What do you consider a professional musician

  • Thread starter Anim-Al
  • Start date
    • This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
bobby... said:
house, car, food, taxes school, kids, vacations, if you can do all of that playing ?
you're a pro , in my book of booklets ....
Click to expand...
So in the end, money is really all that matters?
 
DrumBob said:
Yes, this exactly. If you learn the material and play it well consistently, show up unimpaired, on time and dressed appropriately, treat everyone with respect, do the hang with grace and humor, and refrain from acting like an asshat, you're a pro.
Click to expand...
I'm all that. Except for the LAST part:confused1:
 
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
TRUE PRO STORY...

I was playing full time in a good country rock band in the 90's but wanted a part-time day gig to help pay the bills (had two kids).

I got a second job down at the lake at the boat dock renting out canoes, row-boats and peddle-boats. It did not pay a whole lot but it was a nice job, outside by the water, relaxing, and I got to take boats out onto the lake by myself when business was slow. I was a good worker, showed up on time, fixed up some of the broken boats. Cool deal. Boss seemed to like me.

So anyway July 4th was coming up. Now the Fourth of July was a BIG DEAL here in Prescott AZ with a rodeo, parades and lots of drinking, dancing and partying going on. My band got asked to play a few extra shifts at the local country bar during the day on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Big money! Yeah!

So I tell the boss at the boat dock I need a few days off to do my real job. The dude gets all pissy and huffy and says:

"You gotta make a choice... Are you gonna take this job seriously or not? Or do you just want to go play some stupid rock n roll with your dumb band? Maybe it's time you grew up!"

I could not believe what I was hearing. Mind you this was a low paying part-time job and I was a model employee. Whoa!

I quit the next day. Now THAT GUY was an asshat!
 
Last edited:
Tinker tailor soldier ..... drummer ?

 
bigbonzo said:

What Is A Professional Musician

question
www.drumforum.org www.drumforum.org
Click to expand...
If you search this forum for that topic, you'll find results here, here, here, here, here, and here.
genie here here.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Drums were always secondary to my main career but I have played professionally for decades - eg: I was paid to play. Acting professionally is something else but ideally that and payment go hand in hand. In my experience only full time musicians dislike part timers being called pro.
 
I consider anyone that earns a living playing a musical instrument full time to be a professional musician. If you have to work a day job and play shows here and there I don't consider that a professional musician, personally. I mow my lawn once a week, but that doesn't make me a professional landscaper.
 
cdwillis said:
I consider anyone that earns a living playing a musical instrument full time to be a professional musician. If you have to work a day job and play shows here and there I don't consider that a professional musician, personally. I mow my lawn once a week, but that doesn't make me a professional landscaper.
Click to expand...
That’s a bad analogy.

The correct analogy would be someone else paying you to mow their lawn, in which case you would be a professional lawn mower ;)
 
Dreams and wannabe aside,

if you cant work full time playing your instrument
- in what ever genre-
one is not a professional.

A pro on any musical instrument, is one who can fill in any musical job and gets payed for it in real life full time.

If one does not play good enough to make a living playing his instrument, he defintily is not a pro.

A good man always gets work.
 
toddbishop said:
I've seen again and again enthusiasts saying that someone has to be making their entire living from something to be called professional, which is wrong.
Click to expand...
I disagree.
It is whatever you put as your main source of income on a tax form. If you make 75% of your income as a plumber but earn money at the weekend playing drums, you ARE a professional plumber. Simple as.
This comes up frequently on largely hobbyist chat forums. At the end of the day, almost no one cares, except maybe the tax authorities. It never keeps me awake at night whetherI'm a professional musician, or you are.
I think there is some need for some weekend warriors to call themselves 'professional musicians', which virtually no one else cares about.
 
bpaluzzi said:
That’s a bad analogy.

The correct analogy would be someone else paying you to mow their lawn, in which case you would be a professional lawn mower ;)
Click to expand...
Like a teenager doing odd jobs to pay for driving lessons or something?
No, it is simply what you declare as your main income source. It really IS as simple as that.
 
Whitten said:
I disagree.
It is whatever you put as your main source of income on a tax form. If you make 75% of your income as a plumber but earn money at the weekend playing drums, you ARE a professional plumber. Simple as.
This comes up frequently on largely hobbyist chat forums. At the end of the day, almost no one cares, except maybe the tax authorities. It never keeps me awake at night whetherI'm a professional musician, or you are.
Click to expand...

Most of the musicians I know-- professionals-- are having to supplement with other things, but I can't think of anybody with a full blown other career. I think Mel Brown mostly retired from playing for maybe five years and worked as an accountant. I would be having a very direct conversation with anyone who wanted to question his bona fides based on that.

It's an important category for me, it separates the lifers from the hobbyists, it reflects an attitude towards the activity, that goes beyond how much money did you earn.

Whitten said:
I think there is some need for some weekend warriors to call themselves 'professional musicians', which virtually no one else cares about.
Click to expand...

It's more about knowing they're not, and not wanting anyone else to be. Hence you get these standards that anyone actually in the arts full time knows are fairly ludicrous.
 
toddbishop said:
Most of the musicians I know-- professionals-- are having to supplement with other things, but I can't think of anybody with a full blown other career. I think Mel Brown mostly retired from playing for maybe five years and worked as an accountant. I would be having a very direct conversation with anyone who wanted to question his bona fides based on that.

It's an important category for me, it separates the lifers from the hobbyists, it reflects an attitude towards the activity, that goes beyond how much money did you earn.



It's more about knowing they're not, and not wanting anyone else to be. Hence you get these standards that anyone actually in the arts full time knows are fairly ludicrous.
Click to expand...
None of the professionals players i know have to fill in their work time to survive with other jobs at all.
 
A professional musician is someone who earns their primary income through musical activities like performing, composing, teaching, or producing music. This can include live performances, studio work, or other forms of musical employment.

Here's a more detailed look:

Income: A key factor is deriving a significant portion or all of their income from musical endeavors.

Performing: Playing music in venues, studios, or for recordings.

Composing: Creating original musical pieces.

Producing: Working behind the scenes to create and refine musical recordings.

Teaching: Sharing musical knowledge and skills with others.

Variety of roles: Musicians can be singers, instrumentalists, composers, conductors, or producers.

Skill is not the sole determinant: While skill is important, it's not the only factor. Someone who earns a living through music is considered a professional, regardless of their skill level.
 
Mcjnic said:
Jim Thorpe won GOLD for the pentathlon and the decathlon at the 1912 Olympics.
But they took them away because he had been paid $25 a week to play a short time in minor-league baseball.
He got paid which took him from "amateur" and made him a "professional".

They recently reinstated his medals.
A hundred years later.
So maybe we table this discussion for a century and see where we are.
Click to expand...
The future is here
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top