Is it doable so that you can earn a dwelling as a musician as we speak when you aren’t a family identify?
The brief reply is sure, completely. However that doesn’t imply it’s a bit of cake.
Because you’ll be extra empowered to succeed when you perceive the state of music income in 2025, this text comprise 13 truths about incomes cash as a musician.
Driving your individual artistic & enterprise success on the identical time isn’t simple.
It’s important to put on not less than two hats properly: artist and entrepreneur.
And in a area that evolves as quickly because the music {industry} (which stands on the intersection of know-how, tradition, advertising and marketing, and extra), you’ve acquired to remain in your toes.
Plus, many current occasions have impacted artist income, together with:
So if we start with the premise that success takes expertise, information, laborious work, and continued curiosity, listed below are 13 issues it’s best to know proper now with a purpose to develop your music earnings.
13 laborious truths about incomes cash in music
The purpose of this record is that can assist you see via numerous the widespread confusions, and keep away from the pitfalls that stop many artists from making progress.
A few of these truths could sound apparent to you, and in that case, nice! They’re classes you gained’t need to be taught the laborious approach. However consider me, even in 2025, they’re nonetheless issues that many artists don’t know, or don’t wish to settle for.
1. Simply since you made music doesn’t mechanically imply it should make you cash.
Music is just not a shortage! There are practically infinite options to your music.
The identical approach that new meals merchandise don’t simply magically arrive in shops and fly off the cabinets by themselves (it takes branding, distribution, promotion, and many others.), you’ll have to work to create demand on your music. In the event you anticipate your music to generate income, that work doesn’t cease on the finish of the creation course of.
2. What’s good for the “{industry}” could be very totally different from what’s good for you.
Generally the music {industry} and particular person creators have totally different wants and wishes. And it’s simple to be taught the flawed classes from {industry} headlines.
“Indie music” as a sector could also be more healthy than ever, however you’re only one artist. You, finally, pay your individual payments. Concentrate on what’s finest for you and take headlines and quotes from CEOs with a grain of salt.
That being stated, I believe the current LUMINATE report did an important job conveying large industry-wide stats whereas additionally telling a extra detailed and inspiring story about lesser-known artists.
3: Earning money from music is a component thriller. It’s an artform, in addition to a science.
What turns into well-liked is just not predictable. What labored yesterday doesn’t all the time work as we speak. Some geniuses go unrecognized. Your least favourite unique track is likely to be your greatest hit.
This uncertainty is a part of what makes music so thrilling. You by no means know when and the place success may come from.
Use this to gasoline creativity, and don’t be afraid to strive new issues. And as they are saying in advertising and marketing circles, “take a look at, take a look at, take a look at.”
4: Make it simple for folks to offer you cash.
Severely. Are you… promoting stuff? If not, your first downside is making issues — music, merch, concert events, experiences — that you may truly promote to followers.
Then you have to constantly create affords. Compelling affords. Subsequent, talk these affords. Ship provide e-mail. Publish webstore hyperlinks in your social bios. Announce merch at gigs. Promote merch on Spotify. And in all places else.
Lastly, once you do make affords, it’s best to give followers choices. Not everybody needs a big black t-shirt, so have dimension and shade options. Sure folks gained’t go to public reveals, however they’ll pay for a livestream. Some followers can pay you extra for a VIP pre-show cling.
The purpose is: Many artists underperform on the income facet as a result of they only aren’t giving followers a chance to pay them.
5: Any deal an artist indicators can have severe monetary implications.
There’s a time and place for document labels, managers, and reserving brokers. However all {industry} partnerships will have an effect in your earnings. Don’t wait till it’s too late to really perceive what these implications are.
Know what you’re getting your self into. Not simply within the near-term. Ask your self, “What might this association imply for my music in 25 years?”
The trade-offs may very well be properly price it. However ask the laborious questions BEFORE you signal a deal.
6: Fashionable artists typically have a skewed vantage level on the precise economics of streaming, however they’ve the loudest platform.
Whereas there’s a lot to be realized from well-liked artists, they’ll typically give up-and-coming artists the flawed impression on sure points of the enterprise, as a result of they’re taking part in a unique sport at a unique stage.
When somebody well-known talks about not incomes any cash from tens of hundreds of thousands of streams, be mindful, you don’t know what’s occurring behind-the-scenes and also you don’t have THEIR label or publishing contracts to reference.
How a lot does their label hold? What was the artist’s advance? What number of co-writers had been on the track? All that and extra can complicate the income scenario, when in comparison with an unbiased artist who owns 100% of their publishing and recording rights.
Additionally, simply because an artist is well-liked, it doesn’t essentially imply they understand how each side of the {industry} works.
7: Your private preferences round music consumption may lead you to missed alternatives.
You is likely to be getting in the way in which of extra income, when you assume that each one your doable followers behave identical to you do. As an artist who additionally listens to music, you’ll have particular preferences. However you may not 100% match your viewers in these preferences.
For instance, you may assume nobody purchases CDs since you solely hearken to streaming, whereas CDs are nonetheless an enormous income for artists. You may solely share a Spotify hyperlink, when 40% of your viewers is definitely on Amazon Music. Perhaps you wish to press vinyl, however most of your followers are extra inclined to pay you for a digital expertise.
The purpose is easy: Don’t assume everybody listens, engages, and spends cash precisely such as you do. Ask your viewers. Take polls. Check the waters. And transfer within the course that generates probably the most income.
8: You (in all probability) gained’t make a dwelling from one track. Concentrate on constructing a catalog.
A lot of the unbiased artists I’ve seen succeed over time made a strong dwelling as a result of they constructed a large catalog of songs. This, in fact, offers them extra probabilities to create hit songs, but additionally boosts the quantity of tracks that may be licensed, streamed, performed at concert events, and many others.
So each time they launched new music, their followers might return and hearken to outdated stuff, thus with each new launch got here an additional wave of income from previous materials.
9. Your greatest alternative may not be from merely “releasing” songs, however monetizing the connection you’ve got with followers.
Don’t pin success (or income) solely to the recorded music. We stay in a social second that thrives on engagement. A few of your finest incomes potentialities may come up from the fan expertise AROUND your music, or from what they’ll do WITH your music.
Subscriptions, entry, livestreams, classes, and meetups. To say nothing of fan-generated content material.
10. It’s the music “enterprise,” so deal with it such as you would a job.
It is a problem for many of us artists: We spend an excessive amount of time dreaming and never sufficient time doing. I’m responsible of it too. We wish a “profession,” however the work? Not a lot.
In order for you your music to be a full-time job, effort and time should constantly be on the stage you’d anticipate from a “common” job.
11. With a purpose to maximize music income, it’s a must to inform folks precisely what to do.
As artists we battle to offer followers clear instructions. However folks must be informed, proven, guided. That’s the facility of an enormous, brilliant button with an apparent call-to-action on web sites or emails.
Some artists battle to be clear and direct as a result of we lack confidence in our music or provide. Others may really feel like we glance uncool or desparate if we ask followers to take an motion. And for one more set of artists, we simply assume our followers know what to do subsequent. However more often than not they don’t.
At all times make an try to make clear the motion you need followers to take, why it advantages them, the way it’s essential to you, and supply easy directions on how you can do the factor!
12. One viral video doesn’t equal sustainable income.
Attempting to engineer one huge, viral video hit? I imply, okay, that’s nice. You’ll be taught one thing from the try even when it doesn’t get the attain you dream of. However most profitable musicians didn’t put all their eggs in a single viral video basket. Even creators who’ve an enormous video hit don’t all the time have an apparent method to remodel that focus into true followers and clients, not to mention a full-time dwelling.
As a substitute, most profitable musicians who create a significant video presence did so as a result of they established a sustainable course of that was intently linked with their very own musical id, passions, and abilities. It’s about momentum, and it’s about the fitting followers being there for the fitting causes: As a result of they like what YOU do.
Don’t chase memes and tendencies. Discover a extra compelling method to be YOU on digital camera. After which slowly construct your social advertising and marketing efforts round that. The continuing course of will possible have a higher influence than attempting to engineer one viral video. And that’s the way in which to construct an “genuine” social model that results in actual income.
13. Simply because it labored for Taylor Swift, doesn’t imply it should give you the results you want.
Trying to superstars for classes in success could be a combined bag.
When Radiohead dropped In Rainbows at no cost practically 20 years in the past, each band needed to repeat the try. However they weren’t Radiohead. When Beyoncé launched a secret album, everybody needed to do secret albums. They weren’t Beyoncé.
When Drake launched a tough drive with… (properly, perhaps don’t strive that one both).
The purpose is: There are economies of scale at play with famous person artists. Meaning they don’t need to work as laborious to incentivize followers to take motion, as a result of they’ve already put within the work to determine a detailed relationship with their viewers.
What works for them may not give you the results you want. However the reverse will also be true. You may take sure probabilities they’ll’t, and even capitalize on efforts that aren’t scalable in any respect! The realm of unbiased music is filled with innovation, by necessity. You don’t have the identify, price range, or crew that superstars do. There could by methods to make use of that to your benefit!
Key takeaways
Listed below are 4 issues to remember as you pursue your music profession:
- Prioritize actions that generate income – don’t simply chase likes.
- Search for untapped income alternatives that align together with your particular person profession plan and abilities.
- Don’t blindly observe headlines or recommendation. Check assumptions, advertising and marketing ways, and even artistic approaches.
- And lastly, when you need assistance spreading the phrase about your music, use music promo instruments to offer your message a lift!
Need to be taught extra about your revenue-generating choices as a musician as we speak?
