Music and the Music Industry: Career or passionate hobby?

[c0nsilience]

Out of curiosity, how many of you have music as part of your career? Please feel free to elaborate.

Since it's only fair to ask a question of others that one is willing to answer themselves, I'll share my story, abridged for television, of course:

I've played music my entire life, so much so, that I was a rather competent multi-instrumentalist in my late teens. Different instruments = different showcasing of emotions and feelings and allowed me to get on tape what I heard in my head without much assistance from others (slim musical pickings where I grew up). Played in various bands all the way through college, and a few after, without any allusion or desire of becoming a 'rock star'. I much preferred the studio punctuated with live performance on occasion.

In my late twenties, I was lucky enough to land an AR position with a manufacturer that enabled me to work with many of my idols growing up. It was nice being on the technical side of the music industry and very much behind the scenes. It felt pretty comfortable. Several years later, I launched my own company and worked like a dog to showcase what I had learned earlier in my career. This culminated in a licensing deal on a product design with the founder of Musitronics, most well-known for the Mutron III envelope filter (made popular by Jerry Garcia and Stevie Wonder in the 1970's). After months of working this deal, I wound up completely burned by it. Needless to say, no points or royalty and absolutely no credit given.

I still love the music industry, but it can very much be dog eat dog and it is a business that will gladly grind you down if you allow it to. I still occasionally work with some artists and play for fun, even though one day, I'd like to realize my goal of film composition (the LinnStrument will play a big part in this).

So, what's your story?

[BobDog]

Music is part of my career as I work on production systems for radio/tv, but that work is luckily removed from the "Music Industry".

Also luckily I have not had to rely on how good a musician I am, although I did try when I was younger and that didn't go well at all!

[Roger_Linn]

I've found that relatively few LinnStrument owners make their living from music. I think there are two main reasons:

1) There's very little money to be made from making music these days.

2) If someone is a professional musician, he is already proficient on a specific instrument like guitar or keys, etc. So while he may value LinnStrument, he views it as a different instrument and does not wish to change to playing a different instrument.

[BobDog]

I have a few friends that do have a musical career that pays the bills but they are all classical musicians and as roger says they would never look at any other instrument to play, absolutely no point considering all the time and effort they have put into a single instrument.

They do show some interest in the linnstrument but not to the level of thinking that is is an instrument, but they also think that about my electric guitars!

[BobDog]

Doesn’t “John the savage” use the linnstrument to support himself though, so maybe at least one person.

[tbeltrans]

My professional music experience consists of a couple of years playing full time in a trio on the Holiday Inn/supper club/resort circuits in the late 70s. Back then, it was relatively easy to make a living doing that.

We spent a week at each gig and were usually treated pretty well, since these were not dives. We each did two things musically in the trio. The drummer also did the vocals. The band leader played sax and keyboard, and I played guitar and foot pedal bass. When the band played sax, I played guitar and foot pedal bass. When I took a solo, the band leader played the bass on his keyboard.

We stayed booked solid (6 nights a week) for two years, at which point I decided that I wanted to do something else with my life and left the band. From what I understand, they found another guitar player and continued touring for a few years until that market fell apart.

I never set out to play in a band, but at the time, there were few jobs to be had in general. I could read charts and standard notation, so I got the gig. We were AF of M union, since all the rooms we played were union jobs, and we had an agent. All standard stuff for the time. Rather than being any kind of a big deal, realize that hundreds, if not thousands of musicians were doing this at the time. It was a job, no more, no less.

I went on into being an electronic technician until I got my degree and went on to engineering. It was the best thing I could have done because I have been able to retire early AND I am not burned out on music, so I can enjoy it as a hobby.

Tony

[c0nsilience]

Thanks for the banter, gents!

If I have my rathers, the LinnStrument will end up taking center-stage at the core of what I do in the future. It is the first instrument I've picked up in recent memory that takes me back to being a child and picking up drums or bass for the first time....25 years ago!

As long as you make & support them, Roger, I, like many others on here and many before me, will be a purveyor, if not a consummate LinnStrumentalist, one day

[John the Savage]

Doesn’t “John the Savage” use the linnstrument to support himself though, so maybe at least one person.

Hi all (grin),

Yes, blessedly (though at times it can feel like a curse), I do make a living as a musician, and the LinnStrument has indeed become a part of my regular arsenal. That said, as Roger speculated above, guitar is my main instrument, and the LinnStrument will never replace that (not to say that it couldn't). Where the LinnStrument has become indispensable to me, however, is that I get hired to do a lot of synth work for artists, but I'm a shoddy keyboardist at best. Sufficed to say, having an instrument that allows me to exploit my guitar chops in the context of playing "keys" has proven a godsend.

It seems like the OP is interested to know what other people's music careers have entailed, but I don't want to come off as self-indulgent or patronizing here, so I'll try to keep this concise, if a little vague. And of course, this is just my personal plight as an artist.

Music is the only job I've ever had. I started on guitar at the age of 11, and played my first paid gig at the age of 15 at the local bar in the small town where I grew up. My band had won a talent show at my high-school, and the local bar owner asked if we would host an all-ages night at his bar. The gig was a success, we got paid, and I thought "Shit, well that beats cutting lawns for 10 bucks!" It was the late '80's, and live music was the trend in all the clubs and bars, so one gig led to another, and by the time I was 18, I was working full-time as a cover artist.

All the while, I had been writing original songs for that band, and as you did back then, we endeavored to shop them around. As serendipity would have it, they were well-received, and we ultimately signed a development deal in the early '90's with a major label subsidiary, cut a studio demo, and did some extensive touring with other mid-level bands on the parent label's roster. During that time, I made a lot of relationships with other industry lifers, and was introduced to a lot of music tech along the way. My personality being what it is, I dug in on all of it, and made it my business to know how it all worked. I was humbled by how overqualified many of colleagues were, and I saw that there were a lot of jobs to be had in music, if you could let go of the ideal of being the "rock star" (whatever that means), and instead be willing to go wherever the music wanted to take you.

That said, perhaps ironically, I also fronted two other label-signed bands through my 20's, toured internationally with those acts, and starred in a prime-time TV pilot along the way. So, it hasn't all been without its glory (smirk).

I currently work as a "utility" musician of sorts, playing guitar, keys, and percussion for a multitude of different artist, both on the road and in the studio. I also work as a solo artist in every respect, with a large roster of private and commercial clients. I do sound design, I compose for television and film, I co-write, I'm a mix engineer, I'm a producer, I'm a music technologist of sorts, etc. In the end, thus far anyway, it all amounts to what might be considered a "middle class" living. Or if, like me, you happen to live in Vancouver, BC., I guess it's closer to a "lower-middle class" living (smirk).

To be clear, I am not an 'A' List player by any means; though I do get the privilege of working with many of them. At present, I am working sporadically with one high-profile artist, touring with him when needed; but most of my clients are newer, mid-level acts looking for hired guns to tour their albums with. In between those gigs, I work solo whenever and wherever possible.

So, what's the take-away here? It's absolutely possible to make a living at music. Granted, chances are, you won't get rich or famous doing it, and there are a lot of sacrifices to be made along the way; however, if you love playing your instrument, and you're willing to treat it like a job and go where the work is, there is work out there. To be perfectly real though, I don't have kids, I don't own a house, and I have the most patient and understanding woman on the planet (wink). The bottom line is, the lifestyle is not conducive of normality or routine, and as such, it may not be for everyone.

As if that was the concise version (smirk). Anyway, I hope that wasn't too boring a read. I realize I made a lot of generalizations in there, but I'm happy to answer any question if you've got any...

Cheers!

[c0nsilience]

Thanks John! Great response!

[telecode]

FWIW, music is my hobby. I do know one guy who is a professional musician. I think his job sucks. I would never want to do his job. He's the musical director for hire for community musical theater productions. Oh god. Endless days rehearsing super cheesy musical theatre numbers with tone deaf non-professional actors. I was once in one of them. Unless you totally love costumes and over the top wanna be's .. keep yo distance.

[jcub]

I make my living as a patent attorney which may explain my interest in new and innovative instruments like LinnStrument.

Music and photography are my primary hobbies and I have been fortunate to work with a few "A" list musicians in my musical travels, and have had some unexpected and really fun performance experiences (several with the LinnStrument). I play professionally, but infrequently, with a few local groups, and I have done a little composing and lots of recording in my home studio. Lately, I have been playing mostly solo performances at Farmers Markets and local cafes/restaurants.

So, while I am a C or D list musician, I am able to play whatever I like for the most part. I am lucky to have a supportive wife, family, and friends although at some point they may stage an intervention to stop me from buying more instruments/gear.

[c0nsilience]

This thread is really eye-opening. Serious professionals with serious talent.

Do you guys think it takes a certain type of individual to 'get' what the LinnStrument is about? It seems that there is quite a bit of commonality in this thread...mainly experienced musicians that have multiple talents and are professionals, if not professional musicians.

[John the Savage]

Do you guys think it takes a certain type of individual to 'get' what the LinnStrument is about?

That depends on what you mean by "get". I personally think that music is for everyone, and I don't think you have to be an expert to get fulfillment out of playing an instrument of any kind. I do, on the other hand, think it takes a certain type of individual, blessed with a good ear, patience, determination, and a respectable work ethic, if they're to become a virtuosic player and consummate professional.

As for the LinnStrument, I approach it as I would any other instrument, and as such, I get comparable results. But I can see that it appeals to all kinds of players, from amateurs to professionals to wildly experimental artist types with no intention of making melodic music whatsoever... To each their own, as they say.

However, if there's one thing I do find curious, it's that alternative musical interfaces, in general, do seem to attract people who are hoping to somehow sidestep the trials and tribulations of learning to play a traditional instrument. To that end, they invariably find out that all roads lead to Rome, as the expression goes, and that ultimately being a good musician requires a solid understanding of music theory and the kind of dexterity that can only be achieved through good ol' fashioned hard work.

If those people aren't posting here, it's probably because the title of the thread reads: "Career or passionate hobby?"; neither of which belong to the lazy or apathetic (wink).

Cheers!

[SteveElbows]

When it comes to people 'getting it' or not, my mind often drifts to vaguely related stuff such as what happened to poly aftertouch over decades. On the synth side of things a fair number of the modern hardware synths I own support PolyAT midi messages, but their own keyboards lack it and on the controller side what I usually find is people on the internet who are unhappy that traditional keyboard controllers that have poly aftertouch seem like a thing of the past. A percentage of them come to embrace MPE controllers, but for various reasons (often related to the feel of traditional keyboards) others ignore MPE and consider their only solutions to be buying an old, expensive, used PolyAT keyboard, or dreaming that someone will release a modern equivalent.

This does make me inclined to wonder whether, if more people 'got it' PolyAT would ever have 'died out' in the first place? Granted a lot of the people I know who still want that stuff have are harking back to a cultural/musical reference point, eg the CS-80 as a rather obvious example. I suppose that, given the ribbon controller on the CS-80 was also an important part of what that synth could do, I find this scenario a good test of 'resistance to MPE' - yes you can find people with a Deckards Dream paired with Linnstruments in youtube videos, but for every person who goes down that route there seem to be several who just want traditional Poly aftertouch keyboards.

[SteveElbows]

However, if there's one thing I do find curious, it's that alternative musical interfaces, in general, do seem to attract people who are hoping to somehow sidestep the trials and tribulations of learning to play a traditional instrument. To that end, they invariably find out that all roads lead to Rome, as the expression goes, and that ultimately being a good musician requires a solid understanding of music theory and the kind of dexterity that can only be achieved through good ol' fashioned hard work.

I probably went through that at some stage but it was years before I got a Linnstrument, so I was aware of the reality before I spent my money.

For me these days there is no expectation that MPE controllers will be easier than other instruments, they will be harder because of the additional expressiveness of every note played. But what something like the Linnstrument does offer me is the removal of one difficulty, in exchange for an ultimately more rewarding challenge. I dont have a background with traditional piano key layouts, so that layout of notes just comes across to my brain like ancient, arbitrary decisions putting unnecessary hurdles in my way. I know that isnt quite accurate, but it may as well be in my scenario. Give me another 12-24 months and I'll be better able to judge how much difference removing that hurdle in exchange for more expressive ones worked out!