Matthew McConway

The Realities of Living as an Artist

As I get ready to leave university, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it actually means to make a living as an artist. The recent sound business workshop with Steve Taylor was a reminder that creativity alone doesn’t pay the bills you also have to think about things like budgeting, overheads, tax, and how to set yourself up as a freelancer. None of that is glamorous, but it’s part of making sure your work can continue without burning out financially.

What I took away most is the importance of diversifying income. For me, that probably means combining freelance live sound jobs with smaller commissions and ongoing personal projects. Having different streams feels more realistic than waiting for one big opportunity to carry everything. It’s also clear that I’ll need to treat my practice as a small business: keeping proper records, setting fair rates, and planning ahead for quieter months.

My immediate plan is to set up a simple spreadsheet to track income and expenses, start registering as self-employed, and research what insurances I’ll need. Alongside that, I want to keep building my network so I have a steady flow of freelance opportunities. These practical steps feel like the foundation I need if I want to keep creating after graduation.

I’ve never really used social media as a way of showing my work. Part of this comes from a general discomfort I feel with those platforms—scrolling, posting, performing for an audience that I don’t really know. It doesn’t feel natural to me, and I’ve preferred to keep my work within more direct or personal contexts. I’ll sometimes use messaging functions to arrange freelance jobs or to keep in touch with people I’m working with, but beyond that I don’t post at all. For me, it’s felt like the healthiest way to separate my practice from the noise of social media.

At the same time, I know that social media can be an important tool for artists. It offers a space to share work instantly with a much wider audience, to connect with collaborators, and to be visible to curators, clients, or potential commissioners. In many ways, it acts as a public portfolio that is always accessible. For an artist trying to build a freelance career, that kind of visibility can make a real difference. While I’ve chosen not to engage with it so far, I recognise that learning how to use social media more actively could help me reach opportunities that would otherwise pass me by. The challenge is finding a way to use it that feels authentic and sustainable, without losing the personal boundaries that matter to me.

My work as a freelance sound engineer in London has primarily focused on live settings, mixing live bands and helping run events of all descriptions and sizes. This work has given me an excellent technical foundation and the ability to adapt quickly and problem-solve.

I see studio engineering as a natural progression from my path as a freelancer. While live work calls for speed and the ability to address problems in the moment, studio work allows for more time for creativity and collaboration with artists to execute their ideas. As a freelancer, this progression would still provide the opportunity for variety in my work. While allowing me to engage both my technical ability and my creative practice in a more intentional way. However, the stresses of freelance work have been beginning to take a toll. I have gained essential skills in financing and job searching, although it is incredibly laborious and tiring. I have been ruminating on the idea of going into full time employment, as it will alleviate a lot of the the stresses that I have faced while freelancing.

I have been exploring various possibilities that could support me to move forward in my practice. The one that was quite interesting was RISE funding for early-career creatives, which offers small amounts of funding but is significant enough to help someone like me explore ideas in my practice.

As I look to expand my practice outside of university, the first step moving forward is access to an appropriate space, like makerspace (https://southlondonmakerspace.org/) with access to the tools and facilities to create prototypes. The funding would also support me in conducting small tests and experiments— testing the absorption/reflection characteristics of different designs, refining and documenting my ideas, and conducting the experiments.

Overall, RISE is small in scale, but it could provide a strong initial support for me to elevate my practice to a more strategic business approach. It would also support the technical development of my practice and aspirations to one day provide bespoke acoustic solutions for a much wider public audience.

Thinking beyond university, I have been seriously considering how my practice might evolve into something that connects with broader audiences. My long term goal is to establish a small business specialising in custom acoustic solutions.

The idea was born out of my main degree project, SonuShelf, which showed how acoustic treatment can be both functional and visually stimulating.

Looking ahead, the business would begin small with individual commissions for homes, studios, or small venues. I have already received an offer for a commission, a music artist called Rasharn Powell has reached out asking me to create an acoustic shelf for an upcoming show/event this autumn.

For a larger business model I intend to focus on establishing a foundation rather than rushing into a steady state of certainty. I aim to continue evolving my designs and testing sustainable materials, while exploring how they can be integrated into products for both domestic and professional markets. At this time, I view the process as worthwhile research in the market and an opportunity to connect with creatives who have run their entrepreneurial projects, learning what is involved in the transition from an experimental practice to a business practice. Networking with architects & designers at the upcoming London Design Festival will be another way to gauge interest and outline where potential engagement might lead next. For now, this is still an idea in development; however, this development offers a great opportunity to connect my creative practice with earning a living.

As I prepare to finish my degree in Sound Arts, I’ve spent some time reflecting on how the course’s subject matter, my colleagues, and my experience have affected my practice and aspirations moving forward.

The course afforded me the opportunity to explore sound not simply as a medium of artistic expression, but as design tool to influence well-being. My research surrounding aural architecture and acoustic ecology have reinforced my belief that sound influences our experiences and interactions within our everyday environments. This belief has directly influenced my future aspirations to create bespoke acoustic interventions (SonuShelf) that merge function and sculptural design to enhance sonic comfort in the home.

My role as a Live Sound Engineer at AMP Studios has also developed me. Working in live sound has improved my technical skills and problem solving, but has also deepened my understanding of how sound can shape the collective experience.

Looking ahead, I aim to expand my practice in the intersection of sound art and acoustic design. I hope to develop sustainable and user-focused solutions to address issues on acoustics well-being in domestic and public spaces. My projects may take many forms, including sculptural installations, collaborative projects, and architectural interventions, that centre sound as a crucial component of how we design, inhabit, and care for our environments.