Part Time Musician
Updated: Dec 14, 2022
We hear it all the time... I mean, that was the ultimate dream and I lived it for some years of my life! What am I talking about?; Well, being a "Full Time Musician"!
The joy I thought that would bring to me! Making and performing music full time!
Whilst there is nothing wrong with making and performing music full time, most successful Musicians, Artists, Singers, understand the business side that is required to power their music!
Many have been ashamed to say that they have a side business, a side job..... I mean that means they are failing in music right?
How wrong (In our opinion) that thought is!
Most of us would agree, our music career is infact expensive! It costs thousands of pounds! And realistically, we need a strategy to help fund it!
We can go for a bank loan (most labels do this by the way) and there is nothing wrong with going for a bank loan... If, you have a strategy to pay back the loan that is! Or.... we can work hard, segmenting our art life into music and business!
There's nothing wrong with being a part-time professional musician!
Whilst we understand that not all jobs are arty, there are many fields of work that are!
And the truth be told, it is easier to meet strategic music partners in the corporate world!
What does the average professional musician earn?
Did you know that your average (professional) full time musician earns about £28,704 a year? Top experience musicians as at September 2021 were earning a maximum wage of £31,000 a year according to Payscale.com . Yes, you have some who have attracted endorsements and have become high earners, earning far over £31,000 a year, but, important to stress, that is almost always through endorsements and not actual music sales/gig income!
The glam becomes less appealing
Most signed full-time musicians will need their labels to support them financially with money for studio time, touring etc..
And whilst labels have done a good job aiding musicians financially, labels are businesses and will need to be paid back, many times with interest!
What is wrong with being financially stable enough to support your own music?
Nothing!
And whilst the immediate access through labels are grand, I mean access to TV stations, Radio stations, PR companies and Industry experts etc.. That has deepened the debt hole many artists are in, many even when dropped by the label carry on paying back their debt for years.
I'm not saying that being signed to a label or taking a label loan is wrong, I'm just trying to put things in perspective!
I&U are a movement that boldly stands out to say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a part time musician, if you choose to!
Four benefits of being a part time musician
- Part time musicians can invest and scale up their music at their own pace without any pressure to hit numbers
- Part time musicians can work as hard as they need to on their daytime jobs and fund their art
- Part time musicians can attract a fan-base and sometimes sponsorship from their day jobs
- Part time musicians can be positioned for strategic music partnership with their daytime job customers.
A Summary:
If you are a full time musician and enjoy what you are doing, do carry on! However if you are a part time musician and are, or have been pressured to quit your day job so you can go full time, before you do so, just remember; there's nothing wrong with being a part time musician!