How to Monetize Your Music

Is music your passion, the reason you get out of bed every morning, the reason you try to inspire, motivate and connect with others? Music has the potential to do anything and everything, from curing depression, loneliness and broken hearts to inspiring people to achieve magnificent feats, and so making a living off of it would be a total dream, right?

Well let’s make that dream a reality. Before you say, “but I don’t have much of a following,” let me say, you don’t need a massive following, you don’t need a large following. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at it from a business standpoint, because you’re in the music business now.

Some businesses have millions and millions of customers, some have hundreds of thousands of customers and and you’re probably caught up thinking that’s what you need too, but guess what? Some businesses only have one customer and they are wildly successful. Don’t believe me?

Ever heard of Mozilla Corporation? Maybe not, well they are a company that had revenue of about $1 billion dollars from just one customer, Google.

So what does this mean for you? It means it is not about how many followers, people at your gigs or ‘customers,’ you have, but rather what you sell those customers and what they are willing to pay you.

Here are three ways you can monetize your music risk free (financial-wise) without a large following.

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1 - Take Advantage of Live Gigs (even with small turnouts) - Live gigs are probably the best opportunity for artists to monetize their music. Why is that? Because the amount of revenue streams available at live gigs are on another level.

To name a few, ticket sales, merchandise sales, donations, raffles/draws, 50/50s, catering, drink sales and the list genuinely goes on and on.

Due to the amount of revenue streams live gigs provide you, you do not need a large turnout. Even with just friends, family and some fans, you have the opportunity to do quite well for yourself each gig.

I see time after time artists ‘satisfied’ with charging ticket sales or collecting donations and that’s a great first step, but by stopping there you’re missing out on lots of revenue. People at your gigs are there for a reason, they enjoy you, your music and/or what you stand for.

Give them the opportunity to support you beyond a ticket sale or a donation, give them the opportunity to feel as if they are helping you. Do not think of it as you selling them something, but rather them supporting you and helping you succeed.

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2 - Busking - I am sure many, if not all of you have done busking at one point or another, and so you know if you find the right spot, you can earn a pretty nice wage within a days work. The problem is sometimes the most populous areas are jam-packed with other buskers, right? Well… they’re not right now.

At the time of this blog, COVID-19 continues to leave its mark around the globe. This leads to many musicians doing live streams online, leaving a lot of room on the streets. Even if less people are out to see you perform, you will stand out more than ever!

So use this time to do some busking (assuming your local restrictions allow it) and since you will receive a lot more exposure, rather than taking donations, use this time to grow your brand!

People love supporting local and so with yourself showing dedication to be out, during the pandemic, they will be more willing to support you.

So set up a little table / stand, sell merchandise (which the next tip will get into on how to sell merchandise without taking a financial risk that no one buys it) and focus on growing your legacy.

Back to busking quickly, with no costs, and great exposure to gain, a large following is not needed. In fact, it is one of the best free ways to grow your following, while making money off your music.

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3 - Sell merchandise (with NO overhead costs) - Too many times I see musicians going about selling merchandise the wrong way. Rather than working through companies that “print-on-demand,” they outright buy the merchandise.

Not to mention, they over-estimate how many units of whatever it may be (shirts, phone cases, pop sockets, etc) they think they can sell. So now, they are “in the hole” however much they spent on the merchandise and need to sell it to avoid any big financial hits.

There are hundreds (and probably thousands of companies) that do something called print-on-demand. What this means is as soon as you make a sale, only then is the unit made. This way, there is no overhead costs on your behalf.

One company I came across over the years is bonfire.com (not a sponsor or affiliate, just genuinely believe they offer a good service). Basically you can open a shop, customize merchandise, and not pay anything.

Whenever someone purchases your merchandise, they will ship it out and provide you a healthy percent of the sale. Print-on-demand companies are great because they allow you to earn money from your merchandise, without needing to worry about costs, inventory control or shipping.

You do not need a large following, because every item you sell you’re profiting. No costs, no financial risk.

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