Rockmommy Survey Highlights Musician Moms’ Creative Challenges

How hard is it to record music, book shows, or play out if you’re an independent musician? If you ask moms, the most likely answer would be “much harder than before I had children.”

That’s the verdict that emerged from Rockmommy’s very first reader poll, which asked musician moms to share on everything from how often they play out to their priorities as musicians in the coming year. The survey, which was totally unscientific but limited to a pool of U.S. moms of children (including adult children), confirmed what most of us already knew – but also offered several interesting insights.

Here, we’ll highlight the results:

#1: How hard is it to book shows (vs. pre-kid days)?

• 53% said it’s harder
• 7% said it’s easier
• 40% said it’s neither harder nor easier

#2: How hard is it to balance parenting responsibilities with making music?

• 33% said somewhat or very easy

• 7% said neither easy nor difficult

• 60% said difficult, somewhat difficult, or very difficult

#3: Have you released any new music on streaming media outlets over the last 12 months?

• 54% released one or more songs
• 27% said “sadly, no!”
• 13% said “no, not recently”

#4: What is your most important music goal this year?

• 20% said booking more shows
• 27% said marketing music
• 33% said recording
• 20% said connecting with other musicians
• 67% said “all of the above”

#5: Do you play out as often as you’d like?

• 50% said yes
• 50% said no

Finding More Time for Music

Being a parent does mean making tough choices — say, the decision to not stay out till 2 a.m. supporting a friend’s band because sleep becomes super important. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of ways to sneak in extra time for creative endeavors.

As a mom of two tweens, I try to stay as organized as possible, and spend less energy on the stuff that doesn’t matter. For example: I try to go to bed by 11 p.m. most nights so I can wake up at 6:30 a.m., and clock in a half hour of exercise, and just 15 minutes on my guitar. I have a rule that I must practice at least three hours a week on three separate days. Sometimes I schedule half hour blocks into my calendar to make sure it gets done.

Marisa Torrieri Bloom is the editor and founder of Rockmommy.