Where have you been admitted and how much would it cost?
Could you double major, Music Ba+ other Ba (theology, psychology/counseling…?) That could help you get a church job?
What instruments do you play- to be a gospel leader you need organ, piano, some other instruments.
Are you currently active in your church music programs? All state choir?
What colleges did you get into is also crucial:
Music+Math major at St Olaf is a different ballgame from Music at Liberty.
I want to major in music but my parents don't want me to. How can I convince them that I'll be fine?
I’d like to be the (roughly) 90th person to suggest that you not take a direct line through the music dept to your chosen career. I’d offer that you need real, paying options in case you find your path blocked by unexpected things like a religious community you love that already has someone in the paid music director position, or meeting someone you love in a place without any livable paid religious music jobs. My DD is playing with her community’s music groups without any sort of music degree. She’s just a very good musician with a science degree (and a “job” doing Christian outreach on campuses that only a 21 year old could live on) who finds the music very fulfilling without insisting that it be a paid role.
But consider this as a constructive way forward: talk to as many people in your dream role as you can reach and ask them if they needed a degree to get the job, if it is truly a livable wage, if they would do anything different in how they reached this point in their careers, if it’s a position you can stay in long-term or just until family gets too expensive, if it stays fulfilling, etc. Just conduct some interviews on the job and career arc and come back to your parents with data.
As mentioned above, music is always around for those who seek it. If you just want to play or sing you can find a place. But if you want a career that could be the harder path that requires more justification. Good luck.
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Remember that the point of college is to gain marketable skills so you can support yourself as a healthy adult. That’s a reasonable expectation from parents, who are paying for college 
I told my daughter (who has somewhat similar dreams) that she can study what she wants…but at least get a teacher certification.
Here’s the thing about singing. I’m a singer. In my 20s, I could sing 4 octaves. I could have done it professionally, but I chose not to. After I turned around 40, when most singers would still be in their prime, I got stuck with asthma, which decimated my voice. I’m very glad I got a marketable career that I’m able to support a family to this day.
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One more time: you can major in music and have access to many jobs within but also outside of music. You can go to grad school, med, law, business, or nursing school. The idea of having a “backup” is not necessary and you do not have to forego studying something you love, in undergrad years, in order to major in something more lucrative.
Also there are many ways to increase job opportunities, including interning, volunteering, working and organizing things on campus.
You can certainly also choose to keep music extracurricular in school, and, so to speak, in life. Take lessons and perform in extracurriculars and compose or whatever you want.
College is not entirely geared to vocational training although it is moving in that direction for some. For vocational training, community colleges offer many great programs.
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I agree wholeheartedly with @compmom. I have given the same advice to my son. Study what you love and you’ll be happy in school and find what you want to do with your life, whether it’s in that area or another. Get an education and love what you are learning- these are life skills you cannot duplicate in a major you have no interest in studying. A degree in music means determination, incredibly hard word, time management, and dedication. Grad schools know this and future employers know this.
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“grad school, med, law, business, or nursing school” nearly all which would cost more money or a lot more money (a fully-funded STEM PhD program seems unlikely for a music major).
If you’re willing to provide the funds to this kid, I think it’s great advice. Otherwise, yes, unless you’re able to pay for college yourself or the costs are minimal, your parents should be justified to ask what they are getting for their investment in your education. I would think that a baseline outcome would be to get you off their payroll. Many folks do want to save up a nice nest egg, retire, maybe travel the world or at least live their life less encumbered, after all.
Do you have a plan for supporting yourself? Think of yourself as an entrepreneur trying to seek funding from investors pitching a business plan. If the investors don’t think your business plan has a high likelihood of success (well, or could take off like a rocket), why would they fund you?
And if you can’t convince them, why not try to support yourself for a while. If you can, that will give you confidence (and you’d be able to live your life as you see fit). If you can’t, well, at least you’ll learn some realities of life.
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I know plenty of music majors who are supporting themselves, and a lot of them are not supporting themselves through music.
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Well I’m a broadcast journalism major…and i’m in sales. Poli Sci majors likely aren’t politicians or staffers. Sociology majors probably aren’t studying people.
So that statement can be made for lots of majors!!!
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There seems to be more prejudice toward majoring in music, as if it is a frill. BM performance degrees are as rigorous as any science, and BA’s are as rigorous as any other liberal arts degree.
That’s great. I know plenty of people who went to HS and they’re not employed in a field that actually makes use of their HS classes.
I still don’t see how, if the goal is to convince the OP’s parents to fund his music education, that argument would be convincing. Now, if you say “music majors make good coders”, show that as a plan to become self-supporting, and back it up with evidence, that would be more convincing.
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I don’t think there’s prejudice towards majoring in music- unless you are talking to the “we’ll only pay for CPA/RN/Engineering” crowd.
I think everyone (and I put myself in that category- as a Classics major) has to temper what they love and want to study in college with some modest exploration of the job market and what it takes to support oneself. That’s all. No prejudice- just modest exploration. And I think posters here are encouraging the OP to think outside of Gospel/church leader in order to come up with a persuasive argument for parents who don’t seem sold.
I have a cousin who was a dancer with a well regarded company in Europe. Ballet is a fickle mistress- you age out of it pretty quickly- and while never ascending to the heights of her field, she had a satisfying career which she loved. And her parents supported her 100% because she ALWAYS knew that she could not retire out of ballet (who can retire at 35 or 38?) and had ALWAYS developed a robust plan B, second career, call it what you will.
Music is a wonderful academic field, and a wonderful contribution to society. Why is asking about a Plan B which incorporates a job with health insurance with the love of music problematic???
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The other issue may be that the OP seems to be tying majoring in music to a career as a church musician, which (based on the example of the OP’s aunt) is a low paying career that more likely means financial difficulty.
Yes, music majors can go into other work, and yes, people with other college majors can go into music, but perhaps it is more that the parents are concerned that the OP is too narrowly focused on what may not be a viable long term career path.
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@ucbalumnus I always appreciate your posts, wherever they appear.