How
Independent Recording Artists Make Money
Christian
Johnathan Hosford Jr.
March
24, 2013
What is an independent artist and how do
these individuals make money. The phrase independent artist can be thought of
as broad, but a truly independent artist is a musician who creates their entire
product from start to finish. These musically skilled people will also acquire
the business side for the marketing and sales of their product. They are in
charge of the entire process from the recording, the promotion, booking
venues, setting up and maintaining their online presence, and even writing
their own lyrics. An independent artist plays all the roles of the workers at a
traditional record label. For an independent artist to be successful and turn a
profit he or she must be persistent in marketing and also be creative in the
entire process. Today, technology allows independent artists to achieve this
but the artist must go above and beyond the norm and work extremely hard to
gain fans, especially in the Internet realm. There are many independent artists
working to have their music heard by the masses, but the one whom works harder,
will most likely enjoy sweeter success. These artists can make money in many
ways, but there are 3 sources of revenue that will most likely be the way
artists turn profits in this ever-evolving business.
Licensing music through a publisher
or through a website like Youlicense.com can be a great opportunity for artist
to get their music into the “hands” of other media. The artist can hire a
lawyer to shop a publishing deal, which could be promising but also may be a
lot more expensive due to lawyer costs. The cost can be recouped in the
multitude if a nice deal is struck. It’s risky, but worth it, if it’s in the
artist’s budget. If the artist’s music is unique, it has a better chance of
being recognized when companies are looking for music on sites like
Youlicense.com. Youlicense.com is a website that allows any one who creates
music to upload their content to the site. The artist keeps all of the rights
to the music and pays Youlicense.com a fee if their music is chosen for
placement in media. This can be an awesome moneymaker especially if songs are
specifically crafted for companies and then shopped to them.
An active website with excellent
search engine optimization (SEO) can be a very lucrative path for an
independent artist to take. It’s essential for all artist to have a website,
but if an artist wants to be strictly online he or she needs to do a lot of
marketing and use social networking as a tool. Social networking can be used to
keep the audience engaged by persistently posting pictures, videos, blogs,
music, and news that are all relevant to the artist’s career. Also, the more
senses the artist can engage from the audience; the more valuable his or her
product will be. (Pierce, 2010) The music on the site needs to be priority. It
needs to be easily accessible and easy to buy. All the merchandise needs to be
easy to buy, but music is the main product. Running ad campaigns online is a
way of bringing more people to the website, which may pay off if it’s in the
artist’s budget to take that action.
Performing live at venues and
touring can be a tough road at first but persistence will pay off. Starting out
at local clubs and bars as a performer may be tough at first, but it’s a great
way to earn a credible name and make money while doing it. Physical promotion
like flyers, cards, and pamphlets that are engaging are important when doing
shows. Touring may not be profitable at first and the artist may even loose
money. An artist may have to tour for about 3 years before he or she generates
revenue. (Burke, 2012) Engaging the senses of the audience is also important
here, especially through to artwork on the CD and the music itself. (Pierce,
2010) Growing a name locally first, may be the best bet for an artist. It will
boost the confidence of the artist knowing that his or her town and local
surroundings support and like their music. From there, the artist can expand to
unknown territories with a high confidence level and a promising resume for
other venues. If the marketing is done correctly and the artist is passionate
and persistent, the stream of money will eventually be enough for the artist to
make a living.
Three ways artists can make money in
today’s music business are music publishing, selling music online, and
performing live. Being an independent recording artist with the music business
in the state that it is in may be more work for the artist but the artist will
probably turn more of a profit then he or she would if signed to a major record
label. (Pierce, 2010) It’s a lot of hard work and dedication, but if it’s what
the artist loves, it isn’t even work. The future of independent artist is going
to be wonderful. Larger companies are going to start realizing that a lot of the
music independent artists are creating is of the same quality of the “majors”
and much more diverse. This will help artist get more placements for their
music and most likely help the businesses as well by giving them a taste of new
diverse music. More and more people are using their phones to listen to music,
which is good for artists who have an online presence. All artists should have
some kind of online presence. Performing live seems to be what people love.
People like listening to music, but they love watching their favorite artists
perform and seem to be willing to pay for the live performance but not so much
the actual music they listen to. (Pierce, 2010) The music business has gone
through a plethora of change over the last decade and is looking good for the
independent artist. If the artist is driven enough and wants to make a career
out of what they’re passionate about, he or she can make it happen.
References
Dobb, B. DIY Guide For Serious Independent Recording Artist
[Web]. Retrieved from http://www.thesoloalbum.com/diy_guide_for_serious_independent_recording_artists
The Conversation Hub. (May 26, 2011) On Being An Independent
Recording Artist [Web]. Retrieved from http://theconversationhub.com/on-being-an-independent-artist/
Luney, J. Why Independent Recording Artists Aren’t
Succeeding [Web]. Retrieved from
Beaubrun, L. (03/22/2012) The Reason Most Recording Artists
Are Broke [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.realmusiceducation.com/1/post/2012/3/the-reason-most-recording-artists-are-broke.html
Small biz Bee (August 24, 2009) Featured Entrepreneur –
Independent Recording Artist Jennifer Grassman [Web]. Retrieved from http://smallbizbee.com/index/2009/08/24/featured-entrepreneur-independent-recording-artist-jennifer-grassman/
Frank,
J. The 3 Most Profitable DIY Revenue Streams, And Why Many Artists Succeed At
Only One Of Them [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/01/the-3-most-profitable-diy-revenue-streams-and-why-many-artists-succeed-at-only-one-of-them.html
Miletto, E., Pimenta, M., Bouchet,
F., Sansonnet, J., & Keller, D. (2011). Principles for Music Creation by
Novices in Networked Music Environments. Journal Of New Music Research, 40(3),
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(03/24/2013)http://www.youlicense.com/About.aspx
Burke, R. (January 15, 2012) How
Musicians Can Make Money In The Digital Error [Web]. Retrieved from
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