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How To Make Money as a Musician Online
If you are accustomed to performing live but you don’t have as many opportunities as you’re used to, then you’ll be pleased to know there are other ways to make money in tougher times. However, making money via the internet will require a bit more legwork on your part. If you’re new to monetizing your music online, here’s how to get started
Streaming live performances
.If live performing is what you’d love to do but you just aren’t able to right now, then streaming your performances over the internet could be a way to make a little extra money. This way, you can still experience the thrill of performing for people, even if they aren't within arms reach. You can stream music via streaming platforms likeApple Music, which pays you a percentage of every stream. There are also many other online streaming platforms, such as Facebook and
Vimeo. You can also choose how you’d like to generate your income, be it through advertising revenue or royalty.
YouTube is another passive income source
YouTube is another way to potentially make money from your music. Moreover, YouTube has become an extremely popular marketing tool with an average of20 million users daily. Given that YouTube offers two ways to earn revenue (through user-generated content or number of views), it comes as no surprise that so many artists are using it to showcase their talents while earning a decent living at the same time.
Selling merchandise
If you have branded merchandise that you dream of selling as part of your brand, then set up your owne-commerce store to make your merchandise accessible on a wider scale. Setting up an e-commerce store is relatively easy to do with Shopify's ready-made store templates, which you can tweak to reflect your brand better. What’s more, if your music is on Spotify, you can integrate the process with
Shopify to make it easier to gain exposure and sell merchandise simultaneously.
What about a side hustle?
Perhaps, you have many talents that aren’t just solely music-related. For instance, maybe you’ve had a desire to teach music to up-and-coming artists who would appreciate the support of having an experiencedmentor to help them learn the ropes better. Or, perhaps you're exceptionally talented at composing lyrics and melodies; then, you could make use of your extra talents to generate an income through freelance work.
But suppose you want to start a business in performance art training to generate a steady income. If that’s the case, it would be useful to understand which type of business structure you should choose. To save time, if you want a business that is easy to set up, an LLC would be the obvious choice as a result of its many benefits for first-time entrepreneurs. Of course, don’t forget to apply for an Employer Identification Number (or EIN) as required by the IRS. Having an EIN will make filing your taxes either quarterly or annually amuch easier process, as you’ll have all the necessary paperwork done and dusted beforehand.
At the end of the day, making music and making money from your passion has never been easier with the advancements in technology. Look for platforms and online venues that suit your strengths, and find ways to synergize your performances with your merchandise. It might not be the same as hitting the road, but you can still make a living with your talents.
