With this video, my goal is to be as transparent as possible for those that are curious about how a composer can make a living today. I am a composer that writes music primarily for the concert hall; i.e., "outside" the realm of commercial media. I've written music for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, the International Contemporary Ensemble, and many other folks. I'm not going to bore you with the details here. If you're curious what the music sounds like, you'll find plenty of my tunes here on the channel. Keep in mind that I live right outside New York City, where the average income is $6,239.16 per month.
Love the transparency here Saad! And totally agree on dispelling the idea that composers need to make 100% of their income from composing - that's a super stressful strategy long-term and often removes the leverage to raise rates or turn down work.
Nice to see you here Zach - yes, not sure why this is still a thing among musicians in general! I find myself being more creative than ever in this period (knock on wood! 🪵)
Thank you all so much for watching, and I hope you find this content informative. I hope you find that through my work on this channel that my activities as a teacher complement my work as a composer. This took over a decade to realize for myself.
Thank you so much for this! It always frustrated me that in all of the "career development" and "entrepreneurship" classes I've been in, not once has anyone simply stated clearly the income streams they have as an artist, and what they add up to. This kind of video is incredibly helpful and I hope music schools can encourage this kind of transparency as a pedagogical tool!
Robert, it doesn’t serve their best interests to have their “entrepreneurship” guests come in and share their income streams - the students might not be all that impressed with what they hear! (Oops, did I just say that?!)
Good video! You have a very smooth and professional presentation. I like how you discussed the s-word (Sponsorships), which is very reasonable as long as you are above the table and believe in their product. Keep up the good work, looking forward to seeing/hearing more
Great video as always. I really wish that music business and basic eco classes were requirements for music majors, especially at the graduate level. Wasn't even available as a potential elective when i was doing my MM and DMA
Hey Saad! Love the new content and the transparency about how you make a living as a composer. After watching, I'd love to see a follow up video with advice and tips on budgeting for taxes as a freelance composer. It's something that is rarely talked about at music school, though is super important since most of our work is freelance. If you've already made a video like that, let me know! Keep up the amazing content!
I studied fine art painting at a prestigious london institute (in the 80s) and later jazz arranging and composition (someplace else ;) ) and neither gave any credible advice whatsoever on how to make money with the skills they were teaching me. NONE AT ALL. So, I am all ears :)
What do you think about a composer selling sheet music on Buy Me A Coffee? Is that something you recommend doing for beginning composers who can't afford the services of e-commerce platforms? I don't sell enough to warrant a 20-40 dollar a month subscription to these sites.
Great question. I put some of it in retirement, pre-tax to get the most benefit out of my salary from them. Same with the NJCU job. Healthcare I have to pay for 🤣 but it’s done through CU. When I was a grad student at CU, they paid for my healthcare which was actually not bad at all.
If you exchanged it for polish currency it would be an extreme amount of money for musician to earn. But Poland, as you may suspect, isn't as wealthy as US. How does this money translate to US economics? Congratulations for being able to sustain a well paying job in music, and thank you for being as transparent, as you are!
With this video, my goal is to be as transparent as possible for those that are curious about how a composer can make a living today. I am a composer that writes music primarily for the concert hall; i.e., "outside" the realm of commercial media. I've written music for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, the International Contemporary Ensemble, and many other folks. I'm not going to bore you with the details here. If you're curious what the music sounds like, you'll find plenty of my tunes here on the channel. Keep in mind that I live right outside New York City, where the average income is $6,239.16 per month.
Love the transparency here Saad! And totally agree on dispelling the idea that composers need to make 100% of their income from composing - that's a super stressful strategy long-term and often removes the leverage to raise rates or turn down work.
Nice to see you here Zach - yes, not sure why this is still a thing among musicians in general! I find myself being more creative than ever in this period (knock on wood! 🪵)
Thank you all so much for watching, and I hope you find this content informative. I hope you find that through my work on this channel that my activities as a teacher complement my work as a composer. This took over a decade to realize for myself.
Thank you for your transparency, this is super insightful!
🙏🏽
That's a very nice career you've built for yourself Saad!
🙏🏽
Thanks for being so transparent! This is very helpful and very rare
🙏🏽
Thank you for posting this, as a highschool student looking to double major piano performance and composition this is very helpful
Good luck 🙏🏽
Thank you so much for this! It always frustrated me that in all of the "career development" and "entrepreneurship" classes I've been in, not once has anyone simply stated clearly the income streams they have as an artist, and what they add up to. This kind of video is incredibly helpful and I hope music schools can encourage this kind of transparency as a pedagogical tool!
Robert, it doesn’t serve their best interests to have their “entrepreneurship” guests come in and share their income streams - the students might not be all that impressed with what they hear! (Oops, did I just say that?!)
@@saadhaddadmusic !!! 💯
@@saadhaddadmusic Haha, mic drop... exit lecture hall
@@ohno_notes I was in a mood with that comment 😅
Super helpful on a topic that's hard to find actual good information on. Thanks! Looking forward to the string quartet competition results!
I’m looking forward too! 🙏🏽
Your approach is extremely refreshing nowadays, thanks for making these!!!
Hope all is well on your end Stephen!
@@saadhaddadmusic thank you! I’m doing busy - I actually was in New York for a second because of a delayed flight this week actually!
@@stephenweigel ! Im in Iceland currently 🇮🇸
@@saadhaddadmusic wow!!!
Good video! You have a very smooth and professional presentation. I like how you discussed the s-word (Sponsorships), which is very reasonable as long as you are above the table and believe in their product.
Keep up the good work, looking forward to seeing/hearing more
Smooth is my s-word! 🤣 🙏🏽
Great video as always. I really wish that music business and basic eco classes were requirements for music majors, especially at the graduate level. Wasn't even available as a potential elective when i was doing my MM and DMA
I totally agree!
Hey Saad! Love the new content and the transparency about how you make a living as a composer. After watching, I'd love to see a follow up video with advice and tips on budgeting for taxes as a freelance composer. It's something that is rarely talked about at music school, though is super important since most of our work is freelance. If you've already made a video like that, let me know! Keep up the amazing content!
Thanks for the idea!
Love this! Thanks for sharing this breakdown. 🙏🏾 I wish composers would talk about money a lot more often!
Sakari! I hope you’re doing well!! Nice to hear from you here, hope all your projects wrapped up nicely in the last year or so!
Great video, Saad, that demystifies how to find the resources to make music.
Ethan nice to hear from you 🙏🏽 hope you’re doing well 🙏🏽
I find your ASCAP income really surprising and impressive!
🙏🏽
I studied fine art painting at a prestigious london institute (in the 80s) and later jazz arranging and composition (someplace else ;) ) and neither gave any credible advice whatsoever on how to make money with the skills they were teaching me.
NONE AT ALL.
So, I am all ears :)
Same 🙏🏽 we are all figuring it out
@@saadhaddadmusic Looks like you're heading in the right direction. Well done. Have enjoyed following the channel.
do you have a video where it EXPLAINS the "SHARED SPLITS" inside ASCAP????
No
#goals. Great video as always!
🙌🏼
What do you think about a composer selling sheet music on Buy Me A Coffee? Is that something you recommend doing for beginning composers who can't afford the services of e-commerce platforms? I don't sell enough to warrant a 20-40 dollar a month subscription to these sites.
I think that can work too!
Video on “composer living in the real world”, when?
We all live in our own realities 🙈
If you don’t mind me asking, are offered benefits from CU (health, retirement plan, etc.)?
Great question. I put some of it in retirement, pre-tax to get the most benefit out of my salary from them. Same with the NJCU job. Healthcare I have to pay for 🤣 but it’s done through CU. When I was a grad student at CU, they paid for my healthcare which was actually not bad at all.
Good to know! I wanted to ask if you know any concert hall composers who only do composition commissions and performances for a living?
If there are any that watch my videos I would like to know 🤣🤣🤣
Have you thought about uploading your music to streaming
Not currently how we operate, not enough ROI. I prefer uploading my works to RUclips.
How about teaching a similar music intro class on buy me a coffee in the future? Just a thought 👌🏼thank you for all the helpful content.
When you say “music intro” do you mean the material I teach at Columbia?
Yes 😊
If you exchanged it for polish currency it would be an extreme amount of money for musician to earn. But Poland, as you may suspect, isn't as wealthy as US. How does this money translate to US economics?
Congratulations for being able to sustain a well paying job in music, and thank you for being as transparent, as you are!
I mention this in the description, and ty!
@@saadhaddadmusic Thank you!
very cool!
🙏🏽
But how do I make my music more gooder though
🤣 good to see you here Ben!
I made £0/month as composer.
Yep. I did for over a decade too. That’s how it goes.
Literally dying I made 22 k last year, full time. I'm over
Keep going 🙏🏽
@@saadhaddadmusic For the sake of music I will 💪
Sorry, 2400 bucks for 8 hours of classroom time and 2 hours of grading homework? Did I miss a few decades of inflation?