Money you’ve spent on Music Production VS money you’ve earned from Music Production…

tha_man · 2023-06-08T17:11:39.362Z

As a teenager I used to love making music and working with computers/programming as a hobby. I’ve decided to get a job in software development, so I can keep making music that I want the way I want it, without having to worry for it being profitable. You know, so I can keep it underground

I probably spent 100x times more than I earned from it, but that’s fine, because I enjoy every minute of it. Sometimes I do wonder, what my life would be, if I decided the other way around…

Demi_Jon · 2023-06-09T02:14:24.059Z

I’ve been playing in bands since the mid-90s, I work part-time, I have 18U of eurorack, some pedals and guitars and a Digitone Keys. I don’t play heaps of shows but played out regularly until our drummer died 3 years ago.

I once worked out that I’ve made about $2000 over more than 25 years of playing gigs and selling albums, which isn’t too bad – until you factor in that I got paid $500 twice for two gigs in 1998, and $500 for another gig in 2015. Most of the rest of the time has been for free/for beer/for pocket change/for record swaps.

But like the rest of you, I love the $#!+ out of playing music, even though these days it’s entirely in my own headphones.

nilsec · 2023-06-09T02:22:06.972Z

its not about the money man… It’s about all the friends we made along the way…

aMunchkinElfGraduate · 2023-06-09T03:03:59.427Z

I use my gear to make music for my students and my instructional website. The music is free for anyone to use. I earn a salary from my teaching job. So, indirectly I am earning money from my gear.

reeloy · 2023-06-09T07:22:16.891Z

…call me a lucky bastard…
…since i’m one of those, who was able to actually make a profession out my silly teenage dream, to become a truu recording and performing artist one day…
and has to invest money in some new gear every year, otherwise it would just get eaten up by taxes for nothing eversince…

Laser · 2023-06-09T07:38:18.233Z

Yeah, I’ve actually made a lot more than I’ve spent.

However, wasted nearly all of it on unwise pursuits.

I wish I had spent more of it on actual music gear!

I guess it was the price of learning wisdom. It wasn’t cheap!

Obelisk · 2023-06-09T07:56:57.775Z

When I started music production around 1995, I had a bike mechanics job which paid £1 an hour. I worked for a couple of years to save up and invest in an Akai S20 sampler.

I went to art college to study animation and bought an iBook and got by with a crack of Reason and Ableton.

Around 2010 I was making music and sound design professionally and started to buy more gear, a little at a time, but if only ever spend what I’d make money from.
At first it was pretty much what comes in goes on gear, but once I had a hardware synth and interface and mic I actually did a lot of work with very little compared to what I have now.
It started as a hobby but grew into a profession. If I needed certain gear, I’d borrow or rent it for a day for a project.

Fast forward to now, and I just did the maths and I probably spend 20% of the money I get from making music on gear, and I feel like I’ve got some really lovely stuff and probably too much in fact. I feel like I’m living the dream.

I wanted to write this because there are a lot of hobbyists/enthusiasts reading this forum. If anyone is inspiring to make money from music, I did not achieve that by buying or having access to gear and equipment. Honestly I could prob still do my career with a very small amount of kit like a laptop and good set of monitors. So as I’ve matured, the gear I buy now feels more luxurious and as an enthusiast it keeps me engaged and excited about what I do, but yeah even now I don’t think it necessarily equates to bringing the income in.

Laser · 2023-06-09T11:04:01.129Z

True!

Same for me, I only had Cubase and cheap VSTs.

I only started buying hardware once I started making money from it, first upgraded all licenses etc to give some back to the software companies that enabled me to earn.

Then came hardware and a different way of doing things, more fun etc. Which actually complicated my life more than I thought possible

the_duckchild · 2023-06-09T12:23:52.057Z

ha, yeah, carbon bottle holders are really “just have one less biscuit a week” busines.

taxhaven · 2023-06-09T12:54:30.914Z

i’m helping the economy

snake-soap · 2023-06-09T13:44:10.296Z

I would say over 10k spent. Received £2 from Bandcamp in total

insect · 2023-06-09T14:00:36.043Z

i did my open water diver which costed 1/3 of the price of an Analog4 mk1 back in the days.

Still enjoying both.

Are synths always worth its price (for me)? Maybe. Not so sure about eurorack modules.

Going scuba diving into another world … its worth more than money can describe. Monthly spotify pay-out brings me down to earth…

mr_bernard · 2023-06-09T14:46:48.164Z

insect:

i did my open water diver which costed 1/3 of the price of an Analog4 mk1 back in the days.

My last scuba trip was 10 days and probably about the same cost as my 4 Elektron boxes.

ViolentMeals · 2023-06-09T15:05:25.195Z

Made a couple grand from playing drums over the decades. Never made a dime with the electronics and that’s okay with me. Maybe someday, but it’s not a measurement of success for me.

loopdude · 2023-06-09T20:42:28.543Z

The mindset of trying to make money with my music would kill it for me. If money comes in, I’ll take it of course…

muzka · 2023-06-09T20:45:13.753Z

While I may not be making money from my music I have got 2 gigs in Ibiza next month which is a total rarity and I couldn’t be happier about it

Clarke_111 · 2023-06-09T21:04:17.355Z

Zero money in, many many zeros going out…. Still fun though and to be perfectly honest compared to some other hobbies it’s not all that bad!

dannydisaster93 · 2023-06-09T21:18:43.994Z

Haven’t made a penny from my gear but have spent a fair whack on it over the years. If I hadn’t let my interest in pissing about with synths run away though I doubt I’d be in the career I’m in so I’ll take that as an indirect balancer I guess.

Bourn · 2023-06-09T23:12:04.494Z

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GovernorSilver · 2023-06-10T18:24:05.651Z

Return so far on my gear investments: 3 days and nights of free meals at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.