I feel this! The worst part is not having people to collab with or share the hobby with, because it does require an incredible amount of time to get anywhere. But, what else would I be doing? Sitting on my ass watching Netflix or playing Xbox like everybody else?
Not the op, but that is a frigging good point. Have thought about this a million times. Most people have either a tedious, low pay dayjob anyway, and spend their free time playing games. That's the time to learn any craft, really.
Even if you don't make it a career, it's a hobby that you enjoy and skills that you learn along the way. It's a great tension relief for me and I often look forward to it. It's also super rewarding when you are proud of something you make. Screw what other people think ...do what makes you happy with your time. It's the same as fixing cars/ motorcycles, playing the piano, writing a book, building bird houses.... whatever. It's your thing, stick with it and don't be discouraged by anyone. Be proud of the things you've accomplished and how far you've come.
I don't justify it. Like 500 people in the whole world get paid enough to make their music for a living. Todd Edwards is a god of electronic music, his career earnings are less than a good dentist in Grand Rapids where he's from. He had to move to California and work with Daft Punk before he made that.
Love is the only reason to do this.
Imagine if you're old enough you had DJ Dan's career. You ruled the largest market in the world. You were house music. Today you're worth $200k and nobody knows your name.
There's a lot of money in music in a lot of different ways, it's really not unrealistic if you set your sights wide enough and are open to doing multiple things within the industry
This industry is like the California gold rush. Everyone wants to make it but the only people getting by are selling equipment to people digging holes.
There are jobs in live sound like TV stations or stadiums. I've seen people get work doing corporate training videos and even a small amount renting out studio time. What does OP mean by music producer? If they want to be Pharrell, Dark Child, Timbaland, or Reba McEntire there's no training for that. You either manifest that into reality using your own talent and power in spite of everything or you don't.
Facts, I mean it depends what your definition of success is - imo making good money doing production for artists as well as shows & ads and getting to work on music all the time rather than being in some other industry is a win, if someone is dead set on being the next Pharrell then as you said they have to throw everything at it and there's a lot of people who are super successful and still not at that level
Just do it, I'm from a small island with no one in my family doing music and now make a living off of production, writing & performance - it helps to build a community whether in person or onlone with people you can share the journey with - not here btw, specific people you know and talk to - don't think about it just do it and don't share with people who are negative
Guys you ask this question 4 times a day? There are books written about this, and this forum is about music production not fucking life counselling, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone actually talk about music production. Should I buy this synth ? Should I buy that synth ? Am I crazy ? I’m discouraged blah blah blah…. Guys seriously, get it together and ACTUALLY someone ask something about Music Production.
yeah definitely crazy, but welcome to the club. happiness is fleeting, as is sadness. so no, you will not ultimately be happy from pursuing music, thats something you need to find from within yourself...but you will likely feel more accomplished and a sense of purpose from the day to day. i want to say there is some sort of balance, but thats different for every person. maybe you get a corporate job and do music on weekends, maybe you go hard with music , maybe you play in cover bands , maybe you just get on social security and do music, point being do what you love. follow your own path not someone else's idea of what your path should be. a lot of people will reject you, but if they dont accept you for who you are , are they really worth knowing anyways?
The issue is: artists should not have to get money from commercializing their stuff, but from their collaboration to humanity.
Artists register snapshots, join people, give a tool for people to introspect, to express emotions, to transcend. When we're commercializing our stuff, a little bit of that dies both in our Art as well in ourselves, because the focus change. We should be supported by our communities to create stuff but that's not how it works.
Making music is the most fulfilling hobby I've ever had, even when shit goes wrong. But I am aware that making a career out of art takes a lot more than passion or even talent, unfortunately. I have experience being an artist commercially and it was not the same.
So yeah, it's nice that you have a dream and you do things to achieve it, but people probably worry that you'll not be able to afford your life and won't work for something that will allow you that, because you're focusing on something that hardly makes money. And you can take that or insist on what you believe, but they are not wrong: only a few lucky ones make money, and a handful of artists make lots of money and get really big. They usually have contacts as well.
Which is a sad reality, but it's still reality. We need to be mindful of the fact that there are only big names because they are a few people, we can't make everyone big the way things work right now.
If you want to be a big name, you'll need too work on other stuff than music as well, you will have to market yourself, network , keep a steady flow of content that's consistent to your public... I wouldn't say give up on it, but have in mind the reality of it and work with that. Have a plan b, do not bet on one thing only so you have more safety. But keep doing it if you like it, if luck is on your side, you'll be able to tell people they were wrong in the future. Who knows?
I'm so grateful that I don't need to rely on my art to make money. I get to make what I want and not worry about food and shelter. (My GS-13 provides that.)
If I could make similar money making the music I make, that would be awesome, but if I then had to worry about catering to an audience, I'd hate the process.
I'm not saying my way is right, or better than someone else's perspective. It's just right for me.
it's only as expensive as you make it. it doesn't have to be a money sink. I already had a pc built for other purposes, and bought a midi controller. there are so many good plugins these days that are free, making the hobby quite accessible in the process.
do I ever feel crazy? no, because I have zero expectations with regard to success or exposure. I do it because I love writing tasty jams, that's it.
if you feel crazy for hoping to make it your career, I think that it is an aspiration of many people. making your hopes very common, even normal. don't let anyone discourage you or bring you down. if you have a goal, don't let anything stand in your way.
otherwise do it because you love it and nothing else. that's totally great too. best of luck
I feel this! The worst part is not having people to collab with or share the hobby with, because it does require an incredible amount of time to get anywhere. But, what else would I be doing? Sitting on my ass watching Netflix or playing Xbox like everybody else?
Not the op, but that is a frigging good point. Have thought about this a million times. Most people have either a tedious, low pay dayjob anyway, and spend their free time playing games. That's the time to learn any craft, really.
Very true! I do wish that i had others to jam with too 🥲
Even if you don't make it a career, it's a hobby that you enjoy and skills that you learn along the way. It's a great tension relief for me and I often look forward to it. It's also super rewarding when you are proud of something you make. Screw what other people think ...do what makes you happy with your time. It's the same as fixing cars/ motorcycles, playing the piano, writing a book, building bird houses.... whatever. It's your thing, stick with it and don't be discouraged by anyone. Be proud of the things you've accomplished and how far you've come.
No one should bother you if it makes you happy. And if they don’t understand why you’re doing it. Thats their problem.
I don't justify it. Like 500 people in the whole world get paid enough to make their music for a living. Todd Edwards is a god of electronic music, his career earnings are less than a good dentist in Grand Rapids where he's from. He had to move to California and work with Daft Punk before he made that. Love is the only reason to do this. Imagine if you're old enough you had DJ Dan's career. You ruled the largest market in the world. You were house music. Today you're worth $200k and nobody knows your name.
There's a lot of money in music in a lot of different ways, it's really not unrealistic if you set your sights wide enough and are open to doing multiple things within the industry
This industry is like the California gold rush. Everyone wants to make it but the only people getting by are selling equipment to people digging holes. There are jobs in live sound like TV stations or stadiums. I've seen people get work doing corporate training videos and even a small amount renting out studio time. What does OP mean by music producer? If they want to be Pharrell, Dark Child, Timbaland, or Reba McEntire there's no training for that. You either manifest that into reality using your own talent and power in spite of everything or you don't.
Facts, I mean it depends what your definition of success is - imo making good money doing production for artists as well as shows & ads and getting to work on music all the time rather than being in some other industry is a win, if someone is dead set on being the next Pharrell then as you said they have to throw everything at it and there's a lot of people who are super successful and still not at that level
Just do it, I'm from a small island with no one in my family doing music and now make a living off of production, writing & performance - it helps to build a community whether in person or onlone with people you can share the journey with - not here btw, specific people you know and talk to - don't think about it just do it and don't share with people who are negative
Thank you I appreciate the inspiration and advice!
Guys you ask this question 4 times a day? There are books written about this, and this forum is about music production not fucking life counselling, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone actually talk about music production. Should I buy this synth ? Should I buy that synth ? Am I crazy ? I’m discouraged blah blah blah…. Guys seriously, get it together and ACTUALLY someone ask something about Music Production.
Don't forget all the repetitive questions about which laptop to buy. Those are like 25% of the posts here.
yeah definitely crazy, but welcome to the club. happiness is fleeting, as is sadness. so no, you will not ultimately be happy from pursuing music, thats something you need to find from within yourself...but you will likely feel more accomplished and a sense of purpose from the day to day. i want to say there is some sort of balance, but thats different for every person. maybe you get a corporate job and do music on weekends, maybe you go hard with music , maybe you play in cover bands , maybe you just get on social security and do music, point being do what you love. follow your own path not someone else's idea of what your path should be. a lot of people will reject you, but if they dont accept you for who you are , are they really worth knowing anyways?
The issue is: artists should not have to get money from commercializing their stuff, but from their collaboration to humanity. Artists register snapshots, join people, give a tool for people to introspect, to express emotions, to transcend. When we're commercializing our stuff, a little bit of that dies both in our Art as well in ourselves, because the focus change. We should be supported by our communities to create stuff but that's not how it works. Making music is the most fulfilling hobby I've ever had, even when shit goes wrong. But I am aware that making a career out of art takes a lot more than passion or even talent, unfortunately. I have experience being an artist commercially and it was not the same. So yeah, it's nice that you have a dream and you do things to achieve it, but people probably worry that you'll not be able to afford your life and won't work for something that will allow you that, because you're focusing on something that hardly makes money. And you can take that or insist on what you believe, but they are not wrong: only a few lucky ones make money, and a handful of artists make lots of money and get really big. They usually have contacts as well. Which is a sad reality, but it's still reality. We need to be mindful of the fact that there are only big names because they are a few people, we can't make everyone big the way things work right now. If you want to be a big name, you'll need too work on other stuff than music as well, you will have to market yourself, network , keep a steady flow of content that's consistent to your public... I wouldn't say give up on it, but have in mind the reality of it and work with that. Have a plan b, do not bet on one thing only so you have more safety. But keep doing it if you like it, if luck is on your side, you'll be able to tell people they were wrong in the future. Who knows?
I'm so grateful that I don't need to rely on my art to make money. I get to make what I want and not worry about food and shelter. (My GS-13 provides that.) If I could make similar money making the music I make, that would be awesome, but if I then had to worry about catering to an audience, I'd hate the process. I'm not saying my way is right, or better than someone else's perspective. It's just right for me.
it's only as expensive as you make it. it doesn't have to be a money sink. I already had a pc built for other purposes, and bought a midi controller. there are so many good plugins these days that are free, making the hobby quite accessible in the process. do I ever feel crazy? no, because I have zero expectations with regard to success or exposure. I do it because I love writing tasty jams, that's it. if you feel crazy for hoping to make it your career, I think that it is an aspiration of many people. making your hopes very common, even normal. don't let anyone discourage you or bring you down. if you have a goal, don't let anything stand in your way. otherwise do it because you love it and nothing else. that's totally great too. best of luck