We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jordan Ann Martone a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan Ann, thanks for joining 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?

“Cool, you play the violin. But how do you make a living?” It’s a valid question and also probably the one I get the most in my career. They don’t teach classes on this in college, wouldn’t that be valuable?

In my 20’s, I heard a financial expert on a podcast talk about how the world’s richest people don’t just have one stream of income. You don’t make millions just being a chef, a yoga-instructor, or a remote assistant on its own. Not that I have high-hopes of making 7 figures in my lifetime, but I knew that living in one of the world’s most expensive cities as a freelance musician was going to require some hustling. And now as a newly single mom raising my 3-year old daughter, I’ve taken a particular interest in how to make it work without running myself ragged, all while getting ahead.

When new musicians move to town and ask me how to find a steady-stream of income, I always immediately answer with, “Do more than one thing.” If you’re a freelance trumpeter, teach private lessons while you’re taking orchestral auditions. If you’re a composer, get a flexible food-service job while you’re in-between projects. I teach private lessons, I have a part-time high-school orchestra director job, I play weddings, all so I can freelance playing in the studios for motion pictures and television (my main job).

However, to maximize my time, I do most of these jobs on only a couple days of the week. My teaching jobs are only a few hours of my day 2-3 days a week and freelance work is randomized but a lot of it is flexible. This leaves time in my week to be a present mother to my kid and rest so I’m performing at my best, but also to take those big once-in-a-lifetime gigs that you just can’t pass up like when I got to play for Björk at Coachella this spring.

It’s taken me 10 years of hustling in Los Angeles (including major pandemic setbacks) to get where I am today and studio work is still a precarious job that could change at any moment; e.g. WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes. And I don’t know if any piece of advice could’ve sped up my timeline. But I know that overcoming the societal stigma that a woman needs a man for security in this world has been enormous in my life. Be humble, work hard, check in with yourself, and in the words of my wise 3-year old daughter, “You got this, Mama. Girls can do hard things.”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started in the studio scene in Los Angeles as a violinist about 10 years ago while I was going to school here for violin performance. I knew it would be important for my career to go to school where I wanted to work so that my connections would be a good start for me. I hope that what has set me apart in a world where there are SO many violinists, is that I am easy to work with. I have jokingly referred to myself as the “personality hire” because my job is to show up early, play good music, crack a couple of jokes and go home. But realistically, I think professionalism is extremely important because it shows respect to your colleagues, and a comfortable work environment also helps everyone do their job better. When I graduated college, I asked myself, “They need 30+ violins in an orchestra, so what will set you apart?” and as my violin teacher Michael Ferril used to preach, “Always be the guy that shows up three hours early in a tuxedo.”

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Friends! At the beginning of my journey, I was hurt so many times by competitive folks trying to get ahead that I didn’t want to lean on anyone for support. I wish I had opened up and taken a chance on relying on the good people in my life. Trust is a difficult thing for me to do but when I do decide to open up, I rarely regret it.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I do not have a large social-media following at all but I can say that every time I post a video of myself playing violin, I get at least one new connection or job that has helped my career. Self-promotion can be difficult or feel slimy to me, but if it’s genuine it’ll always come across the right way. How else are people going to hear my playing or find out what’s going on in my life? Just post it, it’s worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: jordanannmartone.com
• Instagram: @jordanannmartone
• Youtube: JordanAnn
• Other: TikTok: @jordanannmartone