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Guest post by Patrick McGuire for TuneCoreIt’s safe to assume the majority to people who will read this are musicians who began their careers with the goal of being able to do nothing but make music one day.There’s nothing wrong with starting out with this goal, and many musicians make it happen for themselves; whether it’s through playing to sold out arenas around the world night after night, or by doing things on the side like teaching lessons or playing in a cover band. But the fact is, that most musicians never go on to reach the goal of making music a full-time career the way they wanted or envisioned at the start of their careers, and many give up music entirely eventually.Why?Because, sadly, big goals like these that are meant to help us reach our full potential as musicians are also the very things that bankrupt us and destroy our interest and hope in making music.I don’t need to tell you about the challenges of sustaining a musical career in 2019, and that’s not what I’m here to talk about.Instead, I want to discuss goals and expectations in music, specifically about how a lack of sustainability in a musician’s personal and professional life can end their music career. Moonshot goals can be incredible motivators for creatives, especially if a musician is young and charting out the course for their career. But what happens when, like most musicians, things don’t turn out exactly how you want after years of effort and sacrifice?Instead of obsessing over the success stories we hear about in music, let’s turn our attention to the vast majority of musicians who aren’t famous superstars.What keeps a musician going show after show, record after record, year after year? One major factor is a willingness to create goals that are more realistic and creatively fulfilling than “become a rich, famous artist who only makes music.” That’s a bit of an obvious takeaway, but dig a little deeper and you’ll see that people who make music over the long-term choose to by creating sustainable lifestyles that allow for it.What I mean by “sustainable lifestyle” is building a life that makes room for making music, but also things like relationships, health, and a career that might not have anything to do with creativity.Contrary to what you’ve heard, a musician isn’t selling out if they make money in non-musical ways, and that hardcore all-or-nothing attitude is exactly the sort of thing that discourages us into quitting. “If I can’t have a life making music, then I guess I’ll just give it up,” is the gist of what musicians tell themselves before ending their careers.Patrick McGuire is a writer, composer, and experienced touring musician.
