[Harp-L] some thoughts on the business of music

[rainbowjimmy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

For me playing music means playing live. There's a synergy between  
everyone in the band and the audience and when everything clicks it's  
wonderful. I learn more in one gig than I do in a month of practicing.  
If the bar is making money because I bring in business then I want a  
piece. I'm working hard up there.If I'm getting paid, I dress  
accordingly, plan the set list accordingly, and play what the crowd  
wants to hear.

I'm not a business person. I don't have the organizational skills. I  
have low risk tolerance. I need a steady paycheck.I don't have the  
energy to play live every day or even two or three times a week.I want  
to be home with my family.

A lot of musicians don't make the bucks not because they're poor  
musicians but they're poor business people.I finally got a banner  
behind the band so folks know who we are but I don't have a mailing  
list, T shirts, or CDs. Many musicians are both good musicians and  
good business people and they still don't make money. It's a tough  
racket to break into.

As far as blues not being marketable, if you're a professional music  
an you find a market. You remember that scene in the Blues Brothers  
movie where Steve Cropper and the band are all playing lounge music at  
the Holiday Inn in tuxedos? That's not too far from the truth.

So if you practice every day all day, spend the bucks for a good  
school, go on to a graduate program, make the connections, and network  
like heck, you might (if you're real lucky) make as much as a  
competent plumber. Got to love a career in the arts.

Rainbow Jimmy
http://www.spaceanimals.com
http://www.soundclick.com/theelectricstarlightspaceanimals.htm