Hi all, I have an interest in music writing (composition) and am considering pursuing it professionally as a career, full-time or freelance. I hope to be able to eventually become a film of video game composer sometime.
However, I am not sure about the viability of such a job. I know the arts scene in Singapore is doing quite well, but that individual artists often have a hard-time getting by solely on their art alone and often have to supplement their income with a secondary job. I’m not even sure there’s a niche in the market for such professions (perhaps overseas).
Could anyone in the arts/music industry give some advice regarding this?
Because of uncertainties regarding the job, I’m also open to taking Psychology in Uni as I’m also very interested in it, but I don’t want to to give up music. I’ve narrowed down my options to a few:
• Study music professionally in Uni
• Get a double degree for both Psych and Music
• Get a Bachelor’s for Psych and Music separately (so consecutive degrees)
• Get a Bachelor’s for Psych, and study music OTOT on the side (but I’m not sure if I would be disadvantaged by not taking music professionally as I would have less opportunities to know people in the industry/get professional tutoring)
• Go to US
I’m leaning highly towards the last option, as many US universities adopt a liberal arts approach to their undergrad education where students study a variety of general knowledge in the first two years before specialising, so I get more time to explore. Also I think US is a better place to study and find jobs in Arts in general.
Any feedback from people who’ve decided to major in arts or music subjects would be greatly appreciated.
Some more things about me:
• I graduated in JC in 2017, currently in
NS
• I really love music, but only started learning it about 3+ years ago, so I’m unsure if I should study composition professionally in Uni
• My grades are good, extracurriculars are average I’ll say (not enough music activities to put forth a solid application for music yet imo)