What Constitutes a Professional Musician?

[Nev375]

It's very simple. There's professionally employed and there's being professional. The first means you make money, the second means people can count on you to do your job.

A person can be called a professional for either one or both. Like many words in English, there's more than one meaning.

But if you want my opinion as to which I respect more, it's the latter.

 

[Shalto]

Getting paid. If it's your primary income, you are a working musician. If you don't have to have a day job, you are a full time working musician. If you add all the courtesy, prep and punctuality you are working musician with a professional attitude.

 

[MVE]

It’s a matter of self-designation. I call myself a professional musician. If someone doesn’t like that and wants to call me on it, fine—good luck with that.

Can I change my answer to this?!?! Lol
+1

 

[legalbass]

If you can comfortably afford to walk away from a given activity, i.e. quitting that activity entirely with no meaningful financial harm occurring as a result, you're either reached a point where you can retire from that activity, or it simply wasn't your profession to begin with. I think that's kind of the long and short of it.

 

[drumvsbass]

Someone who isn't dumping cash from their day job into their hobby.

 

[CoffeeLove]

If you can comfortably afford to walk away from a given activity, i.e. quitting that activity entirely with no meaningful financial harm occurring as a result, you're either reached a point where you can retire from that activity, or it simply wasn't your profession to begin with. I think that's kind of the long and short of it.

Haha, I like this one. One of my pro beach volleyball friends said she "retired" from the game, but the sport cost her more money then she earned. The humor is in the fact that she chooses to use the word retired, because that to me means you have some monetary reward to show for it once retired. So, would some people have given her title of professional, most likely, but there sure was nothing to show for it. That was totally off point, but crossed my mind as a similar scenario. Now she is a teacher and makes a decent living doing so, and in that she is a professional.

 

[westrock]

 

[Fretless]

Free beer puts you squarely in the "pro" category.

 

[Freekmagnet]

When you have to file 1099.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Curious what people think about this one. I usually consider a "professional" of any kind, including music, to be someone that makes a reasonable portion of their living from the profession itself (either in the past or present). Might only be 20 to 30 percent of their income (maybe more), but still a decent percentage of total income, and enough to pay their own bills.

I know a person that regularly claims to be a professional musician, and has moderate skills as a singer-songwriter, but makes very little money doing it (1 or 2 low paying gigs a month), and is only somewhat known in our area, but definitely not beyond our small town. I have no plans to burst his bubble, this just got me wondering what other people view as a professional musician.

Peace

This again? Professional anything means you literally do something as your profession.

IE : X is your main source of income.

IE : X is how you pay your bills.

IE : When someone asks what you do for a living, your answer is, "I X" or "I'm an X"

A professional musician, plays music as their profession. Whether it be score for a TV show or video games or commercials etc, a touring artist, a piece of an orchestra, or a session musician. A professional musician earns his or her living by playing music. Not teaching music, that would be a professional music teacher. Not producing music, that would be a professional music producer. But, by playing music.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Getting payed to play.

 

[BAG]

A professional musician earns the bulk of their income from playing music.... this includes time taken to promote, sell or otherwise monetize their musical abilities.

An amateur however, be they a weekend warrior, acoustic covers duo, dad band, tribute band, etc, etc, even if they earn litte or no money from their gigs, can still conduct themselves professionally and put on a professional show.

 

[selowitch]

Calling myself a professional allows me to maintain my delusions of being a rockstar.

 

[Samatza]

I don't classify to be honest, as far as I'm concerned, if you can walk the walk, that'll do it. Job or no day job. Give it a name...

I think we’re in violent agreement to be honest.

I don’t judge or classify either but the question was asked and I gave an opinion, like bellybuttons everyone has one and they’re all different.

 

[jdh3000]

Technically a professional musician is one for whom playing music is a profession, in essence, how they earn their living. This could be all or part of their living.

It's difficult for many in this day and age to make a decent living without some side hustle.

If one is a bank clerk by day and waits tables at night, which is their profession? Actually both, and it cannot necessarily be the job that pays the most because the waiting tables could pay more at times that others.

One may say this is my profession but I do that to make ends meet.

If we start tossing "semi-professional" around, that's just splitting hairs.

The word professional has come to mean other things in music and other fields. It has taken on the connotation of the attitude of how one conducts onself, in a professional manner, whether a dime is being made or not.

It's like the word "gentleman" which once stood for a certain class of person, not really a fellow who holds a door open for a lady or uses a specific restroom.

Such as it is with language, constantly evolving, thus you see ads seeking musicians, must be professional... you check into it and find it doesn't pay, but they want the dedication of a professional. Unfortunately for most who seek this person is that mainly the motivation that makes a professional have such dedication is the money.

If one plays for any money at all, that is a professional, at least for the gig that paid.
If one plays for sheer enjoyment, that is an amateur, which by the way doesn't equate to "novice" anymore that professional means "expert".

I think people like umbrella words that say something about a person. A person shows up on time, learns the material, works well within a band, does her/his homework, doesn’t get drunk and naked on stage; all this has the markings of what a professional would be like, so we say that’s a real pro, rather that saying they do all that other stuff.

There are many well known musicians who do not conduct themselves in what has come to be known as a professional manner, and they earn a fortune. They stay drunk most of the time, do drugs, get caught up in scandalous activities, yet they pack out concerts and sell cds.

It’s how you look at it... if one thinks they are a professional because they step up and act like what they believe it takes to make a pro, let them claim that.. walks and quacks like a duck...

 

[TheReceder]

1. a person engaged or qualified in a profession.
   "professionals such as lawyers and surveyors"
   synonyms:
   white-collar worker · professional worker · office worker
2. a person engaged in a specified activity, especially a sport or branch of the performing arts, as a main paid occupation rather than as a pastime.
   "his first season as a professional"
   synonyms:
   professional player · nonamateur · paid player · pro
3. a person competent or skilled in a particular activity.
   "she was a real professional on stage"

 

[DigitalMan]

1 - it’s your primary source of income
2 - no one else can claim you as a dependent

 

[DJ Bebop]

Curious what people think about this one. I usually consider a "professional" of any kind, including music, to be someone that makes a reasonable portion of their living from the profession itself (either in the past or present). Might only be 20 to 30 percent of their income (maybe more), but still a decent percentage of total income, and enough to pay their own bills.

I know a person that regularly claims to be a professional musician, and has moderate skills as a singer-songwriter, but makes very little money doing it (1 or 2 low paying gigs a month), and is only somewhat known in our area, but definitely not beyond our small town. I have no plans to burst his bubble, this just got me wondering what other people view as a professional musician.

Peace

My dad was a professional musician, his whole life. He never had a straight job.

From his early days as a kid through the Navy at Great Lakes Recruiting station in the Navy Band in the '40s.
from there after his discharge, he went out to Los Angeles, Californa, and worked the club scene on Central Ave.
Jack's Basket Room, Club Alabama, etc. Also got to jam and play with the cats, Parker, Miles, Mingus. Worked and recorded with Billy Eckstein, it was a different time. Was playing in Billy's band when he hit Portland OR.
Met my mom, stayed in Portland, and started his own local Big Band and the rest was history and me

Oregon Experience | Warren Bracken Comes to Portland | Season 10 | Episode 1004

 

[Samatza]

Calling myself a professional allows me to maintain my delusions of being a rockstar.

I think therefor I am...

 

[DJ Bebop]

I think therefor I am...

Of course you are, my bright little star...
I've miles and miles of files
Pretty files of your forefather's fruit
And now to suit our great computer
You're magnetic ink!