So you want to become a full-time musician, or you already are and you’re struggling to make a living out of your passion. But how musicians make money today? Is it possible, is it worth trying?
It is possible, but you will have to be willing to try different strategies. And also accept the fact that being a musician is a job, there will be days you won’t enjoy, like any day job.
Make money as a cover artist or an original artist
There are similarities between doing covers and doing originals, but overall they have different strategies. You can do both at the same time but eventually, you will realize that it’s more efficient to focus on a single type.
The principal difference between a cover artist and an original artist is the product. As a cover artist, you are the product, while as an original artist, you create the product.
Strategies for either of the artist types
Live gigs
Playing live is still the best way for any musician to make money. Especially with the evolution of the way music can be sold with new technologies, it remains a reliable option.
What is great with live gigs is how easy it is to reach people. If you’re a cover band, you can give away business cards, make contacts, invite people to see you at other gigs. When you do originals, you can obviously sell your products on the spot.
You’re probably going to earn less if you do originals than covers, but you have other options. If you’re doing covers and playing in venues, check out my tutorial on making a great setlist.
Session work
If you are a good musician or a good vocalist, you can get hired as a session musician. Look for studios to get work, or check with other musicians, solo artists, it helps to be active in a large community.
If you are lucky you can even get a job as a touring musician in the backing band of an artist. Also, you can get a name in the music industry and the job offers will come by more frequently.
Teaching
Teaching is another way to earn a revenue as a musician, in fact, it’s one of the most common because it’s stable. It can be viewed as the ‘day’ job that will help you get the food on the table when things are not taking off with your own music.
But it’s not for everyone, you need a certain skill to be able to teach, or you may not enjoy the interaction with people. Fortunately, there are many ways you can do this now, it’s not just working in a music school anymore, or inviting students to your home. You can do many things online, like YouTube that can be monetized, or selling courses on your website or Skillshare.
Cover artists
If you are in a cover band, your revenue strategies are narrow, it’s basically what has been mentioned before. But if there are only a few strategies, they are a lot easier to succeed than if you’re doing originals.
The problem for monetization with covers is that you don’t own the material you perform. You would not be able to get money from a streaming platform, a YouTube channel, or selling CDs.
One option for a living as a cover artist is to be hired to play in a hotel in Asia or Africa, check this Facebook group for more information. Similarly, you can work on cruise ships, but you have to be a really good musician, and the lifestyle isn’t for everyone. Check Proship Entertainment and Carnival Entertainment if you’re interested.
Other options for musicians to make money are gigs in bars, festivals, corporate events, weddings. But these usually only happen during the weekend, you’ll need to be really consistent with the booking, and you’ll face the problem of having 2-3 great opportunities at the same time, especially during November and December. If you teach or do session work during the week, it really improves your chances of succeeding.
Original artists
For an original artist, there are a lot more strategies to make money, because you have an original product that you can use.
Sell music on physical media
Although streaming and digital music has completely changed the way music is sold in the last 20 years, there is still a market for physical media like CDs on even vinyl.
This is a good strategy to use when you’re doing gigs, especially CDs because they are relatively cheap to produce. You cannot really sell digital music or streaming services in person, so why not try it. Check CD Baby for duplication options.
Sell digital music
Digital downloads are decreasing in popularity a little bit with the importance of streaming platforms, but it’s still a great source of revenue if you are an independent artist.
It is also a great way to promote yourself if you put your music on websites like Bandcamp, it’s easy to do and the rewards could be great.
Streaming music platform
Streaming platforms are relatively new in the music industry, but their impact is undeniable. Even as a musician I resented it, but now I have a subscription to Spotify.
Do not expect to get a lot of revenue on these platforms, you have to be really big to see an impact. But the good thing is that it becomes a passive income that will be running constantly over time.
There are a few resources to get your music distributed on these platforms, again check CD Baby which is partnered with Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
Sell merchandise
Of course, merchandise has always been part of the revenue of an artist, it’s still a popular way for musicians to make money. If you have a good brand, great ideas, and a following, you can get an interesting income from it.
You can sell in person after a gig, which is the best way, but you can also sell online.
Start a YouTube channel
At this time, YouTube is a no-brainer, it’s a proven platform for success, many stars were discovered that way. You can put live performances, official videos, interviews, talk directly to your audience, well everything you can imagine.
With popularity, you can get the opportunity to monetize your channel and make a great passive income. All of this while promoting yourself. And YouTube has great copyright protection so fear not about that, you could even make money with people using your material.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a relatively new way to get money. It’s used to get funds for making an album or producing a show. If you have a great following it can be a great option, people are willing to participate if they like you.
But it’s important to deliver what you promise and not to trick your fans with incorrect marketing. Because a failure could really jeopardize your career.
Licensing
Licensing is giving the rights to a musical piece for an amount of money. It could be for a movie, television shows, commercials. It can be a great way for musicians to make money, you need to work to get great contacts in these industries but it’s worth it if it’s something that you want to do.
Royalities
Finally, royalties can be received if you are a songwriter or you hold the rights of any purchased music. Usually, it’s the distributors that collect the royalties and then send the payments to the right owners. It can be complicated and it’s different from one country to another, but if your music is sold, played on the radio or live, you should get royalties.
Conclusion, how musicians make money?
So as you can see, there are many ways to make money as a musician today, especially if you are an original artist. But if there are many strategies, that doesn’t mean that it’s easier. You really have to work hard to make a living if you want to be a professional musician.
You will have to be creative, and do a lot of research. There are a lot of tools out there on the web, but it can be overwhelming sometimes. I hope this post could help you. Also, it important to manage your time, try to make the most of the week if you are doing gigs on the weekend. And try to have a plan B in case you don’t have anything booked or selling for a month.
