Glitter and poverty: how to make a living if you are a musician
In the previous article, we talked about how the digital revolution affected the earnings of musicians. Today, for many groups, the sale of albums and singles is not even able to recoup the cost of recording music, not to mention profit. In such a situation, musicians have to look for alternative sources of income. We will begin to talk about them in this article.
Photo by Andy Lee / Unsplash
The only way to guarantee a stable income while doing music is to work in another field in parallel. This is not a new phenomenon, but recently it has become simply impossible to make music the main source of income for many. It is not surprising that the overwhelming majority of groups that do not reach the status of "superstars" live on wages.
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Take, for example, the Japanese rock band toe . She has loyal fans, she regularly tours around the world, but three out of four of her participants are simultaneously busy at another job. One of the guitarists is an interior designer , the other is a sound engineer, and the bass player is a shoe designer . Office work does not fit well with the concert schedule; therefore, the “main” professions of such musicians are mostly creative.
Alternative genres, such as black metal - one of the main directions of the Norwegian "music for export" - is no exception to the rule. Many of the legendary performers who created this phenomenon lead quite a normal lifestyle. Harvard Ellefsen (HĂĄvard Ellefsen), formerly the bassist of the Emperor , is busy at several jobs at the same time to feed his family.
According to him , for the majority of performers, the music industry is just a way to spend money. Nocturno Culto, vocalist of Darkthrone, works as a schoolteacher , and his band mate has gone into politics . They rarely go on tour, so they can afford "sedentary" profession.
Combining musical activity with the usual work is not easy. It is necessary to allocate time for rehearsals, sound recordings, tours, and at the same time not go bankrupt and not go crazy. Therefore, some performers go on tour as often as they can - in the hope that concert fees will help them to devote themselves fully to music and come out "in plus."
But life “on wheels” is not as glamorous as it may seem. Many people like to present the tour as an endless vacation with the defeat of hotel rooms, breakfast martinis and crowds of “ groups ”. Reality is harder and even worse for health than this teenage fantasy.
Photo by Michael Benz / Unsplash
Since earnings from music sales have declined markedly, there are more people willing to play live. This allowed concert venues to increase control over pricing. Festivals pay performers as much as they want . Many groups, even quite popular ones, have to go on tour “in minus”. For them, concerts are advertising projects.
Pomplamoose , a group known for non-standard covers of radio hits and original material on the verge of genres, in 2014 arranged a tour of America. At that time, their music was already heard in television advertising, and on social networks they had millions of views and hundreds of thousands of subscribers. But this tour did not become profitable. At the end of the tour, their keyboard player published a post in which he described the financial side of the situation .
The general public condemns them for fresh improvisations and the tendency of fans to use relaxing substances during concerts. Their payback is rather an exception to the rule.
Some performers survive by adding variety to their music portfolio. They play in several groups at once. For jazz musicians this is the norm.
Outstanding British pianist Keith Downes (Kit Downes), in addition to his own projects, plays in nine different bands. True, this is also not a guarantee of stable earnings. Nels Cline (Nels Cline), now known as the guitarist of the group Wilco, has been building a jazz career for many years.
Klein's name graced dozens of releases, both as a frontman and comma-separated, as a minor participant in the project. However, he had to work as a salesman in a record store to feed himself.
Photo by David Sarkisov / Unsplash
There is always a demand for good drummers. Therefore, it is easier for them than for other musicians to become part of a large number of groups. Takashi Kashikura (from Takashi Kashikura) from toe is involved in a number of side projects of varying degrees of success, which allows him to finance personal creativity. He is a drummer at The Hiatus, a commercial supergroup that collects stadiums. In addition, Takashi works in a studio with a variety of bands, from avant-garde fusion performers to production projects.
A similar life leads Zohar Barzilai , brother of last year's Eurovision winner Netta . He is one of the most popular drummers in Israel, and tours with a large number of bands.
At one end of the spectrum of his colleagues is Liron Amram, the rising star of the independent Israeli scene. On the other is Arkady Dukhin, the author of popular radio hits. Among Russian musicians, one can cite as an example the flutist, keyboard player and singer Yana Nikolenko . He is known for working with four groups, alternating between “commercial” and “personal” projects. His activities in the groups "BI-2" and "Spleen" supported the recording of material for the "Oedipus Complex" and "Networks".
Unfortunately, all the success stories described in this section are one. These musicians found large commercial projects that took them under the wing and allowed them to finance independent work. Playing in twenty groups for free is just as useless as playing in one unpopular team. But if people from popular groups will pay attention to independent work and invite you to play to yourself, this is, of course, an option.
PS At this point we do not finish the story. In the following materials we will talk about how and who “exploits” its brand, is engaged in crowdfunding and commercial music.
Additional reading from our “World Hi-Fi” and Telegram channel:
“I want music, but I don’t want this”: how to start working in the music industry
Nick Cave: “Maybe rock music doesn't deserve to be saved”
What is 8D audio - discussing the new trend
Technological musical instruments up to the 20th century
Music in movies and TV shows that we hear too often
Sometime popular audio gadgets that are already out of date
Vinyl instead of a postage stamp: an unusual rarity
Photo by Andy Lee / Unsplash
"Normal" work
The only way to guarantee a stable income while doing music is to work in another field in parallel. This is not a new phenomenon, but recently it has become simply impossible to make music the main source of income for many. It is not surprising that the overwhelming majority of groups that do not reach the status of "superstars" live on wages.
')
Take, for example, the Japanese rock band toe . She has loyal fans, she regularly tours around the world, but three out of four of her participants are simultaneously busy at another job. One of the guitarists is an interior designer , the other is a sound engineer, and the bass player is a shoe designer . Office work does not fit well with the concert schedule; therefore, the “main” professions of such musicians are mostly creative.
Alternative genres, such as black metal - one of the main directions of the Norwegian "music for export" - is no exception to the rule. Many of the legendary performers who created this phenomenon lead quite a normal lifestyle. Harvard Ellefsen (HĂĄvard Ellefsen), formerly the bassist of the Emperor , is busy at several jobs at the same time to feed his family.
According to him , for the majority of performers, the music industry is just a way to spend money. Nocturno Culto, vocalist of Darkthrone, works as a schoolteacher , and his band mate has gone into politics . They rarely go on tour, so they can afford "sedentary" profession.
It is not necessary to play music of niche genres to experience financial difficulties. The Brooklyn rapper Ka , whose latest album featured in the “ best hip-hop releases of the year ” lists and was warmly received by critics, still works as a fireman . His musical career began more than 20 years ago.
Concert Tours: Forced Evil
Combining musical activity with the usual work is not easy. It is necessary to allocate time for rehearsals, sound recordings, tours, and at the same time not go bankrupt and not go crazy. Therefore, some performers go on tour as often as they can - in the hope that concert fees will help them to devote themselves fully to music and come out "in plus."
But life “on wheels” is not as glamorous as it may seem. Many people like to present the tour as an endless vacation with the defeat of hotel rooms, breakfast martinis and crowds of “ groups ”. Reality is harder and even worse for health than this teenage fantasy.
Photo by Michael Benz / Unsplash
Since earnings from music sales have declined markedly, there are more people willing to play live. This allowed concert venues to increase control over pricing. Festivals pay performers as much as they want . Many groups, even quite popular ones, have to go on tour “in minus”. For them, concerts are advertising projects.
Pomplamoose , a group known for non-standard covers of radio hits and original material on the verge of genres, in 2014 arranged a tour of America. At that time, their music was already heard in television advertising, and on social networks they had millions of views and hundreds of thousands of subscribers. But this tour did not become profitable. At the end of the tour, their keyboard player published a post in which he described the financial side of the situation .
They earned about a hundred thousand dollars from ticket sales. At the same time, the total costs of transport, accommodation, food, insurance, technical support, printing of posters and other expenses exceeded this amount by 47 thousand dollars.Of course, there are groups whose entire image is based on concert performances. In the past, these were the Grateful Dead , now their "spiritual heirs" Phish . They barely focus on studio recordings, and each of their concerts is a unique experience, which many compare to religious . Thanks to this, Phish fans often go on tour with the band and attend several shows for the tour at once. Musicians monetize the process and conduct a paid live broadcast of their concerts. But despite the success, Phish remains a very niche group.
If most of this money did not come from the personal savings of the musicians (well, that they had savings), it would be impossible in principle to go on such a tour (taking into account the sale of merchandise and financial support from sponsors, the group’s loss amounted to almost $ 12 thousand.). Suddenly, touring life doesn't seem so attractive.
The general public condemns them for fresh improvisations and the tendency of fans to use relaxing substances during concerts. Their payback is rather an exception to the rule.
Side projects
Some performers survive by adding variety to their music portfolio. They play in several groups at once. For jazz musicians this is the norm.
Outstanding British pianist Keith Downes (Kit Downes), in addition to his own projects, plays in nine different bands. True, this is also not a guarantee of stable earnings. Nels Cline (Nels Cline), now known as the guitarist of the group Wilco, has been building a jazz career for many years.
Klein's name graced dozens of releases, both as a frontman and comma-separated, as a minor participant in the project. However, he had to work as a salesman in a record store to feed himself.
Photo by David Sarkisov / Unsplash
There is always a demand for good drummers. Therefore, it is easier for them than for other musicians to become part of a large number of groups. Takashi Kashikura (from Takashi Kashikura) from toe is involved in a number of side projects of varying degrees of success, which allows him to finance personal creativity. He is a drummer at The Hiatus, a commercial supergroup that collects stadiums. In addition, Takashi works in a studio with a variety of bands, from avant-garde fusion performers to production projects.
A similar life leads Zohar Barzilai , brother of last year's Eurovision winner Netta . He is one of the most popular drummers in Israel, and tours with a large number of bands.
At one end of the spectrum of his colleagues is Liron Amram, the rising star of the independent Israeli scene. On the other is Arkady Dukhin, the author of popular radio hits. Among Russian musicians, one can cite as an example the flutist, keyboard player and singer Yana Nikolenko . He is known for working with four groups, alternating between “commercial” and “personal” projects. His activities in the groups "BI-2" and "Spleen" supported the recording of material for the "Oedipus Complex" and "Networks".
Unfortunately, all the success stories described in this section are one. These musicians found large commercial projects that took them under the wing and allowed them to finance independent work. Playing in twenty groups for free is just as useless as playing in one unpopular team. But if people from popular groups will pay attention to independent work and invite you to play to yourself, this is, of course, an option.
PS At this point we do not finish the story. In the following materials we will talk about how and who “exploits” its brand, is engaged in crowdfunding and commercial music.
Additional reading from our “World Hi-Fi” and Telegram channel:
“I want music, but I don’t want this”: how to start working in the music industry Nick Cave: “Maybe rock music doesn't deserve to be saved” What is 8D audio - discussing the new trend Technological musical instruments up to the 20th century Music in movies and TV shows that we hear too often Sometime popular audio gadgets that are already out of date Vinyl instead of a postage stamp: an unusual raritySource: https://habr.com/ru/post/451400/
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