I counted the number of people in attendance at the café cum event space that was hosting a musical performance titled, ‘One Hit Wonders.’

The venue was a happy surprise. Very Art Deco’ish with exposed brick walls, and hardwood beams holding up a very high ceiling. It looked like a lot of thought, time and money was invested in creating this impressive setting.

The performers were two sisters. The older one played the keyboard. The younger, tambourine and something else. They were seriously exceptional. Great voices. Good banter. The older one was quirkily funny, which I liked. She was full of information, interesting trivia, about the songs and singers/bands they had chosen for the evening. The list of one hit wonders was referenced to Google. Which she didn’t completely agree with, and neither did my husband and I.

Anyways, the songs vibrantly entertained and took us, many times, down memory lane. I had to surreptitiously, from sheer embarrassment, hold back tears when they sung ‘Seasons in the Sun,’ which by the way I didn’t know was a one hit wonder. The song transported me back to when I was 18/19 years old, and living in my Taman Golf house in Alor Setar. Both my parents were alive. I had finished my ‘A’ levels. And, was waiting for my results, and hoping to get into a local university.

I didn’t play the song. I heard it played, rather loudly, by a neighbour, who was a couple of years younger than me. Many years later, whenever I heard this song, I thought of this girl, and wondered why she played it as often as she did. ‘Seasons in the Sun’ is a decidedly sad and poignant song. Not exactly Pharrel’s ‘Happy’ song.  Ah well.

While it was a wonderful evening, I couldn’t stop thinking of the take-home wages of the two talented performers. There were some 15 paying customers. At RM70 per ticket, it came up to RM1050 – shared amongst the two singers, sound manager, space rental and other expenses.

The show started at about 8.45 pm with a 15-minute break. The encore was at 11.30pm. A two-hour performance of some 24 songs. All of which were sung beautifully that must have required hours of prior rehearsals. My husband could not get over the fact that this duo faultlessly did a cover of The Buggle’s ‘Video Killed the Radio Star.’ Another one hit wonder, really?

After the show, the singers came around, speaking to a group of their friends/cheerleaders, and us, yes, us. Yay. We left, quite immediately, to catch the train home. The singers stayed on to chat/mingle with the audience and other people, who arrived later. A sort of winding down time and a bit of PR and promotions.

Initially, my husband and I, speculated that the sisters would have day jobs. During the course of the performance, they mentioned performing with other bands, gigs at other venues and doing voice-overs. I guess these are ways to build up their income.

So, what did the sisters earn for their fabulous performance that evening? I don’t know. But based on what I read I think what we attended was a gig, which refers to intimate shows in cafes, bars, and lounges. Gigs pay between RM100 to RM500. It wasn’t clear whether it was per person per gig or just per gig.

There are other revenue streams. One being corporate events, which are large organised happenings like festivals, branded and private occassions. These pay anywhere between RM1500-RM5000. Weddings. Voice work such as voice overs, radio commercials and roles that don’t require singing. Album sales. Spotify for streams and plays. The amount is minuscule. For instance, artists typically earn between $3 to $5 for 1,000 streams. So how?

I wondered about the self-employed. The ones that don’t get a pay check at the end of each month. The non-regular income earners. I wondered about home bakers. About artists, actors (the not yet famous), delivery persons etc. How many cakes, donuts, croissants, biscuits, or pancakes do home bakers have to sell to break-even or make a profit?

What about overheads like rental and utilities that still must be paid regardless of the income. What about savings? What about contributions to EPF or pension funds or insurance? What about days off like weekends and holidays that regular employees are entitled to? What happens when you are sick,  and can’t bake or sing or make a delivery? What is the contingency for this? What happens when you decide to get married? Where do you live? Rent or buy? Children? Schools? More expenses?  So how?

I was self-employed for more than two decades. Yes, there was more freedom. Yes, there were successes. Yes, I was happier for most of it. That said, it wasn’t easy. For me, always doing my best, and very importantly, financial discipline helped.