Who here actually makes a living from their music?

[SkankyMojo]

Not who make a bit here and there, not who supplements there day job/government benefits with music. Who here actually makes a FULL TIME living from their music and production? (Meaning you write your own music for yourself as an artist, not producing for others, or games, making a living as an independent artist) And as a follow on question, how the fuck do you do it? What where the actionable physical steps you took? And what does your daily schedule look like to keep it all going?

[Ronno72]

>Who here actually makes a living from their music?

HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HEE EHEHE HEE HEE HEEH EE HO

[SkankyMojo]

At 10/27/23 12:01 PM, Ronno72 wrote: >Who here actually makes a living from their music?
HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HEE EHEHE HEE HEE HEEH EE HO

It's sad to me that's this kind of response is to be expected... the idea that making a living of your art is laughable, just shows the dismissal state of things.

[Yoshiii343]

At 10/27/23 05:14 AM, SkankyMojo wrote: Not who make a bit here and there, not who supplements there day job/government benefits with music.
write your own music for yourself as an artist, not producing for others, or games, making a living as an independent artist

let's be real: if someone is making a living as an indie artist, they wouldn't be on NG.

if they are, they're not very active in the community (feel free to prove me wrong on this one)

while we're at it, to make a living off your original work (not thru side jobs, as per your post), you need to have a sizable fanbase and be decent at marketing or doing a shitload of touring if you're a performing artist

and when you're doing all that, do you really have time to spend on forums?

[SkankyMojo]

At 10/27/23 12:43 PM, Yoshiii343 wrote:

At 10/27/23 05:14 AM, SkankyMojo wrote: Not who make a bit here and there, not who supplements there day job/government benefits with music.
write your own music for yourself as an artist, not producing for others, or games, making a living as an independent artist

let's be real: if someone is making a living as an indie artist, they wouldn't be on NG.
if they are, they're not very active in the community (feel free to prove me wrong on this one)

while we're at it, to make a living off your original work (not thru side jobs, as per your post), you need to have a sizable fanbase and be decent at marketing or doing a shitload of touring if you're a performing artist

and when you're doing all that, do you really have time to spend on forums?

I understand what you're saying, and I think for the most part you're right. I hope the are ways to exist outside of this paradigm regardless. I like to think if I was making my full living from music, that, that wouldn't stop me enjoying NG and wanting to stay active in the community. Who knows though...

[SkankyMojo]

At 10/27/23 02:15 PM, chenjoy wrote: You should ask somewhere else maybe, i dont think many popular (since to live off music u will need to be recognized) musician have a Newgrounds profile
Interesting question tho!

I understand you're thinking, but I was more specifically interested to see if anyone comes out of the woodwork on here. It's possible that someone is low key doing it.

[FalenDemo5]

This guy.

[Possibly]

I work for an Opera company in the UK part time. Not as a musician, just generally assisting with random stuff.

Even among those musicians, who are near the top of their particular profession, it's common for them to have side hustles, such as teaching/composing etc.

I appreciate that Opera isn't necessarily a common Newgrounds genre :) but I thought it was interesting.

I've found myself also trying to get my work aligned with my musical interests, and just see what happens from there.

So in my case that means that I:

Compose for others/commission based/music library.

Compose for myself.

Play in a band, doing gigs for money. Covers.

Freelance as a music assistant for Opera Company. Get to go with them on tour sometimes or just locally.

I suppose I'm maybe just making the argument that 'success' doesn't always look like what we envisage.

Saying that, I wouldn't say no to a bit more money 😀 but I didn't really pursue music for money. It would be nice, but I'm really more on a path of trying to improve and express what I want to. I'm getting there....ever so slowly....

[SkankyMojo]

At 11/1/23 07:21 PM, Possibly wrote: I work for an Opera company in the UK part time. Not as a musician, just generally assisting with random stuff.

Even among those musicians, who are near the top of their particular profession, it's common for them to have side hustles, such as teaching/composing etc.

I appreciate that Opera isn't necessarily a common Newgrounds genre :) but I thought it was interesting.

I've found myself also trying to get my work aligned with my musical interests, and just see what happens from there.

So in my case that means that I:

Compose for others/commission based/music library.

Compose for myself.

Play in a band, doing gigs for money. Covers.

Freelance as a music assistant for Opera Company. Get to go with them on tour sometimes or just locally.

I suppose I'm maybe just making the argument that 'success' doesn't always look like what we envisage.

Saying that, I wouldn't say no to a bit more money 😀 but I didn't really pursue music for money. It would be nice, but I'm really more on a path of trying to improve and express what I want to. I'm getting there....ever so slowly....

Thanks for sharing your insight. This is the kinda of tangible information that's good to know. 😊

[ZombieGhost]

The idea is to create and use all plateforms. Like patreons and etc.

[Troisnyx]

At 11/1/23 07:32 PM, SkankyMojo wrote:

At 11/1/23 07:21 PM, Possibly wrote: I work for an Opera company in the UK part time. Not as a musician, just generally assisting with random stuff.

Even among those musicians, who are near the top of their particular profession, it's common for them to have side hustles, such as teaching/composing etc.

I appreciate that Opera isn't necessarily a common Newgrounds genre :) but I thought it was interesting.

I've found myself also trying to get my work aligned with my musical interests, and just see what happens from there.

So in my case that means that I:

Compose for others/commission based/music library.

Compose for myself.

Play in a band, doing gigs for money. Covers.

Freelance as a music assistant for Opera Company. Get to go with them on tour sometimes or just locally.

I suppose I'm maybe just making the argument that 'success' doesn't always look like what we envisage.

Saying that, I wouldn't say no to a bit more money 😀 but I didn't really pursue music for money. It would be nice, but I'm really more on a path of trying to improve and express what I want to. I'm getting there....ever so slowly....

Thanks for sharing your insight. This is the kinda of tangible information that's good to know. 😊

Your original question was what threw me off.

Because, as musicians, especially on the ground, we do supplement our incomes by lending our skills to various different musical disciplines.

For me, as a VGM composer, when people hear me contribute anything, they know I'm not beholden to anyone else. I'm going to inject *myself,* however that may manifest, into the music of a game, even if I only do session recordings. Everyone I know in the VGM scene knows how uncompromising I am on that front.

Then of course, I am in four bands, as their drummer...

Then I have the pipe organ residency...

Then I teach drums...

Then I have the occasional voice acting, writing, editing, art, and sheet music consultation commissions.

Then I sell my stuff on Bandcamp, though I am looking to switch to itch.io down the line.

Fact of the matter is, I would be earning, but it is also a supplement to benefits as I have a disabled spouse. But given that my career only began like what, getting on two years ago, I'm in a far further position than most, in terms of duration, because some of my connections were made in the years before I had the right to work (especially during lockdowns).

None of us should ever feel any insecurity for supplementing benefits if this is where our current stage in life is. Fact of the matter is that we're trying in an environment that is all but hostile to the arts and to original material, and any attempt at making it and persisting with it should be encouraged.

[cloudskater]

At 10/27/23 12:43 PM, Yoshiii343 wrote:

At 10/27/23 05:14 AM, SkankyMojo wrote: Not who make a bit here and there, not who supplements there day job/government benefits with music.
write your own music for yourself as an artist, not producing for others, or games, making a living as an independent artist

let's be real: if someone is making a living as an indie artist, they wouldn't be on NG.

That is fair. Though wouldn't it be cool if a big artist decided to release their catalogue on here? It's a great platform and I'd genuinely love to see that lol