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1An introduction to ambient music
In 1888, Erik Satie finished his third “Gymnopédie”.
With the birth of this body of work, which Satie referred to as ‘furniture music’ at the time, began ‘ambient’ music as we know it today.
Describing abstract instructions for the performer, written into the sheet music – such as “Lent et douloureux” (Slow and painfully), Satie intended these pieces to be performed in the background of events to provide atmosphere.
The term ‘ambient music’ was coined by Brian Eno in 1979 with the release of his album “Ambient 1: Music for Airports”. Similarly to and inspired by Satie, Eno intended for this music to serve as ambience. He wanted to replace the tedious ‘muzak’ he’d hear in airports with something calming and introspective.
As a genre today, ambient music is both still true to its original intention. Whether providing sonic landscapes beneath the films and television we watch in the shape of scores; classical like Satie, or more electronically inspired like Eno – or being absorbed and studied as any other style of music would be. For example, André 3000’s 2023 album “New Blue Sun” which was nominated for the Grammy’s ‘Album of the Year’. This album merges ambient’s long form and repetitive nature with jazz’s harmony and improvisation.
2What does it take to be an ambient musician?
At face value, it seems like anybody can fiddle about on a synthesiser for 12 minutes and deem themselves an ambient musician. Well, this is true. However, I believe it is just as easy to see through the facade of a ‘fake’ ambient musician as it is a wannabe jazz-head or poser punk-rocker.
As with any genre, you do not have to obtain any qualifications to begin creating. B.B King did not attend blues university. Although, he did have a deep, rich understanding of his culture, the music, and lived the blues every day. I believe to create true, thought-provoking (or thought-avoiding) ambient music, you must honestly be able to tune into the sounds of everyday life and be able to bring them into fruition upon demand. This could be through tape manipulation or being able to replicate an idea or emotion though acoustic or electric instruments, for example.
It is important not to disregard, though, the benefit a degree in perhaps classical music, or film music would have. The ability to convey ideas to others using manuscript paper or western music theory could allow you to create grand musical environments as orchestras or solo pianists could perform your pieces. As well as this, unless you are working with tape, knowledge of how to use DAWs and plug-ins would help your workflow and maybe even creativity too.
Also, patience is a virtue, and a must for an ambient musician. Spontaneity too. They may seem juxtaposing, but to be able to act upon a moment’s inspiration, and then dedicate yourself to it is essential to allow those brainwaves to flourish. Of course, every artists day will look different. Some may wait for inspiration to strike. Some may search for it. Some may begin creating without any at all. All, however, will contain trial and error. In addition to this, many, maybe a majority of artists’ days are partly dedicated to social media. Keeping a profile updated with links, photos, snippets and replying to messages is a time consuming but necessary duty for most artists today to build an audience – unless they have already amassed a dedicated following.
3Financial, legal and professional factors and avenues
To stay alive as a musical artist in the modern era, marketing yourself is a huge part of making a living. ‘Music Marketing Monday’, an online magazine, suggest a musician in 2025 needs between 200,000 and 800,000 monthly listeners on Spotify to make a full-time living (Southworth 2025). Of course, most artists would likely supplement this with other online streamers and live gigs, however, many of the other streamers pay just as poorly or even worse than Spotify – and, in many places, the demand, audience and payment for live music (especially ambient) is low and in decline.
If you somehow do manage to achieve a stable income as an artist, there are still legal challenges to face. For example, many ambient artists dabble in sampling – a highly controversial and divisive topic. Treading the line between ‘fair use’ and ‘theft’ can be tricky. Up until 2019, the Band “The Verve” had to pay 100% of the royalties from their song “Bittersweet Symphony” to The Rolling Stones due to sampling the orchestral instrumentation from their song “The Last Time”. On the other hand, many bands, producers, and rappers are able to fly under the radar when it comes to sampling and interpolation.
This evasion may be luck; some musicians use samples and just hope they will not be sued. Some musicians try this method and regret it later (see Kanye West, Juice WRLD) (Markowitz 2023). Some musicians ‘clear’ their samples with the respective labels:
This does not mean that we go to the writers, and this does not mean that we go to the recording artist or the artist’s manager. We have to go to the people who have the rights and administer on behalf of the writers, meaning the publishers, and the record label who own the master rights. If it’s an interpolation — and that term means, if the sample has been re-sung or replayed — then we’re just going to the publishers to get permission. (Setaro 2023).
To develop yourself in a professional manner as an ambient artist, there are a few main avenues I would deem most lucrative:
Working in the media music industry is a very respectable and common pathway for ambient musicians. Creating scores for films, background music for a loading screen in a video game or adding atmosphere to a TV drama all can be fulfilling excursions and have an undeniably prosperous career ladder – Hanz Zimmer’s work on Blade Runner 2049 is a great example of an ambient film score masterpiece.
Being an artist in your own right, creating albums and performing live gigs is also a very impressive and realistic venture, though, unfortunately, as previously mentioned, there is not as much money in this as there has been in the past, so career-wise, it is more challenging. To further yourself in this career, just as with any genre, it would be wise to be as prolific as you can. Throw yourself into frequent gigs and live events. Collaborate and network with other artists, management and producers. Always be creating.
4Personal and intellectual challenges
Again, as an ambient artist, you face many of the same problems as any other artist might.
Being consistent, constantly creating and performing can be tiring. You may get ‘burnt out’. This frequently happens to many artists. To avoid this, or combat it, it is important to take breaks and have a healthy work-life-art balance. This can be very difficult for some people working long hours at a full-time job or looking after children or family. With the ever-increasing demand on artists to be constantly promoting on social media, this balance can be even more difficult. A study from 2021 suggests “66% of artists had suffered burnout at least once.” (Pirate Staff 2021). This may cause you to feel unmotivated or have a lack of enthusiasm with your music, which can be very frustrating. This is closely linked with ‘writers’ block’, where you may feel no inspiration and cannot make anything you enjoy.
5Interview with an ambient artist
I emailed Brian Eno to ask his opinions on some the matters I have discussed in this essay. He didn’t reply, so I contacted ambient artist “andsoistopped” to get their thoughts on some of the topics.
Q: What do you enjoy about ambient music?
A: “Its simplicity. It is really easy to make whilst at the same time often being able to tap into and/or express complex emotions.”
Q: Have you ever made music for a piece of media, for a film or series, for example?
A: “No not at this stage. I have made music for a podcast series which helped people to reflect on and navigate their experiences of life where toxic religion has or may have caused them harm. I had a piece of music used for a Christmas reflection by a friend who is a vicar for Launde Abbey’s virtual advent calendar. I also made a piece of music for the charity Cord – again for another Christmassy related piece.”
Q: Do you think it is more challenging to be an artist today, compared to 5, 10, 20 or more years ago?
A: “Yes. If you want a career out of it. If you just want to make art and you have other ways to clothe, house and feed yourself then I would say it’s easier now because of technology than it was previously. It’s insane that I’ve used GarageBand – free software to make 4 albums and 2 EPs since 2021.
Digital amp modelling also makes it easier to make ambient music as there are no microphones involved as it goes direct to the DAW from the amp modeller.
Of course, now I can self-publish through Bandcamp so it’s even easier to get your music out there.”
Q: Do you think it is more difficult to stand out as an ambient artist compared to artists in other genres?
A: “Possibly. I’m not sure standing out is that easy whatever the genre.
One of the things with ambient music is that it can be llllllllllong. It can require patience as there aren’t always many hooks or even anything catchy to be honest. I tend to begin with ambience and take a track somewhere after a few minutes so in some senses you could say I’m not 100% ambient.”
Q: Can anyone be an ambient artist?
A: “I guess if they want to. A midi keyboard and relatively inexpensive plugins into a Mac with GarageBand or PC equivalent any it’s pretty accessible.”
Q: What personal attributes and/or skills do you think it takes to be an ambient artist?
A: “I guess a love of massive reverb is key. If you don’t like reverb, then it’s possible that ambient isn’t for you.
The good news is that I don’t think you need many skills or much in the way of experience just a desire to make music and have fun.”
Q: What are some personal challenges you face as an artist?
A: “Hopefully there aren’t too many as mostly I make music for fun and for my own wellbeing. I guess occasionally you don’t know if what you are making is any good or if anyone else would enjoy it or not. Making music as a solo project means there’s no interaction with others.
Other challenges are to find ways of making things that are fresh and interesting as well as emotionally relevant.”
Q: What do you think about online music streaming compared to listening to physical copies?
A: “Listening. Real listening is with physical copies through a decent hi-fi. It’s the best way to listen and engage with music. I’ve had two LPs on whilst we’ve been chatting. Spinning wax is winning.
Streaming means many people can access many genres of music from all over the world and across history. It’s great. In practice it’s another way the hideously rich to extract wealth for their own engorgement and the expense of the artists. I think I’m going to take all my music off the services apart from Bandcamp. It’s easy for me as I’m not trying to make living.”
6Conclusion
In conclusion, my primary and secondary research support my hypothesis that actually creating ambient music has a very low barrier to entry, which is good. However, if you try to make a living solely from music, it is very challenging. Largely due to the monopoly streaming has on modern music. My interview with “andsoistopped” was very reassuring of these points. Patience as a skill was also apparent, both as a consumer and an artist. I feel confident in my ability to pursue this career by marketing myself and immersing myself in the art.
Reference list:
- Markowitz, D. (2023) The 10 Most Controversial Samples In Hip-Hop History. Grammy Awards.
- Pirate Staff (2021) Why 66% Of Artists Have Burned Out At Least Once. Pirate.
- Setaro, S. (2023) Here’s How De La Soul Cleared The Samples For Their Classic Catalog’s Streaming Debut. okplayer.
- Southworth, A. (2025) How many Spotify streams to make a living? Music Marketing Monday.
- Zimmerman, H. (2017) Blade Runner 2049 Soundtrack [Musical Score] Michael Hodges.
