Rebecca Nisco
Mr. Calis
English 101- Research Paper
14 December 2015
Insert Amazing Title Here Many musicians struggle daily trying to make a living off of what they love to do: music. The music industry is extremely competitive and it is not only difficult to get hired, but these jobs are also extremely rare. One of the worst times for a musician is when they graduate from music school. They are young, inexperienced, and usually unaware of how it is like to live as a musician. Part of what makes a musician successful is having good connections and having the knowledge of entrepreneurship. Although music schools are a highly competitive environment, many of them fail to teach their students about marketing themselves and networking their talents. …show more content…
Not only is getting into music schools difficult and competitive, but graduating with a music degree is even more difficult because of the aggressive and competitive nature of the industry. If students were taught how to market themselves while still in music school, they would know how to network their own talents and skills, which would give them a major advantage in the music industry. Many musicians do not realize that their own work is a business. Researcher Susan Coulson interviewed many musicians and found that some do not have the knowledge of entrepreneurship. Others understood that having that knowledge is absolutely necessary. One “felt that musicians should regard themselves as a business… you really have to care about the music. Whatever the music is that’s closest to you, the music you play, listen to or aspire to play – if that’s not there then forget it, because you’ve got to have that to get you through the difficult times.” (Coulson 253) Coulson concludes that to be a musician, one must find the balance between music and business—to be able to have the perspective of …show more content…
Many endure difficult times balancing between multiple jobs—they have yet to establish a career in music. Susan Coulson quotes one of her participants in her research, “‘There’s no satisfaction in going about saying, ‘I’m a musician.’You know, you have to be practicing it, you have to be doing it, you have to be living in a certain way’”. What makes musicians’ living conditions so difficult? Lise Vaugeois describes that “viewing a musicians work as a form of employment makes it possible to notice that it is subject to a number of politically shaped factors that influence the availability of work, income levels, employment stability, and working conditions- all factors which ultimately impinge on our experiences as musicians. Such factors include economic, political, technological, social, and demographic conditions particular to one's historical and geo-political location as well as the ideologies, both historical and contemporary, that influence the directions taken by governments and policy makers.” (Vaugeois 8) There are plenty of musicians that end up not pursuing their dreams, some even becoming homeless because they are unable to make a living off of their music. Critics argue that it is extremely common for anyone to struggle after graduating college. In another article by Coulson, she discusses the
Mr. Calis
English 101- Research Paper
14 December 2015
Insert Amazing Title Here Many musicians struggle daily trying to make a living off of what they love to do: music. The music industry is extremely competitive and it is not only difficult to get hired, but these jobs are also extremely rare. One of the worst times for a musician is when they graduate from music school. They are young, inexperienced, and usually unaware of how it is like to live as a musician. Part of what makes a musician successful is having good connections and having the knowledge of entrepreneurship. Although music schools are a highly competitive environment, many of them fail to teach their students about marketing themselves and networking their talents. …show more content…
Not only is getting into music schools difficult and competitive, but graduating with a music degree is even more difficult because of the aggressive and competitive nature of the industry. If students were taught how to market themselves while still in music school, they would know how to network their own talents and skills, which would give them a major advantage in the music industry. Many musicians do not realize that their own work is a business. Researcher Susan Coulson interviewed many musicians and found that some do not have the knowledge of entrepreneurship. Others understood that having that knowledge is absolutely necessary. One “felt that musicians should regard themselves as a business… you really have to care about the music. Whatever the music is that’s closest to you, the music you play, listen to or aspire to play – if that’s not there then forget it, because you’ve got to have that to get you through the difficult times.” (Coulson 253) Coulson concludes that to be a musician, one must find the balance between music and business—to be able to have the perspective of …show more content…
Many endure difficult times balancing between multiple jobs—they have yet to establish a career in music. Susan Coulson quotes one of her participants in her research, “‘There’s no satisfaction in going about saying, ‘I’m a musician.’You know, you have to be practicing it, you have to be doing it, you have to be living in a certain way’”. What makes musicians’ living conditions so difficult? Lise Vaugeois describes that “viewing a musicians work as a form of employment makes it possible to notice that it is subject to a number of politically shaped factors that influence the availability of work, income levels, employment stability, and working conditions- all factors which ultimately impinge on our experiences as musicians. Such factors include economic, political, technological, social, and demographic conditions particular to one's historical and geo-political location as well as the ideologies, both historical and contemporary, that influence the directions taken by governments and policy makers.” (Vaugeois 8) There are plenty of musicians that end up not pursuing their dreams, some even becoming homeless because they are unable to make a living off of their music. Critics argue that it is extremely common for anyone to struggle after graduating college. In another article by Coulson, she discusses the