Katy Hamilton

Among the most difficult questions I currently have to answer is a question which, from the perspective of general social acceptability, is supposed to be very easy. Most people can manage it in a sentence, many in a couple of words – heck, in some cases, just a single descriptor will do. But not me. For me, it’s something of a problem. It’s what to say when someone smiles politely and asks, ‘So what do you do?’.

There are cheats, of course. The easiest of all is to say I’m a musician, which I am, but then most people read that as a full-time performer (and let’s face it, even most top-quality professional performers don’t actually do it full time). I could say I’m a music historian, but that doesn’t really work either, because then people look doubtful unless I’m wearing tweed. Music lecturer? Also true, but not all of the time. Writer? Closer, but I do also do a lot of public speaking, and play. So generally I end up giving an answer somewhere along the lines of this: ‘Well, I write and speak about music, do programme notes and CD notes, a bit of radio work, some lecturing, and also play the piano.’ And then the poor questioner has to decide whether to ask me to clarify, in which case we could be there for hours, because I get rather animated explaining all the fun things I do, or just nod and say something like, ‘Goodness, that sounds interesting,’ and then try to change the subject.

For anyone seeking out a career in the musical world, it should rapidly become apparent that there are many jobs to be had which are equally difficult to classify, as they lie on the peripheries of what most people tend to associate with the word ‘musician’, i.e. playing and composing. And that’s not to mention, of course, the complexities of many musical careers which involve several types of work in combination, possibly in wildly different areas (including, in some cases, a bill-paying back-up job which has nothing to do with music at all). That makes social situations sometimes rather cumbersome – especially speed-dating, which, trust me, can be a real nightmare if you’re trying to explain a complex career path and only have three minutes before you’ll never see that person again…

But there is another angle here which can have more serious ramifications than how not to bore new acquaintances, and that is one of communities. Earlier in the week, I was chatting to a friend of mine – a singer – about my current job list. She was asking me about my standard rates for certain kinds of work which, in some cases, have to be extremely flexible depending upon the budget of particular organisations. But whereas she can go to the Equity website and talk to other singers about average gig fees, writing programme notes, for example, does not fall under the remit of a musical union (i.e. the MU or the ISM). One could say it’s a professional writing project, and I am a member of the wonderful Society of Authors, which offers a great deal of helpful advice. But programme writing is something of a niche market, and there are just a handful of people doing it professionally. It’s equally tricky to figure out appropriate fees for one-off day schools, music appreciation classes, and various other activities in my portfolio. I feel I’ve developed a sense of a reasonable figure to ask, but at last count I’d need to be a member of at least three different unions to cover the aspects of all the work types I do. Probably the most useful group for general musical conversation, for me anyway, is the Royal Musical Association, which covers academic music, writing, and has increasingly strong links with performance and composition.

Don’t worry, this is not actually intended to be a post in which I whine about the difficulties of getting fair representation for me, because I’m doing ok and have a strong professional network of people to help me. Rather, this is a shout-out to see if…

1. There are others who feel the same, and have experiences of working complex portfolio careers in which finding appropriate professional advice is tricky – it would be great to hear from you and maybe we can get some kind of good discussions going
2. There are routes out there to help and support people who don’t fall under the traditional label of ‘musician’. For example, the fabulous Help Musicians UK, for whom I’m proud to work as a volunteer, have a slightly hazy remit around those who don’t either create or perform live music (regardless of genre). Where do the record producers, radio presenters, music librarians and music appreciation course leaders go for help? Do you know of support networks or charities who can help?

 Working in music is one of the most exciting, rewarding, and potentially varied careers out there. But its very variety can be problematic when it comes to finding others who are doing the same kind of work as you, or potentially facing the same kind of difficulties as you. If anyone would like to share thoughts, experiences, awkward social situations in which it’s taken them half an hour to explain their career… just post a comment below. Let’s see if we can get some discussion going!