How to make money as a musician
Musicians in high school and university will inevitably be faced with the tough question - how will I make money when I finish study?
We study music because we enjoy music and want to learn more about how it works. Performing is likely the ultimate goal though. Unfortunately, only very few musicians can sustain a lifelong career as a performing artist. Pursuing performance is still a must in my books. Without this extensive background and experience, so many other options will be meaningless or difficult. In my opinion, a love of performance and music in general should open the door to all of the options below.
Performing
The first way to make money as a musician is still to perform. This could be playing in concert halls internationally if you manage to make it to this level, or it could be playing local gigs every week or whenever you can. As a local gigging musician, selling merch is another option after building an audience. This is a great way to be in the music scene and to network with other musicians.
Sell music and recordings
I think it is becoming common knowledge that streaming services have made it more difficult for most musicians to make money, unless they are the next biggest name pop star. It is still possible to sell your music and make recordings, and this really is essential for exposure to wider audiences. This will often need to work hand-in-hand with performing.
Teaching
So many musicians become teachers. This is the pathway that I am pursuing. I love teaching and working with younger students. This is a rewarding job, pays well and it means we will have future generations of musicians to pick up where we leave off. As music teachers we can be in the classroom or teaching instrumental. Instrumental also comes with a degree of flexibility. You can teach in schools or privately, and do individual, group lessons, and direct ensembles.
Composing Music
Writing music is another way to make money as a musician. Perhaps the best way is writing music for education that teachers and schools would purchase. Writing pop songs is unlikely to make that much money unless they are being played by big pop artists.
Social Media
Just type ‘music’ into any social media app and you will discover an incredible number of music social media influencers. In an increasingly digital age, it is becoming more common to make money on the internet. This also extends to YouTube videos and podcasts.
All the best for now - see you in the next blog!