Musician in Singapore?

I'd say play music for the passion, and rely on a steady, full-time job for money to get by and also supplement your passion. You can still earn from playing music but that should be more of a bonus.
 
So what even if our own fellow singaporeans say local music suck? You just have to market well. Don't stuck in SG. There will always be people saying how stupid,retarded,fked up, moronic, everything-negative your orginals are. there will also be people who like your music. End of the day, its not easy la! To earn a living outta music in singapore. Best is to have a steady day job which ends at 5pm and you go home write music like no life like that. ):

20cents!
 
Someone once told me "Even if you are being paid a dollar for doing something that you love, take the job instead of going to your workplace/sh*thole all unhappy with zero morale"

I guess what you want to do in the future is all up to you.
 
Hello guys.

I have a question that I think bugs a lot of the music enthusiasts here. I'm only 16 years old, so I guess I don't know much.

I aspire to be a performer in the future (I play drums). My dream would be to perform with my band in front of a crowd, with them cheering and all. I LOVE THE ADRENALINE RUSH AND EXCITEMENT!

However I heard many people (including my own parents) saying that making money with music in Singapore is nearly impossible. So, what are your thoughts? How difficult is it to make a living out of music in Singapore?

Hello Mr. Mouse. What a cute nickname!

Anyway, don't listen to what most of these other posters say. They speak from their heart, most of them, but not their minds. They are well-meaning and intend to be helpful in their suggestions though. But let me put something into a more realistic perspective for you, then you can decide whether pursuing a music career is for you.

1) If you are doing it for passion
By all means, go ahead! The creation of music stems from passion in the first place. And if you don't have the passion for music to begin with, I doubt you'd be posting this thread in the first place. Every business man, musician, lawyer, doctor, etc who goes on to achieve great things in their careers all have one common denominator - a love and passion for what they are doing. And if you have it, embrace it.

2) The Thrill of Performing Live!...
....is by far an unmatched experience. Having hundreds, if not thousands, of your friends, family and fans cheer you on is a sensation that is surpassed only by....well, I can't think of anything. I hope you can achieve your dream in that aspect. Because nothing beats that moment of euphoria or somebody appreciating and respecting you for the art you create, be it on drums, guitars, singing or ballet (if you're into that kinda thing :))

3) But wait....let's be realistic!
But let's be realistic here. Whether you see the music industry as a business or not is entirely dependent on you, but here's the catch - sustaining your interest in music in a commercial sense requires a lot of financial input. For example, the costs of recording an album, buying professional equipment and generating interest amongst fans does require a significant amount of finances.

If you are doing it as a hobby, you will be more than satisfied in occuring losses during the progression of your semi-professional career. However, if you are hoping to make a living out of doing music, it requires commitment and time beyond just the music-making aspect of it. You have to create sources of income to cover your running costs and have a little on the side to live on decent terms. In order to make that kind of money, you have to invest your intellectual learning into marketing, promotions and getting your music heard and purchased. Doing so requires a lot of your time and commitment, and anything less will usually lead to a failure in generating significant income.

4) Look outside of Singapore
Demographically, Singapore is not big enough to sustain your career as a musician (if you are looking to be an original recording artist and not a pub player). I emphasize the word sustain for two reasons. 1) Sustaining a career means a steady form of income as an original artist. 2) Sustaining your finances is just as important as feeding your passions. Without finances, you can have great talent but no avenue to showcase it to the world with an album or advertising. Even recording a professional sounding album is a financially draining process, but it is not impossible. That is why you need to look outside of Singapore for a wider demographic of appreciation which obviously leads to an increased sales rate to feed you the finances to sustain and improve on your music career. ANYONE who says passion is enough to make a living out of music is talking nonsense. Passion is a must, but it also must be coupled with risk taking, making intelligent decisions, a creative and focused work ethic, and an undying desire to prove to your detractors that you can make it happen for yourself.

5) But all is well, if you have the dream
However daunting I have made things out to be, don't fret. If you fill your heart with the determination to succeed as a musician, you will. It doesn't matter how many peopel tell you that it's impossible. With your creative spirit, grit and passion to go against the odds to not just make a living out of music, but inspire fans to celebrate in your creative output, I am sure you will grow up to be a capable musician who will learn the ins and outs of the industry and shape them to your advantage.

Of course, that's quite a lot to take in for a 16 year old. Maybe you should focus on your O Levels first. :)

Once again, listen to this advice, and your dreams to become a full-time professional musician just might one step closer to being fulfilled, bit by bit. It comes from someone who has done it from experience and not from posting or listening too much to SOFT. :) I wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of happiness, and cannot wait to hear your music soon. Cheers!
 
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There's so much reality input given here and that's how it goes in real life.

In Singapore, it's already getting hard to earn a living. So playing music for a living will be even harder.

Saluti!
Tetragrammaton
 
i feel that people shouldn't take it personally when other people say that they suck. frankly speaking, the standard of local musicians is not there. we don't even have the best musicians out there in the 'scene' because being such an educated population, many of us hold full time jobs that pay us big salaries.

also, being a good musician is not easy. its a special gift and talent. by practicing all you can do is maximise your own potential. that may or may not be enough to get a break and take it. the industry is globalised, and there is no market out there that is able to exclude the rest of the world.

one may be talented in music, but also talented in things like IT, accounting, engineering etc. obviously, there are more breaks in other industries, as far as singapore is concerned. the breaks are rare and few, and frankly local musicians are worth too much money in other industries to be waiting for one.

look at it from another angle; i want to pursue a career in agriculture i.e. i want to be a FARMER. modern day farmers are big time. the bassist of Blur, alex james, is now a pig farmer. but clearly, something as simple as this, which doesn't require any exceptional ability or talent, is simply impossible in singapore.

and i agree with Tetragrammaton (what a long mofo nick), life in singapore is harder than people realise and many people take things for granted. life here is make or break and you can only appreciate this fact when you 'break'
 
being in this music industry for this short period of time and working with artistes internationally as well as in the region and Singapore...i must honestly say that our culture developed in the younger generation of today is too comfortable ...i can cite examples which i experience and see that foreign artistes are much more 'hungry' for success despite numerous tries and failures....but the locals that we deal with majority give up easily after 1-2 tries ...the level of pursue for music opportunities are of quite a contrast ...of course i would NOT say ALL locals are like this...but most that i came across are still very much monetary driven and think largely of the short term benefits...unlike foreign artistes who sacrifice on their pay just to give it a shot and from there spring to a greater platform after their portfolio and resume is beefed up

nevertheless being a Singaporean, i definitely support local artistes and will really wish to garner the network of more musicians in SG to meetup through this platform here: http://www.meetup.com/The-Singapore-Singers-Songwriters-Meetup-Group/
 
Keep working hard, hone your talent, always be like sponge..

perhaps one day you might be a hired gun.

Either that or there are other music related avenues/options available. Music compositions for example, be it for ads - music production houses - or for artistes. Always have options& don't be discouraged because you will face tons of challenges. You're only 16, so don't fret about rates etc cos chances are by the time you're prepared for what's out there, the rates would have changed.

Most important of all, you gotta keep that passion burning because trust me, you will go through a burnt-out phase especially when music becomes your rice bowl.

Good luck.
 
Ah, it's been months since I posted on SOFT. Glad to see I didn't miss out on much.

Anyway, to the thread-starter, there's a lot of good advice floating about here. It is true that your life is yours, and therefore you should pursue your ambitions with all your heart and soul and seek relevance with your passion in your life. I did so some years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

However, you must be aware of the flipside. As much as an individual aspires to reach new heights in his or her life, there ARE social constraints that exist beyond the control of the individual. An extreme example here would be a citizen of North Korea. A young North Korean teenager may aspire to be a rockstar who tours the world; he is passionate and hard-working and willing to go the extra mile for his craft. He is, however, unfortunately limited by the strict laws that prohibits individualism and geographical transits from country to country.

Of course, Singapore is not North Korea, and you will never find yourself in such an extreme situation. I'm merely using it as an example to illustrate the fact that social constraints do exist for Singaporean musicians, be they nuanced (i.e. the general public's disenchantment with locally produced music) or implicitly obvious (i.e. a limited demographic).

That being said, it is STILL possible to make a living out of being a musician, though it is more likely than not that you'll never be a millionaire. Still, a life without the pursuit of happiness, or at least contentment, is not a life worth living at all. So all in all, if you really want to be a musician, you can definitely achieve it - provided you gain a keen sense of social awareness and are willing to take some prudent, well-calculated risks.

Good luck!
 
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being in any trade is hard. all jobs required you to be your best in order to get hired.
same for musicians, bosses pay only to musicians that are good in their trade.
for inspiring musicians in singapore. never give up. if you want to make it a jobs. you have to treat it as a jobs. 8 hrs a day in making music. if you just want to be as a hobby, then don't think of making big bucks out of it cause many people in the music industry is working more then 8 hrs a day to live their passion and earning a decent living. :)
 
u need to know what u are getting yourself into. people have been playing music professionally in clubs/pubs/bars etc for decades. it is a viable source of income, but i dont think it will fulfill your rockstar fantasy.

if you want to be a performing artist then you need to be signed to a record label. its as simple as that. i'm sure record labels in singapore are massive entities that boss the local radio stations around.

but if i were you i this is what i'd do;
1. go to university overseas. study ffck all, it doesn't matter unless you are some superman scholar which obviously you arent
2. find a band
3. do rounds in their scene
4. hope that you get signed by a record label

somewhere in between 1 and 4, add "don't come back". at 6 or whatever the idea might sound crazy. this is a narrow singaporean mentality. in large countries having to work in another city within the same country is as good as migrating. you may miss your parents or whatever but in the modern age there are many things that can transcend distance, trust me. what else? maybe u will miss char kway teow?? you've got to be shitting me. you are talking about your career. sometimes people have to leave the country to earn a living and everyone respects that. nobody puts food on the table merely by virtue of being a singaporean in singapore. the most important thing to you should be the people you know and your career. the land itself is not sacred.
 
It's gonna be a very tough job behind and before all the superstardom IF you get there. No job is easy. Unless you don't really care about money...
 
there is this other 'group' of local musicians who earns 3 to 5k starting salary. They play music to heal , treat patients in many clinical settings. They're called music therapists.

If you like music and you like to help other people, you might want to consider this field.

Nevertheless , its not any easier than becoming a professional performing musician in Singapore. You need at least 6 years of post - tertiary education and a master's degree in Music therapy. You might even need to be more musically competent than a performing artist.
 
1) Prac hard. Have a wide repertoire of songs. Pop/Rock/Jazz/Blues
2) Get a Band Manager. He's the person who's going to get u gigs and liaise with ppl for $$
3) Have a Band Leader to lead the Band.
4) Find Dedicated members
5) Get ready to Rock

Cheers! Peace :)
 
Music is enjoyable, love music, piano shop in Singapore

Just push!Ignore what those people say,they are not the ones who determine your future,you do!
If it's for the MUSIC itself,you won't care about money anymore,because you just enjoy doing it
 
To be honest I'm never comforted when people tell me to persevere, keep trying and the usual stuff like 'if you believe, it can happen'. Frankly, looking at it realistically, I don't see myself getting anywhere as a musician in Singapore. Which is fine, since I play more for hobby these days.

Also, I think genre matters. Heavy metal has a strong underground following in Singapore, so metal musicians do get quite a few opportunities to perform and get their bands publicized a bit. On the mainstream side (still relatively underground), indie pop-rock also has a strong following.

Genres like modern hard rock and hard alternative, they're not the 'in' thing here so it's more difficult.
 
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Haha.. Yea, u need lotsa patience and luck yes. Jay chou has been playing for yrs and writing music for other ppl b4 he was spotted by Mr Jacky wu. So u need to have lotsa endurance. And yes, PR skills. Talk to the right ppl.

Only Relationship gives u access.
Even if u play at club/pubs, u will still need to mingle ard with the mgt ppl and ur custs cos u nv know who are u talking to. I have a friend who plays at a club and as usual after he finish playing he goes ard talking to ppl and after he finish talking to 1 guy, the guy handed him his namecard and he was actually Universal Records boss.

So always rem to keep gd rapport with the ppl ard u.

Cheers! Peace :)
 
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