Becoming a full-time classical music critic may not lead you to a life of luxury and wealth, but it is a career worth looking at if you have the passion for it.
You will get to spend a large part of your life listening to, writing about and interacting with people who make music. What’s good nowadays is that, in addition, you can publish your articles online, let the world see your stuff and you get compensated for your work. You won’t necessarily have to live like a pauper – not a bad deal, really. Just make sure that your love for the arts runs deeper than your pockets. If it does, and you can write well, then music criticism may be the right path for you.
For some it is the only path. Music journalism can be a backup plan if you don’t want to get out of the music world and you feel you can have something to say. If you don’t feel like taking a job in teaching music yet you do not wish to take on a non-musical career, this could work for you as a start.
You may have to network yourself to city councils, school boards, interest groups, and cultural groups. You will then publish reports in newsletters and websites. It is good to equip yourself with journalistic skepticism and investigative skills, too. It’s like covering a Beethoven symphony with a news reporting flavor. Coverage of an event will get you noticed by musicians and publishing companies.
Helpful, too, are the connections you will have to make through membership in music critics’ associations, or music interest groups all over. It builds your credibility. Most of these jobs are never posted. You have to be the right person in the right place at the right time.
The pay may not be big enough to support even a simple lifestyle on the onset, thus you’d have to work part-time on other jobs, being careful not hinder your writing time. This is how most music journalists supplement their income at the start of their careers. As your experience and knowledge build, pay off will come in the future to provide you with a decent living that will suit your interest really well. You will later have your freedom to write whatever you want. The challenge is to write in a way that will get people to read your work.
