How To Be A Musician With A Day Job

Being a musician with a day job is tough. 

I get it. I am one.

You may work a career position, go to school, or raise children (which I also do).

And you might feel you lack the time, energy, and focus to really get your music career going. 

Good news. There are changes you can make today to balance music with your day job. 

And I want to share four of those changes. If you implement them, you can shift the trajectory of your career so it’s aiming where you want it to.

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Cybersecurity For Musicians

As a musician, you have many things to worry about. After all, you’re focused on writing songs, marketing, branding yourself, and preparing for that upcoming performance. You’re probably often on your phone or your laptop, and chances are you haven’t given much thought to cybersecurity. 

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Want To Make Money As A Musician? 4 Tips For Building A DIY Home Recording Studio

If you’re a musician with some experience in audio recording, owning and operating a home studio can be a good way to make some extra money on the side or even build a full-time business. While the earnings may not be huge at first, it’s entirely possible to make $20 an hour or more for recording, mixing and mastering songs. Here are four tips that will help you put together your home studio so you can start making money from it.

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How To Make A Living As A Singer

It’s every singer’s dream to have a career doing what they love, but the odds of becoming famous are, quite literally - one in a million.

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Make Yourself An Irreplaceable Musician

This ariticle originally appeared on the Sonicbids Blog

This may be difficult, but try to picture your role in the band. Not just as the drummer or guitarist, but seriously look at your significance in the group. Unfortunately, many musicians find themselves as “cogs” in the system. They show up to band practice, learn the songs just enough to get by, go home, and repeat the same process. While there could be far worse situations, being a “cog” doesn’t make you unique. In fact, it makes you entirely replaceable.

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4 Reasons Why Empowerment Is Important To Musicians

Musicians need empowerment to: 1. stay motivated even after demotivating comments 2. dare to broaden their horizons 3. get more out of it by knowing their abilities 4. prevent to get screwed over by the music business

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One Helluva Musical Butt Whoopin’

This article originally appeared on PowersPercussion.com

There’s nothing like stacking yourself up next to a heavyweight to remind you where you’re at on the totem pole! Over the years, I have had several opportunities to study and/or make music with some of the world’s best musicians. In many of those interactions, I have met the challenge and performed quite well, if I do say so myself. On the other hand, I’ve also had some encounters that have downright put me in my place.

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6 Things Musicians Should Know That They Don’t Teach You in Music School

“The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.” - Tom Bodett

Music schools might be great for really helping you fine-tune your musicianship skills, but there are some lessons that they don’t cover which you’ll need to know for your career. Here are six things that you should know that aren’t covered in curriculum:

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6 Bad Habits Most Musicians are Guilty Of

It’s hard being a musician these days. In addition to writing/performing music, we’re often bombarded with the need to maintain an online presence, deal with licensing contracts, book tours, work with promoters, find sponsors, record/mix/master/distribute CD’s, and more. Because the work can be overwhelming, it’s easy to fall into bad habits and do things that hurt, not help our careers. Here are some of the bad habits that musicians are guilty of:

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The Musician of Oz

The great and powerful, Wizard of Oz, presented himself as a supernatural, omniscient being.  However, he was revealed to be a much different individual, operating a complex facade of smoke screens and holograms, without any real power.  Musicians can put themselves in the same position as Oz did, by abusing the gap between the digital and dimensional worlds.

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Solving the Symphony Crisis

The major symphony orchestras in the United States are facing an increasingly dire financial situations – not just because of a decrease in consumer demand and a decade of economic recessions – but because of systemic, short-sighted and self-inflicted deficiencies in their current business models. But it doesn’t have to be like this.

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The Most Overrated Things in a Musician’s Career

Sometimes, we need to get our priorities straight. Sometimes, we need to learn to say “no” to the good so that we can say “yes” to the best. Other times, we need to not let perfection get in the way of productivity. How do we sort it all out? What do we need and when do we need it?

Let’s go over the most overrated ideas, services, and opportunities in a musician’s career. Please note: not all of these things are useless. In fact, some are quite essential but they should only be pursued at the right time. So, let’s get this thing going:

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Landing Musician-For-Hire Gigs with your Presskit

A musician-for-hire is someone who provides a service to an event coordinator, talent buyer, or group of people that caters to the event’s specific needs and generates a notable yearly income. 

You know, the guy that’s singing “Don’t Stop Believing” in the background of a picture-perfect wedding reception, or the guy kicking off “Hava Nagila” at the most anticipated Bar Mitzvah of the year. Even the cover band at the coolest bar in town is an example of musicians-for-hire work. There’s plenty of work like this out there for us to make a living from - but how do you set yourself apart from the rest of the bands trying to compete for these kind of gigs?

Well, although there’s no short answer, there are several steps you can take to set yourself ahead of the competition and create a “wow-factor” for yourself. Indulge:

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My Ever-Changing Career as a Musician

When I was in college, I held several part time jobs to make ends meet. One of those part time jobs was playing guitar at a few restaurants every month. Nothing glamorous, but I was happy to be playing guitar. I started keeping track of how much money I made on those gigs to see if I could justify quitting one of the other part time jobs.

It turns out keeping a detailed list of my music income has served me well over the last 10 years. I was eventually able to justify quitting all of my day jobs and become a full time musician, and since being a full time musician, I’m able to keep a finger on the pulse of my various streams of musician income. Just as a shop owner keeps track of her inventory and carries whatever products are in demand, I’ve been able to assess and adjust my inventory of music jobs that keep me in business.

Over the last 10 years the way I make a living has changed dramatically. I’ve never made a lot of money, but I’ve been able to make more each year despite the changes in the music industry and economy in general. Here’s my method and what I’ve learned along the way.

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