I am/was a musician, so the next story from Yahoo’s feature was of particular interest to me: The cost of raising a rock star. I never wanted to be a rock star; I was more interested in teaching music. But the article lightly touches on the importance of encouraging the study of arts. Here is the reality of being a musician:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, competition will remain keen and job growth will be slower than average, 3 percent to 9 percent, for self-employed musicians through 2012. Even if you land a steady gig, the median annual earnings of salaried musicians and singers remains in the mid-$30,000 range. Statistically, of the roughly 215,000 professional musicians out there, four in 10 will work day jobs to support themselves.
The article offers advice for aspiring musicians to learn as much about the music business and branch out as much as possible. Learn about contracts and ownership rights, learn about arranging, editing, educating, and possibly music therapy. The more versatile you are, the less worried you’ll be about making the next rent payment.
For those of us musicians who aren’t ultimately in music-related fields, it’s likely the training in music brought out skills and talents applicable in many different aspects of our lives and careers.
Updated July 16, 2010 and originally published October 25, 2005. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
