Stick Or Twist

Mr or Ms. Singer/Songwriter is talented.

They can write a tune. They enjoy doing it. And as time goes on they get even better at it. More consistent. They record their songs and put them “out there” into Social Media Land. Perhaps they have a website. They perform their songs when they can. They get better at performing. They get a little bit of recognition. It’s a fun and rewarding hobby.

Is it enough though?

They know there is a path to going professional, because there are clearly professionals out there. And they think that their work stands up well alongside music that is making money. God, it’s better than most of the pish on the radio, surely?

But questions remain. Are they obsessed enough to put in the amount of work needed to sell their product to the people who pay the money? Have they developed their talent enough to make them quite that remarkable in a highly competitive field? Are they prepared to make the sort of artistic compromises that may well be needed in order to write commercially viable music?

Are they prepared to drop almost everything else they are doing?

Very occasionally (but far less today than every before) people slide relatively smoothly from music as a passionate hobby into music as a professional career.
But in the vast majority of cases there is a massive cost in crossing the line from dedicated Hobbyist (who perhaps makes a bit of spare change on the side) to bonafide Professional. And absolutely no guarantees.

It is possible to try and cross the line, but to completely lose the joy that came from making the songs in the first place. And still not to make any money.

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying. But it’s an important consideration.

Perhaps Mr Amateur Singer/Songwriter is in a better place than they might have imagined.

Minus the fame and fortune, obviously.