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**Ace** · 10-10-2004, 11:38 PM

Re: Making a living at music??

I make a living as a touring guitar tech. I went to Lutheir's School, but I've also learned a whole lot from just doing research on guitars. And also trial by fire. It's very unsteady and competitive work though. Sometimes you think your gonna get work, and none comes your way for quite awhile. There are a thousand guys out there who call themselves "guitar techs" who don't know a damn thing, I do repairs for some of them. A lot of it is who you know and who you blow, so to speak. When I work, I get paid anywhere from nothing to really, really well. Depends on the job. You also have to be able to get along with complete strangers for weeks at a time on a bus. The upside is that you live like a rock star(while working) and that you live guitars. I handle about 30-40 guitars per week. It's a fun job, but it's a tough job.

**Boxcar Willie 84** · 10-11-2004, 08:09 AM

Re: Making a living at music??

A lot of the guys I work with make their livings by playing in cover bands, wedding bands, gospel and worship bands, doing acoustic gigs at coffeehouses, teaching, AND working at GC...most of the time a large combination of those things.

**markD** · 10-11-2004, 09:23 AM

Re: Making a living at music??

i don't 100% make my living with music, but supplement my income substantially with music. i run sound for a gospel/praise band, do a lot of studio session work as a bassist, often come in and in play lead guitar (solos only!!) on people's sessions, i engineer in several local studios. i also own and operate my own project studio, but that almost doesn't count because i pick and choose who i allow to record there since it's in the back of my house.

i am a school teacher during the year, so i have several vacations during the year. during the summer if my band hasn't booked a "tour" [img]/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img], then it's all studio work for me.

studio work pays well. depending on the "artist" (i use that term loosely - most of the artists suck so bad they don't even have bands!!) i can get anywhere from 50-100 dollars for a song!! you're talking maybe 2 hours of work tops. the praise/gospel band only works large church gigs on a free offering basis, and i get 10% of the free offering. that can be anywhere from 100-600 dollars for an hour of work. projects that i record in my studio can range anywhere from 500-2000 dollars depend on the size of the project. when i engineer at the local studios the pay is quite a bit less, around $15 an hour, but it adds up if the project is a long one. i usually go in and do engineering for drums (yeah, i am a guitarist, but i have the magic when it comes to tweaking drums for recording).

now, if it is a summer where my band "tours" [img]/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] i don't make sh*t, but i have a lot more fun!! i'd rather play my own songs to 25 drunken morons for $50, than make $2000 being tortured by some rich kids playing out of tune death metal!! go figure [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

**Annah** · 10-11-2004, 10:14 AM

Re: Making a living at music??

Donovan,

I don't make a complete living from music, but I do supplement well with teaching private guitar lessons. If I could just get 10 regular students per week I could quit my day job. I'm seriously considering trying to do that in the near future. Since I have been playing for 22 years and teaching for more than two years, it's not too hard to get teaching gigs, but my weak spot is advertising.

Our band doesn't make much money when we gig, not yet anyway. All that we make goes back into the band fund, which is as it should be right now.

So until I get my self-promotion s#!t together, I'm just getting students by word of mouth, which works pretty well.

Annah

www.RightSideOut.net

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Making a living at music??

Making a living at music??

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