Self Sufficient Musician

In the previous article, I stated that it’s very possible and realistic for musicians to earn enough to sustain a comfortable lifestyle while creating, recording and performing music that you enjoy. While the second phrase, the bit about music you enjoy, can include writing jingles, playing string quartets in weddings, or playing showtunes on a cruise ship, let’s narrow it down to what is commonly the ultimate ideal for most musicians writing and playing popular music: make a living from original music.

Is this still possible?

Yep.

So having defined a very specific objective and activity, let’s further break this down into its most fundamental and essential elements.

How to Make a Living Making Original Music

To accomplish this, we need to do 2 things.  Yes, just 2.

1. Make original music, and
2. Find enough people who will support you making that music.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  Yes, and it can be that simple.  But let’s examine those two steps a bit more closely.

Making Original Music

Original music, obviously, is something you write on your own.  And that’s mostly what I mean when I say making original music, though it’s possible to be a cover artist who puts very unique twists on existing songs so that his/her recording and performance provides a unique experience.

The keyword there is unique.  I’m not saying it’s impossible to make a living if you were Just Another White Chick Songwriter With an Acoustic Guitar or Just Another Soul Funk Band.  In some ways, it’s easier to find initial acceptance if you’re not really unique — what you do fit existing molds.

However, the trade-off there is that it’s awfully hard to maintain traction unless you are unique in some way.  Otherwise, your fan base will be fickle.  Imagine being a cover band.  What you provide is not unique to you — if along comes another act that does what you do better and cheaper, you will lose your demand.  You’re going to have to work extra hard elsewhere — as if making music isn’t work enough — to keep replacing audience you’re going to lose.

When your music provides a unique experience, something that can only be found with you, then that is what truly creates value to your listeners.  And value is indeed what you need to provide for the next step.

Finding Enough People Who Will Support You Making Your Music

Once again, notice how I phrased that.  I didn’t say you need to sell 50,000 copies of your album, or play shows that attract 5,000 people.  If you do, of course, that’s great, but that’s not required to make a living making original music.

Let’s say, your living expense is $50,000 per year.  On top of that, you’ll need to pay for your business expenses — buy and maintain your equipment, travel and food, CD mastering and manufacturing — so let’s say your annual income (revenue) requirement is $100K, with at least $50K leftover for your take-home pay.

If you’re a solo artist, all you need to make this happen is to attract 1,000 fans.  If you’re a band, multiple that by the number of people in your act.

Sounds reasonable?  There’s one catch.  The above is true only if you provide $100 worth of value to your fans every year.  In the other words, your fans ought to feel compelled to pay $100 per year for one reason or another. (For more on this, read the ground-breaking essay by Kevin Kelly)

And this is where most acts fail.  If you release one album per year and sell it for $15, all each fan needs to spend is just that, or $30 if they buy one as a gift to a friend.  Combine your album sales with your gigs and you’re starting to add up, but still, how many times do people need to see you play a year?  Do you do something unique and different in each show to make someone want to see you two nights or two weekends in a row?

I’m sure you’re starting to get the picture.  Because you’re not offering enough value to your fans to make them want to pay you $100 per year, you’re having to work harder to attract more fans, if all you can expect in support from each fan is $15-30.  If you only receive $50 per fan per year, you’ll need 2000 fans.  If you only receive $10 per fan, then 10,000!  The number becomes overwhelming quickly.

The Secret to Making a Living from Original Music

If you don’t provide enough uniqueness in your offering, you’ll have to keep attracting new fans.  If you don’t provide enough value to each of them, the same happens.  Of course, you’ll want to be attracting new fans at all times — but what I’m saying is, it’s hard to make your fan base (and your income) grow if you can’t retain them and have them buy into you as an artist.

The key ingredients are now clear: uniqueness, and value.

Provide unique music, and your fans will keep coming to you to get that music only you can produce.  Provide great value, and they will gladly pay you for it — not only that, they will thank you for doing what you do. Money is an expendable resource.  The unique and valuable experience you provide is irreplacable.

Our path is becoming clearer and clearer.  Follow along, and I’ll show you how to produce uniqueness and provide value.

(photo credit: mmagallan)

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