General Question
28 years old musician/songwriter, should I go overseas (international) to pursue my utmost music dreams?
(warning: I really need a serious, practical answers. not a fuzzy advices or especially angry rants. thank you)
Long story short, I have somewhat regretted a lot of my youthful times by following parents’ wants & expectations. I feel very tired with staying in my 7-years day job in a factory, and feel that I’ve wasted so much of my potentials, by doing what my parents expect/told me to do.
Now I certainly am not a bragging type of person,.but truth be told, many (if not all) people have told me that I have a “rare, unique” music talents. I can play piano (classical & jazz), keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, I also love to write songs & compose many different genres of music, including orchestral/symphony pieces for movies or video games type.
My ongoing problem/dilemma is that for my type of music, unfortunately, I don’t think it would be popular or appreciated by mainstream people in my home country here (I’m in Indonesia).
My music style does involve an electronic and also orchestra/symphonic & jazz tunes combined altogether. And I’ve always felt (also after listening to some friends’ stories) that I might have a BETTER chances at overseas countries, than in my home country, because my music would fit a LARGER market/audience there & got more appreciations than here.
However, what I’m always afraid and in constant questions is 2 things:
1. is it too LATE already, let’s say, if I just “burn the bridges” and boldly go to overseas country and basically “start from zero”, but with a probability of a better chances?
2. HOW or from WHERE should I start?
should I BEST start by going back to Music school, and make a network/connections there? or it’s not that necessary? also I’m afraid the problems is Money…and plus, I have to be ready if my parents totally reject my idea and view it as ‘crazy, unrealistic’ , and hence use my OWN money..!
Or should I just go the ‘thick-skinned’ way of finding out & knocking out every producer or label’s door on that overseas country, showing my music demos, in a HOPE for someone to really take notice for my talents and give me a chance/opportunity?? (I know one Indonesian artist/singer Anggun C. Sasmi who’re actually succeed now because she used THIS kind of ‘thick-skinned’ way, and now she’s quite popular internationally, and her talents got truly appreciated instead of going to major waste!)
OR, should I really, really take the commonly-suggested more ‘conventional, safer’ way of : try making a head start at my own home country (regardless of whether mainstream people would appreciate my music or not), while keep doing my music compositions/songwritings, and when there’s a CHANCE, then I go to that overseas country?
But the problem is I’m afraid that I’ll just WASTE even more times here in a country which I (& some of my music teachers & experts’ opinions & suggestion to me) certainly KNOW that the market for my music is just very very terribly small,...whereas I KNOW that my music style could better be much more appreciated overseas/internationally! (oh, and I also always write/compose in English language, for my every song).
I basically just need a really really sound, workable, practical advices & insights on what should I do at this time, and better be quick,..because I’m NOT that young anymore, and I certainly don’t want to end up in my 30’s getting into a soul-crushing office/business type of jobs ‘forced down’ my throat by my ‘practical, very pragmatic-minded’ parents (they even already put soo much pressures nowadays for me “get real” and have “real job”, get married, have kids, house, all those kind of ‘normal life’ things, while I still don’t want that!).
I don’t want my dreams to get crushed & forever buried, and I’ll end up crying & resenting my life, like what I’ve read so many people on their 40s, 50s on the internet forums!
I want to be the BEST, fullest of me, and share my insights to the world thru my music talents & passion!
please help!!
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