Would you uproot to go where the music is?

Is it crazy for a musical person to move to another place for the sake of being around more musicians?

Has anyone done this?

What are the music capitals of the world?

New York, L.A. Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans. People move all of the time.

I hate city life, so while I would move to be where the music is, I'd be unhappy.

Here, in Texas, Austin is the big place. They say it's a really nice city. I wouldn't move there, though.

I cannot recall how many stories I have read of people moving to NY or LA or Nashville in the states, or London or Paris overseas, hoping to break into full-time work or meet other musicians to form something that provides a living wage.

No, it is not crazy to move for your life pursuit. People do it for their job all the time.

In 1944 my Dad moved to Los Angeles to be close the music and movie scene. And it worked to his advantage.


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Well, if your goal is to be a working musician or some form of stardom, as Robert Fripp once said, "The big city will NOT come to you". You have to go where the work is and if you don't, it's your loss because there's already alot of people there that artists and contractors can choose from. But it's entirely up to you.

I try not to spend a lot of time down in LA, but when I'm there, it seems like everyone I meet is some guy/gal from the middle of the country who came to LA to be in music or entertaining.

You thinking about a move? Where?

done it twice and I probably would not be making a living playing music today if I had not

Yes.

I moved to Los Angeles specifically to play music, and be around more musicians, and the music business in general.

Were I a younger man and looking to make a living playing music I would move in a heartbbeat. Like has been said here already the big city will not come to you.

Ah yes, more Aussie talent moving to the US to pursue dreams of fame and fortune (I can feel an "Australia is the arse end of the world" comment coming on).
Seriously though (and I realise I'm making a ton of unfounded assumptions here) I can understand your plight- it's not like Virgil Donati hung around in Oz to when his obviously mega talent could be used on the world stage.
If you're feeling limited by the musical opportunities here, have no real ties and have the means to do so, I say go for it (you always regret the things you didn't do/ live for the moment, blah, blah, blah, etc).

Dre25 said:

Is it crazy for a musical person to move to another place for the sake of being around more musicians?

Has anyone done this?

What are the music capitals of the world?

Click to expand...

It's not crazy at all - go and explore.

I've done several international relocations (Europe to US, US to a different part of Europe) to pursue my passion / profession / driven by curiosity.
It's was easier around 20 and harder around 35 and **expensive** once you have stuff and want a certain standard of living.

But overall, totally worth it -

Wish I had been drumming all that time....

Dr_Watso said:

I try not to spend a lot of time down in LA, but when I'm there, it seems like everyone I meet is some guy/gal from the middle of the country who came to LA to be in music or entertaining.

You thinking about a move? Where?

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I have heard London is a good place but I think America is what excites me. It's a shame I don't have a nice lump of cash, your property prices are so low compared to ours.

Thanks everyone, just dreaming really. I'm in one of those transitional phases where I'm not sure where I'm headed or what I'm doing.

Todd - nothing against Australia, it's just a small pond, there are some great muso's around but often they're in a clique I just can't make myself a part of.

I'm curious about thr climate in Asia. After all this "big in Japan" stuff and watching the Avil documentary where the only place they got a big crowd at was Japan. Is it easier to get a big crowd in Japan or China? Anyone with experience?

And yes, go for it im uprooted and have been so for years now. Having a great experience living in new countries and don't plan to move back to my icecold Sweden ever.

Lived in London and can recommend it. Easy to find great musicians to play with but you need to have the chops.

Not crazy at all, I did just that in the mid 80's. Moved from a small New England town that looked like a Norman Rockwell painting down to New Orleans. The culture shock took quite awhile to transition out of.
And so... I'm still down here after almost thirty years!

Before you decide to relocate, look into all the immigration laws. It's not very easy to just move to a new country and get work. It can be either expensive, a lengthy process, both, or impossible.

I moved to London from the States and don't regret it for a second! I've fallen completely in love with it. There is an abundance of any style of music you want to play and amazing stuff happening every night at surprisingly cheap prices. For example, if you're a musician you can get into Ronnie Scott's for FREE every night of the week after the main show is over. There are fantastic local acts doing the late set every night. There are some great jam sessions; jazz, blues, hip-hop, bluegrass, anything, really. There are some roda de samba hangs that are free. You can see the London Symphony Orchestra for £10. The list goes on and on.

There are, however, killer musicians all over town. You really need to have your stuff together. That said, London (or any big city) is a great place to GET your stuff together.

It took a little bit to work my way into the scene, but I'm making a living. It does seem as though there are more places to play (that pay at least), and more funding for the arts in London, and Europe, than there is in the States.

If you're dreaming of playing music as a living with great players every night of the week, I would highly recommend the move to any big city. Come to London! The first beer is on me.

I've always been a bit weary of doing anything just to get paid. I do not play drums to be in a band, let alone get rich and get paid.

That being said, if you are playing to be in a band (and of course love it, too) then it would make more sense to be somewhere you can be noticed or closer to the source. Despite Omaha having a fairly strong music scene, you don't go platinum staying in the 'hoods here hoping some label exec will come see your show at a 100 person venue.

So no, it's not crazy to move somewhere that would benefit or enhance your situation. Especially if that's what you're going for.

Altair said:

I've always been a bit weary of doing anything just to get paid. I do not play drums to be in a band, let alone get rich and get paid.

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do you have a job?

do they pay you?

then you do something "just to get paid"

some of us are out here playing music for a living

I don't think any sane musician is out to get "rich" or be "famous" .... we want to make a living doing something we love where we can express ourselves every night and not work some shit job that we dread going to every morning

and to do so you must be where the work is

if you want to be a farmer ... you go where there are farms
if you want to be a fisherman ...you go where the fruitful water is

if you want to be a musician and make a living .... you go to where the music is

Let me rephrase my point...

...something I love, just to get paid...

And I said nothing about those that want to play drums (or any instrument) to get paid or get famous. That is more than fine with me. If it wasn't, I wouldn't listen to music. I'm simply just stating my view on it, for myself.

Altair said:

Let me rephrase my point...

...something I love, just to get paid...

Click to expand...

so you would rather do something you don't love and get paid

thats fine

I prefer to love what I do and not "work" a day in my life

every night I come home with money in my pocket and feel like I stole it