21 Ways To Make Money With Your Music
1. DISTRIBUTION, SALES, & STREAMING. You can generate income from all the methods of selling and
streaming your music, both digitally and physically.
2. Live Shows & Events
Live
shows and events generate dozens and dozens of revenue
streams to tap. These can be some of the most profitable revenue
streams to target and boost for your business.
3. Merchandise
One of the best ways to make more money is to have more things
to sell your fans. You can create and sell products based on your
persona, music, and brand including clothing, posters, artwork, and
a huge array of other items that will make your fans open their
wallets to buy it.
4. Licensing
Licensing your music to others so they can incorporate it within their
works can result in lucrative one-time fees. You can generate these
fees by licensing your music to the growing number of outlets that
need music in this content-rich world as well as boost your
opportunities in getting licensed by getting heard and seen.
5. Royalties
You can generate recurring, worldwide revenue through dozens of
royalty streams your music generates whenever your music is
played publicly. Also, you can get advances from your royalty
income to fund your next music projects, such as a tour or next
album of songs.
6. Persona & Brand
Your brand, logo, likeness, and more can generate income for you.
This is one of the most valuable assets professional artists can
create, often outgrowing the revenue the music alone can make on
its own.
7. Patronage & Crowdfunding
Patronage can create a stable, recurring monthly income source you
can use as a foundation as you tap and grow other income streams.
Crowdfunding can help you raise money for your next major project
such as a tour, next album of material, or more.
8. Fans & Fame
Once you have an audience others want access to, you open up
higher level revenue streams for your business. For instance, you
can generate revenue from your fans by working with select
businesses and selling them access to the audience you've built for messaging and advertising purposes.
9. Beats, Stems, Loops, & Sounds
You can make money from your music by breaking it down into its
ingredients for other musicians to tap. For instance, you can
generate revenue by creating loops, beats, and stems from the
music you've created for other musicians to purchase, use, and
mashup in their own music.
10. Synth, Effects, Presets & Plugins
You can also make money by helping other musicians make music.
For instance, you can generate revenue from your sound design
and engineering skills by building synth and effect presets and
plugins and selling your creations to other artists through innovative
sites and services.
11. Online Presences
Your online presences aren't just for promotion; you can monetize
them as well by turning your web, social, and mobile channels into
passive income revenue generating machines.
12. Video
The #1 search engine for music is YouTube. Video rules the web. Tap
these revenue streams by monetizing all aspects of your video
creation and distribution — including the videos themselves, your
channel, and more.
13. Studio & Gear
Where and what you use to create your music can make you money
when you're not using it. Rent out your gear or studio or charge
people to use your equipment and software to make their own music or content.
14. Songwriting & Composition Skills
While just about everyone loves music, most people can't write a
single note. This makes your songwriting and composition skills
valuable. Make money by getting commissioned to compose music,
score soundtracks, ambient music, instrumentals, and much more
for businesses, buildings, products, services, and more. With online
skill-share and for-hire sites, you can generate money with other
musicians and people all over the world.
15. Music Performance Skills
Your skills as a performing musician are in demand. You can
generate money by being a session player, live performer, or fill a
dozen live performance roles others need and will pay for —
whether locally or, thanks to the web, anywhere in the world.
16. Live Production Skills
You can get paid and generate income by running sound, lighting,
or any of a dozen or more other services musicians need for their
live shows and events.
17. Music Production Skills
You can use your studio and technical skills to generate extra
income from other artists. Become a producer, recording engineer,
mastering engineer, and more.
18. Music Business Skills
Others will pay for access to your music business skills. Get paid
and generate incomes by applying your knowledge, leveraging
your existing relationships, and tapping your experience for others.
Become a manager, agent, publisher, or other key roles you've already performed for your own music.
19. Business Skills
Everything you do for your own music business can be applied to
all other businesses. In fact, the business world needs more creative
self-starters than ever before. Earn extra income by using your vast
amount of skills you picked up and applied to your own music
business such as publicity, marketing, event planning, consulting,
teaching, project management, and much, much more.
20. Raising Money
Fund your next endeavor by tapping thousands of available grants,
scholarships, and more. Or raise capital or get a line of credit to
fund your business.
21. Musician Assistance
You're not on your own. You can get financial assistance if you run
into a difficult situation by tapping the dozens of organizations
which provide funding, insurance, and disaster relief.
4 Ways To Make DIY Regional Touring A Success
Regional touring is an essential way to get your music through to larger audiences for unestablished artists, but it sure is no mean feat. Playing in new, unfamiliar cities where you have no built-in audience to rely on can be thankless and challenging. It typically takes a lot of time before you start to reap the rewards of your hard work. Here are four tips for you to explore when planning your next regional tour:
Not all gigs are created equal
When routing regional tours, it might seem more convenient to schedule a show in the middle of nowhere on a Friday night. However, in the long run playing that one-off gig may not pay off. Regional touring is only remunerative for small, unknown acts if they include shows in places that are easily accessible and frequented.
Focus on shows that get good publicity
Promotion is crucial for DIY regional touring. Though pretty rare, there are towns out there where people enjoy music at the local venue at any other day. To get the word out loud and clear about the shows you're playing, you'll need to make the effort to approach local radio, blogs, newspapers, and playlists. Keep in mind that you might not reap the results you desired immediately, but it will all be worth it in the end. In time, listeners will become familiar with your music and will make an effort to see your next show.
Get selective about what you commit to
While it sounds fun and exciting, DIY touring is probably not going to be a big money-making endeavor for your solo project or band for awhile, even if you start to see some early success. Ambitious artists often bite off more than they can chew at the beginning, and end up incurring debts or burnout at the later stages. Playing only the regional tours you can afford is an effective way to keep things sustainable in the long run. Remember, you're attempting to build long-term momentum in your region, and this only happens after a significant period of time. Focus your time, money and energy on regional tours that you know will contribute to your growth.
Allocate your resources wisely
Forking over $150 for a cozy hotel after a long night on tour sounds tempting. However, doing this often for a couple of shows can destroy your budget if you're a small, unestablished artist. A little sacrifice can go a long way, and spending wisely can give your project the best chance at earning money or at the very least breaking even on short regional tours.
Touring is never easy and there are a lot of unglamorous, challenging things about it. This is especially so if you're taking the DIY route. However, if you can bite the bullet and keep your eyes on the goals ahead, the grind of touring regionally gets a lot easier to manage. Also, never hesitate to reach out to a friend or a trusted mentor for guidance and a listening ear. While it might feel like a lonely and arduous journey on some days, you are never alone – lean into your community, and enjoy every bit of the ride.