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Daniel
Student
Marco Island, Florida
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What is the best career path for a musician with an eclectic taste in music and the ability to play multiple instruments?
I play bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitar, a little piano, bagpipes and would like to learn others. I am a young musician and live in an area where this is not a lot of opportunity for me to pursue my interests. I am moving to GA and will attend Atlanta Institute of Music and Media to study bass composition and hopefully audio engineering. #musician
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Christian Cowan
Pro Audio & Video Installation | Multimedia Producer | Sound Engineer
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Christian’s Answer
Man if you figure it out let me know lol. I'll be honest with you. I studied guitar and music production overseas and moved back to Texas to pursue a career in writing for film and television. I currently work in the AV industry as a "Lead AV Technician", a role which translated very well from the production aspects of my degree. If you have any aspirations for professional musicianship, be ready to be living on ramen for a minute. Seriously, be prepared to live poorly, your friends and family will be in a different stage of their lives while you pursue your career goals.
There's a lot of burn outs and unprofessional time wasters out there taking up space, and anyone with a guitar has shot at the same thing you do, so be ready to shine, but also realize that you HAVE to love playing music more than anything, or you'll hate it imo.
Excluding any investments in gear for the moment, consider that there are few "jobs" in music. The creative industries are essentially a gig based economy. So you might not have a steady paycheck unless you get a cushy job in a studio or your band makes it.
Some avenues to consider for steady work are events management companies that put on shows in stadiums, wedding cover bands and cruise ships. Find your niche and you can usually get hired in these positions, but you have to have that hustle haha. Cruise ships are a great way to see the world while you are young and single, and I have a couple friends who play on ships that love it. As far as being an actual professional studio musician, your chops have to be on point on your worst day, and you need to be in an area where there is a scene, so Atlanta might be a good choice.
As for my choice, I've found that working with AV tech is a good compromise while I work on my passion projects. It's not always easy, but I have found that for me it's been better to pay the bills and come at music from a part time perspective, than be broke and go for it full time. That's a personal decision, you might be strong enough for the struggle.
There's a lot of burn outs and unprofessional time wasters out there taking up space, and anyone with a guitar has shot at the same thing you do, so be ready to shine, but also realize that you HAVE to love playing music more than anything, or you'll hate it imo.
Excluding any investments in gear for the moment, consider that there are few "jobs" in music. The creative industries are essentially a gig based economy. So you might not have a steady paycheck unless you get a cushy job in a studio or your band makes it.
Some avenues to consider for steady work are events management companies that put on shows in stadiums, wedding cover bands and cruise ships. Find your niche and you can usually get hired in these positions, but you have to have that hustle haha. Cruise ships are a great way to see the world while you are young and single, and I have a couple friends who play on ships that love it. As far as being an actual professional studio musician, your chops have to be on point on your worst day, and you need to be in an area where there is a scene, so Atlanta might be a good choice.
As for my choice, I've found that working with AV tech is a good compromise while I work on my passion projects. It's not always easy, but I have found that for me it's been better to pay the bills and come at music from a part time perspective, than be broke and go for it full time. That's a personal decision, you might be strong enough for the struggle.