I was writing an email to a friend last night, and we were talking about my music on Bandcamp. He asked if I make any money from this, and I explained that the business of putting music up online and expecting to make money is not feasible at this stage in my career. It’s also not the end goal when I sit down to write these days.
There are still people doing getting by on digital sales (albeit a small number), and it’s certainly possible if you create the right mix of marketing, touring, and most importantly, putting out good tracks.
I do believe it’s important for musicians to be compensated some way or another, no matter what the strategy is. For some people they are interested in financial rewards, and others might be more interested in emotional ones. No matter what though, rewards help grow and sustain careers.
Regardless of what you seek to acheive, sometimes we have to look beyond the mp3 (look to the cookie Jerry!). I’d like to offer you 45 ways we can try to do that.
Some of these ideas do not make money in themselves, and some of them involve digital music, but all of these can lead to benefits somewhere else in the chain.
2. Write an e-book on lessons you’ve learned in the music business
3. Start an online course – either focused on performance or business
4. Run a workshop in person
5. Design synth and fx patches
6. Design (Ableton) Live sets and either sell them stock or customized to the user based on what controller they use and what kind of music they are performing
7. Produce sample libraries
8. Build iPhone and mobile utilities (chord finder, inspiration deck) – are you tapping into the Android market ?
9. Build a music game (Flash still works well for this)
10. Write a comic book that comes bundled with a CD
11. Develop websites for other artists
12. Develop Wordpress themes that are dedicated to artists who want to post their music easily
13. Write an e-book on developing Wordpress themes that are dedicated to posting your music easily (affilliate link on the first)
14. Produce tutorial videos on developing Wordpress themes that are dedicated to posting your music easily
15. Design album art and promo materials for other artists
16. Start your own music unconference following the Podcamp model
17. Build a proper blog with ads. Not one that sits on your artist site like the piece of junk you’re currently reading.
18. Build a blog with opinions so great that audio manufacturers and record labels feel compelled to hire you
19. Write for a blog that pays its writers
20. Write for a magazine that pays its writers (tumbleweeds?)
21. Design T-Shirts, but not just ones with your band name on it – really cool ones!
22. Make a CD that does something unconventional, like folds out into a boardgame
23. Build a hardware music player, that only plays your music
24. Curate really good concert listings that deliver relevant picks to your users, and sell it as a small subscription ($1.99/month)
25. Sell tutorial materials on circuit bending like Make Magazine
26. Start a podcast where you pay for exclusive mixes, and sell it as a subscription
27. Have you written a lot of tracks this year? Why not start a service where you produce, mix and ship custom albums for your fans?
28. Do session recording for people remotely (keys, guitar, mixing)
29. Give lessons on playing instruments or using software to people in your city in person (classic musician income!)
30. Press vinyl and make the album artwork really good
31. Produce audio books for authors that don’t have one made yet. Have a team of really good voice talent (watch out this might end up as a mp3 ;) )
32. Produce radio dramas, really funny ones
33. Do PR for other musicians who need the help. Write album descriptions and press releases because it’s the last thing artists and labels want to do.
34. Curate compilation CDs of really rare music. Chase after obscure and defunct labels to attain rights. Carry on a legacy that might die otherwise.
35. Raise money for a cause that you truly believe in (learn about the non-profit world)
36. Open a bar that features the best music in your town
37. Start a service that connects really good musicians with businesses that need them like wedding bands (learn about the recruiting world)
38. Sell your services as a remixer. But do it for genres that are untapped
39. Build an app that helps musicians track their finances (musicians don’t track finances the same way that normal people do)
40. Build an app that helps musicians keep track of their contacts (musicians can’t do anything the same way that normal people do).
41. Write music for mobile apps, films, or vlogs. Give away music for free to promote your work in this area, or sell stock
42. Pick anything on the list above, but be really persistent with people. Nag them until they give in
43. Pick anything on the list above, but actually do your work and follow through with the idea
44. Pick anything on the list above, but try to wake up before noon so you actually have a few hours to do get something done
45. Pick anything on the list above, but do so with the intention of sustaining a long term relationship with your fans and not to sit on a pile of money and smoke sleezy cigars. Having good intentions helps sustain a long and prosperous career, while having poor intentions will cause you to fail sooner or later.
If you look at the list above, you can see that the death of the traditional business model was not such a bad thing because the constraints helps us become more innovative. In times like these, musicians learn to be the most well-rounded and professional.
Of course everything is a cycle, but let’s hope that we don’t repeat the same mistakes again.
Do you have any ideas for how to earn a living in music, aside from selling mp3 albums?