Music - The Worst Profession

May 24

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Music has accompanied humanity for centuries, it accompanies us in all our rituals, whether religious, festive or funeral, tells us stories and perpetuates moments, expresses feelings and stirs emotions, music is a constant in our lives, then: Why is music today seen as a "bad" profession?

The answer is simple:

Hours and hours of practice and study looking for sharpness, quality and fluency to get low-paying jobs.
Other professions profit thanks to musicians, who get very little from that profit.
It is a very competitive profession among those who practice it, due to the lack of spaces and opportunities.
You must have more than one project and job to be able to survive as a musician.

But in the end it's not the problem of people who are dedicated to music. All the factors that make music "the worst profession" are alien to musicians who, like any other professional, try to do what we like and do it well.

The people who say that being a musician is a bad professional choice, are usually the same ones who are not willing to pay what it costs to hire a band, quartet or musical group, they are the same ones who are generally looking for discounts or even They propose to pay with food and transportation! Could it be that these people would be willing to do their jobs in exchange for food and transportation? - Honestly, I highly doubt it.

In any case, it could be understood that there are people who do not have the slightest idea of how the music business works, with these people you can do a little pedagogical work and explain to them that the work of musicians is that: work, and therefore must be paid, but what seems totally unacceptable to me are the bars, restaurants and venues that have spaces for live music and take advantage of the musicians and offer them absurd deals like playing for free in exchange for advertising or food. These places, for the most part, know very well how the live music business works and yet they try to take advantage of groups and musicians who are looking to reach more audiences.

As in other professions, in music there are also people who take advantage of the talent of musicians: band leaders, managers, teachers, producers, directors of music academies, etc. As a guild of musicians we must always be attentive to these cases and report them on social networks to prevent other musicians from falling into deception and thus generate more respect for our profession.

Something that is added to all this is the media in which it is never shown how much time and money a musician invests in his career but only the result, the new record, album or single, the next tour or concert and clearly the scandal behind it. Fortunately, social networks are showing little by little the "behind the scenes", the process and the path that leads to the result that is shared in the end, this makes visible all the work of the musician and allows people to see its value.

Music is the worst profession for those who do not live in it, there is no person more courageous and persistent than musicians, very rarely will you hear a musician say that he chose this profession to have money or a good job. Those of us who chose music did so as a way of life, because it really moves us to compose, perform, sing and live music.

Finally, it is important to be self-critical, realizing that as musicians we must learn much more than playing an instrument is something difficult but quite useful, having good control of finances is essential and not spending what we are paid at the bar is a habit that many musicians never learn but that fortunately is less and less common. If we want as a guild that the profession and the work of the musician be respected and valued, we must put aside the criticism that discourages and involve constructive criticism.