Ego, Music and Jobbing
Ego, Music and Jobbing
by Dave Latchaw
Who wouldn’t want Sting’s or Prince’s job? The world is full of musicians who are artistically credible, yet completely unknown. Being successful in the music business is a lot like playing the lottery. The odds are against the musician because of the vast numbers all wanting the mega star’s job. Today it’s even harder than it used to be. The record companies invest so much money in their acts that new talent can’t depend on anything except being ripped off and getting short-term support. If that second disc doesn’t meet the projected sales, you’re out of there. Then what?
A musician will either end up musically jaded, or find out that they still dig music and bring an entrepeneurial direction to their artistic endeavors. I have seen too many musicians driven by their ego when tackling the music business. When it doesn’t work out for them they stop doing music altogether, or they do music with a crappy attitude. What is with that? If one decides to do music it should be for the love of music, not for the love of being on MTV. Yeah, being on MTV would be cool, but so what? So often, we as a society measure success only by financial means. Creating new music and playing should always be in the musical game plan. Money can bring a certain amount of freedom to work on creative enceavors, but should not be relied on.
There will be times when music will seem like your job, but keep it in perspective. Maybe you won’t always love everything about it, but you have to pay the bills. Know your musical boundaries and find a balance between work and that spark which made you want to be a musician in the first place. Keep your ego in check. Even if you can play like Hendrix over “Satin Doll” and can do gymnastics on your axe, who cares? You need to be playing what is appropriate for the occasion. Remember, if you’re playing “Old Time Rock and Roll” it doesn’t matter that you can play “Giant Steps” in every key. If you can’t stand having the person who hired you tell you to turn it down, don’t agree to do the gig. If you are not willing to teach a student the new flavor of the month, don’t teach.
Most musicians have some sort of dysfunction. A lot of times it seems to be an inflated sense of self-importance to counteract their low self-esteem. Eventually, one has to deal with this. If music always feels like a job, you need a better balance with creative outlets that give you artistic satisfaction. Keep your work your work, and your art your art. Don’t forget perspective. Figure out what you dig and do that. Be professional with all aspects of your music. If you are conscientious and try hard, you will do all right. No one owes you anything.
