I think many underground musicians struggle with having music as a hobby or career. And it’s definitely not an easy choice, for several reasons. Here are my two cents and experiences as a digital freelancer heavily involved in the underground metal scene.
About me – deathdoom.com, music and more
- Stefan Nordström
- Musician, songwriter, content creator, digital freelancer
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Bands: Desolator, Soliloquium, Ending Quest, Ashes of Life, Trees of Daymare, The Ashen Tree
- Social: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Money – music vs. normal job
As always, money and career stuff is at the center of this for many people. To make a reasonable living from underground music, there’s a lot of sacrifice involved. You’re building from the ground up, and you’re actually never sure if it pay at any point.
In this way, being a professional musician resembles being an entrepreneur. And believe me, you’ll need entrepreneurial drive and creative workarounds.
The creative workarounds that seem to work for people are doing other things connected to music, artristry and the scene, such as:
- Social media fame
- Patreon/fanclub, including content, access and interaction
- Offering music lessons, guest spots and so on
- Working on graphics, merch, gigs and other music-related stuff alongside your band
It’s one big hustlemania, unless you got saved up resources to burn. And believe me, they will burn fast!
Energy, recovery and burnout
For me, one of the biggest challenges are where to put my time and energy. It’s not endless, even if we like to believe so. And without taking care of ourselves and recovering, we’re bound to hit the wall. Sure, I know plenty of people who are activity-juggling superstars that can keep it going, but I’m not one of them.
I’m easily mentally burnt out, and putting myself in a band environment is a risky deal. How can other people rely on me to deliver, if I’m totally out of it on a regular basis? This is why I tend to avoid deadlines and projects with high demands overall. The mental price is too high to pay.
Creative freedom
Creative freedom is also a big part of choosing music as a hobby or career. When money and pressure to deliver gets into the picture, it easily ruins the fun and the passion for the music. Imagine having to circle back to think how the music goes down commercially, rather than what it means to you and what it has to say?
This is one of the main reasons I stayed a hobby musician and a professional content marketer. I get the feeling pro musician stuff quickly would start resemble the pressures of my freelancing anyway, but without the good payoff.
The burden of content creation and social media
Being a musician in the 2020’s is so much more than recording music and playing concerts. Most bands and artists need to run an elaborate and strategic content operation. This is definitely not for everyone, and it’s tough even for me as a digital marketing professional. That’s also where the “hobby or career?” question becomes a bit blurred, because what I do sometimes feels very professional; there’s just no income involved.
Mental health and imposter syndrome
I struggle with a lot of self-doubt and imposter syndrome regarding my music. I mean, if you can’t make a living from it, aren’t you half-assing it? These thoughts often run amok in my head, and it’s hard to deny that there’s not a little bit of truth to it. What would have happened if I would’ve dedicated myself to music? Maybe something didn’t need “to give”, as my song “Imposter Syndrome” goes?
Make music and pay your way
Some people I know have a whole other philosophy: have a well paying full-time job and pay your way into social media success, promo and live bookings. It’s definitely not wrong, even though I could never juggle it, energy-wise. I need my recovery, I need my physical activity, I need my outdoors time. Going straight from a full-time job to banging out writings and recordings in a rehearsal space or studio is simply not an option.
My personal experiences and thoughts
As a death metal musician in my early 20’s, I was like: conquer the world, fuck yeah! No obstacle was too big, and I’d do anything to perform and record. It was a lovely time, but as the 20’s kept rolling, I realized that wasn’t going to cut it. There was great fun in performing and recording, yes, but I still needed an income, regardless of how much of a hippie I was.
As I started having a decent run at digital marketing as a career, the professional musician ambitions slowly evaporated. I’m just not willing to pay the mental and financial price to do it all in, and I can’t pretend I am. I’ve delved with professionals with that drive, and they just find me a slacker and a weirdo at best. That said, I’d gladly bang out studio stuff when I’m at home with my recording equipment available.
I admire those willing to put everything on the line for music, but I simultaneously know what a huge sacrifice it is.
Music as hobby or career? – summary
Well, this turned into a messy rant with thoughts and experiences all over the place. Hopefully, it makes sense and you can learn something from it. And maybe more importantly, understand where I come from with my musical choices. I’ve been lucky to experience some amazing stuff playinng live with bands, especially the foreign festivals. But at least for the forseaable future, Soliloquium and other studio projects it is, and I won’t rely on my income from those.
What are your thoughts on this? Still in the strong ambitions phase, or have you “made” it? Or have you accepted your fate like me? Tell me on Instagram, I’m curious.
Want to support my music and content?
My music and other creative work goes on, and I try to put as much of my time and soul into it as possible. A little support goes a long way – the easiest way is to buy digital music on my Bandcamp. Also, spread the word about my content pieces and music projects. Cheers!
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