Can music be considered a Job? This was the question asked by an upcoming artiste in an event held in London. For an industry that recorded a total revenue of 23.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2020 alone, I think the question should be how do i make good music and how do I get it out there.
This interactive section was attended by Daramin Records London Based artiste, Damibliz who was also a guest representing music acts in the World Youth Skills Day 2020.
The young act asked,
Hi everyone, I am and artiste.
Can I take music as a career, like a Job?
A question which went straight to Damibliz, being the only music act on stage.
Responding he said;
When I was growing up. There were many things I considered, also considering where I grew from. I did so many jobs while combining education but one thing was certain, which we all know is the ultimate of education – finding a job. Then music came.
No, I was doing well in my other endeavors, but it was music for me.
To be straight with your question yea. I strongly believe anything that gives you genuine money, that put food on your table, shelter over your head, money in your bank account, and Tequila in your cup, if you know what I mean, is a job. Some job make you humble, some make you loud, so far someone or an organization agrees to pay you for it, then its a job.
To be sincere, what do the ‘other people’ do that we do not. We brainstorm, we write, we plan, we produce. Its a whole lot of process I tell you. But yes, like every job it comes with its own ‘masquerade’, reason why its important to think it through, speak with folks or meet a councilor. Music can not work for everyone as a career or job, for some people it has to be an extra job or hobby. That’s my take on that. Thanks you.
Musicians and singers play instruments or sing for live audiences and in recording studios; for doing this, they get paid, directly or indirectly.
Moreover, there are five major careers in music –
Singer
DJ
Music Producer
Songwriter
Lyricist
Like most industries, the music business is constantly evolving. That means there’s a lot of room for independent artists to find financial success and for career music professionals to grow in the industry and create new sources of income.
So, if music is your passion and makes you happier than anything else you could do in the world, then yes, music is a good career choice.
In 2020, the total revenue of the recorded music industry amounted to 23.1 billion U.S. dollars. Streaming made up 56 percent of this figure, bringing in 11.9 billion dollars globally.
Music streaming revenue worldwide is project to almost double from 3.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 to 6.22 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. The majority of this revenue comes from subscriptions, which generated 2.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, and ad-supported revenue contributed a further 600 million U.S. dollars.
Between 2016 and 2021, music streaming is expected to grow by 20.7 per cent on an annual basis. However, digital music downloading is expected to fall by 19.2 percent in the same period. Physical recorded music is expected to suffer and will fall by 11.6 percent annually.
Nonetheless, the dominance of digital music has not made traditional music formats defunct just yet. Take for example the revenue of vinyl record sales worldwide from 1997 to 2015.
Back in 1997, the sale of vinyl records generated revenue of 144 million U.S. dollars worldwide. By 2006, this figure had dropped to a dismal 34 million U.S. dollars worldwide. Yet in 2015, the trend shifted and sales of vinyl records reached a healthy 416 million U.S. dollars worldwide, an amount which had been steadily rising since 2007, which indicates a spectacular revival for the phonograph record.
A statement of Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, on World Youth Skills Day, partly states that;
“Today, on World Youth Skills Day, we rededicate ourselves to making sure all young people can have access to training, education, and meaningful work experience to build the skills they need to succeed. Young people hold our future in their hands, so when we help them prepare for the years to come, we are investing in our long-term prosperity.
“On the world stage, Canada recognizes that too many young people, especially women and girls, continue to face barriers that limit their ability to gain important skills and employment experience. Much work remains to be done to ensure that everyone can develop the skills they need to succeed, regardless of who they are or where they live.”
The world’s population is increasing daily, the government is finding it difficult to catch-up, skills acquisition is the new drive. Does it pay, should be the question every youth and professional should be asking.
In Nigeria, an international non-profit making, governmental, non-partisan, non-religious, and civil society organization, ActionAid Nigeria, AAN, called on Federal and State Governments to provide USSD codes for youths to access job opportunities and other relevant programmes that would transform their lives and grow the economy.
This was stated by the Manager, Social Mobilisation, AAN, Adewale Adeduntan, while speaking on the essence of the 2021 World Youth Skills Day, with the theme, ‘with the theme, ‘Reimagining Youth Skills Post-Pandemic’, where he pointed that where there is unemployment and uprising, prosperity cannot stay, and also if the government and the private sector can look inwards, the problem of waste could be transformed into wealth, which could massively employ a large chunk of the teeming population of young people in the country.
He also stressed the need for Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, religious and traditional organisations, institutions of learning, families, communities, associations, and individuals to partner and collaborate in order to reconscientise and rejuvenate the minds of young people in the positive direction that would help them have a sense of belonging and also become self-reliant and regain self-esteem, reduce depression, suicide, and social vices that jeopardize their future.
He said: “It is important we reconscientise young people to known because their ways are different especially in this century. Young people of the 20 th century are apparently different from the crop of young people day. Their challenges are peculiar and different.
“We are using today to commemorate the World Youth Skills Day and we look at the fact that unemployment is biting so hard in our societies the truth of the matter is how we can began imagine how they can be creatively engaged especially in the green economy; how do we provide green jobs that would help young people to able be able to make money and put in their pocket?
“Wherever we have unemployment and uprising prosperity cannot stay, and also if we look at the myriad of environmental challenges we have as a country it is realized that we can convert our waste to wealth, and we will be able to make this young people to drift away from the mentality of looking and waiting for white-collar jobs that are no longer there.
“So we have a lot of them who have keyed into the green economy making thousands of Naira daily and they are not bothering about jobs that are no longer there.
“The essence of today’s commemoration World Youth Skills Day is to see how we can open the eyed of the young people to know what they will be able to do. The passion alone is not enough. We have to create policy environment and institutions that will be able to support these young people.
“When government still put all the information young people need in the analogue platform they would not be able to access it and that is why it appears as if young people are not serious, they are, is just that we are not on the platform where they are operating, we have to also take this opportunities to those areas where this young people live, sleep and do everything that is on the social media.
“Probably a USSD code young people should be able to dial and get information about solutions to their issues at the push of the button but if you say they should go to one Ministry, they would not go and they do not know where this Ministry is.
“Let us see how we can get creative, and that is for the policy makers. Let us put the information where appropriate and useful, government is also trying, but let us put the opportunities in their domain, and this will solve unemployment, create economic growth, Gross Domestic Product, GDP, will rise, create employment indirectly, and as a matter of fact we are also going to have cleaner, safer and greener environment.”
He also pointed out that with young people making half of Nigeria’s population, there need for them to have relevant information from the government at their domain and also be encouraged to access them.
“We have over 50 per cent of our population as young people and they are all unemployed, what we need to do is to put this information in their domain, and get them encouraged, putting the information will not be sufficient; tell them that if you can collect 100 kilogramme of sack of waste plastics and take it to a recycling centre and you will be paid a wage, and they will do it, and this will lead to cleaner environment, and some of these waste contain some quantity of water, which contain malaria parasite, hence the challenge of malaria is reduced because such containers are picked and recycled”, he said.
Meanwhile, Damibliz will be live at the Palm Wine Festival in July and Homesick with Kenny Blaq in September, both in London.
Finally, there are four basic way you can get a Music Degree or start a Career in Music:
START PRACTICING AT AN EARLY AGE
Whether parents or guardians elect to bring children to toddler music groups, start them in private lessons at kindergarten or encourage them to join a school band in elementary school, all of these are prime times to begin music lessons. In the same way that children more easily learn a second language, picking up an instrument while young provides for easier access to proficiency. Years of practicing and lessons may have felt like a chore at the time, but they serve students well in their future endeavors.
KEEP PRACTICING
Ever heard of the 10,000-hour rule? This theory popularized by Malcolm Gladwell states that it takes 10,000 hours to truly master a talent, and music falls into his framework. Anyone who has ever devoted themselves to an instrument knows that, despite passion for the music, there are days when the last thing you want to do is practice. Running scales isn’t as glamorous as playing in front of a crowd, but the musicians standing on stages and playing for adoring fans are the ones who pushed through seasons of monotony and continued perfecting their art. Stick with it.
COMPLETE A MUSIC DEGREE PROGRAM
Like many other disciplines considered an art form, degree requirements are less stringent than those found in areas like business and law. Even if a degree isn’t required, there are components of music composition and performance that may not be learned simply through practice and lessons. Understanding theories behind how music is formed and made serves as a foundation for creating new music, while taking part in college ensembles and performances gives students skills they’ll need for future gigs.
GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE
The majority of different professional paths in music are unconventional in their advertising and hiring techniques, and many positions are filled through word of mouth or contacts within the industry. While teaching positions tend to be more formalized, road gigs, session calls, and film scoring roles are highly competitive and most producers and directors use their networks to find suitable musicians. Whether offering private lessons, playing local shows, regularly updating music pages, or attending concerts, staying in front of industry professionals who call the shots is a crucial component to finding success as a musician.
