Bass player in US

[Jo Ze98]

Hi everybody, I am a german bass player and I'm thinking of moving to US, but I don't know anything of business (pay and so on). Can you tell me about livining as a jazz/funk musician in US?

[RS]

Nein!

No seriously, you probably won't make much money as a musician.

[jmattbassplaya]

Unless you're very exceptional, you'll probably have to have a lot of different bands and teaching gigs to make enough income to support yourself.

[ErebusBass]

You'll probably end up living in a van down by the river.

[caligula]

Hi Jo Ze,
I'm from Germany too and although I have been to the US several times and played there, I can't claim to have a lot of first hand experience regarding your question.
However, a guitar playing friend of mine, who I studied with, went to the US after graduation and stayed for 2-and-something years...playing & teaching & teaching & playing.
One word: tough.

Unless you're close to international top level and can play almost everything superbly, I wouldn't really think about it.
If you have Victor Bailey, Jeff Andrews, Billy Sheehan, Janik Gwizdala, Hadrien Fereud, Gary Willis. (insert other name here) kind of skills, great. If not, think twice. Willis actually lives in crisis shaken Spain and probably for a reason.
Bedenke, dass die soziale Absicherung in den USA im Vergleich zu Deutschland fast nicht existiert. Als Musiker ist das das Härteste, was du dir zumuten kannst. Ich persönlich würde es niemals machen.
My 2 cents.

[Rusty Chainsaw]

First and most important question: do you qualify for a visa to live and work in the US?

Unless you are American by descent, are married to a US citizen, are coming over with a s**tload of money to start a business that will employ Americans, work for a company with operations in the US that you can be transferred to, or have an in-demand skill that might qualify you for sponsorship by an employer for a H1-B visa, it's nigh-on impossible to legally immigrate.

There is a visa for those in the entertainment industry, but it's very temporary, has no route to citizenship and is difficult to qualify for.

If you do qualify on any of those counts, at least you'll have a job to fall back on when you realise there's very little real money to be made in music these days.

[Richland123]

Originally Posted by Rusty Chainsaw

First and most important question: do you qualify for a visa to live and work in the US?

Unless you are American by descent, are married to a US citizen, are coming over with a s**tload of money to start a business that will employ Americans, work for a company with operations in the US that you can be transferred to, or have an in-demand skill that might qualify you for sponsorship by an employer for a H1-B visa, it's nigh-on impossible to legally immigrate.

There is a visa for those in the entertainment industry, but it's very temporary, has no route to citizenship and is difficult to qualify for.

If you do qualify on any of those counts, at least you'll have a job to fall back on when you realise there's very little real money to be made in music these days.

What he said. Plus, if you are granted a tourist Visa, they are temporary and don't apply if you plan on working and making money here. Playing for free is another story. Also, if you sing, can you sing in English?

[Rusty Chainsaw]

There's also the student route if you can get a place at an American university - after a year of study you may be allowed to work, but only if you're in financial difficulty and it's entirely at the discretion of the college and the USCIS. The fees for international students are not cheap though, even if you're not looking at the more prestigious colleges, so probably not the best plan.

Have you looked into other EU countries? You can go and live and work in any other EU country without a visa. There's a reasonable amount of opportunity for musicians in the UK, for instance, especially around London. Might be worth looking into if you want a change.

[WookieeForLife]

Look up ramen noodles, it'll be your 4-star meal.

[4dog]

Mmmmmm ramen noodles, my fave.

[kimmyt]

Eating government cheese...

[gard0300]

Originally Posted by Rusty Chainsaw

First and most important question: do you qualify for a visa to live and work in the US?

Unless you are American by descent, are married to a US citizen, are coming over with a s**tload of money to start a business that will employ Americans, work for a company with operations in the US that you can be transferred to, or have an in-demand skill that might qualify you for sponsorship by an employer for a H1-B visa, it's nigh-on impossible to legally immigrate.

There is a visa for those in the entertainment industry, but it's very temporary, has no route to citizenship and is difficult to qualify for.

If you do qualify on any of those counts, at least you'll have a job to fall back on when you realise there's very little real money to be made in music these days.

Yes that whole "Give us your tired, poor, your huddled masses....." thing. Sadly, they are just words on a statue.

[Indiana Mike]

Originally Posted by Rusty Chainsaw

First and most important question: do you qualify for a visa to live and work in the US?

Unless you are American by descent, are married to a US citizen, are coming over with a s**tload of money to start a business that will employ Americans, work for a company with operations in the US that you can be transferred to, or have an in-demand skill that might qualify you for sponsorship by an employer for a H1-B visa, it's nigh-on impossible to legally immigrate.

There is a visa for those in the entertainment industry, but it's very temporary, has no route to citizenship and is difficult to qualify for.


If you do qualify on any of those counts, at least you'll have a job to fall back on when you realise there's very little real money to be made in music these days.

Just go to Mexico first and cross the river...

[WookieeForLife]

Originally Posted by Indiana Mike

Just go to Mexico first and cross the river...

Go to Canada and cross the St. Lawrence....

[Indiana Mike]

Originally Posted by WookieeForLife

Go to Canada and cross the St. Lawrence....

probably safer ,,,maybe ,,,the Rio Grande is like three feet deep...

[WookieeForLife]

Originally Posted by Indiana Mike

probably safer ,,,maybe ,,,the Rio Grande is like three feet deep...

I'd rather deal with the depth than deal with the hostilities associated with Mexico lol.

[BawanaRik]

It's my understanding that the average income of a person who identifies as a musician when filing is 35K. That's optimistic. Most guys are scrapping for $100 to $200 a night gigs. If you're getting 2 a week you are doing real good.

The music industry is actually a subsidiary of of the alcohol industry. In the US we can't drink until we're 21. And there is no DB to take us home at night. And for many people one or two beers can cause them to loose their license. You don't want to be in most of the US without a driver license.

I was thinking about trying to make a few bucks playing after my last layoff but there are guys much better and much younger them me who will load, off load, play, reload, off load for $100 bucks a night. My back literally can not preform these duties.

Good Luck if you do try.

[fdeck]

I know plenty of musicians who are earning decent middle class incomes. All of them teach classical music to children, in addition to performing professionally.

[MostlyBass]

Just jazz / funk? That'll be tough. If you've got some classical chops there's lots of small / part time gigs around major cities.