4 Types Of Paid Singing Jobs Which Could Boost Your Income
I'm sure there aren't many singers who would turn down chart positions and a full time living from their songs. That said, it's not easy to get to this stage, and it can often take a while till you're earning even a part time living from your music.
Did you know though that you could use your ability to sing to make money in ways other then releasing your own music? Well you can, there are jobs for singers all over the world! Whether you're from NYC, London, Mumbai, Chicago, or anywhere else, there are paid job opportunities out there for you.
With this in mind, in this guide I'll be showing you some jobs you can get using your singing talents. Using one or all of the below ideas, you can start earning more money from your vocal talents. So, have a read to the bottom for some top singing jobs you can work on getting right now.
But first, if it's your aim to do music professionally, you'll want to check out our free ebook while it's still available:
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Contents
Get A Job As A Singing Teacher
If you're a good singer, you may want to consider teaching singing as a job. Out of the four examples I'm going to show you, this could potentially bring you the most steady income. That said, it's might also be the hardest to get into on a professional level.
The idea behind being a singing teacher is easy: You teach other people how to sing. You can either do this in terms of being a freelancer and looking for your own clients, or you can do it in terms of working for a school (Or with schools) and offering your services to their students. Furthermore, you could do a combination of both.
In order to become a singing teacher, you first need to take a singing teacher course and gain a relevant qualification. While not everyone does this, there are two main reasons I recommend you do:
- Just because you can sing, it doesn't mean you'll be able to teach someone else to do the same. Often you'll find that you skip over important parts because you think it's common sense. That said, a complete beginner may need to be told something, but you may not even think to tell them as it's something that's already second nature to you.
- As with most jobs, there's competition with getting clients to pick you over other teachers. As this is the case, you'll want to have as many things going for you as possible so you stand out from the crowd. If you have an official teaching qualification, this will give you the advantage over teachers who don't have one.
There are a number of courses which can teach you how to become a singing teacher, so do a Google search in your country for ones you can enroll on.
Become A Wedding Singer (Or Event Singer)
Weddings happen all the time, and often the bride and groom want a live singer as entertainment for their guests. This is where you can come in.
Not only is it fun to do these types of job, they can also pay a good price and help boost your music related income. People are often willing to spend more on things then normal on their big day, so even if you only get a few jobs a month, it can still add up and help with your income.
You can either look for wedding singing jobs yourself, or you can join up with a agency who will find you jobs and take a cut of the profit. If you decide to go it alone, see an example of a wedding singer here for the kind of thing you can do.
Now I won't lie to you, competition for wedding gigs are pretty fierce. There are a lot of people who want to do these jobs, and there are only so many weddings to go around. That said, it's still possible to break into, and possible to stand out if you offer both a good service and are good at what you do.
Using the advice on this website in terms of marketing, you should be able to make yourself stand out more and help spread the word about the service you're offering. If you want some tips on this, leave a question in the comments section below.
Become A Backing Singer
As well as being a source of income, becoming a backing singer is a great way to meet singers of influence. Do backing vocals for a well known singer, and you could add their name to your music CV (People who you've worked with).
A backing singer is someone who does backing vocals for another singer at gigs and live shows. The aim is to both make the stage look more lively, as well as to make the vocals sound better then one person could make them alone.
You mike is usually lower then the main singer's, and you can only sing specific parts of the song. This is usually parts of the chorus, or any parts the main singer wants to emphasize.
Many great singers have started out doing backing singer jobs for other musicians. While you're not in front of the spotlight yourself, you do still get up on stage at performances and get your face out there. What's more, you get paid for this as well.
As with the last job, backing singer jobs can be found by you personally, or through a agency. If you go the agency route, they will generally look for work for you, so you can focus on turning up to the jobs, learning what you need to do, and performing to the best of your ability.
Even if you do go with a agency, I suggest you also look for your own work as well. Not only do agencies take a cut of the profits, but sometimes they'll favor certain singers on their books and only recommend them for work. If you're one of those that doesn't get recommend as much, then of course that's not good for you.
Become A Entertainer
Similar to become a wedding or event singer, you can also get work as a entertainer. The difference with this however, is the title covers a lot more jobs.
As an entertainer, you're not only limited to singing at events. There are a lot of places who need singers to entertain their guests, clients and patience. Some of these are:
- Hotels And Holiday Resorts. Often hotels and holiday resorts such as Butlins hire singers to entertain their guest.
- Schools. Schools provide a great opportunity to get your music out there to a young and excited audience. Primary school children are still open to new music, and have the power to persuade their partners to buy them music (Over downloading it). If your music is child friendly and something they'll take to, you can make some nice money for performing in schools.
- Old People's Homes. Old people's homes often hire entertainers to keep their residents busy. These kind of jobs can work well when mixed with the other singing related jobs. If you manage to get a residency then this work becomes more stable.
- Pubs And Bars. Some pubs and bars run themed or entertainment nights where they need singers. As with the above, you can get hired to perform at these nights, either as a cover act or as yourself. As with old people's homes, if you can secure a residency, the money becomes that bit more steady.
There are also other places which hire singers as entertainers, so keep your eyes peeled.
Conclusion
So there you have it, four paid singing related jobs you could be doing. While going for chart success is all good, if you aren't there yet and want to make money from your ability to sing, one or all of the above may be the answer.
So what other types of paid singing jobs do you know about? Let me know in the comments section below.
P.S. Remember though, none of what you've learned will matter if you don't know how to get your music out there and earn from it. Want to learn how to do that? Then get our free ‘5 Steps To Profitable Youtube Music Career' ebook emailed directly to you!
Also a Singer Waiter which is not a long slot but pays well.
You can go the DIY route building vocal boxes and roadieing for another band. Or doing event security. Just some odd jobs I do to keep my head above water 🙂
Nice one, thanks for sharing Refiper! 😀
You could add a 5th one – demo singer. Depending on where you live being a session singer for other’s songs can pay as well. I usually charge $100-200 a tune I record. Just another tip 🙂
Nice, thanks for the additional suggestion Jessica. 🙂