AMATEURS VS PROFESSIONALS

Current mood: SHOW ME THE MONEY...
Category: SHOW ME THE MONEY... Music

Rather than sticking my rather lengthy opinion at the bottom of the commments on the 'Who's in Control??' I'm gonna put it here...


So what is the difference between an amateur and a professional???

Well, the difference is obviously that money changes hands for the work if you're a pro and not if you're an am. That difference aisde, there's no difference - professionalism, has never, and will never be the judge of quality or what lasts over time..

EXAMPLE:

Technically, I'm an amateur writer, even though I work more than professional hours day in day out. Meanwhile someone who provides paid copy for a mainstream newspaper once a month (i.e someone who writes their 'specialist car column' piece in a spare hour, as a sideline to their main job as a 'specialist car fancier', is a professional writer)


Look at the bigger picture and this difference becomes obvious...

Nearly all the real big boys and girls in any creative scene (as well as a lot of the smaller ones) have always struggled to make ends meet from their work on a consistent and 'professional' basis, and many never successfully make ANY decent money out of their work at all...

Furthermore, if they do, the best thing they can possibly (and do) do with the money is to piss it up the wall..

Why???

Because money gets in the way...

Yes boss, if you're wallowing in the stuff 24/7, how in the hell can you do anything other than sit in a warm and large jacuzzi with a number of members of the opposite and/or same sex, a fridge full of the finest booze and a drug dealer on call???

I mean, who the hell wants to fight the words onto the page, or create great art, when there's a jacuzzi going cold and a busty woman called Candy calling your name???

FUCK THAT!!!


So, the moral of this story is: If you want to get rich on the back of a creative genius, don't marry one - marry one's children.....

Currently listening : Gatecrasher Classics By Various Artists Release date: By 27 June, 2005

18:26 - 22 Comments - 7 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	La Paloma, the Queen of Infinity	that's pretty much the only difference, professionals get paid to do the same work that amateurs do. i have always laughed when people describe a service or item as "professional quality" because to me, it just means that whatever is being referred to is just overpriced. quality is quality. what sucks sucks. in my day job world, there are of course, "standards of professionalism" that are tied to how i am expected to dress and behave. and, again, it just cracks me up sometimes. it makes me think of myself as a professional actress in that i am paid to have a certain demeanor. i don't want to be a professional at anything. if professional really meant being good at something, which is what we are taught to believe, then maybe i am a professional music lover, a professional nutcase, a professional weirdo, because i've got those down for sure! ha ha ha... Posted by La Paloma, the Queen of Infinity on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 19:26 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	Yeah, professionalism has the ring of a certain way of doing things... It also means things like turning up on time and respecting your place and position... Alot of many jobs (including all the more creative ones) is turning up and fitting in... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 22:26 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	REX MUNDI	FITTING IN THATS THE HIDEOUS BIT,THATS WHY I GAVE UP WORK IM SO STAUNCH I DIDNT EVEN FEEL LIKE I FITTED IN @ ART SCHOOL WHICH I FOUND STRANGE! ITS LIKE EVERYONES IN THEIR BOXES MOST IN 1 BIG ONE & IM IN MINE & THERES NOT MUCH ROOM EVEN 4 ME,WHATS THAT SAYING ABOUT SQUARE PEGS? ANYWAY ID RATHER BE A DILETTAN'TE ANY DAY MOST SO CALLED PROFESSIONALS IN THE FIELDS IVE BEEN INTERESTED & INVOLVED IN HAVE ALWAYS SEEMED SO LAME & LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR AS 2 BE BELOW CONTEMPT I JUST LEAVE EM 2 IT & GET ON WITH THE REAL SHIT MOST NORMAL PPLE KNOW MORE THAN THE SO CALLED EXPERTS ANYWAY! Posted by REX MUNDI on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 10:13 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	The problem I had with art school was that all the ones who had the really good talent, or life experience to work from either got kicked out, left of their own accord or got crappy marks... In the UK, further education in 2008, is a business and nothing else... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 11:33 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Colossus	I think that money earnt by alturistic collectives is often spent on the project(s) the group is working on. Yes some people let money fatigue the creative process and morality but I really can't agree that money is the root of evil in the creative industry. Rather it is the inability or awkwardness which stems from taking on an established view of how things should be done that wears an artist out. The artists job is to do a Bill Hicks/Hunter S Thomson and hold out till the very end. YOUR ART IS YOUR LEGACY. Shame. Spider xx Posted by Colossus on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 19:36 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	It's a question of being strong, not loosing yourself in either your successes or failures and keeping the old and cheeseys close to the ground... Bill Hicks didn't have hold out that long, but I'm sure had he have lived longer he'd have stayed true to things - though you never know... I think HST lost himself a little in his myth, but I certainly don't hate him for that... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 22:33 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Colossus	...It's a shame that most artists are doomed to cave in to the need to be given a break and create something unchallenging... I hope I die before I get old...you know what I mean? Spider xx Posted by Colossus on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 19:40 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	V Holeček	I'll drink to that! I never create a drawing thinking about how well it will sell...I create what the fuck I see...if someone buys it, fantabulicious! if not...fuck em! It's still beautiful to me, and as much as I'd love to make my entire living by it, I refuse to tone-down, modify, take a different direction, or otherwise compromise the image I have in my head just to appease a larger audience. Fuck them! So I'll lift my glass to amateurs everywhere! Posted by V Holeček on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 20:05 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Colossus	Amen. Spider xx Posted by Colossus on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 20:58 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	HALLELUJAH!!! Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 22:33 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	KvKvG	You are all good, good people. but i have a question, recently the music i have been working on seems to be a bit slower, maybe not as crazy, still noisy, but definatly not as demanding as my earlier stuff. its still nothing i would make money from, never in a million years. but i have been wondering as to why my instinct has taken this music into a slightly more mellow direction and i have three theroies: 1/ im getting older 2/ im smoking a lot less weed 3/ i subconciously want to see more girls at my gigs. im pretty sure its theroy two. but its theroy three that troubles me, and my question is this: is the persuit of dancing cleavage just as evil as the persuit of money? perhaps im just thinking too much Posted by KvKvG on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 23:06 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	EXCELLENT QUESTION!!! I think everyone mellows with age apart from those who just increase and increase with intensity UNTIL THEY FUCKING WELL EXPLODE!!!! Weed could also be a factor... The last point is a matter of opinion... One of my major problems with some of the elctornica gigs is they're populated by boys. They are like geek conventions... I find the prescence of women makes me perform. In fact I have a theory that were it not for women, boys would do nothing other than smoke pot and watch football all day long - there would be no wars etc because men (heteros obviously) only ever do anything like that to impress women.... My theory puts a big hole in the idea of feminism... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 23:20 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	REX MUNDI	EXACTLY!!!! U HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD,THIS IS A THEORY I HAVE HAD 4 A LONG TIME ITS ALL ABOUT SEX EVERYTHING! ITS FUNNY U SAY ELECTRONICA GIGS R BOY THINGS ITS NOT LIKE THAT HERE ANYMORE EVERY GIG IVE BEEN 2 LATELY IN SYDNEY SEEMS FULL OF GIRLS WHICH IS NICE.AS 4 MELLOW I CANT WAIT 2 EXPLODE & IM SO MELLOW N LUV THE THC BUT IVE NEVER BEEN SO INTENSE & IM OLD 2 BUT IT ALL JUST MAKES ME FEEL MORE CREATIVE,I THINK MY NEW FOUND ADDICTION 2 CYBERSPACE IS HAVING A McLUHANESQUE EFFECT MY BRAIN HAS NOW EXTENDED ITS SYNAPSES IN2 CYBERSPACE ITS AMPLIFIED MY THINKING POWER BUT MADE IT SO I DONT HAVE 2 THINK 2 HARD OR EVEN @ ALL WHICH IS KINDA WEIRD ITS AS IF THE MEDIUM IS REALLY THE MASSAGE & MESSAGE IN 1 GO VERY SYNERGISTIC! I DONT EVEN NEED 2 SLEEP AS MUCH JUST CREATE,CONVERSE & SPARK OF SO MANY PPLE N PHENOMENA! Posted by REX MUNDI on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 10:34 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	KvKvG	it sure does, i started looking at it in a theological point. pagens and druids and many eastern philosphies preach that man and woman should be equal and have equal participation...ying and yang and all that jazz. so if i or any other artist plays a gig full of hairy men in slayer t-shirts, it is ungodly. but the problem with that theroy is that the majority of girls i know have shitty taste in music (not all, and those ladies that do have good taste are the ones i fancy soooo much). what is more ungodly than westlife, robbie williams et al (who incidently are they type of people who make music purly for money which brings us back to your origional point) Perhaps its just that im ungodly, perhaps i should convert to be a catholic. then i wouldnt be concered with such matters. Posted by KvKvG on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 23:47 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	Well, there are obviously plenty of hot looking women with good musical taste who comment on this blog - so if I were you I'd chase them... (Quiet where all these women were at times when I could have chased them all with unrestrained passion is however something that only god knows the answer too. In fact, this is one of the many 'points of order' I intend to torture that cunt with, just as soon as he lets me into heaven...) Oh, and you know that if you want to convert, I can perform the conversion don't you...?!? Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Thursday, February 07, 2008 at 00:05 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	KvKvG	Yeah, ive noticed some of these ladies. they can see me NME picture and they know where i am.... If your a catholic, then i believe that you can perform an emergancy baptisim if you fear that im in mortal danger and that my soul needs to be saved (i may be wrong, but ive been trying to get my cathloic housemate to do this for years now based on the argument that im a drug user and she is stright so my life is often 'in danger' compared to hers. dispite the fact she is a non practicing catholic, she still fears her god enougth not to fuck him off) im achually an ordainded minsiter with the united life church now, which i consider to be the bus pass of all mjor religions (im sure the pope disagrees with me on that, but i care little for those who have dwelled within the hitler youth) One more question which may or may not be relevent to this origional topic. what are your views on the reformation of Rgae aginst the machine, a band who swore thay would never reform? i personally consider this a sell-out, but i fucking good sell-out as they kick serious bum! Posted by KvKvG on Thursday, February 07, 2008 at 00:22 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	I'm amazed that the very fact that have appeared on the front cover of The NME dressed as a cock hasn't resulted in you recieving 3000 marriage proposals per week... Could it be that all the ladies on myspace are in fact gay??? As for the conversion: Yes, I can practise conversions wherever and whenever i damn well please. Just make sure you have the £2300 in ready used notes and the job will be done... What a minute, did you say you had a female housemate?? WELL JESUS CHRIST MAN!! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? JUMP ON HER!!! DO IT NOW!!!...SHE'S SLEEPING??? ALL THE BETTER!!!!! I saw Rage Against The Machine play their first ever gig in the UK. They were supporting Suicidal Tendencies and the crowd jibed them for about the first 20 minutes, and then they started jumping about.... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Thursday, February 07, 2008 at 00:30 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	KvKvG	£2300? i had better get a record released. as for my flatmate, she is very jumpable and has great taste in music, we first bonded over our love for auetehre, but she knows better not to let me jump her. i met a really, really beautiful girl the other day at a gig. she invited me to a night she has set up here in brum. she told me she liked electronica, i found her relevent myspaz page and found that her definition of eletronic music was this nu-ravey trendy shit. so i gave her a link to venetian snares page. she never got back to me...fucking trendies.... Posted by KvKvG on Thursday, February 07, 2008 at 00:54 [Remove]

	Hijackalope	i got skills to pay the bills Posted by Hijackalope on Thursday, February 07, 2008 at 00:41 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	I generally prefer it if other people pay my bills... I think it's better that way.. Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Thursday, February 07, 2008 at 00:47 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	~ jayrope ~	why not just pay your bills yourself? not such a big thing. Posted by ~ jayrope ~ on Friday, February 08, 2008 at 00:19 [Remove] [Reply to this]

: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :

What - and use my own money???? Have you lost your mind????? Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Friday, February 08, 2008 at 00:29 [Remove] [Reply to this]