Having a career as a singer or songwriter is a wonderful, exciting and fulfilling career. Don’t get me wrong, though, it has its challenges! There’s no 9-5 routine as a songwriter. With the exception of very few composer residencies or staff songwriting positions at large record labels, the vast majority of songwriters are freelancers. This means you are your own boss. The upside of this is that you work on what you want when you want. The flip side, however, is that you have to seek out job opportunities for yourself; nobody is going to drop them in your lap.
If you have a passion for music, and a creative drive for making new things, there really is no career quite like it. You get to use your imagination to create something entirely new – and when you get it right, you get to see other people enjoy it, sing along to it, dance to it, and cry to it, over and over. What’s more? You can get paid to do it. I remember the first time I wrote a song for a play, and when I went to watch it, I saw a woman a few seats away moved to tears by what she was seeing and hearing. It was truly humbling to know that I had been a part of that, and I’ve never taken it for granted since. On top of all of that, the music industry is full of energetic, creative, proactive people, and you get to collaborate in exciting ways that few other career paths can offer. What’s not to love?
