Guest Drahken Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Since theres a lot of you on here I'm curious how many of you are in music/sound production as a career vs. as a hobby. I'm also curious how it relates, like say making music vs. selling it, or radio or something like that. I've been considering moving out of multimedia and design and focusing more on music and sound production, maybe in the video game industry if I can find a place. Right now music is more of a hobby and rarely do I create music for anything other than listening to. Lately though I'm finding it to be something I'm quite passionate about, and while a recording career seems like a pipe dream I could see myself working in other avenues of music/sound production primarily rather than as a side thing. Graphic design is starting to burn me out, mainly because I have a hard time working with uncreative clients who don't know what they want. I suspect I would find that to be the case in music & sound production as well, but given my diverse musical interests I think it would be at least a better fit. So who all on here produces music as part of their career, and who does it as a hobby? Fill me in on what you do and how you got there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dugbert Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 i'm passionate enough about making sounds that i really don't care where it goes. even when all i had was a mixer and a microphone i would sit around recording feedback. a few years later, and a few thousand dollars of equipment later, the sound probably hasn't improved much over the feedback. i also really enjoy programming, so i'm trying to combine the two hobbies, by writing sequencers and stuff. if i ever get to the point of making something i really like, i would probably just spend a few hundred bucks out of my own pocket to make a few copies on vinyl for my friends. i don't have intentions of playing live anytime soon, so i don't really have any future in commercializing my sounds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tht! tne Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 i just do it to pass the time i'm too lazy to be professional right now but i anticipate improving and then i still probably wouldn't sell i try to make what i would like to hear that isn't already done or isn't done the way i would do it i have plenty of respect for all the knob twiddlers here though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qnio Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 as a hobby definitely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vegeta897 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Hobby. Though if I take off as a flash site designer, it'd be pretty cool to compose some stuff for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneaksta303 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 hobby for now. i guess we'll see. i'd love to work on films though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tompd Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I reckon if your livelyhood depends on what you make, it can be a pretty stressful situation. Especially if you are 'unappreciated' by the general public! Always easier just to mess around with sound in your spare time, methinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest earlgrey Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 i used to do a bit of it recreationally, but got RSI and stopped using computers almost completely for a few years ... nowadays I'm more interested in bashing the strings on my gee-tar than in audio production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dpek Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Kind of a profession. I mean I sell shit mostly beats to mcs but it is all more like a hobby profession. I also work in design. Man is that the only job we music makers have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Drahken Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Dunno, design is just such an easy avenue to go. All you have to do really is build up a large enough portfolio and client base and its easy to find work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aron Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 i've pretty much given up on trying to make a living off music. i dont make any money except from the odd cdr i slang on the street or the show that will come up every couple months... i wouldnt mind getting into some kind of company that does something music or sound oriented, but for now im alright working regular jobs and playing around with music in my free time... i dont think it would be fun to do your own music as a straight up profession, like touring and hussling cds to stores, trying to sell yourself and whatnot all the time. it would become too serious and less fucking around. i like fucking around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rook Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I was all set on being a professional musician. (not an electronic one though, voice and guitar) But when I loaded myself up with professional groups and music classes, I found my art suffering. My technique got worse, I wasn't writing, and I was miserable. So this year I decided to remove myself from that world, and even moved 12 hours away. Since I have moved, my technique has improved drastically, and have been writing and producing like crazy. So I don't know what that means but I am certainly much happier not having stuck up jerky musicians in my life. Since I have been getting into the electronic thing pretty heavly, hopefully I could get something together with that, but we shall see. I's still a young gunner you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aeser Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 i love the idea of making a living off my music but i doubt A: i could ever make that much money and B: that i'd really enjoy HAVING to come up with music as a JOB, as my brain does not work that way. i think most shitty records are made for this very reason. artist needs to come up with art, good art just ain't flowing at the moment, got a deadline, put out crap, repeat. sells based on name. fans bitch their first album was better or whatever. i don't think good art for the most part is usually made on demand, as much as made from genuine inspiration/certain mindsets that don't jive well with it being your job/souce of income/livelihood. not that i wouldn't love being able to sit around all day and not have to do anything but fuck around with music and come up with new shit. plus the more i think about it i'm not crazy about the lifestyle of making a living off your music. i.e. giant sums of money followed by long dry spells of no money/constantly unsure where your next paycheck is coming from. very VERY few musicians make it to the point where they're even remotely financially secure and that usually comes with getting to the point of being independently wealthy. think of being a mid level independent artist, you can live off your music as in pay rent on an apartment and make enough for food and shit, but like all artists, you have a limited shelf life, no kind of steady income, and nothing to show for it when the money eventually runs out except maybe a 10 year gap in work history on your resume when you try to go get a dayjob. it also irks me to think for a second if you ever did get to the point of being independently wealthy off your music, how much richer you made your label than you made yourself since they make 10 times more off you than you do. it's kind of a suckers game. we do it because we love the work, and the fringe benefits of living like a rockstar are appealing to most of us fuckups, ego stroking and getting laid and being a bigshot and whatnot, but in reality you trade a life of shit with a couple years of being said bigshot, for a better life of relative mediocrity, hence the live fast die young lifestyle of most people involved in this shit. rockstars ain't so sexy when they hit 80 years of age and have ruined livers and piss their pants. i look at it now as kind of cheating myself out of a good fulfilling life. but then making music is part of what i define as a "good life", so i guess being a hobbyist is for me. though i would never mind some extra scratch here and there off it if i could swing it, i would just never let it fuck with my dayjob/things i want more in life no matter how appealing it might seem based on the false illumination of success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b born droid Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 i'm currently working in post production trying to end up as a dubbing mixer. it just means however that you have to put up with all manner of shit to hopefully end up in that position. still, i've nothing else i'd like to do. the only downside is the hours i currently work mean i don't get much time spare to make beats as much as i'd like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Drahken Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 i'm currently working in post production trying to end up as a dubbing mixer. it just means however that you have to put up with all manner of shit to hopefully end up in that position. still, i've nothing else i'd like to do. the only downside is the hours i currently work mean i don't get much time spare to make beats as much as i'd like. How does your outlet acquire its music? Do you guys just license stuff or do you hire someone/group to produce original material? In house, out of house? I'm trying to get a better understanding of how that side of things work and how people go about getting the music/sounds they want in a variety of industries. From what I've seen the video game industry is expanding pretty quickly and there are lots of sound related jobs out there. Right now I work in multimedia and content design so I've already got some connections to those areas. What I'm considering is working on a strictly audio portfolio and try to land a few contract jobs and then once I've got enough legitimate experience under my belt try to move into the gaming industry and focus more on audio production in that realm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ۞ Syntheme ۞ Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Hobby Just something to do in the evenings after a day at the office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beneboi Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Semi-professionally, about 30% of my monthly income is from music i sell to one of 3 local museums and 2 production companies for local commercials and independent film Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squee Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 My friend and I are arranging our first gigs at the moment and we'll actually make quite a nice amount of money if the arrangement goes well, and we both need the money since we're both poor students. :( At the moment I wouldn't mind living off playing our stuff for cash, but not on the long run I can assure you that. Let's see what I end up working with when I'm done with my education (Digital Design) because nobody really knows what qualifications you'll end up with when you're done since it's an entirely new education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest awkward Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 i'm still living off the sales of 'dreamt' whilst looking forward to the pre-order cash for the new one in the pipes. the secret of making a living offof music is living really cheaply. oh and don't rely on watmm to make up your sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aces Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 I think at the moment it's still a hobby really. I mean i have put out an album on a label but it hasn't really changed anything much. Not that i mind particularly. Although you never know what the future holds in store. Looking at some dates in London soon. Hopefully that will mean that there will be more shows and maybe some cash. Not under any illusions of being rich or anything. I do love making music. Although i am in a bit of a dry spell, which is stressful. This is a tired rambling mess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Drahken Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Hobby Just something to do in the evenings after a day at the office. Whats your day job if you dont mind me asking!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greenbank Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 back to hobby! no gigs for a year, no proper release for 4. i might give it another go when my contract is up on my current job. i think i probably prefer it this way though - office = cash, music = fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryancolecreate Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Ya, hobby for now. I wouldn't mind releasing some stuff via teh intertubes, but as far as having music related obligations, thats pretty low on the list. I think if I had obligations there I would become pretty depressed. So many designers. Me too! He He. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest monotoo Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 designer #90456783647623643745089273 reporting music seems be more of an experiment|hobby for me right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braintree Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Career. I'm in school for it right now. Will probably be doing sound design for media when I get out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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