The longer I live in this hidden world of music and musicians, the more I come to find that many of the typical ideas of what it is to make a living as someone in the field of music are complete nonsense. Most people believe that being a musician offers two job options: performing, teaching, or both. If you you want to perform, you have to be the best if you want to make enough money to survive; you need to know the right people and be in the right place at the right time. If you want to teach, you have to have a high tolerance for small children and public school systems, or have the means and support to run your own business. Those are the two stereotypical options, and even those descriptions are barely true.
The following is a list of other professions in the music industry besides those mentioned above: instrument maker (band instruments, percussion instruments, luthier, pianos, electronic instrument, etc.), instrument repair technician, instrument sales, sound recording technician, record producing, record marketing, music librarian, music historian, musicologist, theatre manager, music school director, music therapist, concert hall director, radio DJ, composer, arranger, music editor, music magazine publisher, music book author, sheet music publisher, music critic, biographer, agent, lyricist, arts organization fund raiser, roadie, piano mover, A & R, string maker, copyright lawyer, historical instrument curator, audio engineer...
Even within the piano technician profession there are layers of jobs besides just being a home service technician. One could be a soundboard/Pinblocks manufacturer, a rebuilder, a concert hall staff technician, a music school staff technician, a hammer maker, an action parts producer, an action parts distributor, a refinisher, a key maker, a tool maker, a tool distributor, an instrument manufacturer CEO... the list goes on.
If you are good at something and love music, there is a job for you in the industry. When someone says, “don’t go into music, you’ll
never be able to make a living,” laugh at them,
heartily. They truly have no idea what is out there. There are many jobs available, one just has to look for them. Granted, they do require specific skills that are developed over years of practice and training, some more than others, but what professions don’t? There is significantly more to the music industry than what you see on TV or read in the paper. If you are good at something and love music, there is a job for you in the industry.