earn money making music

Two years ago me and my friends started a band. We have learned so much about each other and the business since then. We’ve built a mini studio in the basement, performed gigs and are finally ready to really get things started and make some money.

Plenty of us have seen and heard websites, emails, podcasts and books on how to promote your music and sell cds on the web. These strategies are mostly geared toward musicians who play various forms of popular music and have a CD to sell.

There is a large audience of musicians who DON’T play a form of popular music and DON’T have a CD to sell. Who are they? Musicians who TEACH.

Now, many performing musicians also teach, but few of them get the idea that they can also package their instruction and sell them as products on the web. That’s what I’ve done.

I started a few years back leading a discussion board on saxophone playing allowing people to chat, trade advice, and I wrote short articles now and then.

I eventually started an email newsletter (without a website) offering my tips per a weekly email. I first offered a 5 day mini-course in exchange for their email address. Within a short time I had over 400 subscribers to my list.

After having their email addresses, I sent short articles to my list every week. This was all as self-promotion.

I eventually added a website, which became a blog. By now I had the trust of my members and then I began offering products. I created Books and CD-ROMs. Almost immediately I began making a couple hundred dollars per month. I then digitized my products and start selling digital downloads of the products.

Since then, I created a few more products and I am now working on creating DVDs.

I’m not getting rich doing this, but it is gratifying to create something once and to continue earning money on it over and over again.

Over the past 5 years I have earned a couple thousand dollars from each product.

Next year, after I’m done with the Vacant Sky Parlor albums I’m writing/recording.. I’m going to get into doing instrument musics, and see if I can work through taxi.com to get them into tv and radio.

I can support myself if I want to, doing the things I love. I can support myself, doing the things I love. I can make money doing the things I love. I can earn money singing, playing and teaching. It is quite possible. I must stop doubting myself. I can do this.