IndieBiz- Diversify Your Revenue Streams

“If I develop five ways around the music to make money, then if I eventually get paid for the music itself, then I just found a sixth” - Timmy Grins, cofounder and vice president of Content at OnLoq.com, at the recent Digital Music Forum in Los Angeles.

That statement is revealing, and certainly a sign of the times in the music industry. Now, I do think that artists should still make money directly from their music, but reading this quote was a reminder of how important it is for artists to diversify their revenue streams.

Many artists focus nearly all of their energy on making and selling their CD. That’s totally understandable, because that’s your baby, that’s your music, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Well, yes and no. It really depends on what your goals are with your career. If you’re playing music as a hobby, then great, that’s totally awesome! I think music is one of the greatest gifts in life, and I have tremendous respect for anybody that spends time creating it and sharing it with the world. So you can record a CD, press up some copies and sell them to friends and family, which many artists do.

But if you want to try to earn a living from your music, then that’s a different story. Because if you’re expecting to make all of your money just off of CD sales, then chances are you’re going to be bitterly disappointed. In today’s music industry, you’re going to have to find several ways to generate income to have a full-time career.

So how do you go about doing this? Well, here are 10 ways you can generate income:

1. Live Shows & Touring
2. CD Sales at Live Shows
3. CD Sales Online
4. CD Sales in stores
5. Digital Downloads
6. Ringtones
7. Licensing
8. Merchandise
9. Songwriting Royalties
10. Sponsorships

Each of these could have a blog post written about them, but it gives you a good idea of the various ways you can create income streams in your career. On my website I have free resource listings with the best websites and services that I’ve come across that can help with each of these.

But besides those 10 ways to generate income from your music, there are always other ways to make money as a musician, like:

• Studio Gigs for other artists
• Giving music lessons
• Playing in other bands
• Busking

These might not be ideal, but they’re still music-related, and for most people they sure beat working a day job!

The bottom line is that the days of record sales being the primary income generator for artists are long over, and this is true for major label artists as well, as they generate far more money from tours and sponsorships than from recorded music sales. Madonna recently leaving Warner Music to sign a lucrative deal with Live Nation, essentially a touring company, is a sure indication of that new reality.

So if you’re looking to make a full-time living from your music, give yourself every opportunity to succeed by making your music available in a variety of different ways, as well as getting out there to play live shows and having merchandise available to your fans. Individually some of these revenues can be small, but altogether they can add up to a healthy income.

Cheers,

Dave Cool
Founder, Stand Alone Records
“Encouraging Artists NOT to Sign Record Deals!”
www.standalonerecords.com

Free Artist Resources:
www.standalonerecords.com/resources.cfm

Your Successful CD Release:
www.standalonerecords.com/cdrelease.cfm

“What is INDIE? A Look into the World of Independent Musicians”:
www.standalonerecords.com/whatisindie.cfm