$ 100,000 to be an indie rock star
You’ve probably seen the article around where the dudes from a band called Two Lights say they have spent over 100,000 to get where they are now in the “indie rock” world. I’d like to throw my 2 cents in here on how they spent their money
•Training. Our folks shelled out for 15 years of piano and guitar lessons (times two of us!). These days, we’re spending $250 to $500 a month on voice lessons. Cost to date: $30,000.
- So far you have wasted 30,000. You can learn to play your own instruments without lessons. This is obvious. Sonic Youth didn’t spend 30,000 and they are guitar icons. On a much smaller scale I didn’t spend 30,000 and I am REALLY good.
•Rehearsal: We rent a space in Brooklyn for $50 per three-hour session. Cost to date: $3,000.
This is probably accurate.
•Gear. Our family has invested in dozens of musical instruments and other gear (pianos, guitars, drum sets, keyboards, mandolins, PA systems, amplifiers…). And, oh yeah, it cost more than $500 to move a piano down three flights of stairs and then up to Maine (a story for another time). Cost to date: $25,000.
well the cost of 2 killer guitars, 1 amazing bass 3 amps and a great drum kit is between 5-10,000 dollars. If you have a piano player than lose 1 amp and guitar and throw a nord lead in there and it’s the same general cost. I am sure you have spent 25.000 but that isn’t even close to necessary.
You have wasted another 20,000
•Recording. Our recent single, Summer, cost more than $1,000 to record — even though we did much of the recording and mixing ourselves. We’ve set aside another $5,000 for our forthcoming EP. Again, we’ll save money by doing much of the work in Harper’s home studio. Cost to date: $6,000.
5,000 isn’t crazy for an EP. set aside 2000 for drum recording / mixing mastering and maybe another 1000 for pressing to vinyl or CD. Not sure where the other 2000 is going if they are doing a bunch at home but i will let this slide.
•Performing. For gigs here in New York, we hire taxis to lug our keyboards, stands, guitars,basses, amplifiers and drums to and from the venue. Whatever cash we earn beyond that usually goes to our current drummer. And expenses soar when we hit the road. Cost to date: $1,000.
Taxi’s seem insane but i’ll also let this slide. So far you have spent 62,000 and only needed to spend 12,000
•Promotion: Once you have music out, you need to promote it. We pay a guy to send email blasts to databases of hip music blogs. Postcards, demo CDs and other materials are also essential. Cost to date: $1,000.
I hope for their sake this is not what their PR company actually does. Though judging them from their 100 followers on twitter I can’t help but think it is. This is a weird issue because a year of PR can cost about 6-10000 bucks. It’s arguable that PR isn’t necessary but I think it’s a smart use of cash and since these dudes are throwing money around like it’s got cooties on it let’s give em 5000.
•Lost wages. The two of us each put about 20 hours a week into band-related work. Abner (still in school) could easily make $10 an hour working at a bar on weekends. Harper (a freelance writer) has to turn down writing assignments worth around $400 a week. Cost to date: $25,000.
Are you the only band in NY who has not figured out how to get a job that works around your schedule? 20 hours a week is 1) too much and 2) not something you deduct from a 40 hour work week. Especially since most of those hours are after 7 PM. lazy. This cost doesn’t count.
•Living in New York City. Our cousin Abby lives in Atlanta in a house — a house! — with a couple of friends. They pay a third of what we pay for our combined living spaces. New York is absurdly expensive — but the band’s future demands that we live here rather than, say, our hometown in Maine. All told, we estimate that decision costs us an extra $1000 a month. Cost to date: $18,000.
NYC is really expensive and 1000 a month cost of living does sound right but I don’t know that it’s fair to say they have to live in NYC. Philly has a thriving music scene and it’s about as expensive as Maine. Boston is cheaper as well. Portland Oregon is also cheaper. These are all legit places to break a band. Hate to be a dick but I am not letting you count your rent as part of being in a band.
Total (estimated) cost to date? $109,000. Ouch!
