Careers in the music business

[KyleE]

I am now coming to the end of my senior year of high school, and am looking for a career to focus on in the music world.  I have been playing for almost 11 years now, and have already achieved quite a bit.  What are possible careers in the music business?  As much as I love classical music, performing it doesn't make as much money as I thought it would make.  I want to do something in the performing area.  I love to compose popular music, but who would I go to, to get my name out there?  What other oppurtunities are there that make good money?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

Kyle

[allchopin]

I am in your shoes currently, and looking at my prospects as a musician.  And truthfully, they don't look good.  Musicians have some of the toughest competition around, with low pay and tough working hours sometimes (especially including practice).  You really have to do it for the love of the music- this is unless you are the solo pianist for an orchestra or selling CD's with a big label (these opportunities come to very few).  I know it's probably not what you wanted to hear, but I have done research on the subject, and the outlook is quite dire.
However, you could become something on the side, such as a technician, tuner, mixer, etc. not so much involved in performing.  Composers make zilch minus expenses.  Performers make a better living, but you must be the best of the best, or get a lucky break (or two).
As far as gigs on weekends or small jobs with no real serious commitments, you may want to look into playing at weddings (big $ there!), churches, bars, clubs, etc.
What have you accomplished so far?  What is your rerpertoir?

[krenske]

i know a good pub

[xenon]

I too am nearing that kind of descision.  I have pretty much given up hope in pursuing a career in music.  The future seems bleak without any hope.  Classical music is dying out to the non-educated infidels, who are called "musucians".  I will stick to my alternate route and go with the sciences.  Piano will be a supplement, nothing more.  Sad thing to ditch all those 13 yrs of piano education.

[KyleE]

Here is a short resume that someone wrote about me a while ago of some of the things that I have done:

Kyle has studied piano since he was eight years old. Kyle has won numerous competitions, which include the Music Educators Association, New Jersey Federation of Music Clubs, Cecilian Music Club, the Leschetizsky Assn. of Gifted Young People’s Concerts, and most  recently, the International Concert Alliance.  He is a two-time winner of the Andrew Degrado Piano Competition and performed in the Winners’ Recital at Kean University.  During the past seven years, he has performed in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as a winner of the Piano Teachers’ Society of America competitions.  In addition, Kyle received high honors from the New Jersey Music Teachers Association.  Kyle played at master classes on a Young Artist’s level sponsored by the Music Educators Association, as well as master classes sponsored by the Pompton Valley Music Teachers’ Association.  Besides playing in Weill Hall, he has also performed at the 92nd Street Y, the Donnell Library, Lincoln Center, Steinway Hall and Cami Hall in New York.  

Here is my current program:

Prelude and Fugue in D Major
Mozart Sonata in C minor-complete
Chopin Ballade #2
Debussy Fireworks
Lizst La Campanella
Beetoven Concerto in C minor 1st movement

I have written popular songs, with lyrics that I sing and play.  Is there anywhere I can go with popular music?  I love composing it..I could sit hours and hours..its soo much fun to me!  Anyway, any help would be great.  Thanks again everyone.

Kyle

[KyleE]

Anyone have any ideas of which direction I can point myself in?

Thanks.

Kyle

[ThEmUsIcMaNBJ]

Why not get involved in teaching?  I'm where you are right now too, getting done with my senior year, getting ready for college.  I have given up any dream of having a major performing career which is more then ok to me.  I love teaching people about music I think being a music theory or history professor would be a great thing to get into.  Or you could just stick to the piano and teach at a college or something.  Obviously it's not the easiest thing to get into but then what major career is?  You would probably have to be pretty flexible on where you would live.

My uncle is a music professor in Deleware.  He lived in southern california all his life but the only job he could get at the time was in Deleware.

Plus professor's do make a decent salary.  Not millions of dollars a year, but enough to live pretty comfortably.

Then if you were going to be a professor you would need to get your DMA or PhD.  Which I'm excited to do but it means more time and without it theres not a lot of work with someone with a performance major.  So it could be quite a while before you get any job that can seriously support you and a family.

I don't know just a thought...  Good luck to you!    

[glamfolk]

Don't be discouraged!  There's more work in music than you might think.  I pursued a career in the sciences and was so discouraged I went back into music, and Idecided to go into teaching because I had some pretty bad music teachers in my past.  I thought that if I were to be a musician, then I would simply do music no matter who wanted it or why.    You must temper your idealism with a  lot of patience.  Get involved with a couple of like-minded friends and create a small ensemble and just drop some cards at local churches, convention centers,museums, galleries, and the like.  A demo cd is really affordable (try ProTools Free--it's a free 8-track digital recording program).  Then get married to someone with a great insurance program.

[robert_henry]

I just counseled a parent about this very question, and I'll sum up what I told him.  

Firstly, there is this myth that musicians don't make money.  That is not true.  BAD musicians don't make money.  I'm not sure what research allchopin has done, but I would respectfully recommend doing some more.  The future is not quite as dire as some are making it out to be.

A pianist has three routes: the performer, recording artist, and the teacher.

Performer:
Most concert pianists make between $500 to $10,000 per concert, or per weekend.  You have a few like Evgeny Kissin and Andre Watts who pull $50,000 per concert, but there only are about ten pianists in the world who make that.  I’ll be candid with you now about my own finances so that you can make an informed conclusion.  I make $1,500 to $4,000 per concert.  If you figure that my goal is to eventually be playing at least two to three weekends a month, then that is not too bad.  That’s at least $40,000 at the lowest rates.  Part of this is marketing yourself well; have a press kit designed for you with reviews, resumes, headshots, business cards, stationary, and demo cd's.  Create some sort of web presence.  And play well when you get there.

Teacher:
Add to that $50 an hour for lessons (to be $60 when I finish my DMA) with 15 hours per week devoted to teaching, and that’s also good money.  That’s almost $50,000 per year.  So we are up to $80,000-90,000.

Then there is the full-time teaching position at a local university, which should bring about $40,000 to start with, depending on the school.  Now you are talking $120,000.

Recording Artist:
I don’t know really anything about the recording business as I haven’t begun to record my first commercial CD.  I do know that unless you is a household name like Kissin, you cannot rely on recordings to make money.  Just think of them as a marketing tool.  I would definitely explore finding an unrecorded composer and recording his/her music.

I’m not making that money right now, because I’m just starting my studio and I don’t yet have two-three concerts per month (I average one), and I'm currently interviewing for a full-time teaching position, but that is where I will be in probably 3-4 years.  Also, keep in mind that I'm still in school.  But, the trick to making money as a musician is simply to be good at what you do.  I feel I am a high level teacher, and in this market I am charging accordingly ($50 and up).  Some teachers have a Bachelor of Musical Arts degree and aren’t qualified to charge lots of money for lessons, nor are they in demand for concerts.  So they make $30,000 a year.  I am not judging them, but that’s the way it is.

It is possible to make a very good living as a pianist.  Music follows the same rules as any profession.  Those who know what they are doing make more money.  

Robert Henry

[ThEmUsIcMaNBJ]

Hey Robert since you're in the position I want to be in, in about 10 years maybe I could ask you a quick question!  

First off I'm 17 right now just getting ready to end my senior year.  I live in southern california and plan to major in Piano Performance.

Bare with me here if you can, because I'm about to tell you all my future plans which could get boring  

Anyways, I don't think I could possibly have the time to work my way through college so my parents are going to support me.  I'll be going to a college nearby so they don't want to spend all the extra money on housing so apparently I'll be living at home until I get my bachelors.

Then hopefully while I'm working on my masters I can start teaching part-time enough to support myself a bit with my parents still paying for college  

Then when I get my masters I hopefully will be able to find a job teaching at a Junior college.  My dad is a professor at a community college close by and he started at 60k...  Which would be more then enough to support me and a family.  Then all that time work for my DMA or PhD and possibly get a job at a private or 4 year university.

Notice I keep saying "hopefully" obviously there are a lot of factors that determine if this is possible.  One being the obvious difficulty at getting a decent paying teaching position.  

Now assuming that I can actually get the jobs and such that I'm assuming will be available, does that look realistic at all?  

[cziffra]

Robert Henry, thank you VERY much for your candid and revealing post.

if you can make 1500 per concert then that is excellent!  i'd love to have that!  i didn't realise the money side of it worked like that and i'm so thankful you've enlightened me to that.

[allchopin]

I just counseled a parent about this very question, and I'll sum up what I told him.  

Firstly, there is this myth that musicians don't make money.  That is not true.  BAD musicians don't make money.  I'm not sure what research allchopin has done, but I would respectfully recommend doing some more.  The future is not quite as dire as some are making it out to be.

A pianist has three routes: the performer, recording artist, and the teacher.

Performer:
Most concert pianists make between $500 to $10,000 per concert, or per weekend.  You have a few like Evgeny Kissin and Andre Watts who pull $50,000 per concert, but there only are about ten pianists in the world who make that.  I’ll be candid with you now about my own finances so that you can make an informed conclusion.  I make $1,500 to $4,000 per concert.  If you figure that my goal is to eventually be playing at least two to three weekends a month, then that is not too bad.  That’s at least $40,000 at the lowest rates.  Part of this is marketing yourself well; have a press kit designed for you with reviews, resumes, headshots, business cards, stationary, and demo cd's.  Create some sort of web presence.  And play well when you get there.

Teacher:
Add to that $50 an hour for lessons (to be $60 when I finish my DMA) with 15 hours per week devoted to teaching, and that’s also good money.  That’s almost $50,000 per year.  So we are up to $80,000-90,000.

Then there is the full-time teaching position at a local university, which should bring about $40,000 to start with, depending on the school.  Now you are talking $120,000.

Recording Artist:
I don’t know really anything about the recording business as I haven’t begun to record my first commercial CD.  I do know that unless you is a household name like Kissin, you cannot rely on recordings to make money.  Just think of them as a marketing tool.  I would definitely explore finding an unrecorded composer and recording his/her music.

I’m not making that money right now, because I’m just starting my studio and I don’t yet have two-three concerts per month (I average one), and I'm currently interviewing for a full-time teaching position, but that is where I will be in probably 3-4 years.  Also, keep in mind that I'm still in school.  But, the trick to making money as a musician is simply to be good at what you do.  I feel I am a high level teacher, and in this market I am charging accordingly ($50 and up).  Some teachers have a Bachelor of Musical Arts degree and aren’t qualified to charge lots of money for lessons, nor are they in demand for concerts.  So they make $30,000 a year.  I am not judging them, but that’s the way it is.

It is possible to make a very good living as a pianist.  Music follows the same rules as any profession.  Those who know what they are doing make more money.  

Robert Henry

My research on the subject was a year ago (possibly out-of-date), searching through books at the school library on musicians' job outlook.  They had the poorest rating (one star, or seomething) which scared me to say the least.  Your experience is simply your own- no one can say that everyone will end up like you- that's just your (above average) experience.  But from what I have heard, both from local gossip and from library books, is that the average earnings are not on the upper end.

My biggest obstacle that I am foreseeing is that of publicity.  Getting a name out into the sea of other musicians', then having it reeled in is probably one of the harder ordeals of being a musician (aside from practicing 24/7).  Robert, how did you get your name out wide enough to where you could give almost expected, constant performances every month?  What marketing tecniques did you use?

[KyleE]

How do you promote yourself and get your name out there?  Who do you go to, to get you jobs performing?  Agent?  What do you start out charging for admission?  I guess you'd have to do free concerts so people know who you are, but then eventually start charging admission ...right?  I need all the information possible on it..this has been great help so far..thanks soo much!

Also, what would a good estimate of what Lang Lang makes at 1 concert?  Anyone know?  Thanks again.

Kyle

[SteveK]

Hi, every one I am now 18 also .  The following is a Quote from another web site that may be helpful :
"First, you must realize that it is a very competitive business and only the most gifted and virtuosic musicians end up with careers with enough money to support themselves. The career involves constant travel and preparation and tremendous pressure. Keep in mind that even some amazingly gifted and virtuosic performers have bad luck or poor management, and never make it to the heights they deserve. If you are determined to be a musician, you must STUDY. Even famous musicians study with colleagues and ask for advice and opinions from those they trust. Apply to a good conservatory, enter serious contests to gain exposure and confidence. The web is a tremendous resource of where to find competitions, for instance www.ptg.org/competitions.htm . Relationships with other musicians are very important, so make friends: go to concerts with other aspiring musicians, try to meet professional musicians at master classes and post-concert receptions. Get out and get involved!

Never, and we mean NEVER, bad-mouth another musician or gossip about others. It will earn you a poor reputation, and it WILL come back to haunt you. Be loving and supportive of your friends and colleagues, and avoid toxic people who will try to drag you into negativity. If there is only one piece of advice you take from us, please let it be this paragraph. Be open, honest, kind and polite. Always and forever.

There are many careers in the music business for those who do not reach the concert stage. There are careers in arts and talent management, publicity, journalism, teaching, etcetera.

And finally - do not take criticism or rejection too hard. Even the most famous musicians get bad reviews sometimes! Do what you love, and never forget the joy of making music and -- to have FUN! Be happy, and be well."

I also get my name out by offering free downloads on the internet. Thousands of people have downloaded my music. There are people all over the world who listen to me. I guess its a start

[KyleE]

Excellent information everyone..thanks soo much!  How would you promote yourself to get your name out, so people know about you?  Anymore information on how to get started would be great.  Thanks again.

Kyle

[glamfolk]

Record as much as possible.  This includes your practice sessions.   Then listen back to yourself when you're not playing (i.e., driving, reading, doing the dishes, and also do some real microscopic focused listening to hear your nuances).   It's interesting and helpful to listen to how you sound in different environments, and also to practice "playing to the tape."  It's quite different than playing for an audience.  Once you've gotten some things that meet your exacting standards,  you'll be giving them away to anyone who's willing to listen.  This includes concert venues, restaurants, radio stations, and anyone who uses classical music in their business.  If you want to heard and noticed by people, you've got to put your music where the people are.  No one will search you out if they've no idea that you exist.  Also, the professionals in these places who actually put the music into the air will then know who you are and are usually more than happy to share your name with interested parties--it's good for their business, too, so why not?  Once you start getting audiences you can actually begin to charge for your recordings, and then maybe make up some of your starting costs.

The most important thing for any musician starting out is to realize that it's easy in desperate times to sell yourself short.  I've lost a few jobs by charging too little.  Strange, but true, i guess.  The part that makes it a career in music is the part where it supports you and you don't have to do other stuff to put food on the table.

And never, ever, ever burn bridges.  Ever.

Ever.