]

Been theorizing (perhaps more like speculating?) that 'Apple Inc' (and other like tech companies) stole the wealth of the musicians for at least a generation. Surprised no one has gotten together and started a class action suit against these giants? Think about it ... the only reason anyone ever needed an iPod was to listen to pirated music. Today with sites like Patreon ... Apple's days are likely numbered. Which means there will be plenty of new opportunities to come ... perhaps now some of the wealth can be shared directly a little more equally with all musicians and their creative guides. Thanks for your blog ... always very interesting.