Moaning about moaning

I love musicians. I am one, I work with them on an almost daily basis and almost all of my friends are them. And it's definitely a tough 'gig' (excuse the pun). Piracy, streaming royalties, venue closures, cutbacks, 'the economy' and live music fan apathy has all made our job harder over the past few years. But if there is one thing that I hate about the whole thing, it's musicians who moan about it.

Regardless of how much harder it's got (was it ever easy?) there still seems to be a general consensus that this is the best job in the world. It's something I agree with, and something I tell people often when they ask about me and my chosen career path. Every time I read or hear from another disillusioned muso grumbling about how hard it all is their argument always starts with 'we love doing this BUT...'

Just take a pause from typing or talking there and think about what you are going to say next. Yes, the music industry in its 'semi old-fashioned semi new-age' model is very difficult to 'crack' in the traditional sense. No, you probably aren't going to become an overnight sensation, because not only does nothing happen overnight in music but also the sensation ship has kinda sailed. But yes, moaning about it, regardless of how right you think you are, will always make you come across self righteous.

So you will never hear me complain. I'll campaign for fairer royalty payments and performance rates and protest about the way the arts is treated and funded, but I'll never complain about having the best job in the world.