How can you make a living from your music? Here are our 9 best tips

If you're an aspiring music artist, you already know that making money from music is no easy task, especially when you're just starting out in your music career. An artist's goal is to make a living out of producing and performing music and will lead to becoming financially stable.

Music artists today have far more control over their careers than they did 20 years ago. There are many platforms and channels that can help you promote your music. The question however, is how do you use these tools to monetize your music?

It's also important not to forget to establish different income streams for yourself, to grow and build your music career.

Below are the best ways to earn money from your music.

1. License your music for TV shows, movies and corporate videos

If your music has a commercial vibe to it and you feel it might fit the screen as background music for TV ads, corporate videos, movies and TV shows, this tip can be valuable for you.

Today there’s many options for valuable music placements for artists, From production music catalogs such as Audiojungle, Artlist or Pond5, to music licensing agencies working with the Hollywood film industry.

Some artists are placing their songs and music under these catalogs or building a dedicated music catalog for the purpose of making a living from their music. The licensing fees you’ll get for every single licensing deal could be very small, but if you’ve created a catalog and you're very popular, it might add up to and end up becoming a serious income stream.

2. Distribution of music videos (YouTube)

We know that most music artists publish their new tracks on their personal YouTube channels, but there are thousands of YouTube channels that will play your music videos if they like your song. The benefit of uploading your song to YouTube channels is that your music will ultimately generate more performance licenses and your music will reach a wider audience.

YouTube pays between $0.10 and $0.30 per ad view. So we can say that YouTubers earn an average of $0.18 per ad view. Please note that watching an ad is different than watching a video. The average payout a YouTuber receives for video views is around $3-$5 per 1,000 video views. However, popular YouTubers can earn around $7000 for every million video views. These payments also depend on many factors. Such as video length, video description, frequency of posting videos, type of content posted. All of these factors affect how much you get paid by YouTube. To earn money from YouTube, the channel must have at least 1000 subscribers and he must watch 4000 hours in a year. You can use a platform like One Submit to submit music to YouTube channels

3. Collect royalties from performances

Musicians are required to register with a performing rights organization (PRO). These organizations collect royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers, and help pay for the use of their music.

One type of royalty that the PRO collects on your behalf is performance royalties. If your track is played on television, radio, in shopping malls, or other public places, those places must pay you to use your track. PRO collects these payments and distributes the money accordingly. Payments are made quarterly according to the organization to which you belong.

4. Social Media Platforms:

Instagram

One of the best ways to monetize your music is by uploading it through social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. As a music artist, you can make money by allowing Instagram to use your music on people's Instagram stories. You can also unlock another revenue stream by signing up to Facebook Music and reaching large numbers of people with your music. Digital distribution platforms such as CD Baby and Distrokid can help you upload your music to Facebook and Instagram. The royalties you receive will depend on how many people use your song when you post on these platforms. I have.

TikTok

When your music is uploaded to TikTok, millions of TikTok users have agreed to use your music to make videos. You will receive a prorated cut of TikTok's subscription earnings each month. This will be calculated and recorded in the contract between the digital distributor and TikTok. This only happens when someone uses your song in a video.

The amount you receive may vary depending on the digital distributor. TikTok videos can be between 15 and 50 seconds in length, which can further affect your royalty value.

Since there are so many variables that affect profits, it is difficult to determine the exact amount of revenue you will receive from TikTok. As of June 2019, the average royalty artists received was $0.030 per video using your song. Based on this information, if your song is used 10,000 times in various videos, you will earn approximately $300.

TikTok usually pays semi-annually or annually, depending on the size of its music catalog. In my opinion, TikTok and other social media platforms are the best places to publish your music.

5. Earn money from music streaming platforms

Being able to stream your music is a game changer for your success as an artist. Allowing your fans to stream all of your latest singles can have a big impact on the revenue you earn from streaming. For example, Spotify is currently one of the most popular music streaming platforms to upload music.

Once your music is updated and available for streaming, you can help other music lovers around the world discover your music.

Spotify pays artists between $0.003 and $0.005 per song stream. The exact amount Spotify pays per stream depends on certain variables, including: Country of streams, percentage of streams brought to Spotify and time spent listening to songs.

Spotify pays according to something called Stream Share. Stream Share looks at the total number of streams on Spotify for a month in a country. This helps Spotify determine and calculate what part/percentage of these streams belongs to you. Stream share determines your share of revenue from a very large pie.

For example, if the average payment per stream is $0.004. To earn $1 you need to get 250 streams on Spotify.

"How many streams does my song need on Spotify to make $1,000?" The answer is that you need to get 250,000 streams to make $1,000 on Spotify.

How much you earn depends on whether you're signed to a label or if someone owns the copyright or recording rights to your music. It's natural to think that to get more streams, you need to get your music on more Spotify playlists.

Our platform, One Submit, helps artists promote music to playlists from six different platforms, including the option to submit music to Spotify playlists.
You can send your music to playlists in bulk, as well as customize and select the playlist size and price to suit your budget. You also have the option to submit your music to radio stations, blogs, labels, TikTok influencers and YouTube channels.

6. Making and Selling Merchandise

Merchandise sales are a great way to earn a steady income as a music artist. By selling merch online and at live performances, you can market yourself as an artist and make money at the same time. The trick to selling goods at live performances is to stop by the goods department after your live show. This gives your fans/viewers a chance to get to know you and can also help you sell your merchandise, as fans may ask for autographs on your merchandise. T-shirts, caps, hoodies , mugs, and buttons are among the most popular bestsellers among fans. If you're shy, you can ask someone to stand up for you.

Selling merchandise is an underrated income stream and could be a big factor when it comes to long-term income. Check out Bandcamp website for options to sell your merchandise online.

7. Do a live show/gig

Live performances are considered to be one of the best ways to earn money as a music artist. Artists around the world are gradually resuming live performances, as coronavirus infections drop globally in 2022. This is a really great opportunity for music artists to hit the stage again and do their best.

As I'm sure you know, more shows and more merchandise sold means more income. Venues, bars, music festivals, weddings and other private events are great opportunities for music artists to grow their following, earn good money, and promote their music all at the same time.

8. Offer membership subscriptions

Offering your fans a membership subscription allows them to access exclusive music, benefits and content from your website for a nominal monthly fee. For example, fans can access your entire discography, early access to all new music releases, and discounts on merchandise. This gives your avid fans an incentive to join your membership. Subscribing to these memberships is highly beneficial. This will create a stable source of income for the long term.

9. Brand Sponsorships and Partnerships

This tip is for more advanced artists who already have quite a few fans.

Collaborations and collaborating with brands are great opportunities to promote yourself and your music as an artist. Brand partnerships can generate significant revenue streams and allow you to work with brands you admire and want to associate yourself with. How you are perceived by the public and fans is very important, so you have to be careful about which brands you associate with.

They will most likely ask you to promote their brand through sponsored posts on your social media pages, live shows, etc.

Well-known brands like Yamaha and Marshall typically work with music artists who already have a well-established and strong following on social media.

As aspiring artist, we encourage you to reach out to local and more independent brands and negotiate potential brand deals. It's also really important to associate yourself with a brand that matches your personal brand as a music artist. Stay true to yourself as an artist without compromising your authenticity.

It is clear that all music artists have the ability to generate income from their music. However, the amount of revenue you generate is determined by the effort and time you invest as an artist, in your music and all that comes with it. just like any other profession. Whether you're a doctor or an engineer, you have to commit and stay focused if you want to succeed. If you remain persistent and diligent throughout your music career, success is inevitable.

Good luck!