The Old Way Versus The New Way: Jazz

Budapest Jazz Club

The economic principle I’m exploring is: Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.


My research question to help me study the economic principle is: Is it better for jazz musicians to do traditional albums or to now stream their music?


The article published in Learn Jazz Standards, titled “How I Make a Living as a Jazz Musician” by Brent Vaartstra, a professional jazz guitarist and educator living in New York City as well as the head blogger and podcast host for learnjazzstandards.com which he owns and operates, demonstrates this economic principle by arguing/showing that online, thinking outside the box, and being open to new ideas is the best way to make the most profit for a musician.

Learn Jazz Standards 

First, as shown by the graph above, that online is the main source of income for a jazz musician. Vaartstra says, “This is my bread and butter, and if you would have asked me 8 years ago if I would be doing this, I would have said no. Essentially I find myself making most of my living in the realm of online jazz education.” I was very surprised by this data. I would have never guessed that it was so high. Also, I thought it was only two ways they can make money, not four different ways. Fascinating!


Second, as I read on, I realized that online sales itself are not the only way that gets you money. It is also thinking differently than normal. Vaartstra expresses to “Act like a musician, think like a businessman/woman”. I totally agree with this because with so much competition these days you have to be on your toes and one step ahead to gain profit. The way he explains it is phenomenal. “Talent alone will not guarantee you success. You have to start considering your music as a business. Believe it or not,”. He also explains that you got to think and act like “an entrepreneur.” To “Ask yourself: What am I good at? What can I offer? How can I maximize the talents that I have?”.


Third and finally, he encourages to “ Be open to different possibilities and opportunities what I have discovered is my talents and my ambitions are not limited to that…But as I delved more into blogging, and building this jazz education resource, I discovered that I got a lot of energy from doing it”. As myself being a jazz musician for six years, I have to agree greatly with him in this as in my younger years I would do the same things over and over but learn later on to try new things. After doing so, I never regretted or now hesitated over trying new things. “Don’t limit yourself, because your music has the potential to take you to places you couldn’t have imagined” Vaartstra concludes.




In my next blog post, I will research the question: What laws/rules that record companies put on jazz musicians to lower or raise their income?