One of the basic rules of wilderness survival is to know your surroundings, to take inventory, see what you have and determine what you need to survive. The information here is meant to be a survival guide of sorts to help you navigate a difficult and ever-changing profession. I welcome your input, your ideas, and suggestions for topics and issues that you would like to discuss.

By no means do I suggest that my experience is representative of the entire profession. My experience is unique to me. There are however, some universal truths that will apply to all singers and hopefully for those up-and-coming singers, a few tips to help you avoid some of the same mistakes I have made.

Enjoy!

So, you’ve decided to sing for a living. You have narrowed the field down to opera.  It’s a highly
specialized field requiring a unique skill-set and has the potential to earn you a healthy living. You can’t imagine yourself doing anything else. You may also have other
compelling reasons, such as:

• You love being in front of a crowd
• You love to sing more than life itself
• You love to inspire people
• You love to meet and work with people from all over the world
• Music has saved you or changed your life in a positive way
• You feel the art form of Opera is worth saving as modern interest wanes
• You were inspired by a musician and you want to be that inspiration to others
• You believe in the power of the arts to heal and to positively influence and inspire people around the world
• You want to do something that matters

What else? Suppose, you’re in the middle of your degree or have recently graduated, and you’re thinking realistically of what the next few years will look like.  

Do any of these sound familiar?

• If I love it enough, I’ll be able to find a way to make a living doing it.
• Once people hear me, I’ll start to get work right away.
• I’ll win the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and rocket to the top quickly.
• I’ve heard there is a lot of work in Europe, I’ll move over there and have a career.
• If I’m at one of the top music schools, I’ll be hired right away because I’ll be well connected.
• School debt won’t be a problem.
• It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
• It’s not who you know, it’s what you know.
• I’ll support myself with private studio income while taking as many auditions as possible.  
• I’ll make a few recordings early on and live off of the sales.
• I’ll be a studio musician on the side to support myself in between gigs.
• I’ll do VoiceOver, modeling, or acting at the same time that I’m singing professionally. 
• I’ll go sign with an agent and I’ll start getting gigs right away.  
• Since I won’t be making tons of money right away, I’ll live with Mom and Dad so I don’t have to pay rent.
• I’ll move to New York.  If I’m in New York, things will just happen.
• There are so many church jobs in big cities that pay well. I’ll just get one of those and they will understand when I need to leave for gigs or auditions. 

Ok, now here is where reality sets in.  Here are a few of the cold hard facts about the business:

Based on my personal experience (some of you may have had a different experience) I would estimate that the average singer making a living solely on gigs (not the superstars), make on average: $20,000-$60,000 per year. Some may earn close to or over six figures, but of those singers that I’ve talked with, that’s extremely rare. 

Now, before you jump off the couch, sure of your future and ready to take over the world, remember, even if you do manage to get to the upper end of that suggested pay range, those earnings are after being on the road almost the entire year with back to back gigs (rare), and before expenses.  “What expenses?” you say, “I’ll be living out of my suitcase! Expenses will be minimal.”   

These expenses:

• Rent
• Utilities (if you have a home or apartment)
• Self-employment taxes and the cost of a good accountant or software to do it yourself
• Storage Unit (if you don’t have a place to leave things long term)
• Internet (Sometimes regular data plans while you travel don’t cut it)
• Phone
• Food
• Travel
• Audition Expenses (Clothing, Music, Accompanist Fees, etc.)
• Lessons/Coaching
• Vocal Scores (Digital or Hard Copy)
• Health Insurance (The majority of singers I know don’t have it)
• Child Care
• Management Fees
• AGMA or other Union Dues
• Retirement Investments (I know, hilarious)

The list goes on…it really does…

 Depressed yet?  Already eyeing that pop-up on your screen advertising the newly formed culinary arts or video game design degree and are now considering changing majors or going back to school.  Do you have a sudden urge to give plasma or sell some of those beanie baby or Pokémon card collectibles you’ve been saving for “when the market is hot”? 

Don’t give up just yet.  It is possible to make it, but there are some important things to consider. I would like to share a few key concepts and ideas that have helped me tremendously.

I have been making my living as a musician in a hybrid version of a teaching and performing for over 20 years. Admittedly, my experience is much different than most, as I divide my time almost evenly between performing on the road and teaching at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt.

I interact with all kinds of musicians (not just singers) working in some version of this line of work, every single day. By all accounts, there have been MASSIVE changes in the business in the last few years and it continues to change drastically every year.  Don’t believe me? Just ask your teacher or agent.

How do we survive and “make it”?

In the following posts, we’ll examine some concepts and strategies to survive and be successful as an singer, in whatever form that may take for you.