[Fmpro] Day Jobs New Artist Recruiting

Sat Jul 26 11:36:23 GMT 2008

while its true that there are many way to make money in the world the 
inherant difficulty with the type of writing we do is that the sheer amount 
of work involved in composing, orchestrating, sequencing, mixing that is 
today expected to be done by one person makes having time to do ANY thing 
else and to stay focused and energized on one's art is fairly impossible.

While it is admirable that folks like John who have no need for income to 
pursue the arts in a philisophical purity, most of us must still eat and 
also clear out enough time on our schedule to prosper artistically. And for 
me that starts with NOT being acquiescent to the idea that its OK TO BE POOR 
or its OK TO NOT BE PAID from my art and/or my craft. Already a thousand 
compromises later of finding some way to be commercial with my music and not 
to have totally sold out I continue to desperately seek a path to prosper. 
If I had the luxury of not needing income I would still be playing avant 
garde jazz in a Grenwich Village club for $30 for a sweaty, emotional and 
cathartic 5 hour gig of madness and release. Unfortunately and many tears 
later I realized, without a trust fund or family to support me in any way, 
that path leads to living in a dumpster and god forced me to choose playing 
complete and pure honesty of my soul for free or compromising and working my 
BUTT off and finding a niche in commercial music.

I chose to forgo the dumpster and so now on top of trying to find "creative 
peace" to create something that is still genuine yet commercially viable 
where I get my intellectual jollies out from intricacies in the craft, I 
also have to spend my life marketing myself as a business owner which can be 
consuming. But is it better to spend my energy on a full time job and spend 
a little extra time if/when I have energy on a cute little hobby, or to 
spend that same energy on promoting myself and hoping and praying that I 
meet the right people and my craft is good enough and all the aspects of me 
that make me adaptive to every modern situation of composing are strong 
enough that I will align with the universe and find meaningful creative 
work?

Personally I vote for a large grant allowing me to bypass commercial music 
and day jobs forever! But until my shining benefactor unveils himself to me, 
I think I will keep pursuing a path in commercial music composition that 
while viable for money doesnt leave my soul completely destroyed (its 
MILLIONS OF MILES better than having to play Kenny G songs in an orange 
tuxedo TRUST ME!!!). And with the energy I put forth into that I expect, 
even demand that I should be paid and paid as a decent member of our 
society, with enough money for home ownership, insurance, vehicles, and of 
course most importantly SAMPLES! hehe ;-)

I strongly urge you all to say NO to free work, even if you dont need the 
money. By saying ok to free stuff it only deflates the market even farther 
than it already is. Say YES to working together to take a stand and help a 
new era find a decent quality of life for composers

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Vogel" <davidiusmichaelangelovogelinci at yahoo.com>
To: <fmpro at nxport.com>
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2008 10:38 PM
Subject: Re: [Fmpro] Day Jobs New Artist Recruiting

> John, I completely agree. Thus why I make VERY little money and still love 
> to create. I've always been a creator and I always will be. It is who I/we 
> am/are.
>
> Nothing wrong with considering financial opportunities, though. In fact, 
> if you all were not aware, Glen Gould made his living playing the stock 
> market: not by music. My great grandfather was a millionaire and lived on 
> a farm.. played the market. Shakespeare made a ton of money on land 
> speculation and owning a theatre--not on his art.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: "bipcress at comcast.net" <bipcress at comcast.net>
> To: fmpro at nxport.com
> Sent: Friday, July 25, 2008 9:22:55 PM
> Subject: Re: [Fmpro] Day Jobs   New Artist Recruiting
>
> Dear Brian and Dave, I too am an artist. What very few "normals", or
> drones (as I like to call them) will ever understand is that one is born
> an artist, or perhaps even conceived as an artist. In any case, all true
> artists have no choice in the matter. It is not a career move, but
> rather an ingrained passion that will plague all the moments of our
> lives. Of course it has to be this way, simply because art cannot be
> eaten, or drank, nor does it keep us warm or cool, nor does it give
> transport, or aide in the tilling of soil or in the healing of the sick.
> It is utterly non-utilitarian and only addresses the needs of what is
> ephemeral about being human. This is why most people never comprehend
> the vital role art plays in their lives. This is why most of us starve,
> both for common goods and for recognition. But all true artists are like
> jewels in the frothing sea of humanity, each one is especially precious
> - precious beyond the norm - and ignored or not, each one will leave
> behind a cache of beautiful, unique, irreplaceable things. All of you
> who create music  - and I don't need to know you to say this - are
> cultural lights in the darkness and I admire and respect every one of
> you. Please be very proud of what you are. I'm not trying to blow smoke
> here, I just deeply believe these are truths that need to be openly
> expressed. - JohnB
>
> David Vogel wrote:
>> ----- Original Message ----
>>
>> From: Brian Phraner <bphraner at msn.com>
>> To: fmpro at nxport.com
>> Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2008 7:58:50 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Fmpro] Day Jobs   New Artist Recruiting
>> ............However, I was born to compose and that's what I most want to 
>> be making my living at.  So yes, I am out of my f*(#!ng mind.  Successful 
>> in this business or not, I'll never stop writing music as long as I live. 
>> "so I've got that going for me".
>> -----------------------------------------------
>> Werd! I majored in composition for 2 years out of highschool and this is 
>> the conclusion I came to as well. I now make much more as a teacher and, 
>> if I am ever pinned into a financial tight-spot, I can always work hours 
>> at something else. In fact, if you are looking for a comparatively 
>> higher-paying living requiring a minimal amount of schooling: go into a 
>> trade like welding or something. I was talking to a guy the other day who 
>> has a degree in nuclear physics who makes $32/hr welding and whose 
>> passion is building race cars. Of course, this is NASCAR land here in 
>> South Carolina and we have VERY low taxes on everything, but the guy is 
>> very happy doing what he does. In fact, I made more money mowing lawns 
>> and delivering newspapers as a kid than I do now.
>>
>> Dave
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>> Best of FMPRO: http://www.fmproquotes.com - Quotes site  by Billy Hale 
>> Music
>>
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>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> The Film Music Pro List is sponsored by Film Music Magazine - 
> http://www.filmmusicmag.com
>
> Best of FMPRO: http://www.fmproquotes.com - Quotes site  by Billy Hale 
> Music
>
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> http://nxport.com/mailman/listinfo/fmpro
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>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> The Film Music Pro List is sponsored by Film Music Magazine - 
> http://www.filmmusicmag.com
>
> Best of FMPRO: http://www.fmproquotes.com - Quotes site  by Billy Hale 
> Music
>
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> http://nxport.com/mailman/listinfo/fmpro
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