OT: Should I quit my job to focus on music?

Before you read, let me warn you it's long, so unless you have time to waste, then don't bother!

I've been debating back and forth about a big decision I need to make and I could really use some good advice right now- should I quit my job to focus completely on my music?

Here's my situtation- since I was 14 years old, it's been my dream (like millions of other people) to become a singer/muscian. I write and produce all of my music by myself as well as sing (again, I know millions of others do as well and that I'm nothing special). As I'm sure most people on here can understand, all I think about ALL DAY LONG when I'm at work (a boring office job) is music. I'm not joking when I say that I think about music at least once every five minutes- that's how much it means to me. I've even written quite a few good lyrics at work as well!

However, I've really been thinking the past several months about how I will never be happy making my living doing a "regular" job for the rest of my life. I just can't do it. Call me stupid and/or a dreamer, but I do still have that dream of getting a record deal. I don't need to be a huge star, but I would like to get signed to at least some label and be able to have at least a decent amount of people know who I am and know music, as well as make a living from it. I don't need millions of dollars, I would be happy just to make enough money to live. I don't believe in giving up on dreams- I recently fulfilled a non-music dream that I'd had for 5 years that most would think was almost impossible to achieve, but I finally saw that dream come true and that made me remember that dreams CAN come true if you don't give up.

This is also why reality is setting in very clearly right now- next month I will be 25 years old and I'm starting to realize it's kind of "do or die" time for me- it been said over and over again that after the age of 25, it gets even harder than it already is to get a record deal, because age seems to be everything in the music industry. Lately, work has been killing my creativity and draining all of my energy and focus- I had been recording and working on my music at nights and on the weekend, but I've realized I just can't do it anymore. When I come home, my brain is fried and all I want to do is relax and rest and I keep putting my music off even though I really do want to work on it. And whenever I try to force myself to work on music, I get poor results because my mental energy is just gone.

So my question is, should I quit my job to focus completely on making the best album I can, that I've always dreamed of making and can rest knowing I put my absolute best into it while I'm still young and to go after a dream I've had since I was a kid (with the possibility of realizing my dream) or should I stay at a job that I get no satisfaction from that just pays OK and only work on my music here and there, which would mean most likely I would probably never finish my album or be able to put my absolute best in it? My financial situation is this: my credit card will be paid off by the end of August. After that, I will only have my monthly car payment of $300 to pay for. I still live at home (yes, go ahead and laugh!), so I don't have to pay for anything else other than my car payment, my insurance every 6 months, and little things like gas. My plan was to save up enough money to pay for 6 months of car payments and insurance and gas so that I can spend those 6 months not working, because I know I could complete my album by then. My only hesitation is that it took forever (9 months) to find my current job and that I may have a hard time finding another job after I finish my album and that I'll have to charge my car payments to my credit card until I find a job. I know it sounds like a silly question, but where I live, it's VERY hard to find a job, especially when you only have a high school diploma, but at the same time, it's not like my job pays a fortune and I rather try and fail at something I've always wanted to do than to not try at all and always wonder what if.

Could you please tell me what you would do if you were in my shoes? Do you thinik it's worth the risk? I'm sorry this was so long, but I'm just really confused and I would love to hear what some of you would do.

Thanks again for any advice!

PS- To make this SONAR 6 related, let me add that I LOVE SONAR and that I record all of my music using it!

Is there a place to get a part time job? And not being negitive but lets just say that things dont pan out the way you're hoping they will, then what, will you be able to find another job to support yourself with? Most musicians that make a living at their craft also work other jobs in hopes that their music will take over more and more. And you cant just put out one good CD, you have to put out one after another and hope that people still buy them. And finding a job at the age of 35 or 40 is kind of hard with no work expierence.

Just a few things to consider.
Mike

Definitely keep your day job until you can support yourself with music. It's not easy to make a living off of it as you might already know. If I were you and you really wanna try making it in the music scene, and you don't live in a city were your style of music booms then I would save some money and move to that city (usually anything up north depends on the style you want to focus on). Once there find a part time job that'll give you enough to sustain yourself and meet as many musicians, that are doing the same style as you, as possible. Start networking even while you're at home, right now, on the internet, and go to websites like Craig's List or any local musician clasifies you can find. Have demos ready with clips of your music and open a myspace website and post some there too. I can keep going on what other things you can do but I'm sure you get the idea. Just start networking until you find solid connections before moving out though. It's very important to be right where things are happening though (wherever that may be). HTH.

It is, of course, your decision (which is a roundabout way of saying, "don't blame me if it doesn't work out!"). But I do have a couple points you might want to ruminate on...

1. It's been my experience that there are two types of regrets in life - for the things you did, and for the things you didn't do. And they have very little in common. Everybody does stupid things in life, but we can chalk most of them up to experience - rarely do they become things that we regret for years and years. It's the regret for the things we didn't do that is truly awful. That's the kind of regret that haunts you. The girl you were fascinated by but didn't have the nerve to ask out... the preposterous year spent hiking around the globe with a friend that you decided to sit out on... that kind of thing. Few things worse than lying in bed at night saying "If only".

2. As far as dedicating your life to something that may well leave you in the gutter, what's the worst that can happen? You're probably not going to be beaten, maimed, scarred, jailed or killed if you go for it. You may well end up utterly broke - but is that so bad? Could you crash with your parents or some good friends for a couple months if worst comes to worst? Do you have any kids to support? Can you make your money last? Figure out what the worst case scenario is, how you could deal with it, and if it would really be so bad, and go from there.

3. That said, is it really imperative that you drop everything to go into music? A lot of freelancers (writers, journalists, etc.) will keep a part-time job that lets them make ends meet, if barely, while they pursue their dream. That takes the desperation factor out of it. If you can figure out how to organize things so that you can do something like that, you could theoretically spend the rest of your life pursuing music! Is having 148 non-job hours a week really that much worse than having 168?

Best of luck!

Post some of your music. We'll let you know if you should keep the day job or not.

Quit, you don't have nothing to loose. If you believe in your self and what you are doing by all mean try to make it happen. I have only played music since getting out of high school, I do session work, live gigs and recording whork, what ever to make some money and I am happy for it. I'm not rich but I can get the things I need. I was on the road for quite a spell and although the money was pretty good I hated playing behind a person I hated and who really didn't have anything to say as a artist. Anyway if you are willing to make sacrifices and go through some hell go for it. You can always get another "job" if you need money. droddey made a great point in saying "Something to consider also is, when music becomes you job and you HAVE to do it every day, will you still want to do it every day?" After some set backs on personal and emotional levels I almost gave up playing professionally, I took a few months off and didn't touch a instrument or my music computer and after clearing the baggage out of my head I found I have found my passion again. It comes down to what you consider "making it", if being a "star" is how you define it you might be let down, but you can make a living playing music.

Throw in some horns and we'll talk :)

Wow. One of the truely honest and heart-felt cries for help I've heard in a long time. I've seen it with my best friend and maybe with myself...but let's focus on you...man to be 25 again. It sounds like you have a family that loves you and supports you...that is such an awesome gift. When I was twenty-five I was facing the same questions you're facing now, only I didn't have a decent job. At that point I had given up on the b-circuit bands I played in for five years and decided that going back to college was the best solution to solving the "I want to be a musician (rock star)" dream I had. Well, I got my degree. Got married twice. Had some kids. Had numerous jobs that payed really well, all the while telling myself that this was going to fulfill (perpetuate) the dream. Guess what? LIFE got in the way! I have so many responsibilities that music has become less than secondary! But I digress...this is suppose to be focused on you...

It's never to late to go back to school and get a degree in a field in which you might be interested. So I say, play music NOW!. You're young! Develop your craft. Keep playing. Keep writing. Find a way to make a living as a musician! Keep playing! Everyday! Play in band. Write music and try to sell your songs. Give music lessons. Anything to make money and keep playing...as long as your loving family will continue to support you. Thank them and take advantage of their generosity...make them proud. Record your original ideas! Shop them to record companies. Submit them to websites like garageband.com, myspace, or whatever...get it out there for people to hear. Find clubs that cater to original music. I have a hugh stack of Gig Magazines that I'll send to you for free...they were free to me and chocked-full of ways to make money as a musician.

In the end, you may earn your way in life as a muscian, or maybe not. But, how will you answer the question: Did I give it everything I had?

Some folks are natural risk-takers and others are not. If you are the type who LIKES (and is relatively happy) taking risks, then you will be better motivated & more likely to succeed if you quit your job and focus. If not, then quitting your job could be the worst thing you ever did.

I dunno. I'm not a natural risk taker at all, but (as per my Soap Opera above) I did it. I think what's really required is an ability to pretend that disaster isn't around the corner and just keep chugging along, instead of letting it paralyze you with fear and loathing. So you just have to develop a healthy sense of self-denial and just assume it's all going to work out OK in the end if you just work your butt off. If Fate does decide to make a house call, there's no way to know until it happens. I've read a LOT of books about people in my business (software slash technology) who went for it on their own and so many times they were on the edge of complete disaster but made it through to great success (and in this business great success can mean hundreds of millions of dollars, though I'm not counting on hitting it quite that big.)

Anyway, I don't think it's so much that you have to be a natural risk taker, you just have to be able to ignore the danger until or unless it actually strikes , and just keep the blinders on and work like a mule every day at it. It often means given up friends and fun and vacations and so on. I've not taken a day off in more than five years. But, in a way, it doesn't feel nearly as burdensome as doing a mercenary 9 to 5, because I'm working like a mule for me and my future and my vision. But that means you really, really have to love it, and not in an 'I want it' sort of way, but in a 'happy to get up out of bed every day doing it all day long' sort of way.

That's like saying, "Hey I just bought a lottery ticket. Can I quit working now?" If you're really great the music moguls will come and find you. Stay where you're at until they do. Word of mouth is everything in the business world.

Oh, and have you ever been on the road with a band for any length of time, at least a month or more? I've met very few musicians who will admit to liking the road aspect. Yeah, concerts are great but they only last for a couple of hours of the day. It's like being married. I don't care how great the sex is, you still have 23 hours 45 minutes left of every day to get through.

Hi Xfusion,

I'll just say that, a very stupid man once said something very wise to me;

'You have to do things, otherwise one day you'll be dead, and then you won't have done them'

You should post some of your work, I think people could give you better advice. If you have some real quality work already I think you'll get people telling you to go for it.

Something that I've noticed is that super talented musicians were really really, really good before they were 25 (the likes of Chick Corea, Al Dimeola, Prince, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Michael Jackson, Brian Culbertson, Johnny B. Goode , Mozart, etc etc etc). Those are the ones that have so much talent/genius that they are highly likely to make it in the music business. If you aren't at 25 producing some really quality work, then it's really unlikely you're in that select group.

I had a guitar teacher that pointed out to me that there are fewer people making a decent living playing jazz guitar than there are players in the NBA. I always thought that put things in perspective.

There are a lot of less and much less talented folks making a living playing music. But, that's like hitting the lottery (especially if you aren't already making a living in music at your age).

What would I do if I were you...

I'd go to the best college I could get into and I'd get both a music degree and a teaching credential (you'll be around music, you'll have an honorable profession, and you'll have summers off to pursue your dream). But I'm not much of a risk taker.

This one is easy!!!!

Do whatever your heart tells you!!! Whatever path you choose has a different consequence....

Steady job means steady pay, but probably less fullfillment...(more attractive to women though!!!!)

Music road will be a struggle...There are phenomenal musicians out there that don't make big money...

Think of guys, like Holdsworth, MacAlpine, some of the greatest in the world and many others doing small clubs all over

for a couple of thousand for their whole entourage!!!! thats not a lot of money!!!

It's your choice, most important, have fun!!!

Having been in that position, my advice is:Keep the day job. That does not preclude doing the music you love. I worked days, played nights...........until I found my two year old son wanting Daddy to play, while I was recovering from last night's gig, getting ready for the next. I quit giggin to be a single Dad, and never regretted that. But, lo, these many years later, I'm still playing and having as much fun at it as ever I did in the bad ol' days.
Mark

Everyone knows how to get the songwriting juices going... Just fall in love with a woman out of your league (when she's on the rebound of course), then when she recovers and remembers that she can be going out with guys who use hair products and can tie a tie, she'll dump you, and you'll go on an alchohol binge. When you recover, you'll have all kinds of good material write about.