The Life and Times of a Portfolio Musician
Allison Emm
A Little Background
Just a few days prior to the writing of this, I celebrated my 39th birthday … for the first time. I’m not telling you this because I want more presents (although really, what’s to stop you?). I do, however, wish to give you context.
The first full-time job in music that I’ve ever had was also my only one; landing this position just after earning my undergraduate degree was such a proud moment. I was even granted my own work e-mail address, which I naturally used to send personal messages to all my friends and family, to prove to them I had a real deal, full-time gig that seemed, well… professional.
My title even sounded impressive: Media Center Product Specialist. In reality, I sold sheet music. I was in music retail. And, to be honest, I hated it. But it was a full-time job in music.
I’d ruled out being a band/orchestra director the moment I’d found out that the way I’d have to earn said degree was by conducting my peers in rehearsals at my university. As part of their training, conducting students would take over the baton in choirs, orchestra, and other large groups at our school, then get critiqued in front of the whole group. I couldn’t stomach that thought (although I’ve since gotten over myself quite a bit).
At the same time, I didn’t seem to have the discipline for performance, despite having the potential for it. I was always principal horn in everything I’d done, without putting a whole lot of effort into it. But the point at which extra effort was required – well, that’s exactly the point when young Allison was so easily distracted by booze and boys that all of the teachers I worked with got frustrated with me.
I lacked a lot of self-confidence, which resulted in being afraid to pursue certain paths. Speaking in front of others, performing in front of others, putting myself out there in a way that could potentially be judged by others – as much as I loved being in and around music, I couldn’t stomach being “on stage” very well. This, it seemed at the time, ruled out music education as well.
By process of elimination, having ruled out conducting, performance, and music education, I was left with only two other imaginable options (at least that I was aware of): full-time music retail and military music. I tried both routes. After a little over a year of the retail life, I was miserable. I needed some kind of big change. I’d always wanted to travel the world: perhaps I could figure out a way to do so as a performer, and get paid in the process! I hadn’t matured from my Sex and the City lifestyle but knew I needed to; I wasn’t constitutionally opposed to enlisting with a branch of the military, as I’d seen some friends do, in order to get my career as a musician happening. Field musicians didn’t have to be quite as qualified, performance-wise, as some of the ceremonial (D.C.-based) concert ensembles. So, I joined the United States Marine Corps, with music as my MOS (Military Occupation Specialty). I auditioned well, which meant I got to pick where I’d be stationed following basic training and – because this was the USMC, where even the musicians are riflemen – rifle training.
I was on Parris Island (South Carolina) for about six weeks of training, then ended up back home. It’s a very long story as to how/why, which is a whole separate issue I should write another essay on. But to wrap up this overly-extensive intro, I don’t know what was more devastating to me about my sudden change in plans:
I’d thought I had the next four years of my life planned out… what now?
People had thrown send-off parties, written me lots of letters, and I had put a lot into making the physical requirements to simply qualify for basic training… all of that for naught?
I’m heading home from what was to be a long-term military music gig. This also, apparently, wasn’t for me. I have literally exhausted every type of music job I know of. Even. Military. Music.
Being Willing to Try Anything
When you arrive home after a wild and crazy experience such as an unexpected (honorable) discharge from the middle of USMC basic training, you find yourself willing to do things you might not have in the past. “If I can make it through a gas chamber without losing it, I bet I can try out for this gig I see posted for a director of church music.” “If I can effectively use a bayonet in less-than-optimal terrain, I can probably go to this interview with a board of directors about being a business manager for an orchestra.” I honestly didn’t even know what a board was at the time. “If I can muscle through obstacle courses with teams of women from all sorts of backgrounds, educational experiences, and temperaments, I can probably handle teaching private music lessons to children.” Yes, that short albeit all-consuming stint did magically erase a lot of my seemingly inherent fears.
It took a lot of work to get my foot in the door for some of those entry-level, part-time music gigs. I can’t remember how many interviews I took, for so many different types of work, many not related to music whatsoever. Blessedly, none of those panned out. The church gig did (I do also have a piano and vocal background). I tried it, and it wasn’t terrible! I never expected to end up doing church music as a profession, but I soon found myself it enjoying it very much. As the director, I had full creative control over what music went out each Sunday, and in what style. Every week it had to be different music, so that kept things interesting.
All this time, the world (my parents and professors included) had led me to believe that full-time work was the only way to make it, as an adult on one’s own. Had I not been in a place where I literally had nothing to come home to, and was in a position in which I was willing to try almost anything (what could be worse than Marine Corps Basic Training?), many of the real possibilities that began to arise may have remained far out of reach.
That first church gig quickly led to church parents asking whether I would teach their students piano: another unexpected avenue that I soon grew to enjoy. While I was trained on keyboard skills through college, piano was not my primary instrument, nor had I intended to become a music teacher at all, much less a piano teacher – so I began attending pedagogy workshops and joined teacher organizations, etc., in order to develop my teaching skills. This was something I’d do part-time as well, complementing the church gig: my career portfolio was slowly expanding. I’d been a part of some community orchestras, as a performer, through which I heard about some management positions within the ensembles. Why not apply, and then develop the necessary skills when the need arises? From there, I would continue to work in all three of those fields: church music/conducting (I did ultimately go on to get a masters degree in conducting, shedding some of my earlier fears), arts administration, and private instruction all at once – while performing on piano, horn, and as a vocalist on a freelance basis.
I ended up worked at four different churches over the course of fourteen years – a couple at once, while simultaneously building a private music studio of as many as 45 students (I’ve now brought that down to about 25), working in house management/box office gigs, being a business manager and then Executive Director for two different local symphony orchestras, and ultimately now running my own live music business. I believe my busiest year had me on six different payrolls at one time.
I am not telling you any of this to brag, or to let you in on how crazy I am, expecting the same level of crazy from others. What I hope this background information will provide is a framework that qualifies me to express the following ideas.
A word for what I do
Horn is my primary instrument. For a little while, not too long ago, I had decided to finally put some effort into pursuing horn performance. I buckled down and started practicing bigtime, working with a big shot teacher, investing in an amazing new (Lukas) horn, and studying up on the current gigging scene as much as possible. One of the ways I did this was by listening to podcasts. The Brass Junkies is one of my all-time favorites from the brass world; it features active professional musicians who are exciting performers and all-around go-getters. Andrew Hitz, co-host, also has a second podcast called The Entrepreneurial Musician. Both are incredible resources that I highly recommend. Honestly, I can’t remember which podcast it was, but I know Andrew was involved the first time I’d heard this term: he was chatting with another musician about managing multiple income streams, and Andrew mentioned that there’s a term for that called being a “Portfolio Musician.”
I might suggest – sarcastically or not – isn’t every musician some sort of Portfolio Musician? Do we really need a term to justify what we do?
In my own case, and perhaps you can relate, yes, actually, having a label for what I do has allowed me to describe my career much more easily to the outside world – you know, those non-musicians! My family. My in-laws (“why can you almost never make family gatherings?”). Now, as a business owner, to other colleagues in business.
If you say you’re a musician, a frequent assumption is that you make money from performance (if you make money at all!). Being a Portfolio Musician – a musician who earns her money from various income streams that, together, earn her a decent living – this is more tangible. You may or may not be asked to explain what they are all – and, in that case, go ahead – frighten people! All jokes aside, do share: it allows for a realistic view on how we as musicians can make it in “the business” beyond the typical ways.
Here is a wonderful article that discusses the “gig economy” – and how musicians with portfolio careers have been in this world long before pop culture learned to embrace it. The article discusses some of the reasons a portfolio career can be advantageous, as well as the risks. I agree with a lot that is there. Now, for my own take.
On The Portfolio Life
What’s Good
You create your own schedule, generally speaking
Often you are your own boss
You enjoy your work, and are someplace/s you’re passionate about
You can mix and match music with non-music part-time gigs, if you want/must
You learn so many skills so quickly, as typically different roles work different skill-sets
You will learn things that can benefit your different roles (that summer festival needs some extra volunteers – I think there were some good ones at the orchestra gig I worked, I bet I can ask them!)
In each job you’re interacting with different networks of people (so much in life is all about who you know); working in and around multiple networks at once can be a catapult in one’s career
You’ll rarely be bored with your work
You can make decent money doing this; especially if you are working complementary part-time gigs (a summer festival position alternating with an orchestral season, for instance)
What’s Bad
It can be a lot of work (but if it’s all work you enjoy, that can outweigh the rest!)
You’ll need to be continually upskilling, including for skills you didn’t even know you needed
Some organizations offer part-time salaried positions because they cannot afford to pay someone full-time hours, but the workload is easily 40 hours a week… beware of these
You will work strange hours (but you’re likely used to that already!)
If you’re having a bad day at one job, it’s hard to not take that to the next
You need to take care to avoid conflicts of interest (if you’re seeking sponsors for similar things among two different organizations)
There are typically no benefits (health insurance, retirement, etc.)
Depending on where you live, there may be a musicians union or some other kind of musician collective that can assist with things like health insurance, legal and financial aid, and more. I paid out of pocket for catastrophic insurance, as I was doing much of this before I was married (much less before the Affordable Care Act and before the age one could remain on his or her parents’ insurance was raised). This meant I had to budget that in, which encouraged me to only work harder, to ensure I had money at all times, and to ensure I had a savings built. Sometimes I look back and think “wow, I did some crazy things to make it all work…” But it did just that. It worked. And by taking on all of those many positions as a young adult, I learned so many valuable skills that have absolutely been useful in advancing my career.
In Order To Be Successful
Be prepared to adapt to all number of changing conditions
Organization is a necessity – calendar, personal finances, communication, etc.
You will need to be your own advocate, when it comes to tracking hours and workload, etc.
Be willing to try things
Get hands-on experience: take classes, spend time engaging with professional organizations, take on volunteer and professional work with enthusiasm. Success as a professional musician requires situational response, people skills and business savvy. Books will teach us a lot – but nothing beats hands-on experiences.
Have a decent vehicle or organize your life around other methods of transportation – or better yet, set your ground rules about what you are willing to travel or not travel to, attend or not attend in person, etc.
Be willing to accept that you’re not the best at everything, but that you’re willing to learn. You’ll fail. You’ll fail again, in some cases. But all the while, you’ll learn.
Be willing to do inglorious work. In fact, offer to do inglorious work for glorious people (potential mentors, etc.). This is a great way to fast-track both work experience and connections.
Even now, as a business owner, I don’t feel like I can settle down and have one job. I probably should. I’m still teaching 25 students private lessons on a weekly basis while running my own live music business (and sporadically still gigging). I will tell you, though, I’m using some of my teenage students as [paid] roadies for our summer events – and that has worked out so well! Also, one hip hop artist I work with in the live music biz decided he wanted to learn piano from a classical training. So, Vincent Van Great has been in lessons with me. It’s adorable and inspiring – the cross-pollination that can occur with multiple income streams.
Having been a Portfolio Musician now, “full-time,” for about fifteen years, I don’t suspect I’ll ever not be one. It has also set me up to be a pretty decent business owner. I’m a strong manager of many things – time, people, products (sheet music especially), notes and more. And, I am absolutely willing to admit that I’m not perfect at it all, despite that.
Being a Portfolio Musician is not for the faint of heart. However, it can be extremely rewarding and can progress one’s career along more quickly than some traditional routes of employment. And if you are willing to consider it, the number of opportunities for you really are endless. You may be surprised at how much you can get out of “one little part-time music gig” – and even more a whole portfolio of them.
Allison Emm is a musician, teacher and entrepreneur from Wauwatosa, WI. She studied music and journalism at Valparaiso University in Indiana, and conducting at Concordia University in Wisconsin. She began Wisconsin Music Ventures in the summer of 2019 as a way to offer musician friends fun, engaging performance experiences while serving as accessible listening opportunities for her private music students and others who might “find” the live music. She has been teaching piano and horn lessons privately to students in the area since 2008.
Allison has worn a variety of hats within the arts and entertainment field: from house management to box office to arts education to orchestral business management to marketing; being the Executive Director of a local symphony orchestra to a Guitar Festival Consultant. She’s also been actively involved as a volunteer with local non-profits such as the Tosa Farmers Market (Fundraising Chair/Vice-President), 88.9 Radio Milwaukee (Music Education Task Force) and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (Docent for Educational Programming).
