Is it doable so that you can earn a dwelling as a musician at the moment if you happen to aren’t a family identify?
The quick reply is sure, completely. However that doesn’t imply it’s a chunk of cake.
Because you’ll be extra empowered to succeed if you happen to perceive the state of music income in 2025, this text comprise 13 truths about incomes cash as a musician.
Driving your personal inventive & enterprise success on the identical time isn’t straightforward.
You must put on at the very least two hats properly: artist and entrepreneur.
And in a area that evolves as quickly because the music {industry} (which stands on the intersection of expertise, tradition, advertising and marketing, and extra), you’ve bought 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, data, arduous work, and continued curiosity, listed here are 13 issues it’s best to know proper now as a way to develop your music earnings.
13 arduous truths about incomes cash in music
The purpose of this listing is that will help you see via loads of the widespread confusions, and keep away from the pitfalls that forestall many artists from making progress.
A few of these truths could sound apparent to you, and if that’s the case, nice! They’re classes you received’t should study the arduous approach. However imagine 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 routinely imply it can make you cash.
Music shouldn’t be 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 so forth.), 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}” will be very completely different from what’s good for you.
Typically the music {industry} and particular person creators have completely different wants and wishes. And it’s straightforward to study the mistaken 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 personal payments. Deal with what’s greatest for you and take headlines and quotes from CEOs with a grain of salt.
That being mentioned, I believe the current LUMINATE report did an awesome job conveying massive industry-wide stats whereas additionally telling a extra detailed and inspiring story about lesser-known artists.
3: Earning money from music is an element thriller. It’s an artform, in addition to a science.
What turns into standard shouldn’t be predictable. What labored yesterday doesn’t at all times work at the moment. Some geniuses go unrecognized. Your least favourite authentic tune 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 would possibly come from.
Use this to gas creativity, and don’t be afraid to strive new issues. And as they are saying in advertising and marketing circles, “check, check, check.”
4: Make it straightforward for folks to offer you cash.
Critically. Are you… promoting stuff? If not, your first downside is making issues — music, merch, concert events, experiences — that you may really promote to followers.
Then it’s essential to persistently create provides. Compelling provides. Subsequent, talk these provides. Ship provide e-mail. Put up webstore hyperlinks in your social bios. Announce merch at gigs. Promote merch on Spotify. And in all places else.
Lastly, if you do make provides, it’s best to give followers choices. Not everybody needs a big black t-shirt, so have dimension and shade options. Sure folks received’t go to public reveals, however they’ll pay for a livestream. Some followers pays you extra for a VIP pre-show hold.
The purpose is: Many artists underperform on the income aspect as a result of they simply aren’t giving followers a possibility to pay them.
5: Any deal an artist indicators may have severe monetary implications.
There may be a time and place for file 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 actually perceive what these implications are.
Know what you’re getting your self into. Not simply within the near-term. Ask your self, “What may this association imply for my music in 25 years?”
The trade-offs could possibly be properly price it. However ask the arduous questions BEFORE you signal a deal.
6: Well-liked 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 standard artists, they’ll typically give up-and-coming artists the mistaken impression on sure points of the enterprise, as a result of they’re taking part in a special sport at a special stage.
When somebody well-known talks about not incomes any cash from tens of thousands and thousands of streams, have in mind, you don’t know what’s taking place 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 tune? All that and extra can complicate the income state of affairs, when in comparison with an impartial artist who owns 100% of their publishing and recording rights.
Additionally, simply because an artist is standard, it doesn’t essentially imply they know the way each side of the {industry} works.
7: Your private preferences round music consumption would possibly lead you to missed alternatives.
You is likely to be getting in the way in which of extra income, if you happen to assume that each one your doable followers behave identical to you do. As an artist who additionally listens to music, you could have particular preferences. However you may not 100% match your viewers in these preferences.
For instance, you would possibly assume nobody purchases CDs since you solely take heed to streaming, whereas CDs are nonetheless an enormous income for artists. You would possibly solely share a Spotify hyperlink, when 40% of your viewers is definitely on Amazon Music. Possibly you wish to press vinyl, however most of your followers are extra inclined to pay you for a digital expertise.
The purpose is straightforward: Don’t assume everybody listens, engages, and spends cash precisely such as you do. Ask your viewers. Take polls. Take a look at the waters. And transfer within the path that generates probably the most income.
8: You (most likely) received’t make a dwelling from one tune. Deal with constructing a catalog.
Many of the impartial artists I’ve seen succeed through the years made a strong dwelling as a result of they constructed a large catalog of songs. This, after all, provides them extra possibilities to create hit songs, but in addition boosts the quantity of tracks that may be licensed, streamed, performed at concert events, and so forth.
So each time they launched new music, their followers may return and take heed to previous 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 may have with followers.
Don’t pin success (or income) totally to the recorded music. We dwell in a social second that thrives on engagement. A few of your greatest incomes prospects would possibly 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.
This can be 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.
If you would like your music to be a full-time job, effort and time should persistently be on the stage you’d anticipate from a “common” job.
11. So as to maximize music income, you must inform folks precisely what to do.
As artists we wrestle to offer followers clear instructions. However folks should be informed, proven, guided. That’s the facility of a giant, brilliant button with an apparent call-to-action on web sites or emails.
Some artists wrestle to be clear and direct as a result of we lack confidence in our music or provide. Others would possibly 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.
All the time 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 easy methods to 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 high-quality. You’ll study 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 at all times have an apparent method to rework 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 related with their very own musical id, passions, and abilities. It’s about momentum, and it’s about the suitable followers being there for the suitable 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 continued course of will possible have a higher affect 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 can give you the results you want.
Trying to superstars for classes in success could be a blended bag.
When Radiohead dropped In Rainbows without spending a dime practically 20 years in the past, each band wished to repeat the try. However they weren’t Radiohead. When Beyoncé launched a secret album, everybody wished 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 should work as arduous to incentivize followers to take motion, as a result of they’ve already put within the work to ascertain an in depth relationship with their viewers.
What works for them may not give you the results you want. However the reverse may also be true. You possibly can take sure possibilities they’ll’t, and even capitalize on efforts that aren’t scalable in any respect! The realm of impartial music is filled with innovation, by necessity. You don’t have the identify, price range, or group that superstars do. There could by methods to make use of that to your benefit!
Key takeaways
Listed here 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 along with your particular person profession plan and abilities.
- Don’t blindly comply with headlines or recommendation. Take a look at assumptions, advertising and marketing ways, and even inventive approaches.
- And lastly, if you happen to need assistance spreading the phrase about your music, use music promo instruments to offer your message a lift!
Wish to study extra about your revenue-generating choices as a musician at the moment?
Take a look at “75 methods to earn cash in music.”