You’re in entertainment and you’re nervously watching your bank account as compared to the monthly bills that for some reason don’t seem to stop coming in. (I know, how dare they keep sending those, right?) You keep working hard and are hoping and praying that music sales will (finally) pick up and/or that more fans and followers will buy merchandise. You’ve tried crowdfunding, Patreon, an electronic tip jar, and anything else you can think of to make being a performer your full-time job.
But still it’s a case of, “Show me the money,” right?
Stop it.
No, I don’t mean stop being an entertainer. Keep writing songs or jokes or movies or whatever it is that you do.
However, do it with the knowledge that all those you see who you think are just doing music for their career are actually involved with other ventures too. You’d be wise to take a page from some of these folks.
For example…
On Episode 222 of “Now Hear This Entertainment” when I interviewed Scott Page, a multi-instrumentalist who has performed with Supertramp, Pink Floyd, and Toto, he talked about also being CEO, President, and Co-Founder of Ignited Network. And then I saw him in Anaheim this past January at the Winter NAMM Show where he was – being a speaker.
“Gimme a break, Bruce. I’m a ‘starving artist’ and you’re telling me to suddenly be the co-founder of a company or become a speaker?!” Not necessarily.
On Episode 238 of NHTE I talked to drummer Mark Schulman, who was calling in from Australia because that’s where P!NK was touring. But playing in her band isn’t all he does. He takes being a speaker to another level because of the structure of his talks, but – wait for it – he also has a book he can promote.
| Related post: Other Ways to Make Money Besides Just Your Music |
Still maybe a little too lofty? Okay. Let’s come at this another way.
When I interviewed drummer Chad Cromwell (pictured), it was because he had come onto my radar as a drummer for Joe Walsh. Good gig, right? But even musicians like that aren’t exclusive. More recently he has been playing on Kenny Chesney recordings and you’ll see social media posts where he’ll refer to other artists that he’s working with, sometimes even in a producer capacity. Heck, on our interview he even talked about having played with Neil Young and Mark Knopfler, among others.
Then there are the folks who are helping others in a teaching capacity. For example, singer/songwriter Whitney Doucet had been on Episode 59 of NHTE, but it wasn’t until she and I chatted prior to my hitting the Record button for what would be Episode 272 that I found out that she also gives voice lessons. And similarly, Chris Donohue plays bass for Emmylou Harris (and has performed with many others), but during the pandemic I saw him posting about giving lessons online.
And then, yes, there are artists like Shannon Lauren Callihan (pictured at top) who I sat and interviewed in Music City – right across the street from the arena where the NHL’s Nashville Predators play and where she gets a steady paycheck from for her full-time Monday-Friday 9-5 job. I see how tremendously popular her episode of NHTE has been and the fact that she has 118 thousand Instagram followers and it’s easy to assume that she’s doing music full-time. But folks, exhale, and breathe that sigh of relief that you can stop putting so much pressure on yourself and do something in addition to your entertainment pursuits – and be okay with it.
Tweet at me to @NHT_tweets with what you’re doing in addition to your singing, your songwriting, your recording, your acting, your comedy, or whatever entertainment pursuit you’re mainly focused on. Alternatively, use Facebook, LinkedIn, or even email to continue the conversation.