Is it doable so that you can earn a dwelling as a musician at the moment when you aren’t a family title?
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 straightforward.
You need to put on a minimum of two hats effectively: artist and entrepreneur.
And in a subject that evolves as quickly because the music {industry} (which stands on the intersection of know-how, tradition, advertising and marketing, and extra), you’ve received to remain in your toes.
Plus, many latest occasions have impacted artist income, together with:
So if we start with the premise that success takes expertise, data, exhausting work, and continued curiosity, listed below are 13 issues you need to know proper now in an effort to develop your music earnings.
13 exhausting truths about incomes cash in music
The purpose of this record is that can assist you see by means of plenty of the frequent confusions, and keep away from the pitfalls that stop many artists from making progress.
A few of these truths might sound apparent to you, and if that’s the case, nice! They’re classes you received’t should study the exhausting means. However imagine me, even in 2025, they’re nonetheless issues that many artists don’t know, or don’t need to settle for.
1. Simply since you made music doesn’t mechanically imply it can make you cash.
Music will not be a shortage! There are almost infinite alternate options to your music.
The identical means 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 on.), you’ll have to work to create demand on your music. For those who count on 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}” may 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 straightforward to study the unsuitable 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. Give attention to what’s finest for you and take headlines and quotes from CEOs with a grain of salt.
That being mentioned, I believe the latest LUMINATE report did an amazing 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 an element thriller. It’s an artform, in addition to a science.
What turns into in style will not be predictable. What labored yesterday doesn’t all the time work at the moment. Some geniuses go unrecognized. Your least favourite authentic tune may 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 attempt 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 straightforward for individuals to present you cash.
Significantly. Are you… promoting stuff? If not, your first drawback is making issues — music, merch, live shows, experiences — that you may really promote to followers.
Then you have to constantly create gives. Compelling gives. Subsequent, talk these gives. Ship supply e-mail. Publish webstore hyperlinks in your social bios. Announce merch at gigs. Promote merch on Spotify. And all over the place else.
Lastly, once you do make gives, you need to give followers choices. Not everybody needs a big black t-shirt, so have dimension and coloration alternate options. Sure individuals 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 chance to pay them.
5: Any deal an artist indicators may have severe monetary implications.
There may be a time and place for report 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 may this association imply for my music in 25 years?”
The trade-offs could possibly be effectively value it. However ask the exhausting questions BEFORE you signal a deal.
6: Widespread artists typically have a skewed vantage level on the precise economics of streaming, however they’ve the loudest platform.
Whereas there may be a lot to be realized from in style artists, they will typically give up-and-coming artists the unsuitable impression on sure features of the enterprise, as a result of they’re taking part in a special sport at a special degree.
When somebody well-known talks about not incomes any cash from tens of hundreds of thousands of streams, take into account, 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 maintain? What was the artist’s advance? What number of co-writers had been on the tune? 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 in style, it doesn’t essentially imply they understand how each side of the {industry} works.
7: Your private preferences round music consumption would possibly lead you to missed alternatives.
You may be getting in the way in which of extra income, when you assume that each one your doable followers behave similar to you do. As an artist who additionally listens to music, you might have particular preferences. However you won’t 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 need 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. Check the waters. And transfer within the path that generates essentially the most income.
8: You (most likely) received’t make a dwelling from one tune. Give attention to constructing a catalog.
Many of the unbiased artists I’ve seen succeed through the years made a stable 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 live shows, and so on.
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 won’t be from merely “releasing” songs, however monetizing the connection you have got with followers.
Don’t pin success (or income) solely to the recorded music. We reside in a social second that thrives on engagement. A few of your finest incomes potentialities would possibly come up from the fan expertise AROUND your music, or from what they will 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 would like a “profession,” however the work? Not a lot.
If you’d like your music to be a full-time job, effort and time should constantly be on the degree you’d count on from a “common” job.
11. With the intention to maximize music income, you must inform individuals precisely what to do.
As artists we wrestle to present followers clear instructions. However individuals have to be informed, proven, guided. That’s the ability of a giant, vivid 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 supply. 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 and make clear the motion you need followers to take, why it advantages them, the way it’s vital to you, and supply easy directions on the way to do the factor!
12. One viral video doesn’t equal sustainable income.
Making an attempt to engineer one large, viral video hit? I imply, okay, that’s fantastic. 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 a large video hit don’t all the time have an apparent strategy to rework that focus into true followers and prospects, 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 carefully linked with their very own musical id, passions, and skills. It’s about momentum, and it’s about the precise followers being there for the precise causes: As a result of they like what YOU do.
Don’t chase memes and developments. Discover a extra compelling strategy to be YOU on digital camera. After which slowly construct your social advertising and marketing efforts round that. The continuing course of will seemingly have a better affect than making an attempt 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 be just right for you.
Trying to superstars for classes in success could be a blended bag.
When Radiohead dropped In Rainbows without spending a dime almost 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… (effectively, perhaps don’t attempt that one both).
The purpose is: There are economies of scale at play with celebrity artists. Which means they don’t should work as exhausting 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 won’t be just right for you. However the reverse will also be true. You possibly can take sure probabilities they will’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 title, price range, or workforce that superstars do. There might 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 along with your particular person profession plan and skills.
- Don’t blindly observe headlines or recommendation. Check assumptions, advertising and marketing techniques, and even artistic approaches.
- And lastly, when you need assistance spreading the phrase about your music, use music promo instruments to present 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 generate profits in music.”
