Can you be rich playing music for a living in sg?

[HeartRockSingapore]

Don't know whether if this work, but...

Just a straw poll, bands willing to give up what they are doing now and go pro please list here :

 

[guitarman78]

If the question is whether one can be rich playing music in Singapore .. then the answer is yes and no.

If the focus is striking a fortune ... then i should say any trade can strike you a fortune.

You can sell groceries ... and make it big by opening chain super markets.
You can be day trader .... make it big overnight ... or lose it all.
You can be a property agent ... used car agent and make it big if you know the right contacts, the who is who, the right people.

And music .... like other trades depends on what you do with it. Can you make it big if you remain as a owner of a small provision shop in the neighbourhood? How about investing in a huge Supermarket?

But making it big also means paying the price. You got to work so hard that you won't have time for leisure ... day offs ... holidays ... etc. So if making it big also means sucking life out ... some people will choose not to make it big but to remain small ... because they have families to attend to ... kids to take care of.

There is always a stage in any career that you have to work so hard and spend so much time that you won't have time and the mind to do anything else besides that. And once that stage is over and you are above that .... you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Coming back to the topic of music and money .... you form a band, play radio friendly music in pubs and stuff ... you make decent income .. you probably won't strike it rich but its a decent income ... probably survivable but you won't be rish as a rock star.

You form a band .. play originals ... record albums ... if you get recognised and gain a huge support from fans ... you might be rich as a rock star. But if you dun ... you probably need to find a day job to support your passions. Which is what many people are doing.

Maybe you have certification or Deg in music ... you teach music ... steady income from the school ... but you won't be rich unless you are capable of opening your own eduacation center or something.

Wanna be rich playing music ... examples to follow are Stefanie Sun or Tanya Chua. I believe they have their struggles when they start out as young artists ... but they can afford aot more to do what they want now.

Or if you are good ... you can be session player like Shal Tahal or Adam Lee. They prob have income of a high exec ... middle class maybe. If that is your definition of rich.

So i guess you CAN be rich playing music ... it all depends on who you talk to and how much of your life are you willing to give up for it. It all comes with a price. I guess why many people are not making it big is because some are not willing to jeapordise our lifestyle for such a big thing. And they rather stay happy playing music in a bar or teaching music while they maintain their social and family life.

Hence no right or wrong answers .... just depends on what you want in life.

 

[Kwerty]

We have to somehow consider factors like living/daily expense as compared to other countries.

Singapore is definitely harder to survive with odd jobs, and pay off your bills WHILE surviving as a "part-time" musician. Then again, for some reason Asians are harder to get a place in the Rock scene. IMO, Americans have their own "real english" bands to listen to, why bother about us? The reason why we do better in the chinese, be it rock (chou pi jiang), pop (steph sun, tanya chua) and etc, cause we're Asians? And we understand Mandarin?

@stillwater: Then again, I see many hard working local musicians, they truly earn my respect as they are full-time musicians and do odd jobs to earn money to support their monthly expenses(Not to mention some are married) Many of them work in pubs and even release albums for their bands, but then they are just so unknown. Of course, even those "non-wise" musicians do not becom famous as well.

It is true that ultimately, as long as music lives in our heart, we are so called "true" musicians and not like those who do it for fame/fortune. But what is the point of writing originals, producing albums(with our hard earned money) when no one bothers/buy them? We are just no different from bed-room rockers, just that, we do put in hard work but no one appreciates it.

 

[reyrey]

its just my oppinion guys...think bout money and your music will not make it,think how to play music well and money will come to you

 

[bongman]

to earn more probably you gotta go overseas

 

[Darren]

What if

I was just wondering... would the gahment ignore or get more funding if we all suddenly just dropped music...all of us......just gather together at a bonfire or something and burn all our equipment. Esplanade half full, no more baybeats, no more contest... shit they might even be happier if we do that........oh well lets continue playing then. Tralalalala

 

[stillwater]

to earn more probably you gotta go overseas

sorry bongman, i dun mean any offence, but this is the most stupidest, yet true-est theorem which exist across the globe...

i hear chinese (china ppl) saying oh wow, its good to be in singapore, singaporeans saying oh wow u're a british, that's great, and brits saying UK is shit cos everything is so expensive n they wanna live in asia...

"the grass is greener on the other side"... this theorem always relates to ignorance.

 

[bongman]

you go overseas to get jobs - to where the music scene is !

Taiwan, Hong Kong

Recently I talk to a M'sia club guitarist,
he says most of his friends doing jingles
and commerical all went China for opportunities.
becos the job in KL no more.

I'm not talking about the exchange rate to get rich,
it's about the jobs - but recent news/rumour is the
money for doing commericals and jingles are getting
small becos of technology making it easier for the job.

 

[tomhess]

you wrote, "you go overseas to get jobs - to where the music scene is !"


This is very false. I have sold more cds in Japan than I have the USA (I live in USA) and I have NEVER been to Japan. All of my touring so far as been in North America and Europe (for reasons too long to explain in the time I have here).

So you can sell many thousands of CDs in a country that you have never been to if you know what to do and are ready for it in your career and in music....


more later

 

[drummar-buah]

The way to look at the music business is this. You have to enjoy the process of what you are doing, because that might be all you get. Some very rich and very famous drummers are also some of the most miserable people on this earth. So ask yourself the question "Why do I want to play music?" If the answer is anything but "for the sheer enjoyment of it and to share it with those willing to listen to it," you may be in for a disappointment.

 

[HeartRockSingapore]

So you can sell many thousands of CDs in a country that you have never been to if you know what to do and are ready for it in your career and in music....

To be fair Tom, some hit the right formula, some don't. It is really a combination of many factor and one formula worked successfully on one artistes but fail on another. There are bands from China that sold more in the US due to their US tours than back home. My point is there is really no absolute.

 

[bongman]

but at least must be in a country where music scene is alive,
look at Singapore... how pathetic

 

[guitarman78]

Bongman ... no matter how pathetic music in singapore is ... the question is not about how big the music scene is ... nor whether you are really heard or not. The real question is do you love music?

If you form a band ... if a Pub owner hires you ... if you have the inspiration ... just write it ... play it ... sing it. If you truly love music ... you'll just do it without a question ... .without a doubt. Do you really love music? Or do you love being heard? Just play on ....

 

[drummar-buah]

guitarman78 : "If you form a band ... if a Pub owner hires you ... if you have the inspiration ... just write it ... play it ... sing it. If you truly love music ... you'll just do it without a question ... .without a doubt. Do you really love music? Or do you love being heard?"

my answer is both. i play music cuz i want others to enjoy wat i play. 8)

 

[tomhess]

To HeartRockSingapor, Yes you are totally right, but you must understand that I do not use only one method, I use many at the same time. So it does not matter which methods will work for me or you because you only need one method to actually work

 

[bongman]

no matter how, life still boils down to paying the bills,
guess my decision to take the coporate route is wrong;
right now stuck in a job which I'm getting no where,
could have been good if I took the heart route...

 

[HeartRockSingapore]

but at least must be in a country where music scene is alive,look at Singapore... how pathetic

You can look at it in several ways.

Is S'pore really pathetic? If so, nobody would be paying $$$ to watch those foreign acts coming here. And why do they come here if it's pathetic?

Singapore is pathetic because the very people who hails in the name of local music but does not support local gigs. Would anyone pay half the amount they pay for foreign acts to watch local bands? NO! So much of the money has been channeled to foreign acts and foreign companies organizing gigs here.

Next, if it is pathetic, then do something about it.

 

[stillwater]

but at least must be in a country where music scene is alive, look at Singapore... how pathetic

bongman, may i ask which country have u actually been to (i mean physically, not watching it on tv, reading on books etc) that has music scene so vibrant to the extend it makes singapore looks pathetic?

live music is always very limited, is is always far from the hippiest thing to the general public. n u will always have to take the extra step to do some research to find only one or two, everywhere u go.

u watched too much tv my friend...

 

[jumbofret]

You can look at it in several ways.

I agree with HeartRockSingapore on this matter.

Most people here want the best outta every situation. They have no difficulty in expressing their hearts' desires.

But they can't make the best outta any situation. They just sit there and whine, criticise, compare etc. Ain't that pathetic?

 

[bongman]

bongman, may i ask which country have u actually been to ...

TV is good for health and a cheap entertainment.

I've been to New York US, Rockhampton Australia, ROC Taiwan,
Zhuhai Quilin China and KL M'sia.
all night scene clubs with vibrant bands.

so wat say you? TV is good for health