THE BEAST

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has created a worldwide panic for business owners, especially smaller entrepreneurs, like independent musicians. Performing live music at gigs was one of the best ways to promote their sound and be heard within their local communities. 

Musicians discovered with the shutdown of public appearances and concerts, they could no longer sustain their incomes and were forced to find other ways to keep their music businesses going. Creativity was essential in finding and implementing new ways to earn money and learning new systems, software, and taking to the internet.

The online world opened up many new aspects of how musicians could easily stay within their music industry and continue to share their music. Here are some of the creative ways that musicians have continued to keep music at the forefront of their business and drive new revenue streams.

Teaching Online Music Classes

Musicians who execute patience with others and enjoy helping others to learn have turned to teaching online music classes . The experience can be rewarding, and it requires some knowledge of online video conference platforms, like Zoom or Skype.

Artists provide their students with one-on-one sessions, helping them develop their skills on a particular instrument or with their voice, and learn valuable music theory and fundamentals. You can even break up the monotony of the one-on-one classes and make some group courses to bring more people together. In addition, you can earn money easily by charging your students per lesson.

Online Music Courses or Masterclasses

Much like teaching students online, musicians have also created multiple video modules geared towards one specific goal. Then, they string them together in a lesson-like setting and promote the entire course or masterclass for purchase online. 

If you decide to develop your own course, it is an excellent option for generating passive income. Passive income means that once you have created all of your videos and put them together for the workshop, you can simply promote and allow the course or masterclass to be purchased over and over again. 

Marketing through your social media platforms and with current students, you can obtain generous income that continues to come. You might only have to make few minor changes here and there to update the course as time passes. Some musicians have even taken to creating subscriptions in groups, where they pay monthly and are provided with some kind of new technique, course, or tangible advice. The essential element in creating this kind of music-focused channel for people to purchase is that you need to ensure you provide some sort of value that is helpful to those within the music realm.

CREATE YOUR OWN YOUTUBE CHANNEL

If you compose your own music as a musician, you should already have a YouTube channel established. It is a simple way to record and have your music heard by millions as the largest video-streaming platform on the internet. YouTube is also fantastic for businesses because it helps grow brand awareness, and you can keep your fans updated and anticipating new releases or performances. In addition, you can set up charity live streams to have fans contribute.

The YouTube Partner Program allows you to monetize by having sponsorships for your channel. As long as you have a following of at least 1,000 subscribers, you begin getting payments. It will take some time to build up your fanbase, but the more content you post and the consistency of your uploads will aid you in developing a solid income through YouTube.

VIRTUAL LIVE-STREAMS

You can still do the thing that musicians love to do most - play gigs! You do this by creating online virtual either pre-recorded or live stream concerts for your fans to tune in and watch. It can be tricky to perform without having an audience to feed off of, but many musicians collaborated and created great live streams and concerts for their fans to enjoy. 

To generate money while performing, you can develop a “tip jar” where you open up your Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal account for people to send money and support your music . You can also pre-sell online “tickets” to fans if they turn into a special appearance or live stream concert. Continuing to promote your music in any fashion possible is an important way for musicians to continue to connect with their fans and show them that a pandemic doesn’t stop you from making and sharing your talents.

WRITE AND RECORD YOUR NEXT RELEASE

Mixing and mastering are part of the creative process of developing an album. If you have a knack for sound engineering or know the sound that you want to make, take the time to produce your very own album at a home studio with your band or solo. You can even do an independent release of your album once it is complete, earning and keeping all of the profits since you did all of the work.

SUBMIT YOUR MUSIC FOR LICENSING OR BLOGS

There are many opportunities for independent artists to submit their original, copyrighted music across music blogs, podcasts, or licensing companies for distribution. Additionally, depending on your musical style or genre, you can locate specific blogs to gain exposure through a feature article . 

You can also contact licensing agencies to be a part of their expanded music library, where producers and filmmakers will license your tracks to use within their projects. Those music supervisors or producers can establish a working relationship with you and even hire you to make music for them on future projects. 

Though being featured on a blog may not necessarily get you paid, the exposure can help you gain a more significant following on your website and email lists, as well as across your social media platforms. In addition, growing your fanbase means that you will have more opportunities to earn money through other creative endeavors you may be doing.

KEEP MUSIC AND ARTISTRY ALIVE

With various options and opportunities for musicians to continue earning money, music is still alive and well, even during a global pandemic. Musicians have discovered new ways to connect to their fans and implement creative avenues for ensuring that they can still earn income.

With these suggestions, it is vital to have a solid online presence and following. So, if you are a musician who didn’t utilize social media platforms, website building, or video channels, this may be a challenge to undertake. But with some hard work and development, you can create more exposure for your music and continue to share it with the world.