The Effects of College Music Instruction, Gender, and Musician Type on Income from Performing Music
Studies in the social sciences imply a relationship between levels of employment and potential adverse effects on health. The lack of information regarding musicians makes it difficult to describe and prepare for the potential adverse relationships between musicians’ economic patterns and health. The purpose of this study was to characterize economic patterns of musicians and to investigate the relationships between income from performing music and college music instruction, age, and gender. A total of 4,017 subjects participated in an Internet-based musician survey. Data analysis included the use of descriptive statistics, analysis of covariance, and multiple regression analysis. Results support the view that many musicians hold multiple jobs and that income from music performance is often a secondary source of income. Musicians with ≥4 years of college music instruction earned higher levels of income from performing music compared with musicians with less college music instruction. This study recognizes the need to consider the economic patterns of musicians and how these patterns may affect health adversely.