It should be great and sustained.Good luck

My own research with jazz and improvising musicians suggested that they usually have to undergo a long trajectory of low incomes until they consider that they reach performance 'establishment' of their career, with an average of 8 to 10 years reported being required by them. Some musicians succeeded to attain that more quickly, while others took longer, and some never thought themselves established. The musicians could roughly be categorised within three different types of music; contemporary jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation. Musicians who classed themselves within any single type also freely collaborated with musicians from any other type, and those giving free jazz or improvisation as their speciality usually reported that it took them longer to establish their careers.

At the same time those musicians reported two views of performance establishment; recognition as a skilled and achieving musician among their peers, and, achieving sufficient recording and performing work to earn a living, commensurate with the status of a professional performer or worker.

One, they more quickly gained recognition of their fellow musicians as achieved and skilled performers which helped sustain them in their ongoing efforts to financially establish their career.

They also noted similar experiences of their peers trying to establish their careers. Curiously, their friendship associations included large proportion of non-musicians active in other arts and cultural work, e.g., visual artists, performers, dance, actors, designers of various sorts, who also were exposed to long periods of low incomes, difficulty obtaining work, etc., and consequently taking similar extended periods to establish their careers in those fields. (This suggests they are making career comparisons with others outside their direct field of activity, as musicians, when evaluating their own situation.)

Being self-employed musicians, their music careers were also often dependent upon having other sources of income than those principally gained from music performances and recordings, etc. That might include academic work attached to being a musicians, teaching in colleges and universities. They often had second degrees in non-music subjects and worked in those professions.

well it depends on your choice, capability and other circumstances

Thank you so much for your responses! Allan, what advice would you give to someone aspiring to create a performance career?

I believe Allan has already answered many of the points I would have made - the only aspect to add is the multiple skills a musician often has to adopt in order to be as adaptable in the 'industry'. I frequently come across musicians that also compose, double as sound engineers (almost a given these days, but an entirely different skill set), play several instruments, teach, promote, book their own gigs, be their own entrepreneur - the list can be endless. Associated industries also come into this - I have a seperate career as a graphic designer, which came about purely from creating promotional material for my musical ventures and others, which has evolved over time into a small business in its own right.

Thank you, Peter! This is really useful and reinforces the skillset requirements of negotiating a life in music. I would like to add social citizenship and would like to ask whether anyone has written on this.

My wife is in her mid 50s and has had a music career all her adult life. She teaches music in public schools, is a choral director for a local church and performs periodically as a paid soloist for private events. She has a six figure yearly income.

Thank you, Albert. It's great to have this story of a musician's success! The terms musician and performer are often conflated, and I would argue that a musician engages in multiple activities which may or may not include the performance or creation of music. I wonder how your wife defines a musician...