7 THINGS MUSICIANS USUALLY DON’T DO TO GET A LIVING, BUT THEY SHOULD

7 THINGS MUSICIANS USUALLY DON’T DO TO GET A LIVING, BUT THEY SHOULD

Ok, I won’t publish the typical cheapo picture of cash money. I will spare you this!

1)      DIVERSIFICATION OF INCOMES

Just take advantage of the fact that nobody will give you 40 hours week job. Usually classical musicians from the very beginning of their careers teach in more than a school. Lots of people would regard it as a very poor job, but if you combine more than 2 schools at the same time, you will have enough money, you will never get bored, you will never be stuck and in the worst of situation, if something goes wrong, you always have other schools which you can count on. Relying on schools, you will have strength to negotiate with other academies or similar.

Of course, don’t do it if you aren’t extremely precise and organized! Every school has got a different management and you have to cope with it.

2)      SAVE AS MUCH MONEY AS YOU CAN

Saving money from the very beginning is a key point to survive in the future. This money will serve you as inversion in special occasion, courses, training, master classes to raise your level or more likely to get a new instrument. Some people get an assurance just in case their instrument get lost or stolen, but you should be able to save enough money every month even without assurance. Some people have to choose between saving or paying an assurance…this is up to what you think is right for you. Personally I chose to save, but I don’t discard the fact of getting an assurance in the future….Of course, if your instrument is a brand new one and you spent a lot on it, maybe it’s better to get an assurance at least for the first 5/6 years. If you have a Stradivari, assurance for sure!

3)      MONETIZE YOUR RECORDINGS

And please! Don’t do the old-fashioned CD! I heard hundred of times about musicians that ask for money through crowd-funding…to produce 500 CDs to sell…where?!

Unless you are Beyoncé or Joshua Bell, don’t do it! …and maybe they don’t do it because they don’t need it. Nobody buys CDs now.

I published through my recording house directly online and without paying.

In the Internet you will have a digital product that will work on your behalf even when you are sleeping. Of course you will have to promote it and you will have to work hard to get digital marketing notions.

4)      LOOK FOR GIGS. (the right ones)

To musicians’ eyes, this is the most wanted issue. Lots of musicians think of getting gigs throughout their CVs. Wrong. You don’t sell a cv. A CV is to work in an enterprise or company. A musician sells an idea. When you propose yourself for a concert, people are more interested in your idea behind the concert than the interpreters themselves, at least at the beginning….of course when you become Joshua Bell, then you might also propose to play an A Major scale in semibreves, and everybody will listen to you…but if you are not….sell an idea!

5)      DON’T GIVE YOUR MIND AWAY FOR FREE.

One day I was called by a journal director to play for a book presentation, and because this event was just behind my apartment I accepted to be paid less than I deserved. I thought that it was ok. I played only 15 minutes. But it wasn’t ok. On the next morning a lady was calling asking me to play at her daughter’s wedding. She wanted to pay the exact amount of money the journal director paid. The word was spread. I told her politely that to play in a wedding is not a concert but you have several costs to cover and time is money etc…In the end I told her to buy a CD and perform it at the ceremony, because she was offering me the same money of a CD cost.

I never charged again less than what’s the market price. Not even for 15 minutes just behind the corner.

6)      BE FLEXIBLE AND ACCEPT THE INHERENT RISK.

Even though you don’t have to give away your intelligence for free you should be flexible in front of a job offer or gig offer. Sometimes they don’t offer money but you should be smart enough to ask for other goods in exchange. I.e. you could ask for a professional recording (you will save thousands money and you can sell it in the Internet) or other interesting things that don’t give you cash money in the short term but you can use it in the long run.

One important thing….drop and avoid all gigs that don’t pay you in exchange of “Good Advertisement”. This is a lie. The best advertisement you can get is the one you do by yourself through your intelligence and abilities.

7)      ONCE IN AN ORCHESTRA BE CAREFUL TO CONTRACT TERMS

Ok, orchestra means stability, but be careful…very often they ask you to sign contracts in which they ask you specifically that you cannot play outside the orchestra’s concerts. Now…if you are very well paid, then accept it, but usually orchestras that pay very well are few… you can count them on one hand’s fingers. You should ask yourself how much is worth your freedom…but if all what you want is to play in an orchestra… then go ahead!