How to Make a Living As a Musician: So You Never Have to Have a Day Job Again [Paperback]

Marty Buttwinic (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1994

This book is a comprehensive and realistic text that shows musicians, writers, arrangers and singers how to create their ideal lifestyle. It covers the day-to-day activities, truths and myths of how to actually make a living, directly answers the thousands of questions asked of the author over the past twenty-five years, and emphasizes professionalism and goal achievement. This 272 page, 21 appendix text is a unique product aimed at real-life application and results. Starting with an overview of the music business by covering the different types of work available for different instruments, this text then proceeds with all the specifics from rehearsing and life organization, to what song to play first at a dance. Included in the appendices is a word-for-word script for running weddings, a 55 step home application program for starting a group and getting it working and a 58 step freelancing program. Private teachers and college instructors can design curriculum with these materials or use the already written programs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you’re a freelance musician this book is essential reading." -- Berklee College of Music — Career Development Coordinator, Peter Spellman

“...a practical guide to earning a steady income with real-world general-business gigs...” -- BASS PLAYER Magazine, December, 1995

“...remarkably thorough... ...he delivers worthy advice concerning matters that we musicians tend to think we’re too cool to confront.” -- GUITAR PLAYER Magazine, November, 1995

“272 pages crammed with all of the ‘money-making secrets’ that the booking agents save for their pet bands and associates.” -- DOING MUSIC & NOTHING ELSE Seminars — Peter C. Knickles, Music Business Advisor

“His most valuable contribution is that he will make you think about things you hadn’t considered before.” -- L.A. JAZZ SCENE, 1995

“It’s well-organized, reader-friendly and packed with examples of résumés, brochures and programs for playing at weddings and other events.” -- LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS, Nov 7, 1994

“The outstanding feature of the book is the extremely high level of detail in every single section.” -- MIX BOOKSHELF, 1996

From the Author

I first got the idea to write this book when a student of mine brought a popular, ‘making-money-with-music’ type of book to his lesson with some career questions that his book didn’t answer. I borrowed the book, read it, and thought... close, but not quite complete. I read another popular book about the business and was similarly disappointed with what I read, though the information was great. These two books either left out very important information, assumed that the reader already knew a whole lot of fundamental info, or were really books on how to be a professional piano player (which is great if you're a piano player!).

While doing further research to find a book that actually answered the many questions my students had been asking, I found books on songwriting, getting record deals, playing instruments and other related topics. Fine. Good information. But there was nothing that actually provided a clear road map that took a person from amateur to pro, with an overview of all the instruments, styles of music, and exactly what it took.

By that point I decided to write and publish a book.

So, I put together some surveys, discovered what people wanted to know, and wrote it up. I also surveyed my musician peers, and those higher in the biz than myself, to ensure I covered as many bases as I could. (In addition to my own professional and educational knowledge, I wanted to know what they considered the most important things an upcoming musician needed to know.)

As I wrote, gigged and taught I studied typesetting, book design, computers, printing and publishing.

Add a professional book editor, lot’s of proof readers, a graphic designer for the cover, long hours, and a lot of help from my friends... and you get a book with some new answers to some old questions.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Sonata Pub; 1st edition (July 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964252961
• ISBN-13: 978-0964252967
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,228,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly helpful for a working musician, September 24, 2000

By 

"struan87" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Make a Living As a Musician: So You Never Have to Have a Day Job Again (Paperback)

Marty Buttwinick draws on years of experience to provide an excellent guide to starting (and staying) as a working musician. The best feature of this book are the numerous checklists that span the entire career of a musician. There are checklists for every kind of band and every career.

The chapters are organized very well, which makes it easy to use this book as a reference. You can find whatever you need at a specific time.

Buy this book. I'd give it a million stars if there were more than five.

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Introduction, April 29, 2001

By 

Sable Cantus "Time is the Canvas" (Planet Earth, Milky Way) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Make a Living As a Musician: So You Never Have to Have a Day Job Again (Paperback)

This book has taken each little piece of what I know about the music world and tied it into a great mosaic. Marty has clearly shown how different aspects of the music world really work. As a young, aspiring musician myself, I am refreshed to see that somebody out there cares enough about me to make things a little bit easier. Marty has given a guidebook to my life, and life is looking really good now!