MassAmateurization

Quora Answer : I have not learnt music but I am passionate about it. Should I try making career in music?

Apr 22, 2020

Probably not.

Musical "careers" are probably going to disappear. There is a lot of music in the world. Far more than anyone can listen to. The cost of acquiring it is infinitesimal.

And the money available, when shared between all the musicians, is negligible.

Most "professional musicians" today are either highly trained specialists in playing instruments, who might just about scrape by by playing a lot of gigs or in orchestras. And that's a hard life, and if you aren't already a skilled instrumentalist by your late teens / early 20s, you probably aren't going to become one of those people.

Or they are really "professional celebrities". And being a celebrity today is as much about playing YouTube and Instagram and Tik-Tok as it's about playing music.

The future of music is mass amateurization. Ie. MANY, MANY people who love music passionately, dabbling in it with a few friends.

That is a great future. It means that many people love music. Many people will be happy while making it. And there will be an incredible amount of music. Much of it, fantastic.

As someone passionate about it, you should adore that.

But "professionals" are not needed in that world.