10 Rockers Who Quit Music + Pursued Other Careers

Dreams don't always work out the way you plan, so there are quite a few rock and metal artists who quit music and pursued other careers.

Let's rephrase that — the majority of rock and metal musicians have probably quit music and went down different paths, seeing as only a small percentage of artists actually become very successful.

According to a 2023 report shared by Big Time Musicians, out of 7.5 million artists who sell music online, only around .0038 percent of them become successful enough to be considered professional musicians.

But, there are quite a few more prominent and well-known individuals who've left the music industry to chase other dreams instead. Surprisingly, a lot of them were in big bands too — such as Nirvana and Anthrax — but left for a variety of different reasons.

A couple of them were fired from bands or ultimately decided they wanted to work in a field that was more consistent and offered a more stable income. For others, the excess of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle became too much for them and with families at home, their priorities had shifted.

We should note that in the list we compiled below, some of the musicians didn't quit music entirely. A couple of them eventually went back to playing in different groups, but they still had entire other careers between then.

Scroll below to see some rockers who quit music to pursue other career paths.