Over the next couple weeks, I'll be covering an introduction to local music. Think of it as a college class, and I'll be your under-educated professor. We all know at least one musician — whether it be someone in the school band or someone that plays for fun — we all know one. Musicians are a different breed of people. They are creators, and the creating doesn’t just stop with a couple music notes. Most of the musicians I have encountered immerse themselves in literature and the arts. They are creators.
For some reason, we fail to cultivate the next generation of musicians. From defunding the arts in public schools to the stigma that surrounds pursuing a career in music and any of the arts, we have placed musicians as outcasts. Musicians pave their own path and make everything for themselves. Let me throw some facts at you: the average pay for musicians is about $24 a hour reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2015. According to YCharts, which reports the average hourly earning of musicians in the United States, that's on par with the average income of musical workers in the United States. Musicians are not just bums sleeping underneath bridges.
Next, we will also address the fact that most musicians do not have a formal education. According to the College Board, “Among full-time undergraduates at public and private nonprofit four-year institutions, the median published tuition and fee price in 2015 to 2016 is $11,814.” That is almost $12,000 a year saved by musicians. It's just one year of tuition and fees that fails to include room, board and living expenses. Take a moment and process the thousands of dollars that a musician is saving.
The takeaway here should be that musicians are not bums. They are not taking the easy way out. They are functioning members of society and add to the arts and culture of the society they surround themselves with. History books talk about the culture of the society, technology, politics and economics of a given era. A main contributor to that is the array of people who are creating the culture, the people who are adding to the expression of those who have lived in the era — the musicians.
Let’s break down the stigma around musicians. These people should be respected and encouraged rather than being treated like people who aren’t fulfilling their full potential. These people are the movers, the makers and the creators that express our innermost desires in creative form.
Play that instrument you have always dreamed of playing. Start a band with a couple of friends. Pursue a career in any of the arts. Do what you want and love what you do. One day, the locals won’t be so local anymore, and they will be the people you pay to see at a venue or at a huge festival. Support the locals. Go experience the music!
