We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erick Gerber a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Erick, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
Today, I am able to earn a full-time living from my creative work but it took a lot of work and time to build up the skills and connections I needed. After I finished studying in 2012, I started by working for music schools/lesson agencies as that was the most obvious next step to earning a consistent income. I played as many gigs as possible over the weekends and weeknights, many of which were free or just covering transport costs.
After a while of doing this, gaining experience and making friends with the venues and other musicians, I started playing gigs for established artists which paid a lot better. I also picked up some marketing and design skills which helped me get wedding and corporate gigs (which were also more financially rewarding).
All the while, my passion for creating my own original music never went away, and so I would teach myself production skills and practice the art of songwriting and composition. Eventually, I became good enough to offer my services to other bands and artists, This was easy to market since the “proof was in the pudding” for the original music I had recorded and released.
Looking back, I don’t think I could have necessarily sped up the process, to be honest. I learned the necessary skills I needed as certain opportunities arose and certain paths became clear. It took a lot of work and I still utilize almost all the skills I’ve gained along the way. Doing them in a different order my have changed my path slightly but ultimately not the destination. The music industry is tough and you can’t be a one-trick pony who specializes in only one thing – unless you are very fortunate to get a high-paying gig for a very specific thing early on.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Erick Gerber and I’m a music industry professional and freelance creative. I help working and aspiring musicians bring their musical ideas and passions to life through multiple facets. Whether it be teaching guitar or musicianship, composing, producing, or recording certain instruments for their upcoming project. I’m also an active gigging musician playing over 110+ shows per year.
My music-based services include:
– Guitar and/or vocal recording
– Composing a full instrumentals for clients’ songs
– Creative producing
– Mixing & mastering
– Teaching music
– Live performance (public & private)
I’m most proud of my attention to detail in my work and my relentless ever-learning attitude – constantly upskilling myself in my craft and from a business and marketing perspective, so that I can achieve my goals.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Someone once told me: “If you make money by doing what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Paradoxically, this is the lesson (or rather, mindset) I had to UNlearn as a creative. So many people go into the music industry expecting this work-via-play dynamic. There is that aspect, but it’s only 5% of it. Then those people quit because it’s too hard or doesn’t feel fulfilling after a while. Most of the time, it’s not a problem with the work itself, but an expectation that they were never able to shake.
I’ve done many different things for money (within the music industry and outside of it) and the one consistent thing I’ve learned is this: anything you do for money, eventually just becomes your job. And some days (most days) you don’t feel like doing your job. You don’t feel like dealing with difficult clients, meeting tough deadlines, getting paid less than what you’re worth, the admin that comes with the job, and all the same stuff you deal with in any job.
Not to say it can’t be rewarding – I take great pride in being good at my job and leaving my clients/audience happy with my service/performance. And the milestones, achievements, and experiences gained along the way, I wouldn’t trade for anything. But just be realistic about it. Don’t let your dreams and expectations set you up for disappointment.
So, the key takeaway from this is to separate work and play from one another. If you love doing something, don’t turn it into a way you make money because then you’re going to take away the joy that it brings you. I still do music for fun, but it is separate from the music I do for money. It’s there purely for my enjoyment and as a creative outlet, completely separate from my income-generating projects.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Yes – two things. First, art is subjective. This has been said many times and it’s a cliché but I don’t think people understand what that truly means, especially non-creatives. I’ve had to unlearn many ideals and self-created philosophies about what I though made good or bad music. It can be very hard to keep perspective because you yourself have your own tastes and preferences.
There have been many times where I would create a piece of art that I think is fantastic, only for the client to request a ton of changes, making the end result much worse than the first draft. This is a theme I’ve heard many of my friends complain about too when working with non-creatives as clients. And it’s because non-creatives hear music much differently to trained & experienced musicians/creatives. We creatives spend our lives obsessing over the fine nuances of the art (it’s the only way we get better at what we do) only to have to unlearn them all and completely change our perspective on music. There’s a fine balance between observing art as the non-creative and still recognising the nuances that differentiate an amateur work from a masterpiece.
Secondly, to reiterate what I mentioned before, artists (experienced ones) do not live in a constant state of enjoying what they do every day. The artist’s dream is a misconception in my opinion and everyone has to make a living which comes with stress and hardship. Do not undermine someone’s hard work just because you believe they enjoy what they do, because it looks that way from the outside. We are entertainers and part of it is to recreate an emotional idea based on a single moment of inspiration, essentially reenacting it over and over again regardless of how we feel in the moment of performance. No performer feels happy each and every time they sing a happy song but no listener wants to hear a song or watch a show where the performers sound exhausted or uninterested either (which they often feel). So, next time you feel ecstatic after watching a live performance, don’t assume that the performers have the same emotional experience as you. Just like a chef doesn’t necessarily enjoy cooking a meal as much as you enjoyed eating it. Instead, appreciate the hard work they go through to make you feel good.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.erickgerber.com
- Instagram: @erickgerbermusic
- Other: https://www.fiverr.com/erick_gerber
Image Credits
Chris Preyser Photography
Alexander Wolf
Phat Sparrow Photography