Being a musician...what a nightmare!

Bah, music was too unpredictable to make a living so what did I do instead? Science!
 
One year contracts and hoping you can get a grant every year so you can keep your job, awesome. Why did I do this again?

ViolinTheater


The life of a musician is not based nearly as much on skill/actual musicianship as it is on looks, politics, whom you know, etc.  Very much so in rock music, but even more so in classical. The jobs one gets, or even what music school they go to are determined by their beliefs, how they look, who they know, whose ass they kissed, etc.
 

 
I think this is just a reality of life. I don't think I can think of any one industry that isn't augmented by who you know, asses kissed, and so forth. The biggest thing I see with a lot of folks that really get in the way of a successful career in anything is the lack of followthrough. This can be applied to anything: following up on contacts, replicating results, finishing the project, updating the site, whatever. Music is portrayed as being glamorous, but anyone who has spent anymore than just piddle-time knows that a majority making music is anything BUT glamorous. Bullshit is just a part of every job; it is sort of a job expectation. So much so, that it isn't even included on any job description. 

ViolinTheater


Sorry to rain on the parade, but anyone who says "Follow your dream!  Think big and you'll get there!" is an ideologist, and a delusional one at that.

True but the only people who actually make it are people who are delusional enough to believe they can make it.  I say follow your dream because it beats the alternative of doing something else and wondering "what if?" your whole life.  There's always time later on in life to cut your hair and get a real job.  

gmoneymcfly2k

Bullshit is just a part of every job; it is sort of a job expectation. So much so, that it isn't even included on any job description.  

Word.  Every job, including musician, has some pointless bullshit aspect that generally isn't fun for very long.  This is why education today has become more of an exercise in tolerating bullshit and navigating a system than straight forward education.  When you get an undergraduate degree it says little more than you have the ability to sufficiently navigate your way through day-to-bullshit and retain/regurgitate bullshit.  When you get an advanced degree it says that you are now proficient at creating day-to-day bullshit for others to deal with.  Doctorate degrees are the complete mastery of everything bullshit. :-)    

SeventhSon

When you get an undergraduate degree it says little more than you have the ability to sufficiently navigate your way through day-to-bullshit and retain/regurgitate bullshit.  When you get an advanced degree it says that you are now proficient at creating day-to-day bullshit for others to deal with.  Doctorate degrees are the complete mastery of everything bullshit. :-)     

 
Pretty much how I feel about my degree!

There is also the "careful what you wish for" syndrome.
Here are a few things I learned:
#1. TOURING SUCKS. It pretty much sucks for everybody. It's lonely, alienating and exhausting. Even if you are making money, it still sucks. You're never alone, you have no say in where you are going today, where you will sleep, or how long the money will last.
#2. THE MUSIC INDUSTRY SUCKS- If you rolled together a bunch of carnies, drug addicts, prostitutes, dirt bags, and gangsters into a giant pile- there is the music business.
#3. VERY FEW PEOPLE CAN DO THIS- You might admire Mike Portnoy, but you probably wouldn't want to be him. 99% of the people in the world could not handle the pressures and work load.
 
I am somewhat generalizing, but just food for thought.
 

gmoneymcfly2k

SeventhSon

When you get an undergraduate degree it says little more than you have the ability to sufficiently navigate your way through day-to-bullshit and retain/regurgitate bullshit.  When you get an advanced degree it says that you are now proficient at creating day-to-day bullshit for others to deal with.  Doctorate degrees are the complete mastery of everything bullshit. :-)     

Pretty much how I feel about my degree!

 
Well, I was just making a joke, but it is kind of true.  I look at my degree as proof I can suffer horrible challenges and get through on the seat of my pants!  Still, I think being a musician is going to have the same level of bullshit, just different bullshit.  The few pro musicians I know lead very difficult lives but they are relatively happy.  I'd do it now because it would be pure fun in the right situation, but I wouldn't want to try to raise kids or make the mortgage payment off of music.

I would add that my professional career began 20 years ago- when following the "tried and true" path of traditional avenues was a lot more stable. Honestly, things are so screwed up with our society right now that there is a strong argument for bucking the system and doing it yourself and doing art for art's sake.
I know that contradicts some of my bitching about the music industry- but that industry is changing also.
Like everything else- there is a movement happening against centralized power structures such as record companies, which I have dealt with. Record companies are just money vacuums in my eyes.
There is always a reason to chase the dream, I still am. The dream just changes. Definitely don't miss out on the promise of adventure.