Middle Class Musicians

[Carl]

Ever watch an orchestra perform and wonder how that lady playing the French Horn is getting by? Or what the singer playing gigs at night does all day?

We got an inside look in our Middle Class Musicians survey. It's amazing how many ways there are to make a living in this industry, and how much work it takes. But, as we found out, it can be very rewarding - in some ways you might not expect, like being able to spend time with your kids.

We're still not sure if the middle class of musicians is shrinking any faster than other professions, but they have certainly been hurt by the economy. The Internet and digital technology has completely transformed what it takes to survive on this level, and they told us how.

In many ways, this proletariat is far more interesting than the superstars or the starving artists. These folks have found a measure of stability in a field that is anything but stable. They have responsibilities to go along with their aspirations. Here are their stories:

Middle Class Musicians

[edna]

Very interestant. I found it somehow similar in other countries. Some of my Spanish musicians friends are middle class (others are stars, others left and have other business). But there is always people playing piano at the club one night or performing with a band in some pub... hard to make a living. Very hard.

[Lucky]

Very interesting - I enjoyed the read.

[Carl]

One of these musicians let us know that it was seriously male-dominated, and explained that as a woman, there are some particular challenges in this field. We're going to look into that - it's true that just about every studio owner/producer type seems to be a guy.