You see, the problem with music is this - we musicians want to spend our lives making music, we want to be those people that we grew up listening to, we want to be our idols, our heroes.
We want to be big rock stars, touring the globe, jet setting all around the world, jumping from stage to stage, tour bus to tour bus. We want to be rich, have a big house with a pool.
We want it all.
The problem is, most of us don't have a clue how to get there.
The problem is, we have no idea, looking in from the outside what it all entails, what is involved in getting to that point - how many years it takes to make it 'big', how many shows need to be played for minimal or no pay at all, we have no idea what's the right combination or formula of fans, shows, merchandise, marketing, record sales, etc needed to make a decent living off of music.
Then if we get to that point where money starts coming in, how many extra players are involved - publishers, publicists, managers, booking agents, record labels? And what is their cut from our piece of the pie?
The music biz is not exactly a tried and true formula - if you do x, then y will happen. It's not like that at all.
It's not like a regular job that you go to school for, if you study chemistry you will get a job in a chemical field. It's not fool-proof at all.
The music industry is not as well laid out as that. It's a maze, with many paths and the problem is, all us amateur or semi-pro musicians are all trying to get a piece of the pie, but we might not have the right utensils, heck even many pro musicians are struggling financially.
And how do you continue in a field of work if the income is haphazard and sporadic? Which other professional field do you ever hear of people selling or giving away their services for 'exposure'? Do you ever hear of a newly graduated doctor or lawyer giving away their services cheaply?
And you think that would discourage everyone to get out of this business, but no, the opposite is happening.
And the question is 'why'?
And the only answer is that the love of music, is irrational at best.
And perhaps all us musicians are irrational at best.
And maybe that's our problem.
But how else do we solve it? It's either we get off the boat, or just keep on with it.
Whether we make it big, or just tinkle away in our rooms, music is such a joy.
We want to be big rock stars, touring the globe, jet setting all around the world, jumping from stage to stage, tour bus to tour bus. We want to be rich, have a big house with a pool.
We want it all.
The problem is, most of us don't have a clue how to get there.
The problem is, we have no idea, looking in from the outside what it all entails, what is involved in getting to that point - how many years it takes to make it 'big', how many shows need to be played for minimal or no pay at all, we have no idea what's the right combination or formula of fans, shows, merchandise, marketing, record sales, etc needed to make a decent living off of music.
Then if we get to that point where money starts coming in, how many extra players are involved - publishers, publicists, managers, booking agents, record labels? And what is their cut from our piece of the pie?
The music biz is not exactly a tried and true formula - if you do x, then y will happen. It's not like that at all.
It's not like a regular job that you go to school for, if you study chemistry you will get a job in a chemical field. It's not fool-proof at all.
The music industry is not as well laid out as that. It's a maze, with many paths and the problem is, all us amateur or semi-pro musicians are all trying to get a piece of the pie, but we might not have the right utensils, heck even many pro musicians are struggling financially.
And how do you continue in a field of work if the income is haphazard and sporadic? Which other professional field do you ever hear of people selling or giving away their services for 'exposure'? Do you ever hear of a newly graduated doctor or lawyer giving away their services cheaply?
And you think that would discourage everyone to get out of this business, but no, the opposite is happening.
And the question is 'why'?
And the only answer is that the love of music, is irrational at best.
And perhaps all us musicians are irrational at best.
And maybe that's our problem.
But how else do we solve it? It's either we get off the boat, or just keep on with it.
Whether we make it big, or just tinkle away in our rooms, music is such a joy.
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