How does the music business work? New business ideas

Hello! In this article we will talk about how to make money from music.

• How much can you earn: from 15,000 rubles per month.
• Minimum Requirements: talent and equipment.
• Is it worth it?: if you are ready to devote at least 6 hours a day to music.

General information about making money from music

Making money from your music is very difficult. While most of the top performers in Russia and the CIS can simply leak their albums to social networks, it can be unrealistic for newcomers to earn anything. This requires talent and a lot of work.

The first few years in music should not be taken as an opportunity to make money.

In 2015 - 2016, some famous artists had a certain complaint about social networks, in particular, Vkontakte. They were against their music being illegally distributed online. Several lawsuits, proceedings, and the social network begins to actively ban tracks at the request of the copyright holder.

As a result, after some time, the performers who initiated this idea see the following picture: the number of tracks that are sold through services is not only not growing. It is falling rapidly. That is, music that is not freely available is uninteresting. I would like to listen to the track first, and if I like it, I would like to support the artist by purchasing a licensed version.

In any case, your music will have to be posted for everyone to see.

How to make money with music: 5 ways

I have prepared for you the 5 most interesting ways to make money on music without investment.

Distributing music through services

The easiest way to sell an artist on the Internet is to sell your own tracks and albums through special services, for example, Apple Music, Google Play, etc.

The method is suitable for those performers who have already gathered some kind of fan base that is ready to support them by purchasing tracks.

The algorithm of actions is approximately as follows:

Keep in mind that if you are a no-name performer, there will be no guarantee that you will earn money. And you shouldn’t limit yourself to specific services.

Audiostocks

This is a very cool way for musicians to make money.

The point is this:

1. You register in the service.
2. Take a little testing.
3. Upload tracks.
4. You receive money when you purchase them.

Having created a composition once, you can sell it several times.

Very convenient for those who like to write on the table, or leave their music files halfway. It is enough to modify them, spend some time and forget again. If this is really high-quality music, then from time to time it will bring you good income.

Ideal for guitarists and keyboardists: a huge variety of music without any assistance.

DJs who make money from electronic music can either buy tracks for use or sell their compositions on such platforms.

Tracks to order

This income is suitable for more or less famous performers who have gathered at least several thousand fans in social network groups.

This method is actively used by government agencies. Before significant events, several little-known performers are ordered tracks and paid quite large sums (from 50,000 rubles).

I can’t say anything definite about how large companies and government agencies select performers to order tracks. Even tenders are won by companies, which then find performers themselves and offer them money. Therefore, there is a way to make money, but how to get there if you are an average performer is still a mystery. And one more, very important aspect:

Earning money from the fan community

This method of earning money is mainly suitable for rap artists. Since this genre is now very popular among young people, you can use it. The essence of earning money is as follows:

1. You gather a small audience.
2. Do a stream (online recording).
3. Communicate with the audience, answer questions;
4. Periodically talk and post about raising money to record tracks.

I myself saw how on a stream a little-known performer asked to donate 10,000 rubles to record tracks. And within a few days the amount was collected.

Now this is one of the most profitable ways to monetize your own audience for any media personality. People are willing to voluntarily invest money so that the artist will delight them with his new music. This method is similar to, but there is one fundamental difference:

The performer does not owe anything to anyone.

Mixing someone else's music

This is the most stable way of earning money out of all those presented in the article. There are really few good sound engineers, especially those who can qualitatively combine all the instruments and voices into one composition.

At the initial stage it will be quite difficult. Without a portfolio and recommendations, few people will contact you, so you will have to work a lot for a low pay.

This is normal for such a specific job. Clients are found, in most cases, based on recommendations. Someone needs to mix a track - they ask familiar performers, they advise. It will be problematic to reach clients yourself, so you will have to spend a huge amount of time to show your qualifications.

But over time, such earnings will only begin to grow. The bigger the artist, the more he pays for mixing. Therefore, you will gradually achieve a small amount of work with huge one-time fees.

These are all current ways to make money from music in Russia. Please note that all this is very unstable, and you will have to work a lot to realize your creative potential.

How much can you earn from music?

It is difficult to give any figures on earnings from creating music. Therefore, I will give information exclusively on earnings on audio stocks and the work of a sound engineer.

Profit on audio stocks depends on the number of downloads and the number of songs. At the initial stage, you will pay about 4 dollars for 1 download. A beginner will have no more than 3 - 4 such downloads per month. That is, when downloading one track, you can get 12 - 16 dollars per month at the initial stage. Top audio stocks earn from $20,000 per month.

The average salary of a sound engineer in Russia, according to the Rostrud website, is 15 - 16 thousand rubles. They receive the most in the Krasnodar Territory - 32,000 rubles per month, in Moscow - 20,000 rubles. But this is unreliable information, because most sound engineers try to hide how much they work for. The actual monthly wage is from 40,000 rubles per month.

As you can see, there is no smell of stability and high earnings in music. Only top stars who give concerts, release albums every year and are recognized by millions of fans can.

Bottom line

Making money from music, as well as from any creative work, is very difficult. You need to find your audience, retain it and constantly work on your performance in order to attract new ones and not alienate old listeners. Most performers now say one thing: music is not success. This is constant, continuous work, and not something you hear about every day from ordinary people.

Instructions

Place an advertisement in a newspaper or on the appropriate website (bulletin board) on the Internet that you provide musical accompaniment for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. In general, any event that requires music. Choose a partner, or better yet several, who play different musical instruments. This will increase demand and you will receive more orders. Don't put too high a price on yours. There are quite a lot of people like you, which indicates high competition. Remember that it’s better to get less, but to get it at all, than to sit and wait “by the sea.” If you are a beginner musician and are just learning, then in addition to earning money, you are also honing your skills. Reduce the price even lower and this will guarantee a successful development of your music career.

Find people who want to learn music and give them private lessons. Remember that music is most often learned at a young age. Therefore, offer your services to parents or relatives in kindergartens. Find teachers you know and ask them to talk about you at a parent-teacher meeting. If you do not set a fantastic price for your services, then your “employment” is guaranteed. Also, a music school may be interested in your talent and accept you as a teacher there. This option is preferable because you yourself will be able to offer additional classes to your students and still get paid for working with the music class.

Organize a musical group and try to perform with your own compositions. This is how many groups started. Of course, not everyone managed to reach the top of the iceberg of popularity, but provided that you play well, you are guaranteed stability on the restaurant and cafe scenes.

Video on the topic

Is the life of a street musician difficult?

Street musicians live in their own special world. It is filled with specific traditions, legends, laws and idols. Someone plays musical instruments in the passage or on the street “for the soul.” Accordingly, it is released to the public once or twice a month. For some musicians, this type of activity is the main source of income.

A professional street performer has his own time and place to play. Most often it starts at five o'clock in the evening. Such a musician will definitely have listeners, so he will not be left without income.

For “your” place on the street you need to pay the police. They drive away careless musicians and tell them about inspections. So if you want to play, pay for a seat. As a rule, there is no fierce competition between musicians. A person either finds himself in a profession or leaves this business.

Before starting to build his career, a musician needs to find a suitable place and take with him good musical instruments and acoustics. But that is not all. The performer must have good musical abilities. A poorly performed song will not attract listeners, which means there will be no income from such a game either.

What do street musicians earn?

Street performers prefer not to talk about their earnings. It is believed that they can earn up to three to four thousand rubles a week if they attract listeners with their playing. But playing on the street is not particularly stable. Even the most talented musicians can be left without income.

As a rule, beginning street performers can collect from 300 to 400 rubles for an evening of good play. And that's if you're lucky. According to the story of one street musician who played in a small passage, he could earn from 200 to 250 rubles in five hours. However, you are not always so lucky; you can leave with 50 rubles.

Practicing playing in transitions helps overcome fear of crowds. After all, this is how many famous Russian musicians began their careers. You play because your soul asks, and at the same time you hone your skills. Moreover, you get experience playing in front of a wide audience, which is very important for a street musician. After a week of practice, I no longer care about the people rushing past.

Each musician can choose whether to join the world of street performers or remain on the sidelines. Fortunately, you can always remain a listener. Or you can try yourself in a more serious matter.

Average monthly earnings - from 0 to 5000 rubles

I have been studying music for about 15 years, at different times - with more or less immersion. There were times when I didn’t play in bands, but studied at a music college. And at one time I worked two jobs, studied at two educational institutions, rehearsed 2-3 times a week and played concerts at least once a month. I hardly slept then.

About six months ago, I decided to give up any job that would take more than four days a week. Because I realized that I needed to give up spare pillows and focus only on music.

I work, like everyone else, every day: I write music, mix, film, edit, sit in Photoshop or just generate ideas.

I play from two to three to 10 concerts a month. With “Fanny Kaplan” the average fee is 15,000 rubles (but this is for three). Our largest fee was 350 euros (but this is in Europe).

In the electronic project Rosemary Loves a Blackberry, on the contrary, I spend my money. For example, by taxi to get home at night after a concert. Or 600 rubles for a rehearsal - sometimes you need to go to a rehearsal center to practice in conditions more similar to a concert. To shoot videos, you often need a studio, which costs money. For recording I need some things, for example a sound card. You always need something, but there is no money. The maximum fee I had in a solo project was five thousand rubles.

I worked in completely different places: as a sales consultant, in a call center, as a video editor, I filmed in kindergartens the headmistresses sitting in the office with a tricolor and a portrait of Putin (they did not miss the opportunity to deceive and underpay). At the moment I have not worked for six months. My last gig lasted a couple of months last summer and allowed me to pay off my debts and also give my boyfriend a gift for the first time in two years.

Due to lack of money, I am constantly selling something. I’m very happy when people buy Fanny Kaplan vinyl. It costs 1,500 rubles, and one sale can last a week. Now I am selling a piano and a Korg Electribe - this is the last thing I can sell, there is nothing else left. But at the moment, even if I wanted, I couldn’t get a job, since I’ll spend the whole of May on tour.

On the one hand, I am incredibly tired of poverty. On the other hand, I am happy in my creative freedom. I would like to become a full-fledged musician in the general sense of the word, travel around the world, play my music, feed myself with my creativity - that’s all. I don't need anything else.

It's funny, but sometimes I even start thinking about some esoteric practices to improve my relationship with money.

Average monthly earnings - from 30 to 200 thousand rubles

Anton Sergeev

Leap motion magician under the pseudonym Anton Maskeliade

Average monthly earnings - from 200,000 to 350,000 rubles

Andrey Pushkarev

Experienced Russian techno DJ based in Berlin

I have been making music since 1996, if we talk about my DJ career. I moved to Moscow in the early 2000s. And since 2009, I began to devote all my time to music - only DJing, only performances, only touring and everything else. And only in the last three years have I begun to feel financially stable.

Previously, it was not possible to stand firmly on my feet, because my musical format imposes certain restrictions. Compared to people who play EDM, I’m still in the underground - we have a smaller venue, the scale of events is about ten times smaller. But this is my conscious choice. If I only wanted to make money, I would play completely different music. I think then financial success would come faster.

Last October I moved to Berlin. Now I live between Moscow, Berlin and Paris. I have been touring abroad since 2007. About 90–95% of my performances are now outside of Russia.

I have 4–6 performances a month. This is the main source of income. After all, in my music segment, making money by selling music is almost nonsense. It's definitely impossible to live on this. The Internet has made its own adjustments to the music business; all music is online, no matter how you filter it. And if we talk about vinyl-only history, then these are small editions and also not the sums on which you can live. In my case, releases are a PR tool, work for the future. This is an important component of the artist’s profile, which ultimately also affects the size of the fee.

My fee varies. There is a minimum price, but I would do without the numbers. The level of fees is largely determined by the economy of the country as a whole. The fee for an event for 300 people in Switzerland is, relatively speaking, equivalent to the fee for an event for 600 people in Hungary. Because in Hungary admission is cheaper and people leave less money at the bar. For a long time in Russia there were a lot of parties with free entry because there was a lot of sponsorship money. Now the situation has changed, everyone earns from entry - just like in Europe.

I can say this: as long as my performance schedule is planned three months in advance, there is no need to worry about money.

I have an agent and a manager - they are employees of a Parisian label, distribution agency and record store. An agent is a person who sells gigs. A manager is a person who deals with representation, the image of an artist. How he is presented, what articles they write about him, what photographs he has, what promoters know about him. Supports the artist's profile, in short.

The agent takes 15 percent above the amount we agreed with the event organizers. That is, this money is not taken away from me in any way. And the manager takes 15 percent of my fee - I actually pay him a salary. Accordingly, my income is a fee minus taxes and minus the manager’s salary. I have been working with my current agent for two years now, and with the manager for a year.

In Germany I am a so-called freelancer. That is, I have income, I have expenses, and everything that remains is taxed on it. I have a tax consultant to keep track of this. All documents are in German, and I myself don’t really understand all the subtleties.

In addition to professional income, there are also professional expenses. For me it's primarily records. But in Germany, and this is a huge plus, professional expenses may not be taxed, and in some cases they even return VAT. For example, I buy 70–80 records a month, that’s 700–800 euros. These are my professional expenses, according to the law I am entitled to a refund of 19 percent of VAT, which comes to my bank account every month.

The Village continues to find out what representatives of different professions live on and how they spend money. In the new issue - a musician. Unlike the salaries of office employees, their earnings are usually unstable, and the size of the fee itself depends on popularity, instrument, musical genre and other, sometimes not very predictable factors. Because of this, many group members perceive their work as a hobby, and receive their main income in the office. We decided to find out what makes up the income of a person who decides to devote his whole life to music. To do this, we talked to a violist from Moscow, who combines work in an orchestra, teaching and solo performances. She told us how she works, how much she earns and what she spends her money on.

PROFESSION

Musician

income

103,000 rubles

43,000 rubles- fees for performances

50,000 rubles- orchestra salary

10,000 rubles- salary at the conservatory

Basic expenses

25,000 rubles

flat rent

5,000 RUBLES

hair change

20,000 rubles

5,000 RUBLES

8,000 rubles

a haircut,
cosmetologist

40,000 rubles

trip home

How to become a musician

I am now 29 years old, and my studies in music and violin began at the age of four. This is often inevitable in a family of musicians. I can judge this for myself: if there is music in the house from childhood, then the child is drawn to it. In our business, the principle “the sooner the better” applies. My mother, who taught at a music school, became my first teacher. Once she said: “Now you and I are going to do a very interesting thing.” And away we go.

At the age of 13–14 I thought: if not music, then what? In any case, I saw a creative university: when I was a child, I painted, went to dances, and participated in all school skits. There was no pressure from my mother. I was born in a small town in the Far East, so it soon became clear that if I continued, I would have to leave. Komsomolsk-on-Amur is a small city where airplanes and submarines are built. And education there is at the level of music and art schools.

I decided to continue in the so-called ten-year school in Novosibirsk. This is an alternative to college: after graduating from this special school, you can immediately enter a university. In the ten-year school there was a competition: you play, and then they tell you how promising you are and who from the commission is ready to take you.

I started participating in competitions and master classes quite early. And more and more often I heard the question: “Maybe you will try to play the viola?” At first I was very distrustful of this. It was the same in Novosibirsk. The teacher suggested playing the viola. Then I had a tense late-night conversation with my mother, after which I finally decided that I had to try. I was actually very lucky. I ended up with an incredible teacher, and a lot depends on this.

Then I decided that I needed to go to Moscow and enter the Moscow Conservatory. All teachers have their own creative style. In addition, nowadays performing trends are very diverse and teachers preach different creative principles. That is why the reviews after listening were very different. Someone said: “Well, how can I tell you... You, of course, are a talented person, but the hero is not my novel.” But I still found the hero of my novel and enrolled.

It is impossible to graduate from the conservatory and then say: “Now I will be a star.” It doesn't happen that way. Career work in any role begins much earlier. Some people fall into the category of child prodigies from childhood, others grow up gradually and accumulate achievements in their piggy bank. A career is about more than just how you play.

My professional qualities have been recognized by awards from international competitions, scholarships and grants. Competitions have an age limit, usually up to 30–32 years. There used to be a point: if the poster does not indicate that the performer is a laureate of international competitions, it is suspicious. But competition is different from competition. In principle, an international competition can be held in any village. The status of the competition is determined by its history, the composition of the jury and, accordingly, the size of the prize. There are international competitions with a prize of 10 thousand rubles, and others with a prize of 100 thousand euros. There are many of them, but there are no more than ten of the coolest ones in the world. In addition to the prize, competitions offer engagements, which at a certain stage can serve well.

Features of work

A musician can pursue a solo career, play in a chamber ensemble or orchestra, or in a symphony orchestra. There are an insane number of orchestras in Moscow, and there are also many chamber ensembles. There are freelance musicians. They have several points of application of talent. To some extent, I am one of those people.

I was lucky to find a healthy balance. First of all, I have a solo career. Previously, the organization of performances was handled by a special person who sent my notes and resume to concert organizations. If I was interesting, I was invited. But our musical world is very close, everyone knows each other. So during this time, some kinks appeared. Now I don’t have a concert manager.

I regularly take part in several projects. These are chamber ensembles that are brands and exist successfully. But the economic realities are such that the musicians who play in them do not have the opportunity to close themselves in a room and rehearse so that this group becomes the best in the world.

I also hold a leading position in a famous symphony orchestra. My case is rather unique. Because orchestral and solo performance are categorically different things. As a student, I came to the orchestra for one-time programs. When a place became available, they started wooing me there. I thought for a long time because I need creative freedom. When I got a job in the orchestra, I reported this. They met me halfway, and now I am very grateful that I have the chance to play symphonic music, because it is an incredible thrill. What a hundred people do on stage will produce a disproportionately greater energetic effect than when one comes out and plays brilliantly.

If we are preparing for a concert, then three or four rehearsals are scheduled. Sometimes they ask for five rehearsals, it all depends on the conductor. A standard rehearsal is four hours, usually from 11:00 to 15:00. Sometimes there are double calls: from 11:00 to 14:00 and then from 15:00 to 18:00. On average there are six concert programs per month.

Salary

Before the question of stable income arose in my life (it arose due to the failing health of my immediate family, and then the forced need to rent housing), I did not limit my creative freedom by looking for a place to work regularly. Nowadays my income consists of several components.

The first is solo and ensemble activities. If I am invited as a concert unit, as a rule, the costs are borne by the host party. Sometimes we agree with concert organizations that I take on part of the road. In each individual case, this is the moment of agreement. If I come alone or we come in a small group, as a rule, we don’t think about what we will eat and where we will live. In addition to this, there is a fee that I receive directly for what I do on stage. It depends, as they say in the world of show business, on the distributor. As a rule, performances are planned a season or two in advance, and the fee for a performance ranges from 1 thousand to 50 thousand rubles. There are often charity projects.

Since I am quite in demand, I choose where it is more interesting to perform. It happens that the orchestra has a very interesting program that I dreamed of playing, then I can refuse a solo performance. Sometimes you have to think for a long time. But in my case, maybe because I’m not that old, money is not the main thing. I choose based on creative interest. I can’t refuse a completely unprofitable project if there is an Idea and People.

My rate in the orchestra is 60 thousand rubles (if I participate in all programs of the month). But my real earnings depend on the number of programs I play per month. These are special working conditions and a much-needed balance between the creative components of my life. In general, a team means stability. There you have a work book and a salary.

Our orchestra often tours. Touring is a business trip. The orchestra has adopted a daily allowance system. They cover daily expenses and needs. There are no separate fees for touring concerts. At the same time, working directly on tour is much harder.

In addition to solo, ensemble and orchestral activities, I teach at the Moscow Conservatory. The salary is 100 thousand rubles per year. The workload consists of working as an assistant to a professor and teaching a subject, namely the study of orchestral difficulties. It is difficult to calculate the real cost of an hour of my work at the conservatory, because to achieve a real result, a number of hours is required that does not fit into my employment contract. I am not much older than my students and I really want to wake them up. Without enthusiasm, our profession is depressing.

Spending

I have been living in Moscow for ten years. Now I’m renting an apartment, it costs 25 thousand rubles. Before that, I lived in a conservatory dormitory for eight years. There was very human payment, because it was calculated as a percentage of the scholarship, and our scholarships are small.

The years spent in a boarding school in Novosibirsk, and then in a conservatory dormitory, taught me to easily get by with minimal expenses, and therefore now I can easily live for a month on 5 thousand rubles (for food, travel and basic necessities).

If I have the opportunity to cook food at home, I will gladly do it. I love cooking, and it’s also more profitable. But in reality, you can only cook breakfast at home. And when you leave the stage, the first desire is to eat. In any case, it turns out that I eat in some establishments. Depending on my schedule, I spend between 5 and 20 thousand a month on food.

Part of my expenses is instrument maintenance and consumables: strings and bow hair. After the dollar jumped very strongly, prices changed. If previously a set of strings, which I prefer, cost 4 thousand rubles, now it costs almost 9 thousand. I play a lot, so I need to change the strings every six months. About the same story with hair. Now a hair insertion costs 1,500 rubles. I also have a baroque bow, so I spend another 3 thousand rubles every four months. Sheet music is also an expensive pleasure, especially if you order them abroad.

Unfortunately, no one is immune from cracks on the instrument. Of course, we take care of what we play, but anything can happen. I play a modern instrument with an unusual destiny. It was given to me by the master who made it. He lives in the USA. And, of course, it’s better when the instrument is handled by the person who made it. Accordingly, every time I get to the USA, no matter in what state, I rush to New York to see the master. This is also a certain expense item. In the summer I was on the West Coast, in California, and specially carved out two days to get to New York. It cost me 30 thousand rubles. As a one-time event, this does not cause serious financial disruption, but if done regularly, it becomes a significant expense item. In general, the cost of tools is not constant: I can spend from 2 to 50 thousand rubles on it per month.

There are also costs of being a public profession. I can spend from 5 to 20 thousand rubles monthly on appearance and parties. Recently, for example, I bought a designer dress for 9 thousand.

I also ride a motorcycle. You can call it my hobby. I'm planning a purchase now. I have an instructor, classes with whom cost me 1,500 rubles. We started working two years ago, now the prices have increased, but for me, as a regular customer, the prices have remained the same. During the season I work out every week. I recently received my license and am planning to buy a motorcycle, but for now I use public transport and taxis, which costs me about 5 thousand rubles.

I live far from my family. Therefore, a ticket home costs about 30 thousand rubles. I fly a couple of times a year. If I can find time, I like to travel alone around Asia. This year, unfortunately, it will not be possible.

Illustrations: Nastya Grigorieva