This is the first in a three part series looking at how to form a band. If you’ve decided you don’t want to be a solo act and are instead interested in putting together a professional or semi-professional band with the aim of gigging regularly and making money, this is the guide for you. It’s…
Playing gigs at restaurants is yet another way musicians and artists can make extra money with their musical abilities. I started playing lounge piano type gigs when I was 17, and still do it today. It supplemented my income while I was in university, and it supplemented my diet as well – I always work…
Becoming a private music teacher is a very common way for musicians in all walks of life to make a living, or to simply make a little bit of extra money on the side. There are many benefits associated with teaching privately. You can make your own hours – often teachers will work as little…
Finding sponsors for your music event is both essential and challenging. It’s not easy to ask businesses or individuals to part with their hard-earned money – even if it is for a genuine advertising opportunity. But sponsors are essential in providing cash flow for an event that doesn’t make money until you start selling tickets….
Teaching music lessons via Skype, FaceTime, and Google Hangouts has become increasingly popular in the digital age. It’s convenient for student and teacher alike. Teachers can teach out of the comfort of their own home. They can control exactly how long the lessons last and they don’t need to spend time and resources getting to…
Once you’ve gained some experience as a studio engineer or producer and you’ve set up your own recording studio, it’s only natural that you’re going to want to start working with paying clients. But as with anything else, the “build it and they will come” philosophy tends to fall short. You must do more than…
Musicians, like many entrepreneurs, are always looking for passive income streams. Passive income is income that you earn without actively working for it, often on a product that took work on the front end, but then earns money on the back end without your constant involvement. Many artists already have passive income, when you think…
Gigging is the most common way musicians make money, and it’s been this way since the dawn of time. People love hearing live music, and musicians love playing it. It’s a match made in heaven! That said, in today’s economy, it’s getting harder and harder to make money gigging. The simple fact is: musicians aren’t…
Teaching music lessons is an awesome way to supplement or provide yourself with an income as a musician. Whether you’re teaching for the love of teaching, or teaching to supplement the income you make from gigging/pursuing an original project, there’s no question it’s a great way to make extra money. The market for guitar lessons…
Many beginner and intermediate guitarists find soloing to be a unique challenge. Within any band with two guitarists, there often is a “rhythm” guitarist and a “lead” guitarist, even if they happen to trade off those roles at times. That’s for good reason. In most cases, the lead guitarist has a bigger bag of tricks…
Record labels are a powerful force in the music industry – they always have been. These days, there are more labels than ever, and more stories about record labels “dying off” than ever before. While it’s certainly true that labels have it harder these days, it’s not at all true that they’ve died out or…
Writing songs is hard. Identifying a creative process that works for you is hard. Sometimes, the words just don’t come out and you can’t think of anything to say. I think the challenges associated with writing and creating aren’t talked about enough. Everyone wants it to be easy, or maybe just look easy, but a…
Writing lyrics is a real art. In fact, writing truly great lyrics is basically a separate skill from writing great songs. A great song is made up of many different parts. The structure and arrangement. The melodies, hooks, and rhythmic variations. The harmony. And then, the lyrics. There are countless great songs with meaningless or…
Booking gigs without putting any effort into it? How absurd! And yet, I’ve had to book very few of my own gigs in the last seven years (if any), and I’ve still had more than my fair share of well-paying and creatively fulfilling gigs. So, I’m here to tell you that it is possible. I’m…
The golden era of music videos is now behind us. MTV doesn’t play them anymore, MuchMusic doesn’t play them anymore, and even the country stations (who held out the longest) are switching formats. More and more, people are consuming their music on Spotify and Apple Music. That said, YouTube remains the most popular way for…