“What is your real job then?”
“Oh, I hadn’t realised I had to pay for lessons”
“Thanks for driving here [for our pre-booked lesson], but we don’t want a lesson today. You can go home and put your feet up [but we’re not paying you for your time].
These are just some of the comments I have experienced in my job as a musician and piano teacher.
I also have a really clear memory of a conversation I had when I was at school. I was doing my a-levels, and had to miss several days of school to attend music college auditions. My chemistry teacher pulled me aside and said: “Don’t do music! You can make some real money if you pursue a career in science – you’ll never manage that doing music.”
Can you relate? Does this sound familiar? This is so much a part of our conditioning in the UK – that the arts are undervalued, under-appreciated, underpaid. Arts are regularly cut from, musicians are often asked to work for free, and customers appease themselves with the idea that this isn’t your proper job so it doesn’t matter if they cancel last minute without paying.
There is a common misunderstanding in our industry, that we love what we do…and therefore we don’t have to be paid our worth. No matter how highly skilled, no matter how highly educated.
Have you ever heard of the starving artist? This is an archetype, an artist who sacrifices material things in order to focus on their art. Who lives on minimal expenses, and who dedicated their life to their art. An overly romanticised idea, that in order to truly LOVE your art, you must be prepared to make sacrifices for it. Admirable? No!!!! It doesn’t have to be this way!
It is not greedy to want to make a good living, AND to do something that you love. You can have both. It is time to rewrite our stories. Making the money that you deserves allows you to live a life that you choose to, and to make positive changes in the world – and to dedicate even more time to your art if you wish!! There is enough money to go round. It is time to talk about the taboo, and open up the conversation surrounding money and the arts!
Just because you love it, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t charge your worth, and be allowed to prosper.
If you get burnt out, that serves nobody.
If you come to resent the work you do, because you feel undervalued, that serves nobody.
If you have to quit your passion to pursue something that pays better, that serves nobody.
It is not greedy to want more money.
We created Music Monsters to provide fun and accessible music education for all children. But also to help passionate music teachers go from unappreciated and sick of the system to rocking their own inspiring and impactful piano teaching business. We want to empower music teachers to aim for better, so that you can feel valued and excited about the work that you are doing.
Lauren & Luke x
We would love to talk to you about the opportunities we have at Music Monsters, and to share with you all the ways that you can benefit from joining us. If you think that this may be of interest to you, let's arrange a zoom call - we would love to connect.
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