Whenever people tell me they think the life of a gigging musician is cool I always tell them the same thing: “It ain’t glamorous”. This doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, I love it; however, it’s a ton of work for not much money. That’s not to say that some people don’t make great money playing music, but for most of us mortals it is a pursuit of love, and at best small remuneration.
I always think of sports when I consider analogies of the music world. You might have great game, but unless you’re in the NBA you’re not going to make much money. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go bust chops on the playground, just keep things in perspective. The same guy who told me Satch did me a disservice by not teaching me to read also said, “You’ll never make any money in music”. I don’t think he meant me exclusively, but rather was referring to the universal one, as in “one will never make any money playing music”.
Just like the Satch comment, I took umbrage at this one as well, but again, he was more or less right. I have made my living as a full-time musician for over 15 years but I still haven’t even come close to getting rich from it. I think that was his point. Would I do anything else? Not a chance!
Bootsy Collins
Another thing I always tell people is that music is a young man’s game, at least rock music is. What this means is that if you are in your teens or early 20s now is the time to dig in and do it, the older you get the harder it is to pursue the rock star dream. Doing a band right is a 24/7 proposition. If you are not prepared to dedicate yourself to this extent then there is no hope, period. Playing gigs is just one part of your job as a budding rock star.
You must constantly promote your product. What this means is: keeping your bios and photos up to date, making contacts with new venues while maintaining relationships with old ones, rehearsing, recording, constantly making contacts with people in the industry. If you really want to get the exposure you need you will need to tour. This requires even more planning, time and money, which most likely will be coming out of your own pocket. And of course, you will always be carrying heavy gear, back and forth, in and out, up and down… You will need to make this money with a job that you somehow try to fit around your non-conforming schedule as a performing musician.
And you must produce product, which means you must constantly be practicing, writing, and trying to find the funds to adequately record your project so that it can be given its proper presentation. All this takes a lot of time and hard work, which is even more difficult if you have a full-time job, a wife, children. This is why it is a young man’s game.
Eddie Van Halen
Ok, now that the lecture is over here is some handy advice. One: club owners don’t give a rat’s ass about your band. Clubs make money selling booze; if a lot of people buy a lot of booze while your band is playing clubs will like you, even if you suck. If there is no one in the club you will not be asked back, even if you are the best band in town. At the small-time level, cover bands make more money than original bands.
If you really want to make money playing music you might consider playing in a cover band, or incorporating a significant number of covers into your set; however, playing in a cover band is often eerily similar to a day job, but with worse hours.
Another thing to consider: most musicians aren’t pulling for you. This is unfortunate but true. For every guy that makes it there are a thousand who don’t, and every one of them thinks they should have. This means that you end up with a lot of bitter, catty musicians out there who would just assume you were dead so that there was one less mouth to feed in the fish pond of gigs.
One more thing: if it’s not in writing you will probably get screwed. Decide what you expect to receive for playing a gig before you play it and get it in writing.
Roberty Murphy and Gordon Kahan; Sybil
So now you think I’m the most depressing person in the world, right? Well, yeah, you probably are right. But I’m just looking out for you. And of course, there are exceptions to everything I stated above. There are a few clubs that value great music, and they might even bring you back if they like you, even if you have no following. Not all musicians are spiteful. You might hit it big and make a lot of money. I can promise you it won’t happen unless you are the toughest, most dedicated person in your field.
Make your band YOUR BAND, don’t follow trends. Be supportive of your peers, they will support you in turn. Never give up. Be realistic. Have fun!
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