Lately iv'e been getting allot of pressure from my family to get a degree or something like that. even though i want to make music for a leaving, i cant know if what the future holds and if i'll be able too. we all know it's not that simple nor easy. so i am thinking to start learning something in a few months.
iv'e started producing about 2 years ago. invested allot of money in hardware and software. i released a few tracks but the label wasn't serious and recently i stopped working with them.
the problem is that i don't think i'll be able to keep my day job, school, making music and have some kinda life. which means i'll probably stop making music, sell all my equipment and leave the thing i actually want to do. but i got to be realistic about my future.
so i was wondering how many of you have or doing a degree in something not related to music?
how did you manage making music, work and study or maybe you stopped making music while making the degree and started again when you finished?
University/collage while making music
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oblioblioblio
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I guess you gotta do what feels right to you, but packing the whole music thing in completely probably isn't necessary.
Even if you can't guarantee a living from music it's possible to live a double life, finding a place in a working world with gauranteed income and fitting music around it. You just gotta make some sacrifices.
It would definitely be possible to study a different subject at uni and do music in your spare time... you'd just have to manage your time pretty well and cut back on the some of the social parts of the uni experience.
In some ways it's a good thing to be thinking about earning a living. I dropped out of uni to focus on music and I'm not in a great financial situation right now, and I can't really see a way into a very independant lifestyle (I'm living with my Mum, which probably isn't where I saw myself being when I was younger). My music isn't gonna be earning me money for a long time, if at all, and I don't have any skills to earn a decent wage. But I know that I'm doing something that feeds my soul and that is the most important thing to me.
Even if you can't guarantee a living from music it's possible to live a double life, finding a place in a working world with gauranteed income and fitting music around it. You just gotta make some sacrifices.
It would definitely be possible to study a different subject at uni and do music in your spare time... you'd just have to manage your time pretty well and cut back on the some of the social parts of the uni experience.
In some ways it's a good thing to be thinking about earning a living. I dropped out of uni to focus on music and I'm not in a great financial situation right now, and I can't really see a way into a very independant lifestyle (I'm living with my Mum, which probably isn't where I saw myself being when I was younger). My music isn't gonna be earning me money for a long time, if at all, and I don't have any skills to earn a decent wage. But I know that I'm doing something that feeds my soul and that is the most important thing to me.
There are many opportunities in college to network and learn in college. You'll probably meet many DJs and bands, and you could always double major in music and something else.
But if you're really looking to get a good degree and find a good job (if you're not banking on music), my advice would be to focus on your studies. It's really hard to put everything you have into music without hurting your academics, and with school on the side you probably won't be making your best music.
I tried doing both, music and school. In the end my grades suffered a bit... I should have graduated with top honors, but I ended up just doing decently well. I saved up to buy some expensive music equipment in college, but I didn't have enough free time to fully study it like I can now.
Right now I have a good job and do music on the side. It's a lot easier -- I'm not stressing about midterms or finals, and I have a pretty nice, steady income to supplement my music hobby. I work 10-6, and I study/practice music from 9-1 on most weeknights.
Anyway, I'm rambling -- I guess I'm just trying to say to not worry about putting music on the back seat for a couple years. It'll be there when you return. Keep your music software and a MIDI controller (or just keep all your equipment if you can afford it) and after you graduate you'll enjoy it a lot more.
But if you're really looking to get a good degree and find a good job (if you're not banking on music), my advice would be to focus on your studies. It's really hard to put everything you have into music without hurting your academics, and with school on the side you probably won't be making your best music.
I tried doing both, music and school. In the end my grades suffered a bit... I should have graduated with top honors, but I ended up just doing decently well. I saved up to buy some expensive music equipment in college, but I didn't have enough free time to fully study it like I can now.
Right now I have a good job and do music on the side. It's a lot easier -- I'm not stressing about midterms or finals, and I have a pretty nice, steady income to supplement my music hobby. I work 10-6, and I study/practice music from 9-1 on most weeknights.
Anyway, I'm rambling -- I guess I'm just trying to say to not worry about putting music on the back seat for a couple years. It'll be there when you return. Keep your music software and a MIDI controller (or just keep all your equipment if you can afford it) and after you graduate you'll enjoy it a lot more.
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mrgreynoise
what do you want?
after you've articulated your answer, why not focus on exactly that?
on a more concrete level, perhaps you'll consider a degree in music composition, electroacoustic composition or music technology. or a combination thereof.
it takes time. you say you've been producing for 2 years. that's awesome. music is the work of a lifetime. literally. if you really want to make a living with music keep that as a goal, talk to as many people as you can and ultimately trust your own instinct. good luck.
after you've articulated your answer, why not focus on exactly that?
on a more concrete level, perhaps you'll consider a degree in music composition, electroacoustic composition or music technology. or a combination thereof.
it takes time. you say you've been producing for 2 years. that's awesome. music is the work of a lifetime. literally. if you really want to make a living with music keep that as a goal, talk to as many people as you can and ultimately trust your own instinct. good luck.
I'm a mechanical engineering student with the same musical aspirations as you.
I'm working for this degree because I know that once I have it, I am forever set. I can pursue music full time if I want, knowing that I can fall back on my degree any time. Or I can simply make a very comfortable living while having plenty of spending money for gear and simply write music in my free time for my own enjoyment. I like having my options open and having a backup plan, because as much as I want to acheive musical success, I know that I can't bet the rest of my life on it. Not only that, but I feel that putting that sort of pressure on to something that you're passionate about can only degrade it for you by making it conditional upon your expectations.
The point is that music is indeed the work of a lifetime, like mrgreynoise said. If you get a good degree you'll have more opportunities available to you for the rest of your life than if you don't get it. I go to school 5 days a week and I work during the weekends, and I try my best to fit in music around that. It gets frustrating, sure, but I know that I'll have a lot more time and mental energy for music when I'm making a good living with an engineering degree than I would trying to scrape by on whatever job I'd be doing otherwise. And it doesn't hurt that my school (GA Tech) now has a Music Technology masters program for engineering grads
.
Just make sure you don't major in something like philosophy or psychology and expect to have employers fighting each other over you once you graduate.
I'm working for this degree because I know that once I have it, I am forever set. I can pursue music full time if I want, knowing that I can fall back on my degree any time. Or I can simply make a very comfortable living while having plenty of spending money for gear and simply write music in my free time for my own enjoyment. I like having my options open and having a backup plan, because as much as I want to acheive musical success, I know that I can't bet the rest of my life on it. Not only that, but I feel that putting that sort of pressure on to something that you're passionate about can only degrade it for you by making it conditional upon your expectations.
The point is that music is indeed the work of a lifetime, like mrgreynoise said. If you get a good degree you'll have more opportunities available to you for the rest of your life than if you don't get it. I go to school 5 days a week and I work during the weekends, and I try my best to fit in music around that. It gets frustrating, sure, but I know that I'll have a lot more time and mental energy for music when I'm making a good living with an engineering degree than I would trying to scrape by on whatever job I'd be doing otherwise. And it doesn't hurt that my school (GA Tech) now has a Music Technology masters program for engineering grads
.Just make sure you don't major in something like philosophy or psychology and expect to have employers fighting each other over you once you graduate.
here's my story, quite similar to yours.
i joined university about 3 years ago for a degree in management and communications (double major). last year i took a year off to produce music and even though it has not gotten me anywhere financially or otherwise (i'm talking about consistent income, not the pay checks you get for a release here and a release there) i still feel quite committed to my music.
now im back in college, decided to finish off my degree, changed my majors to industrial relations and communications and go to school 4 times a week, pretty much from day to evening. good thing is, i get my fridays off, which gives me ample time on the weekends to do my music.
also, when i come back from college and have no assignments due, i just spend time working on tunes to release. this whole making a living from music is really hard now days because of the heavy competition, and not only that, but also you have to be producing real quality stuff to get on a big label and make a decent living off record sales and gigs.
don't worry bout not getting time to socialize, i normally DJ every other weekend, and on the one's im not booked i spend almost all my time socializing with my buddies.
my advice would be to balance everything out. its not as hard as it may sound.
and yes, just think about the day you'll graduate, then you can do whatever you wish. pursue your degree and you dreams.
Goodluck!
i joined university about 3 years ago for a degree in management and communications (double major). last year i took a year off to produce music and even though it has not gotten me anywhere financially or otherwise (i'm talking about consistent income, not the pay checks you get for a release here and a release there) i still feel quite committed to my music.
now im back in college, decided to finish off my degree, changed my majors to industrial relations and communications and go to school 4 times a week, pretty much from day to evening. good thing is, i get my fridays off, which gives me ample time on the weekends to do my music.
also, when i come back from college and have no assignments due, i just spend time working on tunes to release. this whole making a living from music is really hard now days because of the heavy competition, and not only that, but also you have to be producing real quality stuff to get on a big label and make a decent living off record sales and gigs.
don't worry bout not getting time to socialize, i normally DJ every other weekend, and on the one's im not booked i spend almost all my time socializing with my buddies.
my advice would be to balance everything out. its not as hard as it may sound.
and yes, just think about the day you'll graduate, then you can do whatever you wish. pursue your degree and you dreams.
Goodluck!
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jessejames
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Time management.
Music has always been my passion and I treat it as such, not as a profession. I finished college and focus on my career which makes me money and allows me to do things like purchase a home and live comfortably and buy myself electronic toys to play with.
Personally I could not be a full time musician. I need stability in my life and that means consistent inflow of money to support my life. In addition to that, I love music because it's my creative escape. If it was my job, the enjoyment that I receive from it would wane. Music is my fun time and my hobby. My career is my career. (I majored in graphic design but don't do that full time; I do freelance design on the side for fun).
That being said, it is hard to balance everything out. I work full time and am currently studying for an industry certification which is eating up all spare time. Plus I work out a lot. I have to put in lots of late hours and wake up tired to get music time into my schedule. But if you really want to pursue it, that's the dedication you need to apply.
I am a bit jealous of some of my friends that are able to put lots of time into music. But I am in no way dissatisfied with the way my life is. It's just different than theirs.
Music has always been my passion and I treat it as such, not as a profession. I finished college and focus on my career which makes me money and allows me to do things like purchase a home and live comfortably and buy myself electronic toys to play with.
Personally I could not be a full time musician. I need stability in my life and that means consistent inflow of money to support my life. In addition to that, I love music because it's my creative escape. If it was my job, the enjoyment that I receive from it would wane. Music is my fun time and my hobby. My career is my career. (I majored in graphic design but don't do that full time; I do freelance design on the side for fun).
That being said, it is hard to balance everything out. I work full time and am currently studying for an industry certification which is eating up all spare time. Plus I work out a lot. I have to put in lots of late hours and wake up tired to get music time into my schedule. But if you really want to pursue it, that's the dedication you need to apply.
I am a bit jealous of some of my friends that are able to put lots of time into music. But I am in no way dissatisfied with the way my life is. It's just different than theirs.
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MINIMALTECHNOHOUSE
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Im doing a part-time degree and have a pretty cool job, (my company pays for the tuition), but as you can imagine, i dont get much time for music.
I, like others, want to achieve something that will set me up for life, im succeeding in what im doing now so wouldnt give it up for anything.
I wouldn't like to study full time though, i love the pressure of work, its what keeps me alive & sane!
I like making music because i think too much in the day; when im patching up a synth, im focused on a single (pretty meaningless) task, which is a world away from my day job.
So its a release;, i cant see me making any money out of it, so ill carry on with what what im doing, get fat and bald and become bitter because i didn't chase my dreams when i was young....
I, like others, want to achieve something that will set me up for life, im succeeding in what im doing now so wouldnt give it up for anything.
I wouldn't like to study full time though, i love the pressure of work, its what keeps me alive & sane!
I like making music because i think too much in the day; when im patching up a synth, im focused on a single (pretty meaningless) task, which is a world away from my day job.
So its a release;, i cant see me making any money out of it, so ill carry on with what what im doing, get fat and bald and become bitter because i didn't chase my dreams when i was young....