Im fourth year composition major and i have made 0 dollars in the past four years doing music. I want to try to start teaching piano and posting on my youtube channel but the financial aspect seems so bleak unless I make it big. Ive spend close to 10k on computer and hardware synths and other music things. etc. not to mention with my university degree im 10k in debt. of it werent for my slightly rich family idk how i would of managed. what do you guys do for money (music related ofc)
instead of McDonald's you could have spent the money on some bread, nice cheese. and roast beef. no wonder you are broke.
Landon Richardson
>how do you Yea Forumssicians make money. >of it werent for my slightly rich family idk how i would of managed. You answered your own question. Pretty much every musician these days comes from a well-off family that helps support them while they dedicate time to recording and touring.
Matthew Rivera
I have zero respect for rich kids and actually want to kill them and redistribute their families wealth to farmers and construction workers
Camden Howard
What about NEETs?
Jose Parker
This desu. If you're over 18 and still being supported by your parents, you're a failure at life and should jump off a bridge.
Austin Lopez
if you’re a neet with a rich family who’s able to comfortably rot in your room while not paying any rent and living off of your family completely, you won’t be killed but will be tarred and feathered and then used as a sex slave for the meanest bear homosexuals
James Thompson
where is this bourgeoisie hate coming from. Im human just like you trying to make it in the real world. I was seriously depressed since high school and the only thing that stopped me from doing that is the pain it would cause to my family and those who care.
can we get some real musician advice instead of all this negativity pls guys. i know this is Yea Forums but still its not helping
Zachary King
I thought this was a music board
also other than the pain my suicide would cause my family it was music that gave me hope and joy even in my darkest times I would cry my tears out listening to yiruma in the dark. I want to be a musician guys and nobody is gonna stop me. I just want to know how do you guys make ur money from music and how I can make some money to support myself doing music as well.
Thomas Gutierrez
>I was seriously depressed since high school and the only thing that stopped me from doing that is the pain it would cause to my family and those who care Boohoo. Me too, only I didn't have daddy's money to keep me afloat, so I had to force myself to become a productive member of society whether I liked it or not. Fucking rich kids, I swear.
Lucas Russell
>how do you guys make ur money from music Nobody actually profits from their music until they're lucky enough to get signed by a label.
>how I can make some money to support myself doing music as well. It's this thing called a job. You should try getting one.
See also:
Eli Cook
My only advice is learn recording/production. Live music can make money but you have to be constantly playing gigs, a lot of which you’re gonna hate. With recording you can write and record at your own pace and put them online for people to listen to whenever. I advise you to find something else to make money while you do this though
Kevin Martinez
>unironically being a commie My stepdads a farmer and makes in the mils kiddo, most of that from government subsides.
I was delivering food for doordash on my bike a while ago but got caught up with exams season so Ill doordash again in summer and work a few other jobs. Im not afraid of hardwork guys Im just poor and dont know how to make money with what Im learning in school
Thanks! Im thinking of going into the film scoring and video game scoring side of music as I think there is bit more financial opportunties there but I will see. By recording/production im assuming you are refering to me releasing my own music online and people buying that like on Itunes or bandcamp?
Gabriel Gonzalez
Butthurt because it's true
Jack Turner
No, I'm butthurt for different reasons.
Tyler Fisher
t. butthurt nazi
Angel Gomez
pretty much this
Don't let farmers trick you into thinking they are poor. Lol those fuckers are very well off. You know how much all that equipment costs? Plus, they usually always drive brand new trucks and shit. They are so far from poor. I live in a rural area, and those are the people with the money
Evan Wright
...
Jacob Baker
Yeah you can't afford to be a farmer unless you're already a millionaire and own all the land. They are the new land barons and they can only do it through inheritance or having money from somewhere else already. You just can't compete with the economy of scale and government regulation that large operations deal with.
Liam Thompson
>would of off yourself
Lincoln Russell
this t b h
Aiden Sanchez
What university do you attend? Or at least which city are you in?
Jackson Ward
I studied English lit at university and I'm making around £150 for almost every gig I play. Going to university for music is worthless apart from the connections you can forge out of it (which I didn't need to because my bassist was already at music college and would pass opportunities onto me pretty quickly). What I do is keep myself afloat by working function gigs and a part time casual position at my local library, while also working with original songwriters who I feel confident can find success in the future without any expectation of getting paid anytime soon. You've gotta put in the (free) grind now to reap the rewards later
Austin Jenkins
if you’re really in your 4th year of studying comp at uni and haven’t made any money off your music then you should honestly just give up
University of Toronto how did u meet ur bassist and how did you "start" gigging. I havent made too much connections at school and am not sure how to find gigs. I learned a lot about myself and how to write music tho, im just slightly autistic when socializing and have never been in a longterm band or played a gig in bars etcs. I feel like a failure despite being in a great school but I want to change. I just got a Deepmind12 and hope to do some music with that. how do u do it with finding bandmates and finding gigs?
Gabriel Johnson
Leaving TO when you finish your degree will probably halve your living expenses
Jace Murphy
mostly housing
Ryan Turner
unless of course your family lives there but it won't really be feasible to live on your own
Joshua Jenkins
Thats not a big issue as im living in a living room an renting out the main bedroom. paying about 700 atm for rent. I want to make money tho instead of focus on saving but thanks.
Jeremiah Rodriguez
Toronto, eh? Are you a girl? Would you suck my dick for $30?
Brandon Bennett
I’ve been playing in bands with him since I was 12, so I lucked out in that way but there’s plenty of other ways of finding musicians too. If you live in a big city chances are there’ll be a musicians Facebook group where artists, promoters, etc. can advertise vacancies. You need a pretty strong portfolio if you’re gonna do that so it’s worthwhile having an instagram with clips from your best performances. The Facebook groups take the pressure off the social side of it if that’s not your thing but collaboration is an intrinsically social thing. Music is a language after all, you have to be able to “speak” to the other performers, not just write in your own voice.
John Torres
As much as it sucks to do it for free it would be good to get involved in your local arts scene to build a profile. Trust me in every local niche (politics, arts, volunteering, etc) people will take notice of your talent and you'll build connections that'll help you get better gigs.
Eli Clark
Thank you user. I really appreshiate your advice. Will be trying to find some local players and try out my luck this summer with my deepmind12 and ax edge.
Elijah Thomas
I have no problem doing free work if it means that I can build up my social connections. Im just a bit inexperienced at how to go about it.
Caleb Russell
Try local libraries/meetup.com/bulletin boards since your at UoT. Which college are you with desu
Luis Wood
This.
Also if you haven't made any money producing/performing/DJing I've got some bad news about you're muscical "ambility"
Tyler Harris
St.George campus since im at fac of music. And will be trying those out not sure about the libraries tho
Elijah Morgan
Just go out there and play music. If you're any good at all, people will happily give you money. I made a couple hundred dollars in tips every week just by playing my piano near the front door of the local grocery store.
Noah Turner
what kind of music do you play infront of the store? Do you have a set order and if so what does it look like? What is your keyboard name? (I want to do this too but my keyboards need local power plug for keyboards and amp, I havent found a portable battery yet, but am very interested in this route.)
Brody Reyes
LOL imagine majoring in fucking composition and expecting to make money
Caleb Taylor
Farmers are not poor dude
Ethan Russell
What kind of music do you like? Do you hang at places like array space or the Tranzac? I think before you concern yourself with making money you need to meet people who are performing and who you admire. When you see an interesting looking gig poster at school, you should go and check it out, make yourself known and be on the scene. Also talk with your professors about this, they know a lot more making money in your situation than we do, especially since they know you and your work a lot better.
Being a working musician or composer is a kind of entrepreneurship
Brandon Rodriguez
>muh STEM why do you stemfags keep forgetting that not everyone wants to do that shit?
I will be planning to hang out at array space, tranzac and other avenues more often and trying to meet other musicians. Really thank you for your sound advice.
Landon Gonzalez
DESU Im interested in all kind of music and just want to get connected to the scene and am willing to adapt myself to whatever opportunities and connections are there.
Cameron Ward
>composition major >making money found why. I'm a performance major and all my friends and myself gig regularly. Not at the level to make a living yet but we all definitely make money.
Gavin Davis
lol what are you trying to say
if you're a stem major and actually reasonably intelligent, it's not hard to make >100k starting out.
Christopher Gray
I can't be the only one who thinks it requires more than a little bit of delusion just a general lack-of-understanding-how-anything-works in order to justify to yourself that "going into music" as a living like this makes any sense whatsoever. Being an audio engineer or tech or other technical role makes some amount of sense -- there's not as much "luck" there than there is in the path of actually writing/creating music (there's still some though). Trying to "make it big" as a career path makes no sense at all. And if you don't make it big, you'll just be scrambling for money forever, wherever you can find it. It doesn't make any sense.
If you could go back four years, I would say pick a different degree. It doesn't make any sense to go to school for music like this (except maybe if you're a truly excellent performer and you're going to a conservatory or something, but that's a different story). Composition especially is something you can absolutely do on the side, while having a job that actually makes you money. It's hard for me to articulate how little sense it actually makes to do what you're doing.
Tyler Long
( is me) Just saw you go to UofT. Right on man, I'm graduating from Mohawk this year. My advice to go to jam sessions at the Rex or the Cat and Fiddle if you're down to travel to hamilton (Rex is every other tuesday and the Cat is every wednesday) great chance to play with people who are beyond your level and gives a chance to get to know people who are making a living playing music and ask them questions. I play at the Cat now and then and it's a great hang, I learn a lot and use it as practice.
Robert Wilson
So do I just walk in, and sit around listening to music and try to strike conversation with the musicians when they are done playing? How do you suggest one goes about getting connected once Im physically there? Ive been to lots of shows in Toronto before and after the musicians finished playing, they were all in their circles talking, I went up and said I really like your music, etc and that was it. How do you go about building a relationship with musicians at these venues?
Lucas Foster
Tell them you're a student and have some questions. 99% of players that frequent the Rex are teachers themselves and are more than willing to answer questions. If they tell you they're too busy for you or come off as a dick then you shouldn't take advice from them anyway.
Hudson Thompson
You have to be fortunate enough to be more creative than most of the people around you, AND you need to know somebody in the industry.
>why do you stemfags keep forgetting that not everyone wants to do that shit? I wanted to do that shit, and I burned out quick because the reality is both messy and boring. The guys doing it for the $$$$ seem to be doing alright though. A job is a job.
Brandon Peterson
Are you fucking stupid? You must not live in a major city because the cost of living where I live is unreasonably high. If your parents can support you throughout post-secondary until you secure a real job, then obviously people should and will take full advantage of that.
We aren't living in the 60s anymore old man
Brayden Martin
I just fuckin' play gigs, man. Get your band to not be lazy, camp outside the venue if you have to, black sabbath style. Live music is how you make the bank, sell homemade T-shirts and sell self-printed CDs, it's doable it just requires caring.
Christopher Walker
>40k in debt shit man, did you live on res or something
Gabriel Phillips
Usually, the kneepads come free with tuition. Ask around.
Carter Hall
>expecting to get a job based on what you studied americans lmao
I did in first year for the experience but after seeing how expensive it is i moved out straight away. tuition in canada is not bad at around 10k per year so 4 years (i got one more year) it adds up to around 40k (I think?cause I have no idea how much debt im in rn to be honest)
I'm not expecting anything, I am trying to make it happen and am searching for ways to make ti work.
Angel Jenkins
most of them don't want to do it either and they resent people that get to study the arts at school
Henry Myers
>if you're actually reasonably intelligent
that's a big if. I knew a lot of retard STEM majors doing it thinking they're gonna be making 6 figures only to make ~60k.
David Baker
>mass suicide of tens of millions of 18-25 year olds that cant afford to live in their own city
out of touch old faggot
Nathan Morris
just jack off on camera like everyone else. its 2019 i dont get how this question still gets asked
Connor Jones
Hahahaha, look at this bitter, poor fuck.
Jackson Walker
>yfw i'm 29 and live at home
Gabriel Turner
How do I make money making Techno/House?
Brody Robinson
are you implying i should make techno/house music for the biggest chance to make some money?
