Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Press

In a new interview with Clash Magazine Pink Floyd‘s Nick Mason has offered seven pieces of sage advice to those looking to make a career in music.

Don’t Do It For The Money

“Most people are in rock ‘n’ roll because they’re performers,” the 76-year-old shares “or they love performing.”

“If you really want to make money,” he cautions, “you’re better off becoming a hedge fund manager.”

Don’t Get Too Hung Up On the Past

A great artist is always casting an eye toward what is yet to come.

Recently assisting in the curation of the Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains exhibition at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has given Mason a new perspective.

“To some extent,” he notes, “the past is always a way to build into the future.”

Success Builds Upon Itself 

“The more successful you are,” Nick then confides, “the better the level of people you can bring in.”

As a member of Pink Floyd Mason not only moving popular music along with studio albums like The Dark Side of the Moon, the band’s covers along with their music videos, light shows, and stage designs also raised the bar for what a successful group of artists could achieve.

“Pink Floyd ended up with some really great people: Mark Fisher, Michael Kamen, Gerald Scarfe,” Mason notes. “You only get that sort of opportunity if you’re successful enough to be able to interest them in what you’re doing.”

Timing Is Key

“Timing is a very important element,” the percussionist muses, “Even the Beatles, if they’d been two years earlier, or two years later, might not really have happened.”

Having a connection to a local music scene can also help.

“Pink Floyd found a niche with that whole London underground, swinging ’60s, psychedelia whatever you want to call it,” Mason adds, “But there was an opportunity that pop music just hadn’t got to before then, in terms of slightly more complex concepts beyond teenage love stories.”

Never Give Up

“If you don’t keep at it you haven’t got a hope in hell,” Nick contends. “If you are a songwriter, you just have to keep writing and writing and writing and not stop. Try and learn more about the peripherals of the industry. Become familiar with the technology. Don’t just wait for someone else to make the record for you.”

Many Hands Make Light Work.

“Being in a band probably makes life a lot easier,” Nick suggests. “There is intrinsically a great support system if it all works when you play together.”

Beware of Sharks 

“Good management can be a very good thing,” Mason then notes. “Bad management can be appalling. There are some wonderful examples of where people have done well or done badly. Look at Brian Wilson. Or maybe Michael Jackson. One might say family can be a great support, but maybe steer clear of making your family your management.”

He isn’t too fussed on major record labels either.

“Record companies,” he laments, “always seem rather slow to understand where music is going. And now, more and more artists don’t have a record company themselves. As a result, artists are far more respected. It’s worth remembering, in a way, that’s how it used to be. Now artists are far more likely to be able to exert control in every aspect of what they do.”

Read the full Clash Magazine interview here.