r/nashville • u/IllustriousElk8436 • 2d ago

What are some realities about being a musician in nashville ? Help | Advice

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Hi all im from asia singapore and i have a dad that has been a musician all his life. He didnt make good financial decisions so he does not have any savings and has to work in his 70s partially disabled. A gig here you get around 150 to 200 dollars but the music scene is very small we dont have a strong arts scene and so i know people that are being paid 50 to 100 dollars for a gig sadly. It is very hard for artist to make it beyond my small country unless they go abroad

I have never been to the usa although i have family members who have moved there and i use to hear of nashville and texas being quite famous for country music . I like to listen to dolly parton, carrie underwood , ella langley , taylor swift although she is in pop now, pistol annies and for rock and pop three days grace , seether, Evanescence, fleetwoodmac, alice in chains, skillet and a lot of others which is too long to list.

  1. What are some realities you can tell me about the music scene in nashville ?
  2. How much do musicians get paid whether its for gigs, touring and being able to make a living out of music.
  3. What is talent pool like - do you get musicians from all over the world trying to make it or mostly americans? How talented are they ?
  4. Is everyone hoping to get noticed by a record label or a publisher ?
  5. Are those guitarist or sound engineers hired to work for major label or big tour musicians more talented or knowledgeable vs those who work for independant artist ?
  6. Is the music dream still alive ?

Sorry for so many questions im just really curious about the music scene and i hope to visit some cities in the usa and nashvile someday .

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u/33ascend 2d ago

Most of the successful ones also have their real estate licenses

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u/Top-Comfortable601 2d ago

Every other person here has a real estate license & musicians are no exception.

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u/buysellWTH 2d ago

That much real estate to sell or licenses given out to all nashville natives ?

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u/MayorMcBussin 2d ago

ha I was just about to come in here and say that.

Music and real estate are very similar industries in a lot of ways. Except you can actually make money in real estate.

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u/potatoboy247 2d ago

The only people making money are the middlemen?

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u/Snoopy363 2d ago

This can’t be for real 🤣

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u/imadestarwars 2d ago

Nah it’s 100% fact. 😂

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u/Richardisco 2d ago edited 2d ago

It's not... My buddy is the lead guitarist in his band that plays Friday and Saturday afternoons and nights at Garth Brooks Friends in low places. They all live in a house that they rent together. Most of the musicians in Nashville are in the same position. Most musicians aren't "successful" in terms of record contracts, but they make a very lucrative living playing music a few nights a week. They're Halloween party this year was fantastic! Everybody there but me played in a band on a main stage somewhere downtown. Lots of really talented people. Live in the dream!

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u/SupraMario (MASKED UP) 2d ago

Rent's a house together....and lucrative? What?

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u/Richardisco 2d ago

These people are young! They've got their whole life ahead of them. It's not a bunch of 50-year-old dudes out there playing in the main stages at places like garth's or like kid Rock's... These people are in their twenties. And they're doing really well! I hope you can be happy for them

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u/SupraMario (MASKED UP) 2d ago

Uhh ok? that's fine? I also did the roommate thing in college, it's financially smart...but I didn't ever use the word lucrative in my vocabulary.

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u/Richardisco 2d ago

They're just making really good money compared to what I made at their age... Even considering inflation! Garth, in particular, pays them really well so that they don't have to struggle.

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u/iUsedtoHadHerpes 2d ago

Lucrative

The band lives in a house they rent together

Choose one. These are not compatible unless it's some weird hippie commune, which seems a poor example for its own reasons.

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u/lasers8oclockdayone 2d ago

Young people paying less for their living situation and putting the balance in savings and investments can in fact be very lucrative. Not everyone making $100k has the same need for a status property and a mortgage.

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u/DerElrkonig 2d ago

Are we sure that they're actually able to do this saving thing though? Everyone I know in Nash who rents does so cus they're too poor to buy, and certainly they aren't saving much when a one bed is $1600.

I am genuinely asking, not trying to be a rude contrarian. How much does one actually make per week playing live down there?

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u/lasers8oclockdayone 2d ago

Yes. Every "band house" situation that I have seen has been a financial boon for the residents. They are young and they work and play together, anyway. They absolutely love it. It's up to them what they do with the money they save.

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u/IDontHaveToDoShit 2d ago

Although I agree with you I was kinda in this situation in my early 20s. 3 coworkers, under 25, traveling a lot, making more than most our age, maxing out retirements, etc.

Our landlord told us he thought we were scammers when we first applied until we sent pay stubs. It only worked because we were in and out a lot though but damn the COL was low.

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u/Temporary_Nebula_295 1d ago edited 1d ago

Harmoni Kelley who is the bass player for Kenny Chesney's tours is a real estate agent when she isn't on the road. Read an interview awhile back and was surprised that even at that level, it doesn't pay enough. Now the current economy is ridiculous so a second job probably helps pay the mortgage, bulk up the retirement accounts, elderly parents need medical care, whatever but if someone who is consistently booked with A list talent playing stadiums and has locked in work from March to August every year for the past decade has to have second job, it doesn't bode well for those touring with other acts in arenas, amphitheatres or in local venues. Chesney only plays 2 nights a week so the income issue might be that rather than other acts that play 5-6 nights a week. I don't know enough about musicians salaries and benefits to know how / if that dramatically impacts anything.

Update - found the comment

“When I got the gig, people said, ‘You have no idea what an amazing goldmine you’ve stepped into’ – not from a financial perspective, necessarily, but from a family perspective: just having a boss like Kenny, the road family and the camp that we have. It’s unlike anybody else.”

Harmoni Kelley on why five-strings rule for modern country players

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u/I_deleted EDGEHILL REPRESENT 2d ago

And ABC server permits

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/MayorMcBussin 2d ago

OP asked "what are some realities about being a musician" not "what makes a successful musician."

Unfortunately the market for musicians in Nashville is really, really tough. A vast majority of people do not make it and have to go find success on another career path. Real estate and adjacent fields (handymen, carpenters, builders, lenders, inspectors, photographers, etc) are filled with former musicians.

It just tends to be a career similar to music. Lots of social aspects, loose structure that rewards people who are self-guided, and room for creativity. Also if you're a former musician or industry guy, you know how to handle a party and people tend to find you alluring and interesting. Good leg up.

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u/pineappleshnapps 2d ago

I dunno, I don’t know many people who make decent money on music and do real estate.

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u/33ascend 1d ago

I've known a few who have played Red Rocks on a Saturday and are showing houses the following Tuesday

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u/Aggravating_Tear7414 2d ago

100% true. All musicians are just pre-destined Real Estate agents or General Contractors/Handymen.