How musicians make money online and offline: 10 ways to amplify your creativity and profits

Making a living (or making it big!) with your music is an artist’s dream, but business might not come as naturally to you as beats.

Musicians, especially independent artists, have to manage marketing, production, distribution, and finances—all while creating time for their art.

Getting your bearings in the complicated world of the music business can feel confusing. Still, there are lots of ways to make money online and offline with a little creativity and perseverance.

This guide gives a high-level view of how music monetization works so you can diversify your income to build your career.

1. Music tours and live performances

Live music and touring are synonymous with the music industry, but they had to pivot in 2020. Thankfully, in-person performances are returning as an income stream for musicians.

The mechanics of planning and monetizing shows will vary between signed and unsigned bands, but generally, you can expect potential revenue from:

• Ticket sales
• Merch
• VIP packages or meet and greets

Music tours also let you connect with current fans, introduce yourself to new audiences, and get social media exposure. There are a few details to work out, though, since you’ll need to factor in potential costs like:

• Production
• Travel and per diems
• Venue fees
• Staff
• Promotion/marketing

Ryan Baustert of Throw The Fight knows exactly what managing tours as an indie musician is like. He shared,

I think it’s probably something that most musicians and artists struggle with, where they’re trying to put art into the world and make a name for themselves and on a shoestring budget or a nonexistent budget.

The logistics of that get tricky. Which is why you really have to love the process.

You have to love the lifestyle behind it.

Offer live streaming tickets

Venues can only sell so many tickets for in-person attendance, but live-streaming tools let long-distance fans tune in digitally. Live-stream events are perfect for fans who don’t live near a tour stop or have difficulties attending an in-person show, and they let you earn more per show.

Event ticketing platforms like Ticket Tailor and Eventzilla or ecommerce platforms like Kit Commerce make it easy to sell digital tickets. Then, you’ll need to use a streaming service like Stage It, Zoom Events, or YouTube Live to give your fans their (digital) front-row seat.

Judah & The Lion, fronted by Judah Akers, hosted a concert stream in 2020. Concert streaming first gained popularity when live touring came to a halt. However, they’re still a great way to connect with fans far and wide (without incurring the costs or toll of touring!).

2. Earning royalties from writing and recording music

Most fans know that the artist makes some money each time a song is bought, played, or streamed. But casual listeners (and even new artists!) likely need a crash course on the complexities of how music royalties work.

Don’t feel bad if all the terms make your head spin—it’s a lot to take in. But let’s take a high-level look at some of the mechanics you need to know about how music makes money, who collects that cash, and who receives a cut.

How music makes money

So you have a song, and you want to earn revenue from it.

Where do you start?

First, you need to understand how music makes money. For simplicity’s sake, we won’t dive into the world of music copyright today. Instead, let’s look at the types of royalties to expect depending on how and where a song is used.

Performance royalties

Performance royalties cover traditional and online radio play, businesses playing songs in-store, and live performances. Streaming services can also earn performance royalties.

Mechanical royalties

When someone (typically you or your label) puts your song on a digital file or physical carrier like a CD, they are using their reproduction rights. Whenever your music is reproduced, you earn mechanical royalties for each copy. You also earn mechanical royalties when someone buys a digital copy of your song and when someone chooses to stream your song on a platform like Spotify.

Synchronization (AKA sync) royalties

Sync rights let your songs be used in a TV show or movie. Having an Electronic Press Kit ( EPK) is a great way to consolidate information about yourself and form relationships with agents, journalists, and other creatives that could help get your music out there.

Who collects the money

Fans can enjoy listening to your music across platforms, but someone has to collect cash to pay you for your content.

Performing rights organizations (PROs)

Performing rights organizations ( PROs) collect income for songwriters and publishers. These organizations take in money from sources like businesses that play music in stores, radio stations, and live music venues. It’s important to note that PROs only collect performance royalties.

Then, they divvy out the money to the rights holders. Some PROs are free to join, while others are not. Additionally, some PROs are open to any artist, while others are invitation-only.

In the United States, the main PROs you should be aware of include:

• SESAC: an invitation-only PRO recognized by the U.S. Copyright Office
• ASCAP: the only not-for-profit PRO and is for writers, composers, and publishers
• BMI: a PRO for writers, composers, and publishers with a fee to join
• SoundExchange: the only organization designated by the U.S. Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for sound recordings and is free for musicians to join

Collective management organizations

Collective management organizations ( CMOs) track and collect both performance and mechanical royalties, which sets them apart from PROs. CMOs vary by country.

Other collecting societies

Streaming services like Spotify work with a wide range of other ‘collecting societies’ that track and collect royalties on behalf of artists and publishers.

3. Direct sales to your fans

Selling directly to your fans gives you a more personal connection to the individuals, greater control over the products and experience, and a potentially larger cut than selling through a label or distributor.

Digital downloads

Digital downloads of your songs, albums, jingles, samples, and beats give fans instant access to your work. You get to avoid shipping logistics and the cost of producing physical copies. There are a few different ways to sell digital downloads directly to fans:

1. Distribution services like CD Baby, Amuse, or TuneCore put your music on iTunes, Amazon, and more for digital purchase.
2. Self-managed platforms like Bandcamp let you sell digital downloads (plus physical items) directly to customers. Those services take a commission on sales, but you still have control over your prices.
3. Ecommerce tools like Kit Commerce let you sell digital downloads like albums and offer recurring fan club subscriptions.

Physical music and branded merchandise

There’s something special about physical products, and your fans might want a tangible reminder of their favorite artists. There are plenty of physical items you can sell to fans, like:

• CDs and vinyls (you’ll need to find a reputable manufacturer to create these!)
• Branded merch like shirts, stickers, and hats

Printed materials like posters or behind-the-scenes photography books

Singer-songwriter Laufey has creative merch on her site, like candlesticks and matchbooks, plus classics like t-shirts and hoodies.

One upside to physical merch is that you can sell it online and off—use a service like Kit Commerce or Spotify for your online store and bring your items along on tour.

How to sell your music online with Kit Commerce

Kit Commerce makes it easy to sell digital products to fans, whether you have a website already or not. There are three steps to start selling directly to fans:

1. Add your product details and set a price: name your item to keep it organized, and then choose whether it’s a one-time or recurring purchase
2. Customize a product page to tell fans about your music
3. Embed a link to your product page on your website, social media bios, and emails

Want to see a step-by-step guide to selling music with Kit Commerce? Check out the video below!

4. Ad revenue and tips from social media

Your social media following helps you grow your audience and connect with fans, but it’s also a potential income source.

Ad and platform revenue

There are multiple sites where you can monetize your content through ads and platform features. Here are a few of the popular options:

• YouTube ads once you hit monetization criteria like a minimum of 1,000 subscribers
• Twitch Ads Incentive program to place ads during your livestreams
• TikTok Creator Fund for accounts with at least 10,000 followers

Online tips

If you play live music on the street, you can collect tips in a jar or guitar case, but there’s also a digital version! Virtual tip jars let fans support you without buying a particular item or paying a set price.

Setting up an online tip jar is easy, and then you can link to it from your newsletters, social media bios, and website.

Musician virtual tip jar example: The Goudies

The Goudies are a South Wales-based duo whose harmonies and lyrics have drawn comparisons to iconic Americana artists like The Civil Wars. Since the pair is independent and self-funded, they’ve set up a virtual tip jar that they link to from their website so fans can support them.

5. Offer fan memberships

In recent years, subscriptions and memberships have become a boon to creators—including musicians. You can set tiers for different pricing levels, share behind-the-scenes and exclusive content, and form close relationships with your top fans.
There are multiple platforms you can host your fan clubs on, including:

• Patreon
• YouTube Channel Memberships
• Kit Commerce recurring subscriptions

Example of Ratboys’ fan club subscription

Ratboys are an American indie rock band from Chicago that has toured the world and shares extra content with fans via their Patreon subscription, which they dub The Rat Room.

6. Teach music online or offer in-person workshops

You have musical skills that people will pay for!

You can host virtual one-on-one lessons with video chat tools like Zoom, host in-person workshops, or sell video courses.

To teach online, you’ll need:

• A reliable computer with a strong internet connection
• At least one webcam
• A USB microphone or audio interface
• A headset or headphones and vocal microphone
• Video chat software (for live, one-on-one lessons)
• A way to get paid (like Kit Commerce!)

Example of Adanna Duru’s music class

Adanna Duru has appeared on The Voice and American Idol, and she recently transitioned her private vocal coaching to online courses.

7. Paid session work

Gone are the days when you had to pay top dollar to rent a recording studio and hire a recording engineer to record your music. Equally gone are the days you even have to be in the same room as your collaborators.

Musicians and audio engineers can find local and remote paid session gigs on sites like:

• SoundBetter
• AirGigs
• Kompoz

As for actually recording, you’ll want to invest in a solid at-home recording setup. That includes:

• A decent audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett
• Microphones that are appropriate for your voice or instrument
• A digital audio workstation (DAW) such as Studio One
• A DropBox or another file-sharing service to get your items to your collaborators

There’s a lot to understand and consider when recording session work at home, including sample rate, file format, resolution, and more.

8. License your music on stock music sites

You’ve probably heard about stock photos—sites where other creators and brands can purchase licenses to use images in their campaigns. Stock photo sites are valuable resources for those who can’t afford to hire in-house photographers who can take high-quality images.

Well, something similar exists for music. Music libraries enable indie movies, TV shows, and commercials to purchase licenses for songs for their projects. They’re helpful for creative endeavors that don’t have the budget to license hit songs like major motion pictures or cable TV shows.

When you upload your music to a stock music site, you’ll be able to make notes about the genre, mood, instrumentation, and more to help your music show up in searches.

For example, the music producers at a show like Lifetime’s Married at First Sight may specifically search for “uptempo love songs” for their reality show. Ensuring that your songs appear in those searches can help you land placements—and get paid.

Sites where you can monetize your stock music include:

• AudioJungle
• Pond5
• Artlist
• Epidemic Sound
• Songtradr

9. Get sponsorships

Your fans often see their favorite content creators share sponsored products or ad features, so these days, musicians can have sponsors without being ‘total sell-outs.’

The key is to choose sponsors that make sense for you, your music, and your audience. Though most fans these days understand that sponsorships help musicians thrive, it can still drum up controversy if it isn’t a natural fit.

Tapping into a resource like the Kit Sponsor Network makes navigating and managing these partnerships easier. You will need to have an existing email list to take advantage of these ad placements. If you don’t have a newsletter yet, you might want to check out the next point…

10. Start a newsletter

Social media platforms, live shows, and distribution networks all play a part in growing your music career. However, playing second fiddle to the algorithms or promoters creates distance between you and fans. Starting an email newsletter gives you a direct line of communication with your audience so you can learn about them, share your work, and make money.

Musicians can earn money through their newsletter by:

• Adding a link to your digital tip jar at the bottom of each message
• Sending targeted concert promo emails to fans who live near your tour stops
• Promoting your latest merch, digital downloads, coaching, and courses
• Setting up paid newsletters or recurring subscription fan clubs
• Raising money to make your next album

Josh Logan’s newsletter subscription page

Josh Logan is a Pop-Country Singer/Songwriter who uses email marketing to assemble a ‘street team,’ Signing up for his newsletter gives fans exclusive access to content and giveaways.

Join a community of creatives and get paid for your work with Kit Commerce

Being an independent creator takes perseverance, but you don’t have to do it alone. Connecting with fellow musicians and learning about their journeys can inspire you to try something new.

We have an entire library of Creator Sessions that feature intimate performances and conversations with artists who share experiences like:

• When Drew Holcombe finally felt that he had ‘made it’
• Emily Brimlow’s journey to self-fund her album
• How Andy Mineo advocates for innovation despite limitations

When you’re ready to add new ways to make money—like digital tip jars, fan subscriptions, and direct digital sales to fans— try Kit.