Do you live and breath music?
Do you feel it running through your veins?
Do you play music regularly, listen to it constantly, and wax lyrical to others about the love you have for your favorite sounds?
If you have answered yes to any of the above, then great, you are clearly passionate about music. So, why not take your musical passion to the next level? Why not make money from the very thing that gets your fingers strumming and your feet tapping? In this article, we are going to list a few money-making ideas that might take you interest. And don’t worry if you’re not a musician, as we have suggestions that will suit all kinds of music lovers.
#1: Teach music
While you could take a music degree and take the podium at schools and colleges with your expertise, you could also consider a side-hustle instead and teach music from your home. If you have a skill with a piano, know a thing or two about acoustic guitars, or have talents with any other kind of musical instrument, why not advertise your services online and off and take on one or more students? Of course, if you’re not willing to let people into your home (perhaps because you’re a little bit lax with the housework or because your other half has told you you’re not allowed to), then you could always rent a room in your locale, or teach music online. You can make a tidy income teaching music, and when word gets around about what you are offering, you may have enough students to launch your own business.
#2: Write about music
If you have a lot to say about a particular musical topic, genre, or band, then get your words down on paper (or onto your laptop screen). You can then market yourself as a freelance writer, and sell your articles and reviews to the relevant music publications, blogs, and other music websites. You could also write and sell your own e-book, or seek out a staff writer position for a music mag or website.
#3: Talk about music
If you have the gift of the gab rather than a gift with the written word, then why not consider talking about music instead. So, you might set up your own YouTube channel and talk about your favorite bands and genres online. Check out these tips on how to monetize your videos. Alternatively, you could put together a podcast. With a decent mic, an interesting topic to wax lyrical about, and recording software that is suitable for making podcasts, you could make money from subscribers and advertisers, and going back to our previous point, syndicate your podcast show to your YouTube channel. Of course, you do need to know what you’re talking about, and you do need to entertain, so while your friends and family might put up with you waffling on about music, your listeners will be less than tolerant if you don’t give them something worth listening to.
#4: Rate music
Writing reviews about music isn’t the only way you can make money from your thoughts. There are lots of websites online where you can get paid to rate new music. You won’t make a lot of money this way – in fact, you might not get paid in cash at all – but you might earn yourself some gift cards, and these can be used to add to your music collection or for any other interest you have in your life. Check out http://www.hitpredictor.com/ as just one example, and look online for others.
#5: Upload your music online
If you write your own music, then there is little point in hiding it from the world at large. People need to hear your tunes (whether they know it or not), so share your talents by uploading your music online. You can do this through your own website, or by using sites such as Spotify, Soundcloud, and YouTube. This is essentially your way to self-promote your music, and if you put the work in, you might one day get discovered by music promoters or other influential people who could put you on the road to musical success. Check out our previous link for more information.
#6: Write music for others
Instead of singing or playing your own music, you could offer your services to others. So, you could write songs for other singers or bands. Or you could write music for advertisement jingles, video games, TV shows, or films. There are all kinds of opportunities out there, so consider the type of music that you write, and then contact the relevant people, agencies, and companies, and send them samples of what you have to offer. Now, you might not become famous this way, but you could still earn yourself a lot of money once word gets passed around about you through the various industries you could become a part of.
#7: Perform your music live
Sure, you could thrash your heavy metal guitar in your garage all week long. You could emulate Beethoven from your very own living room. But if you want to make money, and especially if you want to get yourself known as a musician or a singer, you need to start performing your music live. So, contact the local venues near you, be they bars, diners, or hotels (as examples), and get yourself a few gigs. If you are friends with any other musicians, ask them to let you perform a set of your own music at the venues they play at. And if there are any local talent shows, or if a big TV studio runs auditions for similar, then get yourself along and try your chances. Fame and fortune await, but only if you let people know who you are.
So, what do you think? There are all kinds of ways to make money from your musical passion, so explore our ideas, and let the world benefit from the skills and talents that you possess.