8 Ways To Balance Your Music Career With Your Day Job

I’m a part-time musician. And one of the toughest things is balancing my music career with my day job. 

Through trial-and-error, I’ve learned what works for me and what doesn’t.

And I want to share what I’ve learned. Maybe it’ll help you.

So here are eight things you can do to balance your music career with your day job. 

Instead of DIY, Implement DIT (Do It Together)

Even though you’re a DIY musician, you need a team. And this doesn’t mean you have to hire people.

These can be fellow musicians, mentors, and non-musical loved ones. 

You could even form a board of people as if you were a nonprofit. You could go as far as scheduling a monthly or quarterly call with these people. 

For a person to agree to this, they’ll have to be a close friend or a super fan. People who really want you to succeed. 

Here are the essential team members you’ll need:

• Fellow songwriter: you need someone to give you objective feedback on your songs, both critical and encouraging.
• Mixing consultant: I’ve gotten so much advice from a mixing/mastering engineer who I work with. All I did was ask.
• Design specialist: I’m not great with album cover art or layout and design. I’m okay, but not great. So I ask certain people who are good at those things for input.
• Social media/PR/marketing specialist: if I had the budget to pay someone to run my social media channels, I would seriously consider it. I don’t love spending time on social media, but I know people who do it for a living. 
• Career consultant: this could be someone who knows about how to achieve your goals and not get overwhelmed. They could be in the music industry, but they don’t have to be.

Make the Most of Your Commute

With COVID-19 spreading across the globe, many people no longer have a commute.

But if/when you return to the office, use your commute to build your music career.

Here are some things you can do to make the most of your commute:

• Listen to podcasts, like The New Music Business with Ari Herstand or DIY Musician from CD Baby
• Study your favorite songs — why do you love them? Can you borrow ideas from them?
• Let your brain be idle — boredom is great for creativity

If you ride the bus or train to work, bring a songwriting book or use the Evernote app. 

Don’t let any spare time go to waste.

Don’t Confuse Music Money With Day Job Money

If you have one bank account for both your day job and your music income, watch out. Things will get messy real quick.

It’s much easier to have a separate bank account for music money.

Or you can use a bank like Simple which lets you categorize your money. I use it and highly recommend it.

So I can move $100 into my Music Fund and it removes the money from my Safe To Spend, the amount I can spend on my debit card.

It’s a great way to keep your money organized. It helps me avoid getting my day job money and music money mixed up.

Remember the Internet Is Public

Try not to live a double-life — an employee life and a musician life. 

Act as if anything you post online could end up in front of your boss. Because it could. 

Even if your personal accounts are private, you’re probably connected with your coworkers online. 

And you never know, they may end up showing your boss that post you wrote about how much you hate your job.

So, before you post anything online, ask yourself, “Would I be okay if my boss saw this?”

Know When You’re Most Productive

We’re all productive at different times for different tasks. 

I write blog posts best first thing in the morning, but I produce music well at night.

So I do my blogging and songwriting early (I’m writing this at 7 a.m.). And I record music at night after my kids go to bed. 

Those aren’t the only times I blog, write songs, and record music. But I know when I’m best at each. 

Knowing myself in this way helps me squeeze out the most productivity. And that helps me stick to a schedule with fewer distractions.

Schedule Music Time

If you want to really balance your music career with your day job, scheduling is the most important skill.

Because if you’re not intentional about making time for music, time won’t let you make music. 

You have to figure out when you’re free to create, even if it’s just 30 minutes. And you have to keep that time sacred.

Let’s say you have an hour free on Saturday mornings. Make that your music time and hold yourself to it. 

Don’t plan to do anything else for that hour except work on your music career. 

Wear Your Different Uniforms

In order to balance your music career with your day job, it’s not just about what you do. It’s about how you view it.

That’s why you have to do something I call “chunking your brain.” 

This is where you mentally divide your brain into “work,” “life,” and “music.”

A helpful metaphor is the idea of uniforms. 

When you’re at work, you probably have some sort of uniform (i.e. “acceptable business attire”). This is good. Use it to help you get into “work mode.”

When you get home, put on your “life uniform.” You might literally change into your comfy at-home clothes. 

You can have a music uniform you “put on” when you step into your songwriting or recording or performing space.

I’m thinking this a metaphorical uniform, but if you want to actually change into “music” clothes, go for it. 

The whole point is to help you mentally get into the appropriate headspace.

Your Music Career Is a Small Business — Treat It Like One

If you want your music career to take off, you have to supply the fuel.

And the fuel, in this case, is organized discipline.

Starting and growing a business takes consistency, work ethic, focus, and organization.

If you were starting a business and that business were your music career, what would you do?

You’d spend your free time intentionally growing your career. 

You’d create a long-term plan for your career. 

You’d stay as organized as possible with a designated email address, a music-specific bank account, and spreadsheets.

And you’d figure out legit ways to start making a profit. 

By treating your music career as a small business, you’ll be able to make time for it instead of life taking over.