Being gifted with musical talent allows you to pursue your passion and earn money simultaneously. However, you will need to observe and execute any opportunities that generate income for you to thrive in this industry.
It’s no surprise that the music industry has been affected by COVID-19; postponement of live performances and tours have resulted in an income shortage for many musicians.
If you are a musician and your revenue has drastically decreased due to the gathering restriction policy, you won’t have to worry any longer! Despite the lack of locations to perform at, you can still earn income by performing at home!
Without any further ado, let’s check out these practical guides on how musicians can make money from home!
I. Livestreaming
Livestreaming platforms allow users to upload and broadcast videos in real-time. You can utilise this feature to interact with your fans and earn money at the same time.
Many musicians encourage their fans to contribute by giving them donations through livestreaming performances. You can implement this approach by placing a link to your crowdfunding site or using PayPal for convenience.
However, you will need effective marketing and promotion before you air your performance. This strategy is essential to make sure that your audience knows what you will be doing. Provide highlights of your show and make them gladly tune in.
Announce details about your show on social media and ask any trusted friends to help promote it. Make sure that you use concise copywriting and attractive visual designs to support your campaign.
Here is the list of livestreaming platforms you can try:
- Twitch
- YouTube Live
- Instagram Live
- Twitter Live or Periscope
II. Beats and sample offerings.
Selling beats and samples is one of the many convenient ways to earn money as a musician. However, you will first need to hone your musical production skill and compose high-quality beats to make your output marketable to other people interested.
You can put exclusive and non-exclusive licence for every beat and sample you create. The non-exclusive licence will enable your beats to be used by many other artists. Meanwhile, the exclusive licence is only sold to one particular artist and traded at a costlier price.
You can use the following well-known platforms to sell your beats and samples:
- Airbit
- BeatStars
- Sellfy
- SoundClick
III. Subscription
Joining a subscription-based platform will give you a monthly profit depending on the number of your subscribers. A paywall-based media platform requires you to compose high-quality songs exclusively for your fans since they have already subscribed to your account.
Producing high-quality music is also essential since many people subscribe to any musician’s profile to find inspiration. Another reason is that they think the particular artist makes unique and outstanding music.
You can choose Patreon to start your subscription-based account. Make sure that you promote it on your other social media platform, so your fans can acknowledge it. If you choose to do a subscription-based method for income, remember that it’s important to produce content consistently. People will get updates with your latest creations leading to a consistent subscription.
IV. Make podcasts
You can make podcasts or audio-based content to discuss music and let people listen to it. Many musicians are doing this, so you can create unique content on your platform.
Producing unique content will require you to conduct market research. You will need to define your target audience and break it down based on the age range, gender, and anything related to demographic segmentation. Creating the concepts will help you plan your project to generate content without running out of ideas.
Suppose you want to create podcasts that discuss rock music with the target audience of people aged 21 to 35. You can talk about rock musicians in the 1990s and how they have influenced the current rock genre.
The key to making a creative and successful podcast is by giving your listeners valuable content. Ignite inspiration in your audience’s mind, so they can learn something new every time they tune in to your podcasts.
You have to set a strong and consistent branding to make your podcasts memorable. You can place advertisements, get possible offers from sponsors, and generate money from royalties once you have established your product.
V. Virtual Concert
The postponement of live concerts in many areas, including Singapore, is due to COVID-19’s gathering restrictions’ policy.
Virtual concerts have become a feasible solution to this problem where you can hold a cyber gig from home. With the increasing popularity, you can treat the digital performance just like the regular ones, and people will need to buy tickets to tune in.
VI. Collaborate with other musicians
To attract a greater audience, you can try collaborating with other artists. Make sure that you and the other musicians prepare the virtual gig diligently. Conduct a soundcheck before airing the show and ensure that all equipment works to deliver a fantastic performance.
You will also need to secure your bandwidth capability to avoid any technical problems during your live show. Subscribe to a well reputable internet provider to support your performance smoothly. Ensure that every musician that performs also has access to a high-quality internet connection.
VII. Release music to streaming services
If you are an independent musician who does not work under any label, you can earn money by releasing your songs to streaming services. Distributing your music to streaming platforms like iTunes, Spotify, and Joox is the best method to reach a bigger fanbase.
Streaming services like YouTube and Spotify have recommendation algorithms that will help you gain more listeners based on their music taste. The more people he
ar and enjoy your music, the higher the number of music royalties you will receive.
If you are a rookie musician, you can try promoting your released tracks on the streaming services through social media. Another option is to pitch your songs to music journalists and make your works published on the news portals so you can reach a greater audience.
Although distributing your record to streaming services offers you more exposure and gives a good amount of money, you can not directly post your music. You will need to collaborate with digital music distributors. They will be agents who are responsible for delivering your records to the digital streaming platforms.
Here is the list of reputable digital distributor companies:
- LANDR
- Reverbnation
- TuneCore
- Ditto Music
As an artist, copyright protects every piece of music that you compose. Singapore’s government has a regulation that strictly rules intellectual property royalties. You can access the report here.
VIII. Collaborate with brands
The competition in the music industry has become tight. You might experience a hard time selling your music to your fans with the competition. However, there is still a chance for you to earn money by selling your music to brands.
You can opt to compose and sell your music to brands to support their campaigns. With the increasing market for pop culture, there has been a rise in the demand from brands to musicians. The brands will invite the artists to create unique pieces that will express their identity.
Many brands are willing to spend a considerable amount of money on every piece of music you compose. You can benefit by learning the strategy and jumping into this industry.
Once you have acquired the strategy, you can focus on composing high-quality music in your home studio. However, you will still need to hone your networking skills and get people to acknowledge and trust the quality of your production.
IX. Create the content on YouTube
Creating content on YouTube can be an innovative way to earn money. However, winning this strategy requires you to create consistent and high-quality outputs.
You can monetise your channel by putting advertisements on your videos once you have a high number of viewers or subscribers. Your collaboration with YouTube will generate income based on the number of views.
Thriving in this field will also challenge you to produce engaging videos. You can also learn SEO or search engine optimisation to increase your visibility. Once you have ranked in the search engine search results, you will attract more viewers, driving in more profits.
Conclusion
The music industry previously relied on its most significant income streams – concert and performance ticket sales. Unfortunately, the restriction policy has left the industry struggling to recover the drastic loss in revenue from the lack of physical sales.
After reading this article, we hope you discover alternate ways to survive despite the music industry’s nosedive in earnings. The important note is you need to be creative and explore as many opportunities as possible.
As a musician, you can also benefit by learning music marketing strategies. You can acquire this by creating a solid social media presence and growing your fanbase. Remember that people will stay engaged if you consistently offer them valuable content.
Go the extra mile and believe in your capability. You will make it and let your music be known to the world!
