Be Your Own Boss

Ahoy!

Growing up, there was some apprehension from my parents around my desire to be a musician. Society (at least in the US) doesn’t view it as a “real job” and now as an educator I hear many students saying things like “my parents want me to find something more stable.” These views are not limited to music but transfer to all the arts fields. American culture definitely views musicians as “less thans” unless their cranking out Top 40 hits that have little to no musical value. The life of a musician is certainly atypical compared to a 9-5 job but is sustainable and can be a viable career path.

First things first, I’ve never worked harder in my life than the times that I lived solely based on my music income. I’ve noticed that most people think I only “work” for the 2-4 hours I’m playing that night's gig. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The amount of effort it takes just to book the gig would stagger most people but then factor in personal practice time, band rehearsals, consulting visual arts to create posters, hanging posters, doing radio interviews, and social media updates, and I often feel like I’m working every second I’m awake. Mind you this isn’t a complaint. I LOVE doing all that work. It’s my passion and it is far more work than most non musicians realize.

The second thing I believe leads people to think that being an artist of any kind isn’t sustainable is because it isn’t immediate. There are so many career fields waiting for you to graduate college and be hired. This is not the life you will lead as an independent artist. Being a musician means putting the time in to make meaningful connections and slowly building your personal empire. This takes a lot more time depending on everything from which city you’re in to how business savvy you are. As a result society has come to think that we’re either not working or we're in dead end jobs. We are not; we’re following our dream where ever it leads us.

Now, there are a couple big things we can do as musicians to help shift society's view of us. The absolute rule I live by is this: I am self employed, not unemployed. Even in the times that I worked part time in a factory or as a substitute teacher I always said I was self employed. You HAVE to think of yourself as an independent contractor. As such, you have to learn the business end of your career. Learn how to write up invoices for services, do your taxes properly, and learn the ropes like any small business owner would do. If you don’t treat yourself like a professional, no one else will.

The thing I have found that separates “successful” musicians from those who left for “more stable” jobs is this: successful musicians never give up. Never, under any circumstances, give up on your dream. I’m not saying go broke, end up homeless, and live in a world of delusion. You also can’t define your success based on how famous you are or how many social media followers you have. You can only plan for the things YOU can control. You might have to take that part time job to survive for a few months, but have an end goal. Give yourself a timeline for when you’ll quit and be fully independent on profits from your music. You just have to put all of your spare time into the music after work. Don’t slack off. If you’re putting in the hours, and trying to become your best version, it will happen. You might have to pursue other avenues of music than you expected. Maybe you’ll end up teaching at a studio, or playing in Broadway pits, or any number of things, but the market is there. The desire for YOUR music is there.

Be a professional, never give up, work hard, and be kind to everyone. You will be successful.

Until next time,

Heard