How to Make Money with Music

  1. Live Performancey

    1. Concerts

    2. Festivals

    3. Corporate Shows

    4. TV Appearances

    5. House Concerts

    6. Busking

    7. Musical Theatre

    8. Kids Birthday Parties

    9. DJing

    10. Related skills: Acting, Dancing, Choreography, Comedy, etc.

  2. Tickets & Add-ons

    1. VIP Experiences

    2. Meet-n-Greets

    3. Sell tickets (lottery) for stuff instead of payment 

  3. Education & Training

    1. Music instruction

    2. Skills Training & Workshops

    3. Coaching & Mentorship

    4. Masterminds

    5. Online Classes

    6. Songwriting Camp Instructor

  4. Work-for-hire

    1. Songwriting (jingles, demos, ghost writing, topline, theme music, film scoring, etc.)

    2. Session Musician/Vocalist

    3. Music Production (production, mixing, mastering, etc.)

    4. Studio Recording / Sound Engineer / Recording studio (and equipment) rentals and services

    5. Sound Library

    6. Lyricist

    7. Audio Editing (Audiobooks, podcasts, Audio Logos

    8. Voice-over/dubbing / Voice Acting

    9. Beat-making Fiverr.com, SoundBetter.com, UpWork.com, etc.

  5. Merchandise

    1. Physical inventory (stickers, posters, bracelets, pins, t-shirts, drinks, snacks, etc., )

    2. Print-on-demand drop shipping (bigcartel.com + printify.com, Shopify.com + SquareSpace.com, etc.)

    3. Digital Merchandising (NFTs, IP/copyright sales, etc.)

    4. Templates

  6. Licensing

    1. Sync licensing (Movies, commercials, PSAs, radio ads, MusicSupervisor.com, etc.)

    2. Image licensing for merchandising (corporate partners, sponsors, etc.)

    3. Licensing of musical compositions

  7. Sponsorship, Partnerships, Product Placements (corporate partners, sponsors, etc.)

  8. Music Sales (Band camp, Bandzoogle, Soundcloud, etc.)

  9. Music Royalties

    1. Songwriting

      1. Publishing (BMI, ASCAP, SOCAN, etc.)

      2. Sub Publishing

    2. Performance

    3. Public performance royalties

    4. Mechanical royalties

    5. Master Ownership / Licensing

    6. SubmitHub

  10. Fan Funding – Patronage, Subscriptions, Viewer Donations (Patreon.com, OnlyFans.com, Twitch.com, etc.)Fan club memberships and subscriptions

  11. Crowdfunding (GoFundMe.com, KickStarter.com, IndieGoGo.com, etc.)

  12. Brand partnerships (Product placement, endorsements, sponsorship)

  13. Ad revenue (Ad Words, YouTube Partner program, Blog ads, etc.)

  14. Affiliate Marketing (Rakuten, Shopify, Amazon Affiliates, etc.)

  15. Project Funding (art organizations, governments, sponsors, etc.)

  16. Paid Fan Engagement / Cameo Appearances (Cameo.com)

  17. Artist Residencies (art organizations, governments, etc.)

  18. Advances (Record Deals, Publishing Contracts, etc.)

  19. Self-organized events (festivals)

  20. Notation / Sale of sheet music

  21. Commissioned work

    1. Music Production

    2. Beatmaking

    3. Co-writing

  22. Publishing fees (if you register/collect for other artists)

  23. Sale of music equipment and instruments

  24. Music Therapy

  25. Start a music-adjacent careers

    1. Music researcher:

    2. Music lawyer:

    3. Create a label

    4. Music journalist / Blogging

    5. Film Director 

    6. Playwright

    7. Social Media Marketer

    8. Copywriter

    9. Painting

    10. Sculpture

    11. Photographer

    12. Fashion Designer

    13. Live sound and lighting services

    14. Consulting services for music businesses

    15. Advertising Agency

    16. Music supervision for TV shows and movies