It’s never been harder to make a decent living in the music industry, even in my life time the technical advances in the way we make and consume music have created a seismic shift in the landscape. Just as with the geological shifts that have taken place on earth over the last few million years that broke up Pangea creating new continents, (unless of course you happen to believe the earth is 2000 years old) nothing is where it used to be on the map.
We have done a lot of podcast extra interviews over the years, and so a lot of wisdom has been shared by some of the most creative and established talent in the industry.
What has been a constant thread, is that many of them never planned to end up making a living from music, so none of them were prepared. If one of my kids were thinking of trying to make a living from music, then these are 5 pieces of advice I would give them. This article has been updated from the original one written several years ago.
1. If You Want To Be Rich, Then Choose Another Profession
The biggest mistake that many people make is that everyone in this industry is making a pile of money. The music industry is a financial pyramid, with the 1% at the top making 99% of the money - then below them are the producers, engineers, musicians, software developers, product manufacturers working hard to make a decent living. If your kid wants to be rich, then tell them to be a lawyer. On second thoughts, don’t tell them to be a lawyer, whilst I have nothing against them (I’m married to someone who is doing that), only tell them to do it if it’s what they really want to do, any parent worth their salt will know of countless people who followed the money and lost their dream. Of course money matters, but it’s preferable to have a reasonable income doing something you love than being rich and unhappy.
2. It Takes 20 Years To Become An Overnight Success
Yes there are exceptions to the rule, like those who win TV talent contests, or those who get handed a trust fund to blow on buying a career, but even that is no guarantee of success. As a recent event showed us in the recording world, a trust fund might buy you a studio full of vintage recording gear but it doesn’t buy you common sense or decency, it certainly doesn’t guarantee you respect.
On the whole success is more about perspiration than inspiration - it takes a lot of hard work (often for no money - see point 1 above), a lot of tenacity, commitment and still without any guarantees - there are no shortcuts, honestly.
There’s an outstanding documentary on the life of Quincy Jones on Netflix, it’s well worth watching and makes this point in a highly entertaining way.
3. Be The Best
Being the best is not about money or fame, it is about making a commitment to doing the best you can with what you have. A good musician or sound producer can work with the tools they are given, be that a Neve console or an iPad and make fantastic music and audio.
A bad workman does blame their tools and too often the excuse people give for producing a bad sound is that they didn’t have the right equipment, I think the early Beatles recordings blow that excuse out of the water.
Don’t get caught up in the gear, it will distract you from your creativity - you might end up with nothing to show for your collection of hardware and software, just depreciation.We seem to be cultivating a generation of engineers and producers who want to spend their way out of audio problems instead of facing a challenge and figuring out how to cultivate techniques to get the sound they want or fix the problem they have. Necessity is the mother of invention and when one accomplishes through learning then one is better than they were before. This is why so many of the older producers and engineers are filled with so many cool tricks and have such wisdom, they had no magic plug-ins to make things happen, it took ingenuity and determination to get the sound they needed.
4. Guard Your Heart
The industry is full of pitfalls, cynics, bullshitters and just general idiots. The most precious thing you have is your creativity, so choose who you share your gift with carefully. You don’t want anyone to squander, steal or smash up your gift, so be as wise as a viper and as gentle as a dove.
Our social media world entices us to share every detail of our lives and in doing so we open up our world to both those who celebrate our success and some who want to see us fail. So take care about what you share and who you share it with.
Another documentary worth a watch is GAGA: FIVE FOOT TWO, it’s a hard watch and at times painful to watch, but reveals the painful side of making it in the music industry, it’s an abstract lesson in guarding one’s heart.
5. Use Your Ears
When asked, nearly everyone we interview answers ‘what piece of advice would you give someone starting out?’ with the same answer, use your ears.
Staring at screens to make and mix music is almost counter intuitive, we rely on our eyes so much and too often we just head for the same old settings. Next time you find yourself in front of a real desk or a piece of analogue rack gear, then close your eyes and craft the sound you need - you might be surprised at the settings when you open your eyes.
I saw someone recently saying that when they compared two pieces of equipment on a scope you could see differences in the performance that couldn’t be heard and therefore they were inferior. If we were discussing something where the output was of a visual nature then I might accept that argument but we’re not, we are making audio and I subscribe to the maxim “if it sounds good then it is good.”
In Summary
I love making music and I feel honoured and privileged to make money from doing what I love, few get that opportunity in life.
As parents we do hope at least one of our kids follow us in, but we want them to know that it may seem glamorous, but like most things in life, it takes equal amounts of talent and hard work to be the best!
Simon Cowell may be one of the richest people in music, but that’s because he made everyone else think that being successful in this industry was easy, it’s anything but.