How to Be a Working Musician: A Practical Guide to Earning Money in the Music Business

Rating:
Summary: Road map to a career in music
Review: "How to Be a Working Musician" is based not only on Mike Levine's own experience, but also on interviews with a wide range of industry insiders. The book is grounded in the economic realities of the music business.

It's a strong dose of reality. Some people might find this depressing, but I found the book to be very inspirational. It taught me not only that it *can* be done, but also how to do it, and what sort of attitude it will take to succeed.

Levine focuses on the practical steps you have to take, and keep taking over a period of years, in order to get to a point where you can make a living playing your instrument. He doesn't offer any shortcuts to stardom. Nor does he downplay the compromises that the average musician has to make in order to get and keep paying work. Levine simply tells how it is for the majority of working musicians -- and how to become one of them.

The book doesn't provide much information on related careers, like teaching music, or being a booking agent. There are other books for that. This one focuses on how to get paid to play and/or write music. The scope of the book is limited, but the coverage is very thorough.