A job is a job is a job is a job some might say — as long as you bring in the dollareuroyenpounds to pay the bills.
Not quite.
Try rent a house, open a new account or get a loan where you have to write down “musician” next to occupation. Although the look on your attendant’s face is priceless, especially if she is in her early/mid twenties, it doesn’t do much for your chances of succeeding.
Coming from a pretty stock standard Afrikaans suburban upbringing, you can imagine what the family has to say about it as well.
This business has an uncanny amount of organisers, booking agents, hippies, kak bands, horrible venues, promoters, media and sound companies that one needs to wade through to get a decent 45 minutes on stage. Not that all of them are dreadful, just most.
Some might think that the ripe old age of 27 is too old to still be dabbling around in “this music business”, but I assure you that I’m still earning the same, if not more, than I did in my job as a copywriter.
I guess the irony in it all is that because one has had a “real job” so to speak, spent hours in boardrooms with all-knowing brand managers, done retail copy till it comes out of your first-stages-of-tinnitus ears and the constant promise of being able to do something “creative” this time around, is what makes me put more effort into my “art” (cause that’s what it’s supposed to be, right?)
Stick it to the man, or in his eye. Or in our case, his ears.
Bands are also brands, and many of the same, if not all, of the guidelines to building it applies. We also have to be careful of alienating our target markets (didn’t think I’d type that down any time soon) and like many of the well-known brands, we’ve also stepped in some unholy nonsense.
All adversity aside, being a full-time musician is essentially a pretty entertaining profession.
You get to travel the country (be it in an often semi-rotten tour bus), meet loads of interesting (a word used purely because there is no other way of describing them) people, fly to the most obscene airports and consume an immense amount of alcohol (at times).
And yes, I’ve seen a fair amount of the fairer sex throwing their stuff, and themselves, around with no repentance.
Now, you might be asking yourself why I am babbling about nothing in particular. That’s because this is an intro to what is to come in the near future.
If you would like to, we can go on a journey through the ins and outs, ups and downright dirty sides and facets of the music industry in the RS of A through the eyes and mind of a relatively successful, self-managed band member.
I’d still like to think, and it’s most probably true, that my job is at times a lot more compelling than yours.
Puff puff pass dude!
You look like a scollie!
Rock on or whatever!
I’m a photographer. I get “when are you gonna get a real job” thrown at me quite often – despite the fact that I’m 35, solvent, and get to go to some of the most awesome places and meet some of the country’s most beautiful and creative people.
Try getting a BMus … same story. People honestly seem to think that being a musician is not a real job – that somehow the fact that you enjoy it makes it play and not work. They will even go as far as asking you to play for free for their/their boet’s/sisters/dog’s wedding/party/whatever for free. I’m sorry, I don’t go to my doctor friends and ask for free consults.
On a serious note, the amount of value placed on most decent live music of all kinds is pathetic. People will willingly blow R40 on a absolutely horrendous movie at Cavendish, but um and ah about watching, say, an incredible live jazz act for the same price or less. Of course when Crapfest comes around, people sell their kids to get tickets. This is because international musicians are obviously better at playing outrageously easy riffs 500 times in a row then our own.
All I can say is that in 25 years we aren’t going to have any decent musicians left in this country. So many great musicians are hanging up their horns/guitars/drums/voices in favour of careers which actually reward their efforts. Sad but very true.
Freelance journalists have the same problem … especially if you have a home office where you spend 20 of each day’s 24 hours writing several articles all at once. That’s not a real job! A REAL job is traipsing into town each morning, sitting in an office for eight solid hours, shuffling papers around and getting paid a fixed salary each month. Living on the edge as a freelancer is just fiddling around every day to pass the time … Yeah, right. I’d like to see any corporate oukie put in the amount of hours – AND generate the amount of COMPLETED work – me and my freelance buddies do! Now there’s a challenge … You move into my world for a week and I’ll move into yours and we’ll see who cracks first …
In most people’s eyes/minds: a job is a job when it guarantees a monthly income in exchange for a (generally) monthly boredom and submission.
If you want to introduce insecurity into your income stream or “risk” into your chosen career path, you are by yourself.
Just enjoy your freedom of success and failure.
Advice: Spread your risk into a few related areas of expertise. Your income stream might become a lot safer and …larger.
Tart – implying that I smoke marijuana (probably better known as ‘dagga’ to you) is quite entertaining. We’ll keep it at that cause we all know insulting/making comments like that over the Internet is the easy way out. Oh, and it’s skollie, not scollie.
Gerry/Stephen – One thing I think we can agree on, is that we wouldn’t be doing this (struggling so to speak) if we didn’t love what we were doing.
Leoni/Benzol – I do freelance work on the side as well cause as you rightly mentioned Benzol, spreading ones risk is vital.
Whodathunk Rudi! Think this is a pretty nice way of “spreading your risk around”.
Apologies Rudi hadn’t meant to offend you…the comments were actually in reference to my latest singles… you see I too am a budding musician!
What do you think? Perhaps the titles need a bit of work?
Good luck with your career! I too will keep trying, now where did I put my guitar again? Oh yes, under my laptop…
What is a “scollie”?
Yah, what is a schollie? Uhm, actually music can be a big money spinner provided you’re good at it and yeh, if you’re patient.
I’m an accountant and I am always being told by my musician friends to get a real job. I’m so glad that I’m not the only one.