8 Musician Stereotypes (we can give the stink eye to)
I decided to write this post to get the word out about some more recent, modern musician stereotypes that I’ve been noticing. I feel like a lot of lists keep recycling old ideas and dated personas.
So this is my short list of the top musician generalizations I’ve personally noticed as a songwriter and producer myself.
I’ll keep this list updated as I come across new realizations.
But of course, if you have any more ideas, let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear them!
Alright, now let’s get it.
1. Writing Computer Music Is Easy
I want to set the record straight on something. And this is from firsthand experience.
Learning guitar and singing was way easier than learning to produce music.
I don’t know, maybe I had a different motivation when I was an eager ten year old. But music production has so many technical details, nuances and complicated moving parts.
It’s far less intuitive than simply strumming my guitar. Of course, someone else’s experience may be completely different. But there is one truth here.
Writing electronic or computer music is not easy.
It takes some serious technical skills, a lot of musical talent, a healthy dose of focus and a certain je ne sais quoi.
2. Musicians Don’t Have Serious Business Smarts
The modern musician is more like a modern entrepreneur.
We handle product manufacturing, distribution, marketing, PR and promotions, scheduling, monetization, finances…and everything in between.
To be a successful modern musician, you not only need to bring the talent, you’ll also need a variety of business skills – especially social media strategy and some digital marketing chops.
So the next time you meet an aspiring musician, just assume they also know how to do branding, build an audience through SEO, run lead generation ads with retargeting campaigns, handle distribution and music production, finances and much much more.
3. All Musicians Play Live Shows
This one is especially apparent nowadays.
I mean, live streaming, the impact of short form content and the ability to make full blown music videos with just the phone in your pocket (and a few YouTube tutorials) opens up a lot of options here.
So as modern musicians, we’ve got a lot of different options to share our music and play live.
Live shows and busking are still around and important, but it’s not 100% necessary anyway to start, get found or grow a musical brand.
And this is great news. Both having a music career and connecting with your favorite musicians are way more accessible now.
4. Musicians Only Have A Few Musical Career Options
This stereotype kind of expands on the last two.
As modern musicians, there are a ton of new and exciting career opportunities.
We all have access to the same tools, resources and platforms. Meaning musicians and artists have the exact same opportunities that a modern business or digital entrepreneur has access to.
As musicians, we can build careers and make money by:
Playing live shows
Setting up Patreons or crowdfunding
Ad revenue and money from video views
Creating exclusive content and memberships
Selling, shipping and distributing our own merchandise (completely automated)
Starting and monetizing a blog (welcome to this one)
Creating a digital course
Teaching
Sync and licensing deals
Streaming royalties
Affiliate marketing
Sponsored content and material
Brand partnerships
etc.
(and all of these things can be done without the help of any record labels or gatekeepers)
5. All Musicians Want Social Fame + Followings
We’ve established that there are a lot of ways for musicians to make a career from their music.
And a lot of those are passive – totally behind the scenes.
Because there’s a stereotype we should address: not all musicians want fame, recognition and large followings.
Luckily, we have a ton of modern opportunities.
For example, you could be a completely unknown and successful “bedroom producer” putting out lofi tracks, compiled into dozens of ‘Epic Lofi Study Music for Stress Relief’ videos.
It’s an amazing time to be a musician and a listener.
6. All Musicians Know Theory + How to Read Music
I never learned how to read music. I learned using simple ear training techniques and trial and error.
Especially with modern tools like VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugins, sound libraries and always-in-key play options, knowing how to read music or music theory is not necessary.
I will say however, even if you don’t know theory as a musician (cough cough), you’ll intuitively learn it by making music.
So I can jump in and improvise with other players. I know what notes sound good with what chords and how to arrange a song in the key of __.
But I don’t know theory. And I can’t read music.
This doesn’t make us less of a musician. You may be surprised by how many artists don’t know the formal stuff (Erykah Badu, Prince, Elton John, Jack White…and so on).
So this may be a slightly older stereotype – but it’s still relevant and I thought worth mentioning.
7. All Musicians “Look” Like Musicians
On to aesthetics.
Imagine a musician in your mind – what do they look like? What are they wearing and how do they speak?
Is it stereotypical? Possibly…mine was. But no shame – it’s natural and likely a pop-culture-generated image.
But it’s worth remembering that musicians don’t always “look” like musicians.
So the next time you meet your tax person or accountant or go out to eat – who knows, they could actually have some serious musical chops.
I suppose it all goes back to that adage: don't judge a book…
8. Musicians Who Use Pre-Built Loops Are Cheating
This goes back to the computer musician stereotype above, but deserves mention on its own.
So let’s get it out there – using pre-built loops is not cheating.
As modern musicians, we have an insane amount of sound libraries, resources and creative tools to pull from. And loops are simply one of those tools.
I mean, there are many ways to make music and there are many types of musicians.
So if you’re a musician just having fun piecing together loops and sounds – and that’s how you express your creativity and ideas – then do you.
Because that’s awesome and we need to stop comparing ourselves to others or believing that we need to be some virtuoso or in the top 1% to be valid.
So I say, embrace the loop use.
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