How To Make Money With Your Music – If there’s one question I get asked by musicians all the time, it’s “how do I start making money from my music?” This is a huge topic of debate in the music industry and no one has a clear answer. With the advent of streaming, people are buying CDs and downloads less and less. Spotify pays unsigned artists $0.001 per stream, so you’re not going to get rich streaming, but if people can’t hear you on Spotify, soundcloud, YouTube, etc., how will they know your music exists?
The basic answer to “where does money come from” is that money comes from people. People can listen to you for free, so to get them to pay to listen to you, either live or through your recordings, you have to offer them something of value, something they believe improves their life in some way. In marketing terms, this is called a Unique Selling Point (USP). I can’t tell you what that is… before we go any further, I suggest you think a lot about identifying your USP. Maybe it’s that you write particularly powerful melodies or songs that resonate very strongly with a certain group, say single parents. Maybe you have an unusual musical skill, like playing the harp or being able to sing 5 octaves. Basically, what do you have that makes your sound worth paying for?
How To Make Money With Your Music
With that in mind, let’s look at some income streams you might be able to tap into. Most people who make a living from music, like me, have multiple streams of income at the same time, e.g. publication, teaching and performance. At certain times, one of these streams will do better than others, and some are more reliable than others.
How To Make Money On Youtube With Your Music
If you are going to play live, make sure you register with a royalty collection agency such as PRS or IMRO. You might only make around £4 for a 20 minute slot, but that’s still your £4 and it all adds up over the year. Don’t play non PRS licensed venues as they basically kill you.
Unfortunately the way the infrastructure is in Northern Ireland most gigs don’t pay, especially for original music. There are, however, some ways to make money from performing live. Claiming a residency at a local restaurant bar can be a steady stream of income. My students who do this make between £60 and £120 for a 2 hour set, showing the difference in pay out there. There doesn’t seem to be a standard price. It’s also a good idea to sign up with an agent and try to get work at weddings and corporate events. These pay between £800 and £1500 for a complete set. Keep in mind that there will be start-up costs, such as investing in sound equipment and a professional-looking website, so cost everything before you advertise your services.
If you decide to play free gigs like open mics, try selling CDs and merchandise. This usually doesn’t make a lot of money, but at least you earn something. That being said, if you want to be a professional or semi-professional, it is not advisable to work for free. Often venues will claim that it will increase your fan base or that you will get more business from it. Would you say to a plumber, “I need to fix my toilet. I’m not going to pay you, but maybe you can fix 3 sinks next week”?
Another potential revenue stream is from busking. When I lived in Bath it was possible to make £200 busking. In Belfast it’s more like £40, but you can hone your performance skills and see which songs get attention.
Ways To Earn Money From Your Music On Spotify
You could try contacting recording studios to try to secure work as a session musician. The producers themselves are likely to play guitar, piano and bass, but if you happen to play specialist instruments like fiddle (string samples are often crap!!) or Hammond organ or specialize in a certain style e.g. Flamenco is worth a try. Musicians’ Union rates for session players are £31 per hour. You should also register with PPL (PPL is to performers what PRS is to writers, i.e. they collect and distribute royalties) to make sure you collect your royalties if the tracks you play on get airplay. In many cases session musicians will only be paid in advance and waive the right to royalties. Make sure you are happy with the terms and conditions before agreeing to play.
If you think music teaching is just cash, think again. Only consider this an income stream if you’re ready to become a small business owner, because that’s what private music teachers (like me) are. You have to have some teaching training and then you have to register with HMRC and keep spreadsheets of your income and expenses and all your receipts. Don’t think you can just get cash in your hands and not declare it. A criminal record for financial dishonesty will do you no favors. You also need to invest in a decent website and work on Search Engine Optimization etc. It can take quite some time to find enough students to make a living, so don’t quit your current job until you do. You must also have public liability insurance which the Musicians’ Union offers as part of your annual membership.
You may want to send a resume to local music schools. If you decide to teach at a private music school, ask the Musicians’ Union to read the contract before you sign it. Some of the terms and conditions offered are very exploitative, for example charging students for a month in advance and keeping the money for a lesson if the student cancels, but not paying the teacher. This is a bit like working on a zero-hours contract, in that if enough students don’t show up, you’ve lost valuable time and earned no money. I have also heard of music schools offering Groupon deals to students and paying teachers only £4 an hour to teach students who come through Groupon. Be careful what you get yourself into! Of course, there are some very reputable schools out there as well. You can also keep an eye on your local Education and Library website for school touring music teacher vacancies. This is a fairly stable source of income.
The Musicians’ Union rate for music teachers is £31. If you think people in your area wouldn’t be willing to pay that, consider resetting your prices. I charge £25 for one hour lessons and £12.50 for half hour lessons.
The Complete Guide To Selling Your Music Online
Music licensing is a good source of income to consider. It is when music is placed in commercials, television and movies. He can pay anything from a few hundred pounds for a local radio ad, £15,000 for a TV ad up to $100,000 for a movie trailer. Many licensing companies and directories will allow you to sign non-exclusive contracts so you can place your music in several of these directories and increase your chances of getting a placement. Directory companies simply upload your music to their directory for buyers to browse. Other companies are actively out there trying to find customers to buy your music. They get 50% of the fee but have to incur a lot of expenses to travel to meet clients and promote their services and your music. Resonant Music Licensing are my agents for sync (sync, eg music to animation) and I am happy with the work they do.
To submit music for licensing, it must have been produced to broadcast standards and professionally compiled. Listen to some commercials the next time you watch TV. Does your music match what you listen to? How would it sound from Imax speakers?
You can sign up for my Udemy course on how to make money from music for the discounted price of £10.99 here.
There are probably a few more ideas I haven’t thought of… If you have any comments or questions about anything in this article, please let me know via the box below. If you would like to receive regular articles like this along with news and events, you can join the mailing list here. In addition to questions about music promotion and artist development, “How can I make money as an up-and-coming hip-hop artist?” is one of the most popular questions music businesses ask me. And for good reason.
Make Money From Your Music Archives
As an up and coming rapper, you probably have days to work a job you don’t like for little money. Then, once you get off work, you’ll start your ‘second job’ – music. This could mean spending tons of time and money (especially on things like branding your rap name) to make your dream a reality, so the sooner you can recoup your investment, the more confident you’ll be of your investment.
So in this post, we will talk about how to earn money as an upcoming
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