Pursuing Your Singing Dreams, and Being Financially Prudent

A  recent New York Times article investigated the different reactions to rule changes in the ACA (“Obamacare”).  What was pertinent to this blog was that one of the profiles included was an aspiring opera singer who lived in the Northeast.

She attended Manhattan School of Music, which is one of the elite conservatories of the country. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most expensive, especially after taking into account living expenses in New York City. The woman dropped out due to the financial stress of tuition and is currently paying student loans for a degree she never completed.

I will always encourage in my singing lessons for voice students to follow their dreams. That being said, one can also be aware of how to reduce the financial stress an aspiring singer is faced with. A broke singer will have a hard time auditioning well!

Here are some rules for succeeding in the music business financially.

A. Never, ever go into serious financial debt from college for a music degree. There are several reasons for this.

1. If a music school really likes you and wants you in their productions, they will offer you music scholarships. If you don’t get a decent financial package, the reality is that the music school is not that into you.
2. Singing is not a high-paying field for beginning professionals. You might make a lot of money after some time, but almost all singers start out earning pennies for the amount of work they put in.
3. Debt limits your ability to spend on your career after college. A singer is their own personal CEO: they have to manage their expenses and invest in their future with travel costs for auditions, singing and acting lessons, marketing materials etc...if you have a big student loan payment, these investments become less feasible.

B. Develop Side Work you can do while traveling. I know lots of singers who support themselves by developing websites, being a travel agent, or doing some work that is portable when they are traveling. You can certainly be a waiter when you are at your home base but that work is very difficult for a singer: the constant noise and manual labor can be rough on a singer's vocal health.

C. Find a few people you can trust. They may be family or a close colleague, but you need people who can be brutally honest with you on your goals.  Singing requires outside ears to judge where you are headed. You don’t want to waste time pursuing opportunities you aren’t likely to earn. Have your voice teacher guide you to what is best for you. 

DWS