Most people live in the corporate world: they start their jobs at 9 in the morning and leave the office by 5 pm. These people might not understand that there are so many other creative ways to make money. Your parents, friends, or teachers might be like this. If you have ever heard from them that it is impossible to start your music career from zero and make a fortune on it, you can show them this article to prove that they are wrong.
Music career, like any other career, requires dedication and creativity. There are a lot of ways how you can use your talent and do what you love, while being able to pay off your bills. This is how you can jumpstart your music career and start making money:
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Create your brand from scratch
You are the only one who can build your way up to fame. The stories about open-minded producers picking up poor singers from the street are brand stories that aimed to sell. In the real world, all musicians had auditions, PR manages and hours of waiting in the line.
Let people know that you are a talented and ambitious musician. So, every time someone googles ‘duo Durham’ or ‘cover singer New York’, they will see the website of your band!
To create your brand on the Internet, you should be active on every single social media platform that people use these days: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Snapchat, and even Linkedin. So, at first, you should create your accounts, add some pictures, and upload your music. The second step would be to write your story. Don’t hesitate to share some details of your personal life (related to music) or make up some! Being visible online will help you find your potential fans and experienced musicians to collaborate with.
Your YouTube channel should be your portfolio. Take it seriously: delete all the videos that are not related to music, make a YouTube intro, and upload high-quality videos of you singing or playing music. Don’t worry if you don’t have a lot of original songs; you can always make cover songs (these are very popular on YouTube nowadays!).
Also, it is necessary to create your website so that other people can treat you seriously. In the beginning, covering social media will take a lot of time. However, once you build your small community, you will be in a position to give up most of the social media platforms and handle only the one you prefer ( e.g., Instagram or YouTube).
Start making money with music
Finding your fans might take some time. However, you don’t need to be famous to start earning money from your musicAt first, you can give private voice lessons or music lessons in your city. To promote your lessons, you can make a couple of videos for Youtube so that people can see how you teach. Feel free to offer your music lessons in the local Facebook groups.
Once you are ready to play live music, find local bars, restaurants, hotels, and shopping malls where you can perform. Start with something small. For instance, play your first gig on Monday or Tuesday – there will not be so many people on these days, but at least you will have a chance to get familiar with the situation. Keep in mind that some bars or hotels will not be able to provide you with equipment so you will have to bring your own.
You should start playing covers at weddings and birthday parties. These shows can pay off your monthly bills pretty fast, so use this opportunity. If you don’t have a band and can’t find people who would be interested in a solo player, you can become a DJ.
The bottom line
It is almost impossible to find people who don’t like listening to music. Every theatre play, movie, TV advertising should have a soundtrack.
It is always difficult to start because you don’t know what you should do in the first place. To stand out of the crowd, put yourself on the Web, tell your story, and keep uploading your work.
Eventually, you will get there. Let your guitar and microphone pay your bills – start your music career today!
About Carson Derrow
