Independent artists desiring to make music their full-time careers might not always realize that a 9-5 job can be their best friend.
Working is an opportunity to improve as a human being. Not everyone can enjoy the luxury of going to a job where money is guaranteed, growth is bound to happen, and long-lasting relationships are created. Working five days a week can feel like a detrimental kind of torture when we have to repeat the same routine each day. You wake up early to spend the rest of your day in the same place but how this becomes part of your fruitful future depends on the mindset you have developed. It has been said that change starts within you, and no one is going to hold your hand and show you the path. You are the only one who can change your future and make a difference.
This is why having a job doesn’t have to take artists away from their dreams. In fact, these are three of the perks of working a 9-5 job:
Side Hustle Money
The 9-5 is your side hustle, just to make it clear.
You’re a full-time independent artist being paid to make music that people will happily invest in to hear you sing or rap or do your own thing.
Having a job is an opportunity to focus on your music while earning a side income that can help you boost your revenue, invest back into your business, and release the financial stress that comes with growing a business where you may earn $0 one month and $1,000+ the next. If working a 9-5 is one way of accomplishing your musical dreams, go for it! Don’t let the feelings of working a job overcome you to the point where you feel like giving up on your dreams. Use it to your advantage where your success stories can include that job for teaching you skills you wouldn’t have learned otherwise.
Independent artists serious about growing their careers can also find jobs in similar spaces where they can thrive and learn more about the industry. These types of jobs can be production assistants in radio stations, roadies on tour, office assistants, receptionists, writers, etc, (whatever floats your boat), as long as you feel like you can learn something and grow from working there.
Jobs Allow You To Start Somewhere
I’m a writer. I’ve held several jobs in the past decade and although I don’t write full time, they’ve allowed me to have the freedom to write freely, on my own time, and from anywhere in the world. Each job I’ve had has taught me how to work with people, where I lack a certain skill set, and how I can turn my failures into accomplishments. I made mistakes but I also grew from them.
There are millions of jobs, especially with over 1,000,000 added in 2022. The Great Resignation proved that having your own business is necessary to stay afloat in cases of nationwide disasters but there is currently a high demand for in-house employees to help restore the life-changing experiences we have gone through since 2020.
A 9–5 gives you time to think about what you want to do with your music career and what you might want to avoid. It gives you a list of dos and don’ts that will help you become your own boss while showing you how to handle situations, face failure, disappointments, and disagreements, work ethics, time management, and team leadership skills.
Learn Transferable Skills
As mentioned before in this article, transferable skills are learned on the job.
Working a 9-5 can help independent artists grow their careers. A 9–5 gives you time to think about what you want to do with your music career and what you might want to avoid. It gives you a list of dos and don’ts that will help you become your own boss while showing you how to handle situations, face failure, disappointments, and disagreements, work ethic, time management, and team leadership skills. Along with these skills, you can also learn:
- Communication
- Punctuality
- Reliability
- Problem-solving
- Negotiations
- Writing
- Email Etiquette
- Working With Co-workers
- Teamwork/Collaboration
- Adaptability
- Attention to Detail
- Delegating
- Planning
- Researching
- Public Speaking
- Flexibility
- Empathy
- Providing and Receiving Feedback
- Teaching
- Budgeting
- Leadership
- Patience
- Listening
- Creativity
- Interviewing
- Editing
- Organizational
Just because I mention these skills as things you can learn on the job, also remember that life teaches you in many ways. You may learn public speaking techniques from friends, budgeting from Youtube, teamwork from personal projects with your own teams, etc. Jobs are one way many independent artists get their start but it’s not the story for everyone.
These transferable skills can be learned ANYWHERE.
These are all the qualities you will need when you stand alone in the business world. The most important part is learning them so that you can continue to develop into a mature, independent, and knowledgeable artist who can run things whether you’re present in 100% of everything involved or not.
It’s an undeniable fact that working a job is challenging but the people who work 9–5 are on their way to becoming their own bosses.
Imagine success as being part of your everyday story as you enter those doors to work. There’s less of a risk involved, allowing you to dream as big as possible with guaranteed success at work backing you up if a project doesn’t go as planned. Working is a building block. Show up every day and learn. You won’t be as far behind from your independent artist success story as you think with a positive mindset geared towards reaching your end goals.
Music Trails is an independently owned music blog celebrating independent artists in both English & Spanish since 2019. We currently work with artists in these genres: Christian/Worship, Country, EDM, Pop, & R&B. Thank you for supporting us from the beginning!
