Pretty interesting article. I thought it might be relevant for people here, seeing as how a good many of us probably dream of doing our music full-time. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing to hold down a day job as well, not only for financial security, but also keeping in touch with wider society and something outside of our own imaginations, a bit of discomfort and grit to prime the creative engine. Maybe. Maybe not.
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If you have a nice and stable day job? Sure.
I have quite a challenging and low-paid creative role (copywriting) which means I don’t really have either the time or the funds to pursue my musical ambitions.
Similar. I also have a low paid and challenging job that leaves little time or money for music
I used to teach music technology, I miss those days
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Not for me. I take way too much time on my art. Having a day job means less stress for sure since i’m not worried about where the next dollar will come from, but it also means 1-2 hrs a day to work on stuff instead of 8. And many days that may mean I don’t bother, as its hard to get into a groove. It’s a big difference. If making art is your full time job, I don’t see how that makes you any less a member of society. After 8-10 hours in the studio, I’m DYING to get out there and mix it up w/ people or my family.
In the end, less stress is a better way to live. So when the artistic cupboard is bare, I find a job.
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just like surfing/snowboarding/…, it’s way better to do it as a hobbie. Amateur vs Professional, for love vs for money. I think there is absolutely a positive side on not doing what some of us might dream of 
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Part of me is jealous of the people who have cushy jobs with plenty of disposable income. I’ve spent many weekends working unpaid overtime for the princely sum of £18,000 a year.
I like what I do, but it doesn’t leave much time for music.
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I didn´t read the article but I´d say no. I experienced both in my life: making music while having a day job that is only partly related to music and making music as my day job. Most musicians that I know who make really excellent work as a writer, performer or indie label manager do this as a full time job.
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what a great read, thanks 
Didn’t read the article, depends on the country/society you live, but I would say having a part time job or sporadic job non related to music/art to complemment creative work is really healthy for me, it takes out a lot of pressure in music/production making. It is related to sound but much more straightforward, so you do it right or you do it wrong. In music/creative work you could always have done it better/different and there are a LOT of issues non related to the actual work per se.
At least were I live you can see most people depending only in his musical work is very stressed out and have tendencies for self-sabotage
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Also there are productions that pay off in the short term and others that pay off in the long term. for example, a really good production non related to commercial music can pay little or nothing in the short term compared to some mainstream/tv/commercial production, but it usually can give you more recognition and future work opportunities and contacts, and it could be an excellent example of how far you can stretch your abilities.
Another example is to produce a lot of good quality artist for not much money. In the moment could feel it like a sacrifice, but 3 years later you could have earned a significant amount of money due to production/arrangement credits of all those projects playing live + a significant amount of recognition and new working contacts because of all that good work with good artists spread.
I don’t know many other jobs that keep paying like that, and sometimes a good way to have the free time that all of this proces requires is to have a side job
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I would say this is how I feel about this subject as well, personally. Having zero pressure or expectations for music/art is freeing. I can do anything I want. My family will not be evicted if I don’t win the ear of music bloggers year after year. I can start playing accordion or do an entire album based on insect field recordings. Hold on, there’s my next album - accordions & cicadas.
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The ultimate for me is working 3 or 4 days a week. I start to get really chewed up if I’m 5 or 6 or 7 days, as would anyone I suppose. I think I tend to have intense periods where I’m making bank, then I take my foot of the gas and make more time for my interests. I’ve always felt like it takes a day to reset after a run of shifts, then you can finally tuck into the creative work.
But if there’s one bummer about getting older, it’s losing energy. Where I used to be able to get by going to bed later - and thus having more time after work for creativity - and also surviving off less sleep, it’s now no longer possible. And for me it’s always cycling between debt and being in front. My debt is usually biting off more than I can chew, or paying off a holiday you spent too much on or something like that. I personally like trying to apply for grants and artistic / creative excursions, going on music sabbaticals like in the tropics with a synth or something like that. It’s a tough balance, work art life. I’m still trying to perfect my own version of it. I guess that’s part of the game of life.
But with a hobby as expensive as boutique electronic music Instruments, your form of employment would probably need to be a little higher than just making ends meet, and then when you get in that league your employer probably tries to draw you further into the business and expects a lot more of you. Not to say anything about looking after families kids mortgages etc.
So my advice these days to young people is always just go for it. Arrive in your 30’s with heaps of momentum. It’s much harder to pick it up or get the wheel going as the years go by.
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Consistently good art always goes hand in hand with a mastery level of the related craftmanship.
And every mastery level takes a hell lot of time and continuously practise. Having a day job which isn’t part of this practise may be inspiring and fruitful in some rare cases, but in the average case it’s just a time wasting drag.
Could you imagine Dali, da Vinci or Beethoven working as butcher? Or as a clerk? In the beginning, of course - everyone needs to start somewhere, but not in the long run. In the long run you cannot keep up doing excellent work when your focus is spread.
I’m lucky to have a good day job that pays well so I can afford my music hobby, but it takes up a great deal of my time. I’ve tried to give myself 30 minutes a day of practice, record, mix, design time. Once I got to that level of consistency I had to give up netflix and videogames. Once you get to a certain skill level with your studio and gear do not give up! This is what separates artist from social media fad.
You’re probably asking if 30 minutes is enough to practice? Yes it is if you setup templates in your DAWs / hardware and always save projects. If you’re a hardware guy hit record on your recorder and make a commitment to finish something. 30 minutes for 7 times a week gives you 3.5 hours a week of building your skillset. You could probably stop going out on the weekends and spend the evening practicing. People will think you’re obsessive, but once you get to a skill level you have been aiming for it’s all worth it.
Rant over. .
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Any one else spend too much time Octatracking and continually short on rent?
Anyone in the Lake Tahoe area with a job for a super techy sound nut?
Haha…
I might make better art without a job but I can’t seem to get the OT to fork over its share of the rent, should probably adjust some life parameters… Haha 
I tried automating my financial life parameters with a free running lfo, but they seem to require manual adjustment… 
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Does Having a Day Job Mean Making Better Art?
Just that statement alone my very quick answer is YES …
…
I was dong a workaway and there was a “writer” … he said he couldnt get anything decent on paper whilst being in that little commune of workawayers …
we talked a bit and came to the conclusion, well I told him actually : D …
unless you are exposed to the shit society out there and long for a different life , what inner voice will come with an desire to express itself? … none!
I assume its the same with music … for me at least … it channels something.
beep bleep my 2 ct … looking forward to read the thread peeps!
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whats with the avatar? i ve been wanting to ask
: )
i started doing that after procuring the digitakt. I even take her with me to the library or to University, to my girlfriend, to bed, I sit in my bed in the morning for say 30 min …
i save my little patterns
I go back to them
I record and resample tiny bits here and there…
It adds up … I am close to pushing out a 45 min show with my little patterns that I have saved.
with ableton was impossible for me, and having more that 1 box also makes it madly inconvenient for me, ymmv, since I cannot just take 1 box with me, either into bed or where ever.
dunno what my point was : D
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I think maybe. But if not, in all cases, be static and not working is not constructive though.
Dynamic question.