I saw an interesting post recently from a musician who had spent the best part of 30 years making music independently. They started out as DIY and, decades later, still proudly described themselves that way.
It got me thinking… Technically, I’m a professional musician. Over the years I’ve been paid to produce music, mix tracks and work on other people’s projects. I’ve even been paid by a major record label to create a remix. By the traditional definition, that makes me a professional. I exchange my skills and experience for money.
But then there’s OLDER. OLDER is very much a DIY band. We write our own music. We record it ourselves. We produce it, mix it, create the artwork, make the videos, run the website and upload it to the streaming platforms. The only thing we leave to someone else is the mastering. There isn’t a label, manager, or a team of people sitting behind the scenes making it all happen. It’s just us.
And yet, I don’t think that makes us any less professional.
Somewhere along the line, “DIY” became associated with a lack of quality, as though doing something yourself automatically means it’s rough around the edges, second-rate or somehow not quite legitimate. I don’t think that’s true.
Professionalism isn’t about who signs your payslip or whether a record company is involved. It’s about your attitude towards your craft. It’s about standards and caring enough to keep learning, improving and producing the best work you’re capable of.
The reality is that many of today’s independent musicians are creating extraordinary work. The irony is that most bedroom producers now have access to technology that would have seemed almost magical thirty years ago. Powerful recording software, virtual instruments, plugins and affordable studio equipment mean that a single person working from a spare room can achieve results that once required an expensive commercial studio.
Some of the albums we admire from previous decades were created with far fewer resources than many independent artists have available today. The tools have changed. The opportunities have changed. The gatekeepers have changed. What hasn’t changed is the importance of dedication, creativity and craftsmanship. Being DIY doesn’t mean you’re pretending to be professional until someone discovers you. It doesn’t mean you’re waiting for permission. It simply means you’ve chosen to do the work yourself.
So the next time you describe yourself as “just a DIY musician”, perhaps stop for a moment. Look at the skills you’ve developed, the equipment you’ve learned to use, the songs you’ve written, the recordings you’ve finished and the audience you’ve built. You might discover that you’re a lot more professional than you’ve been giving yourself credit for.
DIY isn’t the opposite of professional. Sometimes, it’s exactly what professional looks like.
