[HANASHIR:14708] Re: making a living

[Judy Ginsburgh <judy...>]

Thanks, Robin, for this useful information.  I, too have been bothered by
Beth's comments on making a living as a Jewish musician.  Beth definitely
has what it takes and it saddens me to think that she might not be sharing
her talents with Jewish communities and Jewish young people.  As someone who
has made my living as a full time musician for over 20 years, I am proof
that it can be done.  And there are many others who are doing this
successfully as well.

I think the key here is DIVERSITY.  First, it helps to find a niche within
your niche.  What do you do that makes you stand out from the others?  What
can you offer to a congregation, school or community that no one else
can?Make this your area of concentration.  Market this quality.  Use it as
leverage when looking for employment.

Second, be flexible.  Are you able to move to an area where there may be
more opportunities?  Are you able to create new opportunities where you are?
Although most of my current income comes from sharing Jewish music, through
the years, I have looked for opportunities anywhere I could.  When I lived
in a large city, I had so much work (mainly doing Jewish music) that I had
no time for anything else.  I was singing at services every Shabbat, I was
teaching at 5 different schools in the metro area -- in fact some school
sessions were even planned around when they could get me.  I built a market
for myself and I was very much in demand.  And I was paid well for my
services.

Then I moved to a very Jewishly-isolated place.  So, in order to survive,  I
had to be creative.  I had to diversify and I had to look for funding
sources to supplement my income.  As Robin mentioned, you can teach -
privately or in a school setting; you can try to attend conferences where
you can network and market and learn more about opportunities; you can share
your music in as many markets as you can think of -- festivals, clubs,
private functions, parties, etc.  I started learning how to write grants and
doing homework on grant sources.  A great deal of my income now comes from
projects I have created (many times in collaboration with a school or other
organization) which were funded by grants.  I began to read everything I
could to help me learn to be more professional, more business like, and an
"entrepreneur".

Yes, I am married and my husband has an income coming in too.  BUT we are
both self-employed and I bring in just as much as he does.  We have no
company to provide benefits.  We have no guaranteed pay check coming in
every 2 weeks, etc......  Sometimes it is scary.  We have been married for
23 years and have 3 children and live very comfortably.  But we both work
very hard and we both LOVE what we do.

There are some wonderful books that you can read to give you some ideas for
doing your music full time.  Here are just a few of them:
101 Ways to Make Money Right Now in the Music Business by Bob Baker
Booking, Promoting and Marketing Your Music by Nyree Belleville
Build and Manage Your Music Career by Maurice Johnson
Complete Guide To Getting A Grant by L. Blum
Doing Music and Nothing Else by Peter Knickles
Getting Business to Come to You by Paul & Sarah Edwards
Getting Grants by C. W. Smith
How to Be A Working Musician by Mike Levine
How to Make Money Performing in Public Schools by David Heflick
How to Succeed in the Music Business by Allen Dunn
Making A Living in your Local Music Market by Dick Weissman
Making Music Your Business by David Ellefson
Ruthless Self Promotion in the Music Business by Jeffrey Fisher
The Independent Working Musician by Mary Cosola
You Can Make Money in Music: Everything a Musician Needs to Know About Being
Steadily Employed as a Live Performer by Craig Colley

These books are just a few of the ones I have in my personal library.  More
information about these books and MANY others are listed on the Jewish
Entertainment Resources website at www.jewishentertainment.net under the
Resources tab.  I would encourage you to take a look at this extensive
listing and see if your library can get any of them for you.

Don't give up!  Dream your dreams!  Work hard, do your homework and make
your dreams come true.  No one said it was easy.  But if you want it badly
enough and if you study, grow, diversify, be flexible and keep a positive
outlook, you can do it.

Every time I attend Hava Nashira, I am astounded at the amount of talent
that is there.  This is a big world.  There is a place for everyone to
share.  Keep learning and sharing.  Don't just dream it, DO IT!!

Judy :)
Judy Caplan Ginsburgh, Professional Singer
1999 Louisiana Professional Artist of the Year!
judy (at) jewishentertainment(dot)net     -    judy (at) judymusic(dot)com
 www.judymusic.com
Hot off the Press!  My Jewish World - a new early childhood music curriculum
http://uahc.org/cgi-bin/pressdisp.pl?list=301786
Director: Jewish Entertainment Resources - We Help You Find Jewish Talent!
www.jewishentertainment.net
Conference Chair, CAJE 23: www.caje.org
Member - Children's Music Network; www.cmnonline.org
Member - Women Cantor's Network; www.womencantors.net
"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on
both hands. You need to be able to throw something back."


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