For many musicians that started their careers before 2000, album sales were their primary money makers. Live performances came in second while copyright sales kicked in at third. In this age of the Internet, things are a little bit different.
Some artists make most of their money from brand partnerships. Others make a living from YouTube advertisements. In other words, there’s a full range of ways to monetize your songs these days. Below are some of them.
Streaming
Musicians often have differing opinions about streaming as a source of income. Some artists believe this is the best way to make money in 2021. Others believe there’s just too little money on platforms like YouTube and Spotify.
So, what’s the truth? Streaming shouldn’t be an artist’s only way of making money. On YouTube, you get paid through adverts. Usually, singers with the most views make the most money from the platform.
Owing to that backdrop, upcoming artists can take months before they earn a meaningful amount of money from streaming apps. That said, you can publish your songs on a variety of apps to increase your earning potential. Also, we’ve included the amount of money to expect per stream.
Royalties
The beauty of creating music is that you can copyright your work. This way, everyone who wants to use your songs, beats or brand name need to pay you royalties to do so. That includes brands that advertise using your songs, radios and TVs that play your music to video games with similar intentions.
Despite that, many artists don’t maximum this source of income. Most people know about royalties from media stations. But they often don’t monetize their works from video games, corporates and festivals.
In all fairness, copyrighting music content is a long and tedious process. It is best done by professionals. Not only will they do it right but they can help you maximize your income every time someone or a brand uses your content.
Collaborating With Casino Software Providers
That’s right. You can have a casino developer create a slot inspired by your work. But you need to be popular enough—Motorhead, KISS or Jimi Hendrix popular. The folks at Microgaming have created some classics inspired by popular rock bands and individual artists.
For example, the Isle of Man-based developer recently created a slot inspired by Canada’s DJ and music producer Deadmau5. The game celebrates Deadmau5’s hit songs, from 4Ware to Monophobia.
Microgaming aside, developer NetEnt has slots based on Jimi Hendrix, Guns N’ Roses and Motorhead. Usually, developers acquire licenses that need to be renewed regularly. If a game makes money, they renew the license. If it fails to perform, they cancel the permit.
With that in mind, music branded slots don’t payout as highly as regular video slots. That’s because casinos need to make enough profits to share with artists. All the same, the games are fun and exciting to play especially if you love the musicians involved.
Brand Endorsement Deals
If you’re a marketable artist, you could make brand endorsements your primary source of income. That’s because big corporations like Coca Cola and Pepsi are willing to pay you tens of millions of dollars to be associated with you.
According to Business Insider, Taylor Swift is the most marketable artist in 2021. Her endorsement deals include Diet Coke, Sony, Cover Girl and Keds. Justin Timberlake, despite not releasing songs often, has a multi-million deal with MasterCard.
Lady Gaga, on the other hand, is a brand ambassador for Virgin Mobile, Hewlett-Packard, and Doritos. Artists like Katy Perry, Beyonce, Snoop Dogg and Nick Jonas also boasts of corporate deals worth millions of dollars.
Similar to casino software deals, attracting brand endorsement deal comes after you’re famous and successful. Companies pay artists so that they can help market the company’s products.
If you’re not famous, then you don’t have an audience to influence. And that means you can’t help bigger brands make money. The solution: work on growing your brand and social media following to attract sponsors.
Live Shows
These days, musicians make money through live shows than any other source of revenue. This explains why some artists lost plenty of income last year: COVID-19 led to lockdowns that shut down all forms of outdoor performances.
All the same, the amount of money you can make through live shows depends on multiple factors. Let’s start with your marketability. A big brand like Taylor Swift will likely attract more revellers than an upcoming artist. In turn, Taylor Swift will get paid more.
Sometimes event organizers pay artists a flat fee bar for incredibly famous musicians. So, you might not be as popular as Ed Sheeran, but you could end up earning more than you usually do because a promoter believes you deserve the pay.
That said, there’s no secret to making a lot of money in tours. You need to work on the quality of your music, at least create a fanbase. Then you have to seek out music performance gigs regularly.
Work for Hire
The average musician can write, edit, produce, choreograph and even direct a song. Interestingly, these are all different ways to make money. And lots of artists capitalize on them.
All you need is to make yourself available to other artists. Of course, you also need to prove you have the talent you’re looking for. If an artist needs a backup singer and you can play the role, you could even pitch for the role.
If you have over a dozen songs you think would be better off sang by someone else, try to sell these songs. You could earn royalties from your work for the rest of your life.
Another benefit of working for others is that it’s a way of growing your brand. This is particularly true while working with more famous artists. Sure, you might have to pay a few of them to appear in their songs. But with time, they will come looking for your services.
Streaming
Musicians often have differing opinions about streaming as a source of income. Some artists believe this is the best way to make money in 2021. Others believe there’s just too little money on platforms like YouTube and Spotify.
So, what’s the truth? Streaming shouldn’t be an artist’s only way of making money. On YouTube, you get paid through adverts. Usually, singers with the most views make the most money from the platform.
Owing to that backdrop, upcoming artists can take months before they earn a meaningful amount of money from streaming apps. That said, you can publish your songs on a variety of apps to increase your earning potential. Also, we’ve included the amount of money to expect per stream.
- Napster—$0.019
- Tidal—$0.0125
- Spotify—$0.03
- YouTube—$0.00437
- Apple Music—$0.0056
Royalties
The beauty of creating music is that you can copyright your work. This way, everyone who wants to use your songs, beats or brand name need to pay you royalties to do so. That includes brands that advertise using your songs, radios and TVs that play your music to video games with similar intentions.
Despite that, many artists don’t maximum this source of income. Most people know about royalties from media stations. But they often don’t monetize their works from video games, corporates and festivals.
In all fairness, copyrighting music content is a long and tedious process. It is best done by professionals. Not only will they do it right but they can help you maximize your income every time someone or a brand uses your content.
Collaborating With Casino Software Providers
That’s right. You can have a casino developer create a slot inspired by your work. But you need to be popular enough—Motorhead, KISS or Jimi Hendrix popular. The folks at Microgaming have created some classics inspired by popular rock bands and individual artists.
For example, the Isle of Man-based developer recently created a slot inspired by Canada’s DJ and music producer Deadmau5. The game celebrates Deadmau5’s hit songs, from 4Ware to Monophobia.
Microgaming aside, developer NetEnt has slots based on Jimi Hendrix, Guns N’ Roses and Motorhead. Usually, developers acquire licenses that need to be renewed regularly. If a game makes money, they renew the license. If it fails to perform, they cancel the permit.
With that in mind, music branded slots don’t payout as highly as regular video slots. That’s because casinos need to make enough profits to share with artists. All the same, the games are fun and exciting to play especially if you love the musicians involved.
Brand Endorsement Deals
If you’re a marketable artist, you could make brand endorsements your primary source of income. That’s because big corporations like Coca Cola and Pepsi are willing to pay you tens of millions of dollars to be associated with you.
According to Business Insider, Taylor Swift is the most marketable artist in 2021. Her endorsement deals include Diet Coke, Sony, Cover Girl and Keds. Justin Timberlake, despite not releasing songs often, has a multi-million deal with MasterCard.
Lady Gaga, on the other hand, is a brand ambassador for Virgin Mobile, Hewlett-Packard, and Doritos. Artists like Katy Perry, Beyonce, Snoop Dogg and Nick Jonas also boasts of corporate deals worth millions of dollars.
Similar to casino software deals, attracting brand endorsement deal comes after you’re famous and successful. Companies pay artists so that they can help market the company’s products.
If you’re not famous, then you don’t have an audience to influence. And that means you can’t help bigger brands make money. The solution: work on growing your brand and social media following to attract sponsors.
Live Shows
These days, musicians make money through live shows than any other source of revenue. This explains why some artists lost plenty of income last year: COVID-19 led to lockdowns that shut down all forms of outdoor performances.
All the same, the amount of money you can make through live shows depends on multiple factors. Let’s start with your marketability. A big brand like Taylor Swift will likely attract more revellers than an upcoming artist. In turn, Taylor Swift will get paid more.
Sometimes event organizers pay artists a flat fee bar for incredibly famous musicians. So, you might not be as popular as Ed Sheeran, but you could end up earning more than you usually do because a promoter believes you deserve the pay.
That said, there’s no secret to making a lot of money in tours. You need to work on the quality of your music, at least create a fanbase. Then you have to seek out music performance gigs regularly.
Work for Hire
The average musician can write, edit, produce, choreograph and even direct a song. Interestingly, these are all different ways to make money. And lots of artists capitalize on them.
All you need is to make yourself available to other artists. Of course, you also need to prove you have the talent you’re looking for. If an artist needs a backup singer and you can play the role, you could even pitch for the role.
If you have over a dozen songs you think would be better off sang by someone else, try to sell these songs. You could earn royalties from your work for the rest of your life.
Another benefit of working for others is that it’s a way of growing your brand. This is particularly true while working with more famous artists. Sure, you might have to pay a few of them to appear in their songs. But with time, they will come looking for your services.
