Should you quit your job to pursue music full-time?
Most artists start their career while continuing their day job in order to pay the bills. With such a saturated market out there many find the risks are too high to fully focus on a career in music straight away. However, every artist eventually reaches a point where they must consider leaving their full-time job in order to fully focus on becoming a musician. But, how will you know when you’ve reached this stage and what are the benefits of focusing solely on music?
Firstly, you should consider the downsides of leaving your day job in order to focus on music. You will no longer be guaranteed income, that is unless you are already receiving a steady wage from your music. Quitting your job doesn’t necessarily mean that the money you make from your music will increase, it just means you will have a lot more time and focus. You should also consider the fact that moving forward with your music industry requires money. Everything from software to plugins to equipment, it all costs. If you do plan to quit your day job, make sure that you have money saved up for these costs so that you can continue to make music. Your current bank balance will play a big role in the decision-making process.
When you focus completely on music it becomes your only income, meaning that the way you approach it will change. You will need to start thinking about your income a lot more as well as creativity. That being said, if music is your passion you will undoubtedly be happier being able to focus on it full time. Try not to become frustrated by music if it does not provide you with a great income straight away, focus on the passion that took you down this path in the first place. Often, obsessing too much over your income can negatively impact your creativity, try to avoid this at all costs.
Ultimately though, you won’t be able to give your music career the focus it deserves unless you leave your day job behind. Becoming a successful musician takes a huge amount of time and dedication and many would say it is simply not possible to dedicate the time required while continuing with another job. Like all skills in life, your quality of production will only increase with time. As they say, practice makes perfect. Every time you work on your music you add to your growing level of expertise. Splitting yourself between multiple career paths is often detrimental to succeeding in any of them.
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If you’re passionate about music, you will undoubtedly be happier in your work now that you’re solely focusing on what you really want to be doing. There are so many people out there that simply don’t enjoy waking up in the morning to go to work and spend all day waiting to go home. By working on your music full time, you won’t feel this way and will be able to maintain a better state of mind. When you’re passionate about what you’re doing, the results are much better. The fact is, if you’re enjoying what you’re doing, hard work doesn’t even feel like work. By quitting your day job you should feel much more inspired to create music. You will no longer have to split your focus and will be able to give your career the attention it really deserves. Creativity requires an unclouded mind, it requires being focused on the task at hand and giving it your full attention. But how will you know when you’re ready to quit your day job?
Your decision will be based primarily on your financial situation, but also on the current state of your music career. The more financially stable you are, the better the time to quit your day job and focus on music. This is simply because the more money you have saved, the longer you will have to keep yourself afloat before making a suitable income from music. You may also decide to quit your day job if a big opportunity comes your way in the music industry. This could be a record deal with a reputable label. Be careful not to rush your decision and consider all factors when thinking things through. If you are basing your decision on a new opportunity, make sure that the contracts have been signed before you quit your day job, opportunities can always fall through.
Ultimately, you will always need to have a plan B. If you’re concerned about ending up financially unstable, put some money aside for an emergency in which you’ll need to backtrack and get a new full-time job. It is important to always be prepared for every scenario, this way you cannot be caught out. Even if you never have to go back to your day job, it is always worth being prepared to give yourself extra peace of mind.
Only you will really know when it is the right time to quit your day job and focus on music full time. Think about your finances and your current music-based opportunities. You may face some resistance from family and friends at first, listen to their reasoning but don’t let anyone discourage you from following your dreams. In reality, you won’t be able to know whether you can succeed as a musician until you try it whole-heartedly. Inevitably, there are some risks involved, but the risks will often pay off when you are secure and pursuing the career that you’ve always wanted.
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