What does it take to make a living as a musician? [View All]

This is something I posted on another music forum on another website (jazz-related). I thought I'd post it here also in hopes of getting the opinions of some of DU's knowledgeable musicians.

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Hi. I’m ready to be laughed out of the forum for this question, but here goes anyway: just how hard is it to make a “decent” living playing jazz, or in some music career in general? By “decent” living, I mean replacing my current salary, which is respectable money in an area with a fairly low cost of living? I’m aware that there are a small handful of people who make what I would consider large sums of money, and I’m aware of the rank-and-file ramen noodle stereotype, in which great musicians struggle to make ends meet. For clarity, allow me to state that no one would pay me a dime for my playing right now; I’m just not that good yet.

So why am I asking this crazy question? Because this is my first day back at work after the holiday break, and I find myself wondering what in the world I’m doing here. I’ve heard all of my life, as I’m sure you have, that one should do something one enjoys as a career. And I used to enjoy my IT career, but in the last several years, it seems to have turned into a neverending struggle to keep from being laid off. I really don’t want to live this way.

You may be inclined to tell me that if I love music enough (and I really do love the music), the money won’t be that important. And I understand that, but I also have kids and bills and all that sort of fun stuff to take care of, so I have to be a pragmatist about the whole thing.

So if I meet some prerequisites, like being single-minded and obsessed about playing, about learning, about all things music, and if I progress to the point where I’m a good, solid jazz player (yes, I expect this to take years), is it even conceivable for me to believe I can switch to a music career eventually, one in which I could earn enough money to pay the bills? Or would it be easier for this 36-year old to enter the astronaut program?

Life is short—do what you love to do. That’s the phrase that keeps coming back to me, along with images of me trying to run on this corporate hamster wheel forever in an attempt to keep from being thrown clear. Is this a fool’s errand, or is there some niche in which I might eventually fit? I’m willing to work for it, and I’m expecting any sort of permanent change to take several years to affect, but that would be OK, so long as I have a plan.

Thanks for any thoughts you have on this subject.