I read an article the other day that I thought was excellent - tho I didn;t agree with everything in teh article, still it seemed like such good advice from an old timer that I wanted to make sure it gets read.

It's oriented to the person who wants to make a living as a musician.

It reminds me of books and articles I've read extolling the virtues of self-publishing and self-promotion for musicians.

Here's just a few snippets, hit the link to read it all.

http://www.dannybarnes.com/blog/how-make-living-playing-music

a. keep your expenses very low. read that one again. move someplace cheap. drive a good used car. do all the things it takes to be a secure un-monied person. you have to have health insurance. you have to have a reliable car [unless you live in nyc or something]. you have to have some money in savings. you have to pay your taxes. don't have a big expense of alcohol or drugs or any drag on your system like that. i wouldn't even smoke. use your head. spend very little, save as much as you can and don't get into any big expenditure until you can afford it, maybe never. buy your gear used. research as much as you can. think about it really hard before you part with a dollar.

learn how to honestly add and subtract without emotion. if you spend more than you take in, you lost money. i can't tell you how many folks that i run into that have trouble with this. if you bring in more that went out guess what? you just made money.

stick to this low-overhead model, if you end up making a bunch of dough, you already know how to deal with it. if not, you still get to keep working because you don't have a bunch of stuff that you have to dust and pay for. the more overhead you tack on, the harder it's going to be. and the easier it is to get knocked off course.

...

p. don't let anyone tell you that you can't make money playing music. six of my pretty good musician friends are millionaires. three of them multi. three of them play music that most folks would surely comment, "you can't make any money playing that." don't tell those guys. five of them are the nicest people you would ever want to meet. one of them is as mean as a snake. there you go.

q. i would suggest being able to do different things. if you write songs, maybe you can sing on other folk's demos. maybe play guitar in someone else's band. for years i taught music lessons in a music store. many folks i work with have a little studio and also play in someone's band. or they are a chef or tax person on the side. this is all very healthy. i know several folks that are sidemen but have their own writing deal or what have you. this is a good course to take. that way you can take a hit and keep moving. the world doesn't grind to a halt because your label went under.

r. be wary of someone that talks about gear a lot. also be wary of folks that tell you how great they are. stay away from complainers and folks that don't have their lives somewhat together. sometimes folks need some ministering, which is certainly what we are called to do, but if you take someone out on the road with a big jones, you are going to be sorry... or otherwise get involved financially, look out. don't make your own problems or agree to be in a messed up deal. drama is always bad. never make a financial agreement with someone that has no problem getting paid for not working.

s. all the trouble in the world is going to come for you in two ways. the things you say, and the things you agree to do. be very careful about these items.