The only time I'm happy is when I play my guitar"
- Cream
With the release of "Loveland" I have this sense that I have come to a new vantage point in my musical journey. It's like I've climbed to an overlook where I can see both forward and back from where I have come.
Recently, I was looking at a photo of my first band back in High School. We were playing at the annual school talent show. The "Jaguars" were one of two bands; we played instrumentals like "Wipe Out" and "Tequila", nobody sung, and we had a trumpet and sax player. The other band had discovered the British Invasion, and did a killer version of "Satisfaction". It was a memorable event, the first time I ever performed in public and the first time anyone ever danced.
I played pretty steadily in a succession of bands, for the next 15 years, then put music aside. The reasons I gave up performing are a long story, not particularly notable, except that years later by chance I rekindled my love for music, as a composer, which led to songwriting, a move to Nashville, and most recently, a return to the stage. All through those years my main motivation was the need to earn a living, any purely creative impulses were strictly a side issue, an indulgence. Now that it's more in the forefront I'm thinking more about the "why" rather than the "how".
Like a lot of aspiring musicians I overlooked the "business" part of "the music business" when I was starting out. There's a mythology about "being discovered" and "overnight success" that is prevalent even though the facts are otherwise. Depending on the source, the statistics say of an estimated 25 million musicians in the US only about 1% actually make a living from their music. Those are steep odds. There are a number of reasons for this but a big one is the fact that the market is generational. It's rare, if ever, that one sees a new artist over the age of 35 achieve commercial success. In my own case a combination of bar band burnout and a realization of this fact led me to music production, which proved to be a pathway that allowed me to have a career, relative prosperity, and still be close to the creative side that I loved.
In Nashville, I met a lot of talented people who were still chasing the dream of commercial success despite years of rejection. Some of them were bitter, but others accepted the reality of the odds and were happy to be part of an arts community that gave them the opportunity to live a creative lifestyle even if they had to do something else to make a living. What I learned is that the music "business" is exactly that, a business like any other that requires capital, sales and marketing, and where success is very often dependent on having the right product at the right time for the market.
More recorded music is available to consumers than ever. In 1975 about 1000 albums were released commercially, around 10,000 songs. Now 25,000 songs are uploaded every day. The power of music labels still dominates because the cost of marketing gives an advantage to those who spend the most money. In many cases, if not most, the cost of marketing and advertising is several multiples of the cost of producing the music. I've known this for some time as I've watched the growth of home recording, a boon for those who want to record their music, but resulting in a flood of product.
So why persist when the odds of ever earning any financial reward are virtually nil?
That's right, the "why" does become more important than the "how" at a certain point for most of us. I've found two reasons, one practical, one magical:
1. Practical... After years spent learning an instrument the challenge to improve is still compelling. Playing music is good for you for lots of reasons, especially as you get older; good for your brain, good to have goals, good to see progress. At a certain point playing, daily practice, becomes not what you do, but who you are, and what I call a " magnificent obsession".
The conventional wisdom is that it takes "10,000 hours" to master an instrument. If you break it down this way:
10,000 divided by 4 hours a day divided by 5 days a week (pretty intense schedule!) works out to about 10 years, assuming one takes a few breaks, a vacation now and then.
So those who start early in life, say 6 years old, could conceivably be a virtuoso by age 16, and we have a few examples of that in guitarists like my hero Joe Bonamassa. Obviously, not every professional musician has spent 10,000 hours so one can be successful with less effort, but it still takes a considerable commitment of time and an investment that you'd like to see have some sort of return.
2. Magical...songwriting is a process that is part craft and part inspiration. One can master the craft and still have no clue as to how or when inspiration may happen, only that it's always worth the wait. One thing all songwriters share is an appreciation for those unexplainable moments when the universe smiles on you and a lyric and melody come together. One example is my song "If Everybody Loved". I was just noodling around with a song idea along the lines of universal love and the line "if everybody loved as much as I love you" literally popped into my head. From there the song just flowed, because once you have the main theme it's just a matter of filling it out:
"If Everybody loved, what a world this would be
No more loneliness, every soul set free
Stars would shine brighter, sky would be more blue
If everybody loved as much as I love you"
At this point I'm not sure if I've racked up 10,000 hours, I've lost count, but I'm lucky to have something that is still compelling and provides a sense of accomplishment along with the challenge to keep improving.
Singer/Songwriter Rick Millward lived and worked on the West Coast until moving to Nashville in 2000. He was part of the Music City songwriter community, collaborating with other artists and producing over 30 projects in his boutique studio, including two EMMY nominated soundtracks. Now in Southern Oregon, Rick has discovered a vibrant local music scene centered around the many tasting rooms. His new record “Loveland” is available on Spotify and other streaming platforms.
