This is just a quick rant before I go to bed.
A Facebook friend of mine (and a wicked awesome guitar player) just posted this article on musicians getting paid. Read it. Read it before you read my comments. Ok, you read it now? Then here are my comments…
I couldn’t DISAGREE with this article more.
Listen, the world doesn’t owe you anything. Just because you practiced and studied and composed doesn’t mean that what you do is valuable to anyone besides you. The worst thing you can do for your music career, from my humble perspective, is to adopt a sense of entitlement. That is the fast track to becoming jaded and burnt out and a failure.
Music is not a business. It’s not a good or a service. It’s an ART. Art expresses, art probes, art challenges, and art entertains. Expression/challenge/entertainment are not things that anybody really NEEDS. The entertainment industry is by definition expendable.
No one NEEDS entertainment, but many people WANT entertainment. And it is from that angle that I humbly suggest to you that your job as a musician is to demonstrate to anyone and everyone that you have what they want.
A few years ago a band asked me to sit in with them on a benefit gig. This was a band that I admired and paid attention to but had never worked for, in large part because they were bigger, more successful, and “cooler” than I was. But they asked me to join them, and they didn’t offer me any money for it. Condescending, right? I jumped at the opportunity, and I was pumped. The reality is that I knew I could hang on their level (because of my extensive practice/studying/etc) but had never had the opportunity to demonstrate that. I grabbed the chance when it came and I nailed it. The band has hired me several times since then.
The pattern I just mentioned has repeated itself time and time again for me during my career. I take MANY low-paying or even pro bono gigs, but I always bring my A-game. Networking happens when you least expect it, but it doesn’t happen at all unless you show up. If I’d had an unwavering dollar figure standing between me and showing up I would have missed out on basically everything I have going right now.
“Don’t work for free” is a BS motto for musicians. How about this one instead: “Try your hardest every chance you get.” Musicians spend a LOT of time trying super hard and not getting compensated for it. That’s part of the deal. But it doesn’t suck, because real musicians love music! They love playing their instrument, they love practicing their instrument, they love playing music with others, and they love playing music all by themselves. They love listening to new music and they love going to see other musicians that they’ve never seen before and they love revisiting old familiar records that they haven’t heard in years. Oh, what’s that? You don’t love those things? THEN WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS FOR? Playing music isn’t about making money. It’s about doing what you love, and doing it so much, until you become so good at it, that somehow you manage to cheat the universe and find yourself in situations where people actually give you money to do the thing that you love.
If money is all you want then go get a real job. I’m serious right now. Being a musician is not a real job… it’s a totally awesome privilege, and you don’t deserve that privilege just because you went to music school.
The world doesn’t owe you anything. But you can make them think they do… if you have the opportunity to show them. Take that opportunity wherever and whenever it appears.
Rant over.
HT: Jon Visser
The Steve Goold Blog 
11 comments
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April 18, 2012 at 10:33 pm
Jesse
I would agree with just about everything you said except for the part about getting a “real job”. Just because you feel privileged and blessed to be able to support your family by doing what you love doesn’t mean it isn’t a “real job”. My dad has his own business and loves what he does just as much as I love playing music.
I’m incredibly thankful and blessed to be able to currently play music full time. I’m also aware that I may not be a full time musician my whole life.
I love what you said about always trying your hardest and importance of networking. The hang is a big deal.
April 19, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Steve Goold
Right on, Jesse. I’m using that phrase from the angle that “real jobs” are things that people don’t really want to do but do anyway because it pays the bills… and I’m also hoping to conjure the image of somebody’s dad telling them that music will never work out for them and they should get a real job.
April 19, 2012 at 6:11 am
Nicki Jones
Amen, brother. Amen.
April 20, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Bill R
You’re right, Steve. Pro bono work can definitely lead to more work in the future. But there’s a balance there too. You can’t work for free forever. Most teachers I know don’t teach for free just because they’re in it for the children. I see nothing wrong with being compensated for services rendered.
I think the catch (and what you’re probably saying as well) is don’t become a musician (or artist, or sports star, etc) with the expectation that you deserve and will always make compensation for what you do.
Same can be said for any industry/career. Just because you “ARE” a _____ doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a lifetime position and prosperity. Gotta have a marketable product/talents.
In regard to that article, if the olympics don’t want to pay for the musicians and you’re a musician, then you decide if it’s worth it or not. Some might say yes, some no. I can’t say either decision is the wrong one in this case.
Music is not a business? Mmm, sometimes it is. If you create something (music, widgets, whatever) you have the right to either give it away or sell it. No matter how much you love what you do, you can’t always give it away for free. That’s a personal choice.
April 25, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Joel Bowers
I love you.
May 1, 2012 at 2:38 pm
JoeS
Here’s the same idea from a song-writer perspective:
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2012/Jan/Making_ome_Dough_Re_Me_with_Your_Mu_ic.aspx
May 1, 2012 at 9:53 pm
Vicky
This post is amazing, Steve. Love every fricking word.
May 11, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Alex
Good take on this Steve. Your comments on entitlement remind me of a great book on what motivates people called Drive, by Daniel Pink. His research showed that in jobs utilizing creativity (as opposed to repetitive-type work), rewards often have deleterious effect on both performance and personal satisfaction. Obviously, musicians need money to live but your take on avoiding entitlement, music as art/entertainment is right on.
June 22, 2012 at 9:47 am
Joel Stucki
Steve, I certainly agree with you about entitlement. Nobody is really “entitled” to anything. As Zoro says in “The Big Gig,” you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate. Sometimes I play for free. Most of the time I don’t. And often I play for less than I would like. But I always give 100%.
What I have a problem with is your implication that if I insist on being paid, I must not love music enough. That, my friend, is complete baloney. I have a friend who loves being a CPA, but she won’t do your taxes for free. My pastor loves preaching, but no one is suggesting that he stop taking a salary. Sure, some musicians only care about money, just like in any line of work. But you can’t paint everyone with the same brush here. I’m just trying to feed my family. I’m trying to do that by playing music, because I love it, and because if I didn’t play I think I would explode.
Music may not be a regular job, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a profession. It’s a highly skilled profession, and professionals get paid, period. If you want to play for free, maybe YOU should get a real job so you don’t need it to put food on the table.
June 22, 2012 at 11:52 am
Joel Stucki
Steve, I want to apologize for the tone of my last post. I’m really struggling financially right now, so your post struck a nerve, and I took it as a personal attack, which it probably wasn’t. The fact is, I’m playing a run of gigs this month that I really enjoy doing, but it pays really low (less than minimum wage) and so I’m wondering how I’m going to pay rent in August. It’s a question of survival, not entitlement. I’ve had regular menial jobs for 14 years trying to make it as a professional musician. I can swallow my pride and do what I have to do to put food on the table. But I have never never never seen volunteer work lead to anything but more volunteer work. If I become known as a guy who plays for free, who in the world would ever pay me? With that approach, I’d be working in a grocery store for the rest of my life, never being able to take an opportunity to play because I can’t afford the time off work. Eventually I’d have to stop pursuing music altogether. I hope this is making sense.
June 25, 2012 at 8:25 am
Steve Goold
Joel… I can tell you are a good dude. Thanks for your post and for your apology! Nice.
I think we’re probably on the same page man. I’m certainly not saying that the only way to prove your love for music is to work for free. The point I’m making is that the cream always rises to the top, and that we should all consider ANY gig to be an opportunity to present yourself to the music world and let them determine if we are “the cream” or not. If you really believe in yourself then taking pro bono gigs can be looked at as just one more way to get your foot in the door. When I back up one step from there I find that it’s only because I’ve practiced a TON that I believe in myself, and backing up one step further I see that the reason I practiced a ton isn’t because I want to make money but because I love it so much.
So then, the order is: 1) love it, therefore… 2) strive hard after it, therefore… 3) become really skilled, therefore… 4) become in demand, therefore… 5) start making money. Those last few steps are just simple economics. The article I linked to, which I was reacting against, seemed to suggest a very different order of simply getting a degree in music performance and then demanding that people give you money to play music, while not really every mentioning the KEY ingredient of QUALITY.
Does that clarification help?