Is it attainable so that you can earn a residing as a musician at this time in the event 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 in the event you perceive the state of music income in 2025, this text include 13 truths about incomes cash as a musician.
Driving your individual artistic & enterprise success on the similar time isn’t straightforward.
It’s important to put on not less than two hats effectively: artist and entrepreneur.
And in a subject that evolves as quickly because the music {industry} (which stands on the intersection of expertise, tradition, advertising, and extra), you’ve acquired 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, information, arduous work, and continued curiosity, listed here are 13 issues you must know proper now in an effort to develop your music earnings.
13 arduous truths about incomes cash in music
The purpose of this checklist is that can assist you see via 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 in that 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’ll make you cash.
Music will not 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 on.), you’ll have to work to create demand in your music. If you happen to 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}” might be very totally different from what’s good for you.
Generally the music {industry} and particular person creators have totally different wants and needs. 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, in the end, pay your individual payments. Give attention to what’s greatest for you and take headlines and quotes from CEOs with a grain of salt.
That being stated, I feel the latest LUMINATE report did a fantastic job conveying large industry-wide stats whereas additionally telling a extra detailed and inspiring story about lesser-known artists.
3: Getting cash from music is an element thriller. It’s an artform, in addition to a science.
What turns into standard will not be predictable. What labored yesterday doesn’t all the time work at this time. 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 may come from.
Use this to gas creativity, and don’t be afraid to strive new issues. And as they are saying in advertising circles, “check, check, check.”
4: Make it straightforward for individuals to provide you cash.
Critically. Are you… promoting stuff? If not, your first downside is making issues — music, merch, concert events, experiences — that you’ll be able to really promote to followers.
Then it’s essential to constantly create presents. Compelling presents. Subsequent, talk these presents. Ship provide electronic mail. Publish webstore hyperlinks in your social bios. Announce merch at gigs. Promote merch on Spotify. And in every single place else.
Lastly, while you do make presents, you must give followers choices. Not everybody needs a big black t-shirt, so have dimension and colour 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 cling.
The purpose is: Many artists underperform on the income facet as a result of they only aren’t giving followers a chance to pay them.
5: Any deal an artist indicators can have critical monetary implications.
There’s 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 might this association imply for my music in 25 years?”
The trade-offs might be effectively price it. However ask the arduous questions BEFORE you signal a deal.
6: Standard 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 discovered 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 distinct sport at a distinct stage.
When somebody well-known talks about not incomes any cash from tens of hundreds of thousands of streams, take into accout, 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 have been on the tune? All that and extra can complicate the income state of affairs, when in comparison with an unbiased 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 facet of the {industry} works.
7: Your private preferences round music consumption may lead you to missed alternatives.
You is likely to be getting in the best way of extra income, in the event you assume that every one your attainable followers behave similar to you do. As an artist who additionally listens to music, you will have particular preferences. However you won’t 100% match your viewers in these preferences.
For instance, you may assume nobody purchases CDs since you solely hearken to streaming, whereas CDs are nonetheless an enormous income for artists. You may 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. Check the waters. And transfer within the path that generates essentially the most income.
8: You (most likely) received’t make a residing from one tune. Give attention to constructing a catalog.
Many of the unbiased artists I’ve seen succeed over time made a strong residing as a result of they constructed a large catalog of songs. This, after all, offers them extra probabilities to create hit songs, but in addition boosts the quantity of tracks that may be licensed, streamed, performed at concert events, and so on.
So each time they launched new music, their followers might return and hearken 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’ve got 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 may 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 need your music to be a full-time job, effort and time should constantly be on the stage you’d count on from a “common” job.
11. In an effort to maximize music income, it’s a must to inform individuals precisely what to do.
As artists we battle to provide followers clear instructions. However individuals should be informed, proven, guided. That’s the ability of a giant, shiny button with an apparent call-to-action on web sites or emails.
Some artists battle to be clear and direct as a result of we lack confidence in our music or provide. Others may really feel like we glance uncool or desparate if we ask followers to take an motion. And for an additional 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 the best way to do the factor!
12. One viral video doesn’t equal sustainable income.
Attempting to engineer one large, viral video hit? I imply, okay, that’s effective. 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 all the time have an apparent technique to rework that spotlight into true followers and prospects, not to mention a full-time residing.
As an alternative, 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 identification, passions, and abilities. It’s about momentum, and it’s about the fitting followers being there for the fitting causes: As a result of they like what YOU do.
Don’t chase memes and traits. Discover a extra compelling technique to be YOU on digicam. After which slowly construct your social advertising efforts round that. The continued course of will doubtless have a larger impression than making an attempt to engineer one viral video. And that’s the best way to construct an “genuine” social model that results in actual income.
13. Simply because it labored for Taylor Swift, doesn’t imply it’ll give you the results you want.
Trying to superstars for classes in success could be a blended bag.
When Radiohead dropped In Rainbows at no cost 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… (effectively, possibly don’t strive that one both).
The purpose is: There are economies of scale at play with celebrity artists. Which means 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 determine an in depth relationship with their viewers.
What works for them won’t give you the results you want. However the reverse can be true. You possibly can take sure probabilities they’ll’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, finances, or group that superstars do. There might by methods to make use of that to your benefit!
Key takeaways
Listed below are 4 issues to bear in mind 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. Check assumptions, advertising techniques, and even artistic approaches.
- And lastly, in the event you need assistance spreading the phrase about your music, use music promo instruments to provide your message a lift!
Wish to study extra about your revenue-generating choices as a musician at this time?
Take a look at “75 methods to generate profits in music.”