The Chicago Tribune ran a story last week about musicians dealing with the ongoing economic recession.
The article offers the idea that the musician industry has not been as impacted as other sectors because musicians often live frugally.
From the Chicago Tribune:
The bitter reality of a tough economy is a been-there, done-that obstacle to most working musicians. Making a living out of playing music has never been an easy road, and hunger (both literal and figurative) is a big part of the job description.
“People who play music are better able to handle whatever the economy throws at them because they’re always on a tight budget,” says fortysomething Katie Tuten, co-owner of the Hideout, a North Side club that books hundreds of independent musicians annually.
For Bruce Lamont, who plays saxophone and sings in the art-metal quintet Yakuza, the economic downturn has prompted him to handle his career in the same way he does his instrument: by improvising.
What do you think?
I would definitely agree that there is truth in that statement. With many friends facing doom and gloom in their industries, music is still something that people desire strongly. Maybe even more so after a tough time (ever treated yourself to that CD or just HAD to go to a show on a friday night to dance your cares away?)
I’d also say that many music professionals are in a stronger position by running their own careers rather than their jobs and salaries being dictated by a corporation’s HR department. One of the many reasons I think that going Indie is a good idea.
The other way that artists are minimising the impact is due to many of them drawing income from multiple revenue streams. Selling less records? At least you have a worldwide audience you can sell your merchandise to from your website. Lost a regular gig? Start offering private lessons. No longer writing for a large magazine? Regularly blog and build your following, feeding your audience / fans / followers into other streams.
Lee.
While its true we musicians know how to stretch a buck and have done so for ages, our employers… The music consumer, patrons of clubs, the holiday parties, the promoters looking to fill clubs/halls/arenas… Don’t have it to support as they did before, leading us to struggle more. Fees/guarantees drop while bills and expectations rise.
The arts, in general, are always the first to feel the crunch it seems. The first to get cut and the last to get compensated.
Part of this article might be true – most musicians probably tend to not live with the extravagance of wall-street brokers, but the implication that the economy doesn’t effect our industry is an outrageous exaggeration of the “starving-artist” stereotype that I’m so tired of hearing about.
The stereotype implies that musicians don’t make any money, and by extension, the musician sector of the economy doesn’t make any money. Cornell did a study in 2007 that researched the economic worth of the arts industry in New York and found that there are over 160,000 arts-related jobs generating $8.2 billion in wages in New York City alone. The arts industry in the United States is worth billions and billions of dollars and employs hundreds of thousands of workers.
Furthermore, when a recession hits – the arts are hit as hard as any other industry – harder, some might say. There is evidence of this all over the country with theaters, symphonies, ballets and clubs going out of business or cutting salaries.
Lost jobs and cutting salaries impacts even the most frugal consumers. This recession is no cakewalk for musicians either, so have a little respect.
A couple of my friends are musicians but only part-time. A recession is only the low point of an economy. There will always be ups. Until then, they just gotta play their music for the love of music and not just for money.
I completely disagree with that, Imee. Should lawyers work for the love of law? Should plumbers plumb for the love of plumbing? Does music only have worth when there is a surplus of money?
Not to belabor the point, but I am always offended by the allegation that “oh, you’re playing for money, but we play for the love of music.” Not that you’ve said that, Imee, but I have specifically heard that many times, usually from bands who are “looking for a sax man” until I ask them about cash. Man, if I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t have made it my career. You want to show heart, quit the day job and make a go of it. I dare you. Until you’ve put in the hours to be marketable enough to maybe earn enough through playing, don’t tell me how much you “love” music, or how I’m chasing the almighty dollar.
For the record, I have done exactly one bridal showcase and one club-date in 2009. Not very good so far. A LOT worse than last year. Luckily I’ve got more students and more low end gigs to compensate.
Recently I have experienced the a similar reaction but with an opposite perspective.
I replied to a musician asking for guitarist, preferably trained in jazz tradition and fully equipped. The add had a pair of funk/fusion demos attached, which I found interesting and very musical and well performed.
The guy turned to be a mechanical engineer trying to organize a fusion ensemble with a multimedia show. When I brought up the money subject he said that as he was a mechanical engineer and thus that was his main income mean, and that the project didn’t include money for musicians for the moment. Translation: amateur group project, all profits -if there are any- for the members but, alas, all investment by the members too. That’s ok, not that I haven’t had those offers before. I usually stray away with the excuse that project sounds very interesting but I am a full-time musician and need to pay bills, and that’s what I did with this one. What was unusual is that this engineer suggested that if I had to pay bills I should think in taking a daytime job to support my love for music so as to sponsor this project! Yeah, right. I will go back to being amateur so as to join your amateur music group because you want fully equipped and educated (i.e. professional) musicians but don’t want to deal with the professionality of paying the performers.
Right now is not the greatest time for musicians. A few months ago when I was in NYC, I went over to local 802 of the Musicians Union. It was a Monday evening. The Jazz Foundation was having their weekly jam/improvising session, and since I do some improvising on my violin as well as classical and strolling stuff, I figured it would be a nice opportunity for me. One of the women there talked for a while about the current work situation for musicians. She was saying that some musicians who worked nightly gigs are now lucky if they get even one gig a week. Even though things are not the best right now, that doesn’t mean that there is nothing. There are jobs. Sooner or later, and I hope it will be sooner, the economy is bound to turn around and get better, and things will improve for musicians and everyone else.
Carolyn Ohlbaum
My situation is not unlike others here, made a living “taking calls”, touring Europe, theatre, concerts, high paying corporates, nice gigs of all kind etc etc. for 20 years. It was a no-brainer. But now what? Recently I found myself playing (by myself) beside a 15ft tv screen with the “fights” blasting away and an 8ft screen with the hockey game on the other side of me…for $50. (“$50 is the new $100″ has never been so true!) It was a hard knock but I had an epiphany that night about how my life was going to proceed from that day forward. I forced myself to progress beyond the anger and negativity into something positive. Sorry for the worn out cliche but like the new music business, it is an unavoidable reality. Diminishing self-esteem only compounds your problem. You have to do something to change that. You are not alone. Anyway, I have changed my thinking and I hope you can muster the resources to do that yourself.
A few years ago I turned from “musician for hire” into “artist with cds”. This really helped. I am still redefining and redefining…I’m still broke but I’ve come into the “acceptance” phase of the process. I am, as we speak, devising other things to do, based on 1) research (like reading this blog) and 2)learning what others are doing. Feeling “old” is a problem…I’m with you there…but it’s better to be an old “emerging artist” than an old “has-been”. You can use that to your advantage.
I am currently putting together a study to correlate musician financial health with “actions”. Who is achieving “financial health” and “what are they doing to get it”? I’m hoping that it will show interesting and helpful results. Sometimes I find that reading “advice” columns/blogs doesn’t translate into my real life experience, so I’d like to find out what’s really working for people. Also, often those who are handing out the advise are successful for other reasons…like they have a propensity for business and are go-getters from the start, and that’s why they’re even writing the article!! The truth is not everyone has that propensity, yet they still deserve to make a living at their “calling”. (like you said, music is the only skill you have) So it shouldn’t be ONLY “survival of the business-fittest”. I’m very communistic in this regard. Having said that, we have no choice but to TRY HARDER to survive. For me, there’s no turning back! At least we have every resource imaginable at our fingertips to help us. Just try to not get “hosed” along the way :)
re Carolyn’s comment about hoping the economy will turn around and make it better for musicians. I have my doubts here. Now that they know they can get us for $50 (or nothing) they will never have to pay us more again. Compound that with the sheer numbers of musicians out of there now (the schools are crankin’ them out by the thousands) and they clearly have the upper hand.
I can’t see this kind of thing (below – a recent ad for musicians posted on Craigslist) is ever going to change:
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New Toronto Jazz Club Booking Musicians
Reply to: comm-4e4hc-1171729685@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-05-15
Memphis Smoke Jazz and Piano Bar needs to fill out a few spots. Pay range starts from $40-$100 per night depending on experience, improvisational skills, and original material. Applicant should be able to read lead sheets, play with an ensemble, and have a minimum 1 hour of soloing ability. The styles are based on jazz, blues, and pop. We are seeking all instrumentalists, especially; bass, double bass, guitar, vocals (some scat), horns, and electronic Please do not ask us to visit web sites, send attachments, or lengthy bios. The audition process will be to play 1-3 pieces with the house pianist, and a solo. You can choose the Rising Artist Open Stage (Every Wednesday), or The Singer/Songwriter Showcase (Every Thursday) – Original music only please for Thursday. Please do not call the club directly. To audition, you must email your phone number and the date you would like to come in. Only when we call you back will you be confirmed. YOU CANNOT SHOW UP WITHOUT A SPOT. We need musicians immediately, so the first proficient ones that come in will be hired on the spot. This is an idea of the layout and style of the club: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAyVOVPOXDQ
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Marg
You know…I don’t have anything profound to say; however, I have to mention that I was really thankful to see this semi-positive article. Sometimes, it seems like all that I hear is how I am going to end up starving to death “in this economy”; all of our gigs are dying; we are becoming obsolete, blah, blah, blah. I get sick of hearing darkness; and, frankly, I don’t believe 100% of the doom, either.
When I was young and realized for the first time that my music would be my full-time sole profession, I learned along the way that I would have to struggle and learn how to work extra-hard, pinch pennies, and adapt to instability, even chaos, while people in other occupations had a far easier time in life.
I still said “Yes”; and like the religious who take vows of poverty, I did so out of total love of what I am meant to do with my life. Not one regret, not even when I have needed help getting through the hard times, between the economy and my former disability. Not even then.
I don’t totally know where I’m going with this comment- I just needed to get these things out. It’s been a long while in coming, and economic woes are bad enough without the constant drone of media and popular gloom compounding it all. I have been so tired of hearing the message out there that, just because I am a full-time professional musician and not some traditional office worker or healthcare type, etc., that my life is a joke and I am risking ending up as a bag lady in a shelter someday.
All I can say is that it really, REALLY made my day to read one single article out there that was actually semi-supportive instead. It was a really nice change. I needed to hear something that didn’t either judge me over my occupation, or screw around with my worries and fears. It was really nice to get a little break from the doomsayers.
Thanks for posting this, because I really needed it lately, maybe more than ever. If this whole comment seems pretty random, sorry, but this stuff has been weighing on me for a while now.