Musical Artist: The thing you love. But how much?

Introduction
Everyone dreams of the money and fame. Everyone deludes themselves into thinking that they're better, luckier, more creative, or even that they have the connections to make it happen. The reality is, when it comes to being a musician and getting a lucrative record deal-you have almost no control over your destiny. You can work hard; and you should. You can play hard; and you should. You can hone your songwriting craft; and you BETTER. But do it because you love to do it. Do it because there's nothing else in the world that you can envision yourself doing. Do it because your life would be empty without it. But do yourself a favor and don't count it. Don't mortgage your future for it. Do it because it's the only thing in your life that you've ever wanted and needed "that" bad. And then...work HARD and hope for the best. Because the chances are one in 500 billion and that's on a good day.

Job Function
It all depends on where you are. In NYC, where I am, it's a grind. There's such apathy toward live music (especially rock) that to get "fans", you really need press. There's no such thing as working hard until you put together that grass roots following. Get into Page Six and maybe you've got a shot.

What's not to love about writing songs and playing live? Unfortunately, sometimes that means you're playing to 20 people in a big empty room at Mercury Lounge. Occasionally though, it means you're playing to 200+ in a packed sweaty house and when you hit that big E-chord that kills at the end of that song, and you get back the energy in spades from the audience, there's no drug that replicates that. Advertisement
Lifestyle
Again, this is NYC. There's no such thing as all play. Musicians generally need day jobs to make ends meet. So it's work, and occasionally, if you're lucky, you get to play a bit. What you need most is dedication and buckets full of courage to continue even when things look as bad as they can get.

Additional Information
The lucky ones get to do what they love, day in and day out. Music might be the best job in the world-that's why it's so hard to get to do it day in and day out. Good luck.