I’ve had some time to myself recently, away from work and away from the computer, and needed to waste some of that time. So I popped into a supermarket I found near me, and picked up a copy of Bass player magazine (I think that is what is was called), just because I was a bit bored, and for old times sake.

Nothing has really changed in them magazines. Still full of adverts, but also some good content, interviews etc. They used to have tabbed versions of songs you could learn, but they seem to have gone now. Since the advent of the internet, I guess.

But one thing that really did hit me, was the pictures. I remember when I first started playing bass, I used to look at them pictures, thinking to myself “Wow. I just want to be that person. I want their life. I want to do that.” I used to just stare at the pics, of the bass, at the finger positions, at it all. Just trying to absorb it.

And I did get that life. A small part of it, but I did it. Was in a successful band. Got myself to a good standard. Rocked and Rolled. Lived and breathed the instrument. I still do.

But then I felt a small pang of sadness. I remembered what I had given up in my life to get to this standard. One thing about the world we live in at the moment, is that money….money…can help your life become a little easier. It’s a tool to further your enjoyment of living. One thing that was a given to me when I looked at those pictures, is that I would automatically “get rich” if I “got good”. I thought that those at the greatest standard, were those with the greatest wealth.

I never gave it any conscious thought, though. My band and I didn’t care about money, even though we had the opportunity to make some. We were just dreamers. And thats the sad thing, in a way. I gave up a lot to learn this instrument, whilst others were focusing on their careers in other walks of life. Those people, now, are comfortable financially.

I am not.

So, if you are a budding bass player that wants to be in the next greatest band, then go for it. Guys, I’m 100% behind you. But remember that the music industry is a business. A big business. And a lot of the time, it isn’t about music. it’s about how you look, or what you say, plus other factors. Never be under the impression that it’s just about the music (like I did). It isn’t.

And that is a shame, my friends.

What I get out of playing bass and writing music is much better than a financial one for me. But to have made some business-minded decisions when I was a little younger might have made my life a little easier, financially, now. It’s taken me a while to understand this, and I’m certainly still young enough to make a living out of this art I have sculpted…

…but sometimes I wish I could have understood a little more when I was younger.

People buy music.

Seems obvious, I know. But when you really think about it…

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