Cash is king

Posted: 22 November 2018

The revenue review.

Read time: 4 mins

One of the biggest challenges you will face as a musician is making the cash last. Traditional ways to make money in music are changing, forcing musicians to get inventive. CD and record sales have long been a reliable source of music industry income, but in the US alone physical music sales have dropped by three-quarters since 2000. So how as a modern-day musician do you keep the pennies rolling in?

Consider crowdfunding

The internet may have drastically reduced physical sales but one positive effect is the rise of crowdfunding. For those unaware crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people.

 

Get inventive

As we’ve established physical albums aren’t exactly flying off the shelves at the moment, so one way to boost your funds is to offer special merch and experiences that your fans will love. T-shirts and posters are all well and good but offering a wide range of items means you can better satisfy every fans appetite.

Think Smart

In 2017 the music industry reported revenues of $17.3 billion worldwide, so despite the changing landscape there’s still plenty of cash going around. You just need to think smart to get your slice.

A key recent development is the ability to analyse your audience through streaming services and social media. Now with a little number crunching you can develop a map showing exactly where your fans are located, and can even use this data to decipher which song you should release next or how to release it.