“In order for a musician to grow, he's got to pay his dues. Some musicians ask me, 'well, what do you mean? You're saying I have to 'starve' and pay all these dues just to play jazz?' And my answer to them is, well, to some degree, yes! Because in order to play jazz you have to live it. Those notes mean something. They don't just come from your brain, they come from your heart and soul too. And in order to have that heart and soul you have to experience life. So I relate my music to my life and my life style. You can't separate the two.” WellsHeartMeanTwoSoulPlayOrderAsksGrowsAnswersPayBrainStyleDegreesMusicianJazzNotesDuesRelateAsk MeHeart And SoulLife Style Author:Woody Shaw
“Way back in the old days, say in Europe of the Middle Ages, you had an aristocracy, and they could afford to pay for musicians. The kings and queens had musicians in the castles, and that developed into symphony orchestras and what we call "Classical music" now.” WayAgePayMiddleKingsMusicianEuropeQueensOrchestraCastlesMiddle AgesSymphonyClassical MusicOld DaysAristocracyKings And QueensSymphony Orchestras Author:Pete Seeger
“When you commit to being a musician, I don't think you're really sure or care about when you're going to pay the bills. I don't think you care about that as much as you care about playing music.” ThinkingCarePayMusicianBillsCommitPlaying Music Author:Adam Levine
“I am really inspired by writers, and weirdly - respect music journalists, which I think makes me the exception amongst most musicians. I think it's a craft. I think it's been really neglected - sadly. I think about the days of the great legendary rock critics. Who's going to become that when magazines and newspapers don't pay anyone properly or don't seem to respect the history or research that is required?” ThinkingSeemsPayRocksMusicianResearchCriticsInspiredNewspapersMagazinesCraftsJournalistExceptionNeglectedLegendary Author:Emily Haines
“One problem with a lot of musicians is that they remove themselves in a studio and make a record and assume people are going to pay attention to it just because they've made it.” PeopleMadeProblemPayAttentionRecordsMusicianAssumingStudiosMade ItPay AttentionRemove Author:Moby
“I was raised a musician and I played classic music, violin, in orchestras and music comedy theaters, I have music running around in my head all the time, and if I hear music that's too interesting, I have to pay attention to it.” IfsRunningInterestingPayAttentionComedyMusicianTheaterRaisedPay AttentionClassicOrchestraViolinClassic Music Author:Larry Wall
“When I look at how fortunate I've been, being a musician... my response to being overpaid is that I should pay it back to my community in some way.” WayShouldLooksCommunityPayMusicianResponseFortunate Author:Dave Matthews
“I'll probably pay more attention to the musicians in the pit than the stars because they're the closest you're going to get to normal people in the audience.” PeopleStarsPayAttentionAudienceNormalMusicianClosestPits Author:Chris Rock
“Jazz is the greatest American art form and our greatest export. We don't pay attention to the youth of jazz, don't stoke the fires creatively for the youth coming up. I feel like jazz musicians became too much of purists - with Donald Byrd doing funk jazz in the '70s.” FeelsArtFormPayAttentionFireToo MuchYouthMusicianJazzPay AttentionJazz MusicJazz MusicianFunkStoke Author:Talib Kweli
“I stopped drinking and realised New York still has a lot of charm, but it has become so bourgeois and affluent - and I can't really complain because I'm sort of bourgeois and affluent myself, but I like living in a place where artists and musicians and writers can actually pay the rent.” StillsI CanArtistPayNew YorkMusicianDrinkingComplainingCharmRealisedBourgeoisAffluent Author:Moby
“When I was 19, I made my first good week's pay as a club musician. It was enough money for me to quit my job at the factory and still pay the rent and buy some food. I freaked.” FirstsMadeStillsEnoughJobsPayWeekMusicianClubsQuittingFactoriesGood Week Author:Billy Joel
“Mostly, the people in "the room" are paid lobbyists representing interests that could afford to pay them. No wonder policy isn't being made that helps smaller, independent musicians or those unaffiliated with a larger entity.” PeopleMadeHelpingInterestRoomsPayWonderPolicyMusicianPaidIndependentEntityRepresentingLobbyists Author:Erin McKeown
“In order to function and pay our bills and our taxes and feed our families and stuff, musicians have to make a living. It's not about being a millionaire. It's about being able to survive. When there are people constantly stealing from you, it's quite frustrating. It's a matter of changing the public's option about doing it.” PeopleMatterAbleOrderStuffPayTaxesMusicianFunctionBillsStealingOur FamilyFrustratingMillionaire Author:Matt Snell
“I feel very strongly that if you got rid of all of the autistic genetics you're not going to have any scientists. There'd be no computer people. You'd lose a lot of artists and musicians. There'd be a horrible price to pay.” PeopleIfsFeelsArtistLosesPayComputerMusicianScientistHorribleVery StrongGeneticsAutistic Author:Temple Grandin
“I won't complain about touring, because I really do believe that a public-figure musician complaining about being a public-figure musician is just absurd. Like, 'Boo hoo hoo! I have to stand on stage and people pay attention to me!'” PeopleBelievePayAttentionStageFiguresMusicianComplainingAbsurdPay AttentionTouringPublic Figures Author:Moby