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Every budding musician has to start somewhere, which usually means having to maintain a day job in order to keep the lights on. Many independent artists finance their music career by waiting tables, tending bar, walking dogs, or working temp jobs. But if you're going to have a day job anyway, will it make your life easier or harder to have one related to music?
Sure, being an administrative assistant at a major record label sounds a heck of a lot better than being an assistant at a doctor's office. Being in the belly of the beast gives you necessary connections and insight into how the industry works. However, the music industry is known to be stressful, time consuming, and low paying. In contrast, if you have a good part-time job catering, for instance, you can potentially make your rent in a couple of nights, leaving more time to focus on your music career.
We asked four independent musicians with firsthand experience to weigh in. (Note: Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.)
1. Kyle Wall of Wharfer: day job in music PR and marketing
"I've been writing, recording, and performing music as Wharfer since 2013. Since then, I've been trying to balance having a day job in music PR/marketing, and am comfortable with how things are working out at the moment. It's certainly a unique situation. I take the music I write very seriously, and am not half-assing it or viewing it as a 'hobby,' like a lot of people with day jobs do. I am not too interested in going on tour, living out of a van, and venturing into the unknown of being a full-time musician at this point. I love the idea of writing and recording as much as I can, performing sporadic shows, and building up a catalog and seeing where that takes me.
"That said, it is a bit of a paradox if you're trying to gain success and further your musical career as fast as possible. Not going on tour or fully dedicating your life and free time to music could be a hurdle to further success and catching any sort of 'big break,' while many would advise it's too risky to quit your day job and roll the dice on a career playing music. As someone who's in no rush to catch any sort of big break and is most interested in writing and recording as much as possible, I'm currently in the latter camp.
"Working in PR and marketing in the music industry specifically does help give you a clearer idea of how things work – specifically the relationships between artists, labels, managers, publicists, journalists, etc., and especially helps if you plan to take on any of those roles for your own music, as I have done. On the flipside, sometimes after a day of constant emailing, calling, and writing on behalf of another artist, the last thing you feel like doing is going through the same routine to promote and work for your own music. There have been situations in which my music has been placed on the back burner because my mind is fried after a busy day.
"All in all, it's something you need to feel out as you go along with your life. If you feel a job is winding down and want to set aside a month or two between jobs on a recording or touring project, go for it. If you know you want to write and record and album but there's no rush, and you know you'll have free time away from work on nights and weekends, take your time with it and save up money from your job that could help with its eventual production and release."
2. Rob Beatty of Missing Madox: day job at a major label
"When I worked at a major label, I was a product development coordinator and graphic designer, so I was able to also take on freelance clients after work, which brought in additional money. But if you're an assistant, for example, it might be hard for you to find side jobs.
"Working for a label is a really fun job. You get to meet famous people, as well as be in meetings where you can throw your own marketing ideas out and then see them turn into a real campaign. This is great experience not just in your career, but also for your own band. I was able to see the process that the professionals in the industry used to create and manage a campaign, and then use that same process to help out my own band.
"One thing that people assume is that if you work for a major label and are in a band, you're able to get a fast track to getting signed. This is definitely not the case. Your coworkers might come out and see you play, but you don’t get an express lane to any extra exposure.
"Another benefit of being in a band and working in the music industry is just being surrounded by creativity every day. If you are a server, the work might get mundane and not help to spark any creative ideas, whether it be a marketing idea or a new song. By working with people whose lives are music, and in an atmosphere where no two days are the same, this helps keep your mind going and [helps you] think of those crazy ideas.
"A con, though, is the time. Working for a label can mean late nights and random events that could take away from practice or even your own shows. But it's not impossible to balance the two."
3. Vance Kotrla of Sci-Fi Romance: day jobs at a restaurant and legal services company, then in film/video production
"I've never had the luxury of not needing to work, so I've never really wrestled with the question of should I have a job in addition to my music and filmmaking work – it's been more like which job should I get. When I was younger, the two jobs I had that were best suited to auditions, meetings, gigs, etc. were working at a breakfast restaurant – I had to be at work at 5:30 a.m., but I was done by noon – and working the graveyard shift making copies for a legal services company. But those extremes got to be grueling, and I went all-in and moved to Los Angeles to pursue what I thought I was most suited for, which was writing movies.
"In Hollywood, the universally accepted advice is to get a job in the industry while you pursue your craft on your own time. I'm sure this is probably well-worn advice when it comes to the music industry, too. Yet when it comes to making a living in the arts, many are called, but few are chosen. In my experience, some can leverage entry-level jobs in the artistic field of their passion into the creative career they envision through meeting people, tirelessness, vision, hard work, and luck. In a lot more cases, though, those entry-level jobs evolve into behind-the-scenes careers in the executive or management ranks, or they devolve into a full tank of gas and a loaded-up car pointed back home.
"I feel extraordinarily lucky to have a day job in film and video production, which is creatively rewarding. But before I landed there, I was doing the dance of trying to balance the 'placeholder' day job and the creative work I really wanted to do.
"What nobody ever told me was that finding a job I genuinely was good at and wasn't trying to find a way out of could return the joy of creativity to me. Without realizing it, I had gotten to a place where every project I undertook had this weight of desperation on it – 'I can't stand another day in that job, and this script/song/video just has to get me out of it. This has to be the one.' It was exhausting to bear that weight on every project, especially when those projects got traction and actually went somewhere, but the payday wound up not actually being enough to get me out of where I was, or the next gig was too far down the calendar to keep the bills paid. Today, I feel like I'm doing the best creative work of my life, and it's because that particular pressure is off. Making ends meet is mentally and spiritually exhausting, and after a while it probably can't help but damage your art. Now, the bills are paid, the kids are fed, and I can take the creative risks I want to take without having to answer to anybody."
4. Phil Wodnicki of Raised By Wolves: day jobs running a small indie label, event planning, and PR
"I am producer/artist who also runs a small indie label and works in PR and event planning. I would take working in the music industry any day over working in service or a completely unrelated job. Personally, I love contributing to anything that has to do with music and its industry, which also allows me to build contacts and network. I also find that some of today's artists have no insight as to what goes on behind the scenes of the product, which makes it a bit harder for them to go in the direction they need in order to achieve their goals. I do believe that artistry today is about the hustle, and a mediocre artist with a good sense of business will probably go further than a great artist with no sense of business. The market is just too saturated to get by on the product alone."
So, in the end, it's all about where you are as an artist and what you're looking to learn to apply to your own music. Working in the music industry by day provides valuable insight, important connections that you might otherwise not make, and at least the peace of mind that you're making money in music, even if it's not from your own music. But if you're really serious about dropping everything, going on tour, and spending all day writing and recording, it's likely unrealistic to keep a full-time gig in the industry; a temporary, flexible odd job will suit your lifestyle better.
Next up:
- 3 Reasons Songwriters Should Not Quit Their Day Jobs
- How to Juggle a Music Career, Day Job, and Family: Advice From Damen Samuel
- 7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Quit Your Day Job for Music
- Yes, It's Possible to Go on Tour and Still Keep Your Day Job – Here's How 14 Musicians Do It
- What These Full-Time Musicians Wish They Knew Before Quitting Their Day Jobs
- 4 Signs It's Time to Quit Your Day Job and Do Music Full-Time
Sam Friedman is an electronic music producer and singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn, NY. His music blends experimental ambience with indie-driven dance music. In addition to pursuing his own music, he is a New Music Editor for Unrecorded and is passionate about music journalism. Check out his music and follow him on Twitter @nerveleak.
