Getting Paid to Be On Stage

You have an amazing voice, you put yourself out there, and you’re ready to be the next Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift. Yet the harsh reality is that most people completely don’t notice you, some of them dislike you, and among those who enjoy your singing, the majority of them give you a nod of approval which can’t pay the bills.

How then can someone realistically become a professional singer?

Becoming a professional singer isn’t just about being a good singer with a nice voice. It’s not about putting your dreams out in the universe and having the universe smile on you. It requires a lot of grinding, working with people, making connections and getting opportunities to showcase your passion and talent.

I have always naturally leaned towards music, creativity and being a certified drama queen. It’s just the way I was made. My whole family is musical, everyone can either sing or play an instrument. After church on Sundays, my aunt would play the piano while the rest of us would sing with the natural tendency to harmonise.

As much as I loved singing, I didn’t think I could make a living from it, so I did a diploma in mass communications and a degree in advertising in Melbourne. When I came home to get a job, it was just after the 9/11 tragedy and the world was frozen. No one was hiring.

I started to perform at pubs and clubs around town while going for job interviews. As time went by, I started earning enough to realise that I could do this for a living. The more I performed, the more the interviews started to feel like a drag and that’s when I realised that what I really wanted to do was to sing. So, after a year, I stopped trying to apply for a day job.

I’m not sure how far you are along your singing journey. Perhaps you’re just entertaining the possibility, or maybe you’re halfway through it, wondering if you’ve given up good career prospects for something unrealistic. Wherever you are along the journey, I hope to offer you some actionable takeaways that will help you go further as a singer.

For starters, let’s get rid of some common misconceptions that you shouldn’t be having if you want to make it as a singer without feeling miserable the whole time.

You’re Not Going to Get Rich

You have to accept the fact that you are most likely not going to get rich and famous. Realistically, only 5% of all singers could be rich and famous in their country. The percentage globally would be too depressing to calculate.

As a singer, you can’t do it just for the money. If you start your career trying to be rich and famous, you’ll find that you’re just hitting your head against the wall half the time. You need to love what you do, and the cherry on top is that you’ll earn from your passion.

For most Asian people, a steady pay check is a necessity, but you don’t get that in this business. Many people see singing as a side job, and most people still ask me to this very day what my real job is. So, you have to do it out of love for the craft, or you’ll get more frustrated than you need to be.

Your Voice isn’t Going Make You Famous

Everyone hopes to have a jaw dropping million-dollar voice like the competitive singing shows on TV. You watch a shy scrawny nerd who got teased by girls stroll up on stage and swoon the audience with his voice. You see a single mum who had given up on her dream, walk up on stage and belt out a powerful heartfelt song that both touches and draws you.

Yet the truth is that behind the scenes, the industry is extremely competitive. How many of the winners are top singers today? There are very few Kelly Clarksons and Carrie Underwoods out there who have continued success beyond their one minute of fame. Again, the reality is that the world may gawk at your talent for a week or two but they move on to the next, and you need to have more than a great voice to make it as a professional singer.

Apart from the many hours of practice on your own, you need to schedule the band and have many hours of rehearsals. You have to produce the whole experience - you need to think about the songs you want, how to arrange them, what journey to bring your audience on and what to say or do between songs. That’s just the singing part. Then you have to look at all the other areas like working with the venue owners, marketing the gigs and telling people about it.

You are switched on 24/7, and have to market constantly. Every time you meet someone, you have to tell them what you’re doing and share about your gigs. You then have to thank everyone after the show and follow up with them to stay in touch. Your art is your product, and you are also the advertiser, marketer, maid and every job in between. It’s a lot of work. It’s tough because public relations go against the nature of most creatives who don’t feel very comfortable marketing themselves in a certain way. Yet you need to do it if you want to succeed as a singer.