Wanna make a living playing your music? At some point this is what has to happen

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MMM's picture
MMM
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Making Money from Your Music in 2013: The 7 C’s
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/2013/01/the-7-cs-to-making-money-in-2013/?...

"Here to do great things."

Barry Bliss's picture
Barry Bliss
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Changed My Post---1/5/2013 942am

It's okay if you decide to do your art for free and make your money in some very different way.
For Christ's sake, don't whore yourself in everything you do.

I understand that some people may be able to offer what they do without compromise and that they may have an audience willing to support them in doing that because they get so much out of it and they appreciate what the artist does.
I say accept the money and gifts from these folks if you have them around, but never change anything about your art in an attempt to attract such people.
Seriously.

MMM's picture
MMM
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I concur.

Good advice. I find things get a bit more complicated when you make the decision to try and make this stuff more of your life. And by that I mean a desire to spend more time at it.

"Here to do great things."

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I was always impressed with

I was always impressed with Oliver Ackerman when I interviewed A Place To Bury Strangers in 2007. He found a way to make his guitar pedal business (Death By Audio) compliment his band and vice versa.

I think I've pasted portions of this before, but the following is hand's down the best interview that Ian MacKaye has ever given. Here's the link, followed by a quote, then some of my thoughts:

http://markprindle.com/mackaye-i.htm

I will say that I also don't think in terms of making my money from my music. People say, "Well, this kind of stuff is easy for you to say, because you can make a living from your music." I make my living from my work. I'm not playing music right now. I am WORKING right now. I will be writing checks for five or six hours today. I haven't actually practiced with Amy for a month and a half. I'm not playing music everyday; I am running a label, and returning to Fugazi, there was so much administrative work. That is WORK. It's just straight-up work. One aspect of DIY that I think people really miss out on is that you actually have to "Do It" yourself. It's work! It's not just a classification, like "Well yeah, I'm DIY!," then you sit around at home. If you're DIY sitting at home, NOTHING is happening. It doesn't make any sense! The work has always been central, but I like to work. And of course I always have to credit reading a Black Flag interview in Damage magazine from San Francisco in probably 1980 or '81. I think Dukowski the bass player said he'd rather work a day job for the rest of his life than ever become dependent on his music. And I thought, "That resonates with me in a hell of a way!" I don't want my art to be compromised by my monetary issues. So I decided that that wasn't going to be the case. It wasn't going to happen. It was deeply liberating.

The thing about MacKaye, though, is that regardless of the fact that he makes his living mainly from running the label, he still has built his life around his values. I doubt that he would just take any job to make money. He's found something that compliments his art. At the moment, that's what I'm doing at SideWalk.

The biggest problem that I think a lot of musicians have is that they want to make a living off their art and still maintain certain aspects of a lifestyle that they probably need to give up. They probably need to spend less money hanging out or at friends shows and focusing a bit more on administrative aspects of being a DIY musician. Getting more rest. I remember talking with Claire Bowman at Sidewalk back in 2006 and being struck by the fact that she wasn't going to spend $3 on a beer, and that this was a conscious decision that she'd made because she had a budget.

I think if more people sat down and wrote out an end point for themselves: what they want from their art, for comfort, for happiness, what are their values, their strengths/weaknesses, what are they willing to give up and what they can't give up in order to be happy, then they'd find that the road they end up traveling with their art is happier and more interesting.

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How Music Works

Im reading David Byrne's How Music works and I would recommend it to anyone on the board who is interested in the above questions. He mixes in a few anecdotes from his long history as a pro, but mainly he talks about the nuts and bolts of making music professionally, with a lot of sympathy for being independent and making real art. Some of it is "well duh" or applies only to someone as well known as he is, but a lot of it is quite interesting.

He was actually the first person from the New York "new wave" scene (as it was called then, not to be confused with what is called "New Wave" now) that I talked to when I was a music journalist--the band (three members only at that time) was just about to be signed by Sire. I guess that was in 1976. Judging from the book, he still seems about the same.

MMM's picture
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That's so cool I just picked

That's so cool I just picked up the Talking Heads album "More Songs About Buildings & Food" in a used record bin for 3 bucks and I was listening to it while reading your post. I'm definitely going to check out this book. Thanks T! Hope you're doing well.

"Here to do great things."

Barry Bliss's picture
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Can some of you write a bit more?

MMM,
What are you attempting to do regarding money and art?
How is it working?
How are you liking it so far?

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Bee K,
Can't think of a question for you, unless you are not satisfied.
If that is the case, what needs to be changed?

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Tone-new,
1) Can you give a bit of a review on Byrne's book--at least what you have read so far?
2) What are some of your personal views on art and money?

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MMM's picture
MMM
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I think the easy answer to

I find the less I think about money the happier I am. Plain and simple. I'm figuring it out as I go along. I'm by no means an authority, I just like sharing my thoughts and experiences here. I like to analyze things. It's like a big puzzle to me. It's actually kind of relaxing for me to take a break from playing guitar or writing. I love figuring things out and making personal revelations about things. It's not so sexy, I know. I enjoy the mystery surrounding art making but I also enjoy dispelling the mystery around making art your life. It's work. I'm more willing to do the un-sexy kind of work (maybe for less money) because I know it's for me or for something I believe in.

To answer the other questions: It feels great. At the risk of sounding like a rehab slogan. It works because I work it. I still view my life on an upward trajectory and I figure that's a good sign. This is a really cool little video piece. I know you're not on FB Barry but maybe you can at least see this: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151397745507577&set=vb.15008206506...
I found it quite inspiring.

"Here to do great things."

Barry Bliss's picture
Barry Bliss
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The video is accessible for non-facebook members.

Good stuff.
I don't believe I had ever heard Watts's voice before.
I was surprised to see that that is who it was.
I am not a fan of that fast motion video.

One thought regarding doing what you like is that you have to find some unique and effortless way to put all of your gifts together.
For instance Bruce Lee was a good and trained actor, a philosopher, and a martial artist. (We'll stick to those three.)
He brought it all together and acted and directed in martial arts movies with philosophical undertones (or overtones--or just tones).
(He lived for 33 years.)

Thanks Matt.

Let's see if Bee K and/or Tone-new reply.