Interesteing read - Why mid level bands can't make money.

http://music.msn.com/superfans/heavy-metal/blog/why-mid-level-bands-cannot-make-money/

Thought it shed some light into how tough it is.

Ugh, reading stuff like that is just depressing. The music industry is a beast. Unless you make it BIG, you aren't going to be living a life of luxury.

Among other things. :D :rolleyes:

I have a few different friends in a few different bands (not signed or anything just casual), and thats exactly how it is for them, if not worse. I think they always came out in the negative doing their tours.

Its all about having fun really. And an attempt to get their name known in hopes to become big enough to actually make some cash. But the bands are not necessarily their lives either.

So for those mid level bands, thats definitely a rough time. They are past the point of being a casual band and it does become their life, yet not quite to the point where they are making any money. So the band is their life, but not gaining much for their sacrifices besides having fun; which the fun probably starts diminishing quickly...

Originally Posted by: RickBlackerThought it shed some light into how tough it is.

I've been in this situation. And I learned the hard way (School Of Poverty & Hard Knocks) how to climb out of that particular hole. As a teenager, my agenda was to get on as many stages, playing music in front of as many people as possible. Cost? No object. :) And that works if you have some other means of paying the bills (food, rent, etc.). This is usually a part-time or full-time job, marginally related or completely unrelated to music, which the aspiring musician calls a "side job" or "day job".

This is the start of the inverted priorities. Because, the "side job" or "day job" is the one that keeps the aspiring musician alive & makes it possible to to have enough (let's be realistic) leisure time to pursue musical activities. I'm not insulting the aspiring musician. At least he is trying to accomplish something creative with his leisure time.

Regarding priorities, most aspiring musicians are very passionate about the music, the perfomances, the entertaining, the fanbase building, and even the extra-curricular activites.

The problem is they are more passionate about all these things than the one thing that can make all the rest possible: earning a profit. And worse, since the arts in general (music, theatre, literature, etc.) have a pathetically twisted ideological bias against business and "evil money making", the aspiring musician immediately finds himself in a world-wide, historical pattern of hypocrisy ("Music is not a commodity! Buy my T-shirt! Money is evil! Buy my CD!" :rolleyes: ).

Fact: one must earn a profit (in extra time, saved food, saved money, etc.) on one's endeavors in order to stay alive & be able to engage in future endeavors. One must produce more than one consumes or else one fails, becomes a charity case or dies.

Fact: creative pursuits (like music) do not have an immediate profit payoff, which means the creative individual must work even harder to gain skill, build craftmanship & turn it into a profitable endeavor.

Because these are facts of reality they are not evil. They are merely true. However, taking the time to realize facts of reality are true is good. It's a virtue called honesty.

Conclusion: the bottom line is the bottom line. The quicker an aspiring music looks at his creative endeavors realisitically, with a plan to earn a profit on his creative endeavors, the more realistic his chances of success become.

So, before you jump out there playing whatever, wherever, however you want and expecting success to fall over itself running to you ... Stop & Think.

Figure out a way to tour that makes enough of a profit to keep you alive & happy. Figure out how to make a CD, AND have a plan to sell it that will make your money back AND earn a profit to keep you alive while you work on the next CD.

If you don't plan, you might get lucky. But don't count on it. But if you do plan at least you know what you are counting on. And anything else is a bonus. :)

Hey Shlegel, good post!

I sensed an Objectivist tone in your post... Are you by chance an Ayn Rand reader? :)

Originally Posted by: JarsewI sensed an Objectivist tone in your post... [/quote]
Yes, you did. :)
[QUOTE=Jarsew]Are you by chance an Ayn Rand reader? :)

Yes, I am. I've read everything she ever published (fiction & non-fiction). I love it all. Ayn Rand is one of my heroes.

Hm awesome. I just recently started reading Ayn Rand, Im almost finished with Atlas Shrugged. And I have read a lot on the philosophy more so on forums and blogs than her actual books... Which I need to start reading.

My step-brother is the one who found out about her after reading a Ron Paul book and he recommended Atlas Shrugged. It has completely changed his life.

Personally, it hasn't been life changing for me because I was simply raised that way to begin with. Non the less, I know I have much more to learn.