I’m from Indonesia. I’m a failed musician (I’m 40 years old now). It’s ironic & tragic (& ridiculous, really) that everybody said that I’m musically very talented, and even could make it big. But in the end, I’m just a nobody & a failure/loser. Now I’m heavily depressed, & even have suicidal ideation/thoughts everyday.
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I’ve seen some extremely talented artists/singers out there but they never go very far. It boils down to who you know ultimately and they can make you a household name.
It’s a tough industry, you can be great looking, have an excellent voice and dancing skills, but you can still get tossed to the wayside. Just look at those ‘America’s Got Talent’ type shows. Some of them have great abilities but they rarely get anywhere.
Nowadays though, the internet has a way of levelling the field. If you feel you are talented, have original content but think the entertainment industry won’t help you succeed, start a Youtube channel. Create vids of you singing and if you can turn it into a music video, even better.
Eventually your channel will go viral and you’ll make a ton of money off Youtube. You can also get ‘discovered’ by the big-wigs in Hollywood and they’d be willing to work with you.
If you feel you’ll never make money off music, look into other fields. All of us have talents/skills we can tap into. For instance while my bkgd is science, but I didn’t find work in my field. However, I also did work in another field and that is how I pay my bills.
Lastly don’t forget it’s a numbers game, maybe 1 in a million singers ever get the big break…same with most of these industries, so you invested in something where you probably knew the odds of success are low. So it’s best to find another trade-however try the Youtube thing first, if you can’t succeed there, at least you gave it a chance.
I can relate, I’m 35 and similarly washed up, though my field is mental health. You have to ask yourself why, why was this so important? Where else can I get that meaning?
It turned out I wanted critical acclaim and pride to offset my own insecurity. When I really challenged my insecurity, my goals changed.
It’s also funny you mention music, because I abandoned my musical pursuits in high school, and now am coming back around. I’d honestly just like to find somewhere to busk. I went to New York City and everywhere I looked there were people busking, playing their instruments, performing their talent, and making a living at it.
IF that’s possible, I think that’d be awesome. Just knowing I made someone smile, that warms my dead dead heart.
I was heavily into music and music creation as a young teen. It was a music or engineering for me. I chose engineering. As much as I got the same you’re so good at music shtick from peers and friends, I know that the music industry is rough and cut-throat. The vast majority of people don’t make it to where they want to be by design. Passion and love for something you want to do is important, and yes, you should push yourself to be better whenever possible, but you can grind and put in overtime until your fingers bleed, or your throat is raw, and still just be one of those musicians. Not your fault but by design. You do have to know the right people, you have to click with the audience you’re trying to engage with, you have to bring something unique and different to the table (which is very hard to do considering how dried up and farmed IPs and what not have become). Despite all of that though, I hope you can get somewhere with music that makes you personally happy. That’s really all that matters at the end of the day.
I think you should pour everything into your music, keep creating, even if nobody listens, just store it away for future generations. Or for nobody… just for yourself. Some of the greatest musicians and artists were failures in their own time. But 100 or 200 years later they are gods. You could be one of them.
What instrument do you play?
Listen to that song ‘Rock n Roll I gave you the best years of my life’ by Kevin Johnson from the mid 70’s if I recall correctly, a compelling tale of guy trying to make it in the music industry, he comes close a few times but in the end his girlfriend who seems a bit more practical than him within the context of the song anyway ‘ helped me understand I’ll never be a star’. You’re not a failure or a loser because you didn’t make it as a musician. I grew up with a guy who was very good at soccer, pursued it relentlessly, eventually got a contract with a 2nd division soccer team in England, just never made it and accepted at the age of 25 it wasn’t going to happen. Last I heard he is in normal employment whatever that is, married with kids, and manages an under 16 soccer team at the weekend. I will wrap this up by reiterating you are certainly not a failure or a loser because you didn’t make it as a musician.