This is why it's still important to actually purchase the music that means something to you. Guys/girls sacrifice a lot to put out albums that you and I grow to cherish. Even if it's jack shit, it's nice to feel like you're putting something in their pocket.

I'm reminded of Tim Harrington from Les Savy Fav saying he wouldn't ever need a day job if they just never stopped touring. But "having a home is just so expensive."

The "easy money" is to be made in music licensing, if you have the kind of music that appeals to the film/tv industry. That's a big "if." But it's big money, no effort. You just need a couple of good contacts.

hey, just my 2 cents, but i recently went on tour with Joan of Arc (somewhat bigtime, chicagoland avante guard rock act, jade tree records, etc) and i was talking to those guys and they have been in touring bands for the last 10 years (cap'n jazz, owls, ghosts and vodka, etc) and they have never not had jobs.

i think the trick is to get a good job that you don't have to work everyday. thats what i do. i deliver pizza from 2-3 days and then do music for the other 3-4 days....

ilostmaterialism wrote:hey, just my 2 cents, but i recently went on tour with Joan of Arc (somewhat bigtime, chicagoland avante guard rock act, jade tree records, etc) and i was talking to those guys and they have been in touring bands for the last 10 years (cap'n jazz, owls, ghosts and vodka, etc) and they have never not had jobs.

i think the trick is to get a good job that you don't have to work everyday. thats what i do. i deliver pizza from 2-3 days and then do music for the other 3-4 days....

The above sort of thing is helpful. What a fascinating fucking thread. Anybody else wanna throw in their two cents in 2007?

In the Sonic Youth Starbucks thread, i wrote:I work for a bank in downtown Milwaukee that gives me the standard two weeks paid vacation, but they are also nice enough to have let me go over that allotment and take a few days of unpaid leave each year i've worked here. Every day of vacation i hve pretty much gets eaten up by touring, and i haven't been on any other kind of vacation since the '03/'04 New Year. (Edit Note: I'm pretty sure if i took a month or two of unpaid leave per year, i'd be fired.)

We tour roughly 2-3 weeks per year, and i've always regretted that there wasn't a time in my life where i lived in squalor in a run-down punk house in Riverwest for $100/mo rent (because of sharing the house with 8 other people) in order to tour for 5 months out of the year in my early 20s. Something about that seems sort of romantic in a really twisted sense.

My friend Rob from the Sump Pumps is a loan officer, i guess, which is basically a type of sales. Make yer own hours, work your ass off and make hell of commission, not work for two months and go on tour. Of course, you need the other 3-4 guys in your band to commit to a fucking sales job, too.

I work 9-5, a real job. I could easily drop playing music and just climb the ladder. But the reality is, I do grunt production work on the web, it just happens to pay well. I'm lucky enough where my work is cool with the whole band thing. In fact, they are very supportive of it.

My gf is also very supportive. She would even go so far as to be cool with me quitting my comfy job and getting some shit job that allows me more time to do music and she would help out with the bills. But to be honest, I feel like I'm the only one in the band that gives it 100%. I work 40 hours a week (get up at 6:30 every weekday) and still I book all the shows, go out and meet all the people, design and hang almost all the posters and have all the contacts. It's very difficult, but we've managed to get signed to a label and produce a full-length. I would love to be in a band with people who put as much into it as I do, though. I would like to go out on the road more.

They do drugs. When the drugs run out they go on tour to raise money for more drugs.

Freelance webdeveloper/pixel pusher: This can pay halfway decent money and allow a good amount of flexibility/vacation time. However, certain times of the year are really slow, so you may have occasional trouble finding work. If you can manage your money, or you have alternate options (like touring during the off-season) you can make it work pretty well.

One possible problem is that if you stay out of the job market for several months then it can be difficult to get back in once you return. It all depends on how well you work and what kind of name you've built for yourself.

Also, to get started doing freelance art of any kind (graphics, programming or whatever) you'll need a portfolio to show, and that means work. For programming, you'll need some training, and a college degree plus a professional certification or two helps a lot.

I seriously don't understand why bands on tour book shows and don't demand a guarantee that will at the very least cover their gas and food. If the bar can't provide it, don't book that show. Bands playing for free on tour just fills promoters' pockets and makes it harder for other bands to get a reasonable guarantee. If you have to cancel your tour because you're not getting paid enough at each show you need to ask for more and have the draw to be able to ask for it. I think the amatuer bands that do this shit fuck things up for bands trying to do it for real. </angry>