To make a living giging…understand your financial picture.

So you want to be a professional musician huh?  Well here is a little advice. 

Because this is such a competitive industry now flooded with millions of new artists the chances of you landing a gig that will pay the mortgage, car payment, electric bill, cable, internet and put some food on the table is not that easy.  Trust me I have been doing this for a while now.

You are going to have to take an unbiased look at your financial picture.  If you have kids, a home and a wife whom likes the good life you may find it tough to make all that happen on the few dollars you will make playing dingy bars and clubs.  Think about this.  I have been playing professionally full time for a while now and I still average about $100 bucks a gig even after six years of playing.  This isn’t a fortune five hundred company and there is no cost of living increase yearly.  Compound that with the growing fact that fewer and fewer clubs are hiring live bands and many have music just one night and that equals a weekly paycheck of about $200.  Unless you live in Mexico this will not pay the bills.

Now don’t be discouraged by these facts.  Instead look at it as an opportunity to gauge the market.  Try finding those better gigs such as cruise ships, theaters, and hotels (if you got the chops) that provide somewhat stable income and incentives such as living quarters and meals. 

A second thought is this.  Your gross income is what you take in versus what you pay out.  So if you are a younger cat with fewer bills try keeping those expenses as low as possible.  Don’t lease a Mercedes when a VW will do.  Find cheaper rent and avoid eating out as much as possible and you will be surprised at how far your gig income will go. 

If you are serious about making a living as a musician you are going to have to become great with your money, and trust me musicians are notorious for not being good with the green, unless it can be smoked.  So don’t do what all the other players do, take some initiative in your financial picture and you will get by doing what you love.