I did this video where I talked to some artists about what it means to "make it" in music in 2025 and there was one thing that really surprised me

there are plenty of artists who are signed TO MAJOR LABELS who still have at least a part-time job

what I'm more curious about on KTT is

if you found out an artist you listen to still works a "regular" job, would it affect you at all? would you take their music less seriously, or would you be inclined to go out and support them more so they can quit and give you more music?

or do you just not care at all

For context too I remember artists like Roscoe Dash getting made fun of for having to drive Lyft lol

billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/roscoe-dash-lyft-driver-response-7833866

the money in music is so bad that even the high rollers are going into movies, merch, tv, brand deals, d****, streaming, etc.

people ragging on the ones with day jobs are just ones with a diminutive perspective on being ordinary and working class.

Yea man it ain't a coincidence that so many artists are larping as streamers and content creators - that's where the money is at now

it really is interesting seeing how much has changed since that Roscoe Dash thing I posted in 2017

now I feel like nobody would be surprised to see a once-platinum artist pulling up to pick them up in a Kia Sorrento

pretty much every artist that was like in a midlevel band that i grew up with, now works a day job

Every person in Animal Collective works a job except panda bear who actively hates his life

tbh i think money in music has always been bad and the 2004-2016 era was a very very specifically different outlier

Why would that affect how I view them? All these people were regular people. I’m sure there’s a transition period between making some money off music that still requires having a regular job as a cushion just in case to being rich af full time off music.

Ain’t no shame in a hard days work

nah music pre 2000's had a looooot of money in it

imo not for artists

record labels were rolling in it tho

nah

i mean not like relative to the label, but relative to like me yeah.

But i guess depends on what you're talking about, i bet cocteau twins had like day jobs

I agree with you

It doesn't even have to be negative—like finding out your favorite rapper is picking up shifts at Denny's, are you more likely to subscribe to their patreon?

just curious what the psychological effects are on music fandom, because from an artist's perspective, I know there are artists who get online and talk about their day jobs all the time, and then there are artists maybe in the more clouted up underground rap scene who would do anything to hide the fact they have a job because it would probably feel like an aura loss to their annoying fans

Yes. It makes me think of them even higher than one who doesnt. Thats craft, to me.

Creating at a high level straight off passion and love of the art WHILE having a full time job, that isnt something to scoff at.

Most dont have the energy after work.

Rip Nip

Real af

if theyre starting off their career tryna get it out the mud then not really but if they like reached success and fell off and started working a job then kinda

It doesn't.

Because it takes an insane amount of capital to actually have a viable career

This is why most rappers are criminals before rap for example, because there's simply no legal way to accumulate the amount of money needed to fund an actual, viable career.

I think if all artists had to wear their bank account amount over their head, a LOOOOOTALOTALOTALOTALOTA fans would rethink their opinions on the music industry

Didn’t know that about animal collective and they’re a legacy act

And i know folks like @op know this, but for the musicians that seemingly “ dont” have the day job, the amount of music you are required to do in order to make it self-sufficient IS the day job.

It’s touring musicians for pop stars that legit dont know where they next check comes from when that leg ends.

It should not but we should be honest that the general public does because they’re this notion that every artist is supposed to be a bajillionaire and lives like MTV Cribs

It’s sad though man

See yung joc as an example of how the general public also treats you post career

A lie u ah tell by the way!

Geo from Animal Collective said during COVID said how lucky they were for signing actually good contracts in the pre streaming era @survival_horror

last-donut-of-the-night.ghost.io/animal-collective-geologist-interview

Yess they're supposed to be ballin f***ing b****es and Poppin perks