Making Money and Music Poll

[Noah Nelson]

hello all, i am a 22 yr old entering the work force out of school and i was wondering how many people on this forum are making money from music vs how many are only making music as a hobby! I'm polling on monthly $$$ and this is anonymous so be honest with how much you make solely off music!
Please feel free to explain why/how you make X amount in the comments and please do not give me a lecture on why money is/isn't important, thats not what I'm wondering

 

[Greg_L]

I give away all the money I make from music, so money is not a concern to me personally besides wanting to make some to give it away..

 

[Steenamaroo]

If you're looking for encouragement I doubt you'll get it, whether your a performer/writer/engineer.
Sure, there are people who make good money but they're definitely the minority.

I myself registered self-employed to be able to declare royalty cheques that started appearing.
I've only pulled in a few thou so far. Not exactly great.

 

[Greg_L]

I know of only one guy on this site that can say he actually makes a living from playing music. And that's making a living, not getting rich. Everyone else is a hobbyist.

 

[miroslav]

Even for those "making a living" off of music, it's usually a "lean" kind of living.
Not saying that can't be an acceptable/satisfactory lifestyle.....just lean, and it doesn't leave a lot for rainy days and anything major that comes along that might be of interest.

I know some guys who are out there playing regularly, and they're just getting by unless they also have some other job to fill in the gaps. The ones doing it part time, but steady, and with regular day jobs tend to do much better....but that's a grid, working a day job and gigging on the weekends and what have you.

For me, money off of music is of no concern, and I made that choice a long time ago and don't regret it. My day job has given me most of my studio, and I have the freedom to do whatever I want with it...so I got no complaints.

 

[Greg_L]

Yup, all of that ^^^^^^^

 

[Seafroggys]

Bad poll for sure.

When I have taught drum lessons, I usually rake in about $60-300 a month, depending on how many students I have had at one time. Right now none, but that's by choice.

I've definitely spent more than I made, on music alone. I think since 2009 I've only made $3500 or so on music, and my studio has about $8-10,000 worth of gear, including instruments.

And money is not an issue, since I have a half decent day job as a banker.

So those are my three answers.

EDIT: The best/easiest way to make money through music is teaching. Whether that be being a band teacher or a private instructor. Even then its rough. But not as rough as gigging or album/merch selling.

 

[Pinky]

I'm in it for the fun of it. I doubt I'll ever make enough to quit my day job (unrelated to music).

Despite working 40 hours/week doing something else, I still manage to find enough time to work on music and hone my production skills. It certainly makes my music time more care free, since... I don't have to depend on it for food.

The entertainment industry, on the whole, is shrinking (as are many professional fields actually - thanks Obama! [sarcasm] ). Have to be realistic about the odds of finding work. If you were to be schooled in an in-demand field you could still enjoy (I work in IT, for example) then you could have a 9-5 j.o.b. and do whatever you want with your spare time, plus have the income to actually do things in that spare time.

 

[DM60]

I'm in it for the fun of it. I doubt I'll ever make enough to quit my day job (unrelated to music).

Despite working 40 hours/week doing something else, I still manage to find enough time to work on music and hone my production skills. It certainly makes my music time more care free, since... I don't have to depend on it for food.

The entertainment industry, on the whole, is shrinking (as are many professional fields actually - thanks Obama! [sarcasm] ). Have to be realistic about the odds of finding work. If you were to be schooled in an in-demand field you could still enjoy (I work in IT, for example) then you could have a 9-5 j.o.b. and do whatever you want with your spare time, plus have the income to actually do things in that spare time.

I don't think the industry is shrinking, I actually think it is growing, problem is, it has become so fragmented. To figure out a way to consolidate some kind of effort to get the listeners and to get them to pay, that is the hard part.

If I get 10,000 listens on some site, maybe 1000 will buy. That is pretty good. But if I try and add to the by doing a gig, that 1000 could be all over the world. I probably couldn't get enough local listeners to fill my house, let alone a club. That seems to be the bigger problem.

Maybe there is the answer, figure out how to market and target 100-150 mile radius to get improved local/regional support for the additional gigging, merch. Then maybe one could make a living. (Big maybe).

 

[Xdrummer]

I try very hard to make my gear pay for itself. Between gigs, some limited studio "clients" and small but consitent checks from BMI (for songs that have been placed) - I normally "break-even" on an annual basis (but then again, I'm a gear slut - so breaking even ain't bad).

When I was a younger man (in my 30's-40's) and I gigged alot and received pay as a session drummer I normally earned about $10,000-$15,000 annually - which at the time was more than I spent on gear - but I still had to hold down a full time day job to pay the rent, eat, etc.

Even when I was a much younger man (in my 20's) and a "full-time" musician, I don't think I ever made more than $40,000 in a year (and normally averaged much less than that). I "made a living" as a musician (for about 7 years) - but it was not much of a living!!!!!

I much prefer having music for a hobby - I can turn down gigs I don't like, I can play/write music I do like - and I can enjoy music - rather than having it feel like a "job"

 

[VomitHatSteve]

If you don't count beer and gas, I almost break even on music!

If you count stuff that's only tangentially related to music (i.e. selling websites to bands), then I make the bulk of my living off it.

I'd love to make a living playing, but I suspect it won't move past the hobby stage unless one of my bands fronted by someone with actual business savvy makes it big.

 

[Pinky]

I don't think the industry is shrinking, I actually think it is growing, problem is, it has become so fragmented.

The community is growing (more people making and releasing music), but the industry that makes, distributes, and profits from music is shrinking (numerically, adjusted for inflation). The biz was much bigger and more powerful pre-MP3 revolution... music streaming subscription services are probably going to save their asses.

 

[Seafroggys]

Honestly, the music business needs to revert back to pre-conglomerate times. The reason why the business is currently suffering has to do because 3 businesses own 90% of the industry, and that monopoly causes things to suffer. That and they are run by accountants, not by A&R reps. Before the 90s, there were lots of "small" record labels that were powerful as far as being able to promote and distribute product, that were run by A&R guys who knew music and knew what was good and also knew how to make money. "Indie" labels these days can't promote and distribute worth shit, and the big boys are shit too, so there's nothing in-between.

I think the old environment would have been just fine in the post MP3 revolution.