But is music a job?

Dear Leo, I read your stinging article. How can I disagree? Here in Italy, not only music but the music industry in general is totally stagnant. All music comes from England and the USA. All the current songs are recorded, mixed, mastered, and marketed there. England especially certainly has its behind-the-scenes connections regarding the music world, but America has decided to invest more money and therefore holds the global market. Just think of brands like SSL and NEVE that have produced machinery that has dealt with, and still deals with today, recording most of the music we listen to on CD or on the Radio. These consoles are nonetheless present in many studios in Italy, but Italian "artists" like Nannini prefer to go and record in London.

I believe that we will never be able to return to those levels of importance that Italy held worldwide in the field of music until a minimum of meritocracy is re-established. All sectors are in crisis, and therefore especially the music sector. I assure you that finding a "normal" job is very difficult... What would a normal job be? A job that doesn't imply that in your office you must be at the same instant: engineer, secretary, accountant, procurer, advertiser, graphic designer, web programmer, network administrator, teacher, audio/video editor, and sometimes even a driver. Someone will say, okay, all this for a fabulous salary! Absolutely not, for 600/800 euros a month, full 8-hour day!

Why is this happening? It's very simple... Because capable people are wandering around aimlessly, and if they don't want to wander aimlessly, they have to be exploited, while the mediocre ones who have soccer up their a** enter wherever they want with salaries that even reach 4 digits.

You know what I tell you? In the few lines above, I told you about my everyday work experience and I will also tell you that I am tired, tired of being a moralist; and not only will I gladly accept my soccer ball, but if I see a foot kicking, I will prepare myself to duck in its trajectory before it finishes its run.

Forgive the outburst.

I know that introducing the concept of Art complicates the matter, but if music is art, I take the liberty of referring to the following saying:

"One does not rush art"

or to Oscar Wilde, who confessed to spending his mornings removing a comma and his afternoons putting it back.

Do you understand that when the word work is paired with "salary" (in a broad sense), something in the Music-->Art scheme is off. In reality, there is music that pays and music that pays less (we mean it doesn't pay... let's say it).

Let me ask a rhetorical question: what is the deciding factor?

Various ideas

http://www.pianoconcerto.it/forum/index.php?/topic/2797-mondi-dove-la-musica-e-una-professione/

@Frank

...it depends on how much heart one puts into it ... but work. Saint Francis teaches

Ludovica wrote:

Saint Francis teaches us

Regarding the "authorship" of this phrase, I have some doubts, but as for the meaning, I more than agree!

Given the topic and the party that just passed, a bit of Music and Poetry to "celebrate". Leo, did you play the first one? And why wouldn't you (/we) have should?

Luigi Nono, LA FABBRICA ILLUMINATA, 1964
texts by Giuliano Scabia, with a fragment by Cesare Pavese

Luigi Nono - La fabbrica illuminata

But also

http://www.pianoconcerto.it/forum/index.php?/topic/3441-notturno-full-film/

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...I don't know @Ludovica, I'm not reopening the heart/brain issue. Paraphrasing, however, it could be that today music is much more "brain" than heart

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