8 Unique Ways Too Monetize Your Music Without Spending a Dime
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- Oct 22, 2016
- 28 min read
The hustle and never ending grind of the unsigned Hip-Hop artist is definitely far too under appreciated. Especially when you consider that 90% of those who fall into the category aren't seeing any of the "fruits of their labor" to say the least. Ironically, people associate fame, wealth, and fortune with our genres participators when the cold hard truth is that making a living as a Rapper is a cut throat business where even the strong fail to survive. If you thought that a career choice in the music industry would consist of high profile VIP after parties, over indulging in "extra curriculars", sexy women lined up from here to kentucky to meet you, or a never ending abundance of cash available for you to throw around frivolously...then reality has plans to prepare a huge steaming pile of disappointment for you. I've worked in projects with big name artists who were considered to have made a successful career in Rap then come to find that they're no better off then the rest of us. Many times they're just lucky to pay all of their bills at the end of the month much less have the funds to do anything close to "making it rain". However, don't let this new found discovery steer you off course. There are ways to make a rewarding career as a Hip-Hop musician but it doesn't involve the traditional methods that used to work as those are becoming more and more obsolete everyday. In this article i'm going to share with you the blueprint i've formulated for my success that has allowed me to make money off of my albums and records. These are approaches that everyone, regardless of name status, notoriety, or budget size, can take advantage of. Most of them don't require that you sell anything with the exception of merchandise (which i'll throw a new twist on to maximize sales numbers). The only real requirement you'll need to have before you can proceed to initiate many of them is a website. Which any musician who takes their career seriously should have by now but for our newbies who are just starting out in their endeavours, i've listed a couple resources below where you can go to create your own website for free. Just a quick tip though, I don't recommend slapping together a webpage and putting it out for a public audience to see. If your personal pages lack content and true substance then those who come to see it more than likely wont come back and we want to make the most out of every pair of eyes laid upon us. Don't sound pitchy or salesman like either. Invite your fans in to your personal ventures and let them get to know the real you. They're more likely to take notice if you let them know that they're extremely appreciated just for taking the time to listen, whether they chose to buy, share, ect... There are thousands and thousands of other artists in the same position as you many of which bringing a sound better suited for your listeners, that's just the simple truth. So just be thankful to everyone who took the time out of their day to listen and give your stuff a chance.
Build Your Free Website:
Check out some of your favorite rappers website pages and get an idea of how you want to put yours together off of that. Most of the host's i've provided offer templates and layouts specific to your websites purpose but you'll still have to throw in your own personal touch through out some parts of the process. Check out the article below from our friends over at "DIYMusician" if you need further assistance.
1) Google Adsense
AdSense is one of many ways to earn money from the Web. AdSense for content is a system of Google contextual ads that you can place on your blog, search engine, or Web site. Google, in return, will give you a portion of the revenue generated from these ads. The rate you are paid varies, depending on the keywords on your Web site used to generate the ads.
Text ads come from Google AdWords, which is Google's advertising program.
Advertisers bid in a silent auction to advertise for each keyword, and then content providers get paid for the ads they place in their content. Neither advertisers nor content providers are in complete control over which ads go where. That's one of the reasons why Google has restrictions on both content providers and advertisers.
How To Apply:
You must apply, and Google must approve your site before you may earn money from AdSense.
You can fill out an AdSense application directly at www.google.com/adsense
You can also apply from within your Blogger blog.
Learn how to ad AdSense to your Blogger.
The application process may take several days before approval.
AdSense is divided into two basic locations:
AdSense for Content
AdSense for Search
AdSense for Content covers ads placed in blogs and Web sites. You can also place ads in the RSS or Atom feed from your blog.
AdSense for Search covers ads placed within search engine results. Companies, such as Blingo can create a custom search engine using Google search results.
Payment Method:
Google offers three payment methods.
CPC, or cost per click ads pay every time someone clicks on an ad.
CPM, or cost per thousand impressions ads pay for every thousand times a page is viewed.
Cost per action, or referral ads are software ads that pay for every time someone follows a link and takes the advertised action, such as downloading software.
Google for Search results only use CPC ads.
Payments are generally monthly by either check or electronic funds transfer. US residents must supply
tax information to Google, and the income you receive will be reported to the IRS. Google AdSense ads can potentially pay well. There are people who earn in excess of $100,000 per year in AdSense revenue alone. However, to earn money from AdSense, you really need to attract a large audience. This takes time, quality content, search engine optimization, and possibly advertising. It's possible for a new AdSense user to spend more money on advertising and server fees than they earn in revenue. It's also possible to make content with keywords that nobody has purchased through AdWords. When this happens, you will only see Google public service ads, and those do not generate income.
The unique thing about AdSense is that ads are very unobtrusive, so it provides a better user experience than flashy banner ads. Because the ads are contextual, many people will want to click on them anyway, since the results may be relevant. You don't have to be big or famous to start using AdSense, and the application process is simple. You can even insert ads in your Blogger blog, so you don't need to host your own Web site. AdSense acts like your own ad broker. You don't have to negotiate prices or find appropriate advertisers. Google does that for you, so you can concentrate on creating quality content and publicizing your Web site.
2) YouTube Partner Program:
The YouTube Partner Program lets content creators monetize content on YouTube in many ways, including:
Advertisements
Paid Subscriptions
Merchandise
How do you monetize Youtube videos? To check your channel's eligibility and opt in for monetization:
Sign in to your YouTube account
In the top right, select your account icon > Creator Studio
In the left menu, select Channel > Status and features
Next to "Monetization," click Enable
How do you become a youtube partner? Enable ads on your older videos.
Once logged in to YouTube, navigate to your Video Manager.
Find the video you want to place ads in.
Click the “$” icon next to your video.
This will open the Monetization tab.
Check the “Monetize my video” box.
Select the ad formats you want to have appear.
...Click “Save Changes”.
The concept behind the YouTube Partner program is simple:
You create and publish videos on your YouTube Channel, then do what’s necessary to build an audience for them.
Each time someone views one of your videos, either a banner display ad (called an “Overlay InVideo” ad) is displayed within the video window, or a short TV commercial-style ad is played prior to your video playing.
Plus, banner ads are automatically displayed on your YouTube channel page.
Each time someone views, clicks on or watches a video-based ad on your YouTube Channel, you earn a little revenue.
How much you earn depends on a variety of criteria, including the type of ad that’s seen or responded to by the viewer. If you want to earn significant and ongoing revenues as a YouTube Partner, you’ll need to consistently generate thousands or, better yet, tens of thousands (or more) video views, each and every month. Becoming a YouTube Partner costs nothing and is totally optional. One of the biggest
benefits to becoming a YouTube Partner is that Googlehandles all the advertising placement, revenue collections and your payments. Once you become part of the program, Google matches up your videos with advertisers, decides what ads will appear, and keeps track of all traffic (views), as well as ad responses. YouTube then pays you accordingly for your participation in the Partner program. There's no need for you to find, solicit or manage the advertisers. This becomes an automated process.Once you become a YouTube Partner, you can only earn revenue from videos that contain all original content and adhere to YouTube’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. Videos that violate copyrights--for example, if your video contains copyrighted music that you don't own or visual content that doesn't belong to you--don't quality for this program.
3) Affiliate Programs:
A common way to make money online is through affiliate marketing. What is affiliate marketing? Let’s back up one step… There are essentially two ways to make money online:
1) Sell your own stuff
2) Sell or promote someone else’s stuff and get paid for doing it.
We’ll tackle affiliate marketing which falls under #2. Note there are affiliate links in this post.
The 3 basic steps in affiliate marketing include:
Recommending a product or service to people (your followers or people you know).
Some of those people purchase the product or service based on your recommendation.
You get paid a commission for those purchases.
That’s it. Simple, right? In other words you partner with the company that sells a product or service you’d like to recommend. As their partner, you are their affiliate (sometimes referred to as an associate, partner, internet marketer oraffiliate marketer). You recommend (sometimes referred to as
market or promote) this product or service to your followers. You might do this by writing a post about it, placing a button or banner ad somewhere on your site, mentioning it in your email newsletter or talking about it on social media. You then include a special link to the product or service so followers can check it out for themselves. But you don’t just use any link, you use your affiliate link. It contains a special number, your affiliate ID, which is unique to you. A follower uses your affiliate link to check out the product or service and they decide to purchase it. When their purchase is complete, you earn a commission. You receive a payout of your accumulated earnings after a specified period of time, or when your earnings reach a certain threshold ($100 is common). Six important things to remember before you become an affiliate.
Choose only products or services you can recommend without reservation
Seek out the best. Products or services you’ve used yourself are great since you can speak from experience. Note that you can become an affiliate for large companies once, and then promote any of their products. For example, you can become an affiliate with Amazon (“Amazon Associate”) once and promote any of their products.
Choose products or services that are relevant to your niche
If your site is about children’s books and you promote car insurance, at best you’ll look like you don’t know what you’re doing and at worst, you’ll be branded a “spammer.” Once you develop a bad reputation as a spammer or an “out to make a quick buck” type of affiliate marketer, it’s incredibly difficult to go back. Start out with high standards and you’ll be fine. Simply put, promoting bad stuff makes you look bad and will hurt you in the long run.
Look around for the best affiliate deal
My friend Carrie tipped me off to this and after searching around, I realized one of my affiliates paid almost 30% more if I went through a different network. Experiment, experiment, experiment! Experiment with different networks, types of content, ad sizes, text links vs. images, placement on your page, etc. Sometimes there are vast differences in revenue when small changes are made. Always know the Terms of Service for the programs in which you are participating. For example, some programs do not allow you to include affiliate links in emails like Amazon Associates (this even includes links in posts that get sent to subscribers via email).Four ways to find affiliate products or services to promote
When you’re looking for things to promote, be creative
Every product or service you use and love might very well be affiliate-worthy. Here are some ways to find out whether or not there’s an affiliate program attached to the things you talk about and use:
Think of a product or service you already like and go to the website of said product.
Look for a link (often in the footer) that says “Affiliates,” “Affiliate Program,” “Referral Program” or something similar.
Follow the links to sign up.
Search for terms like “[product] affiliate program.” For example, “Target affiliate program.” If your first
search doesn’t turn up anything, try again. Don’t give up too easily. Sometimes there are slight variances in word usage or terms.
Take note of the affiliate products others in your niche are using. Look at their sites. Read their posts. What’s in their sidebar? What are they linking to? If you see a product or service they talk about that jogs your memory and you can ethically promote it too, find affiliate information by the methods described above.
Another way to find things to promote is to join an affiliate network and browse through their available campaigns. In fact, many companies offer their affiliate program via an affiliate network, so many times as you are searching for possible products to promote, you will have to join an affiliate network anyway. This will often work to your advantage since you’ll have access to a lot more products, all in one fell swoop. Like this…What is an affiliate network? An affiliate network works like this:
An affiliate network is like a middleman. They provide a place where advertisers (i.e. companies that have products or services to sell, sometimes called “vendors”) are matched up with publishers (i.e. you, the blogger or website owner; also referred to as “affiliates”).
Advertisers approach an affiliate network and say, “We will reward any of your publishers $XX who promote Product X and it results in a sale. ”If in agreement, the network lists that campaign (or offer) on their website. Once you, the publisher, join an affiliate network you can log in and see the available “Campaigns,” “Offers,” or “Marketplace” to promote. Sometimes you have to apply to be part of the specific campaign for that product, sometimes you don’t; it depends on the affiliate network and advertiser. Once you are cleared to promote a particular product and you understand the terms for that campaign, you look through the list of available buttons, banners, text links, etc. for that product. You choose the one that you like most and copy the code they provide for you. This code has your unique ID in it. Use this link when promoting the product. Affiliate networks are nice for advertisers because the advertisers don’t have to run the affiliate program themselves. Affiliate networks are nice for publishers because it’s like one-stop shopping and they don’t have to hunt for individual programs. Of course, affiliate networks are nice for the affiliate networks because they are acting as middlemen and getting a piece of the profit pie. What are some affiliate networks you can join? Different affiliate networks provide different products so you’ll want to hunt around to find the one(s) that are the best fit for you. Here are some affiliate networks I am a part of, along with a sampling of the types of products, services or campaigns they offer:
ShareASale – A large network offering such things like Genesis Theme for WordPress (my favorite!! and if you use Genesis, you might as well make that link in your footer an affiliate link, right?). Sign up for ShareASale here. Use the Product Discovery Bookmarklet Tool to make linking to products easier.
Escalate Network – Another network similar to Logical Media (good for families) offering many of the same things. Sign up with Escalate Network here.
Commission Junction – This is a HUGE affiliate network with a bazillion affiliate programs such as Moo Cards (super cute business cards) and Bluehost & HostGator (web hosting). Sign up as an affiliate with Commission Junction here.
Amazon Associates – Who doesn’t love Amazon and the fact that you can get almost anything there? (Plus, it’s a handy place to spend all those Swagbucks gift cards!) Of course, they have much more than books like a Kindle, or even computers like Macs (be still my heart), Pirate’s Booty (we’ve been known to buy these by the case) and textbooks (stop here before the college bookstore!). Sign up withAmazon Associates here.
Clickbank - Anyone can join ClickBank as an affiliate - it's free. When you find a product that you wish to promote, either at a vendor's website or by searching through the ClickBank Marketplace, you will be given a unique link which you use to bring customers to the product page.
PPC, CPM, CPA…huh? When we’re talking about ads and affiliate links, there are different types of ads. Sometimes, getting paid depends on which type of ad your site has. You will inevitably encounter a whole host of acronyms as you delve into the world of making money online.
CPA = Cost-Per-Action (sometimes referred to as CPL = Cost-Per-Lead) Much of what I talked about previously would fall into this category. It works like this:
You put a CPA ad on your site. A reader clicks on it and is asked to complete some sort of action such as purchasing a product, signing up for a newsletter, providing an email address, printing a coupon or subscribing to something. You get paid when the reader completes the required action.
PPC = Pay-Per-Click (PPC)Pay-Per-Click is different. As the name suggests, Pay-Per-Click works like this: Each time one of your readers clicks on a PPC ad on your site, you get paid. The amount you are paid (CPC, or, the Cost-Per-Click) largely depends on your keywords and how much advertisers are paying for those keywords.
CPM = Cost-Per-Mille or Cost-Per-Impression (sometimes CPI)The “mille” here is Latin for 1000 and “M” is the Roman numeral for the same. So, some refer to this as Cost-Per-Thousand—thousand impressions or pageviews that is. It works like this: You put an ad on your site and you get paid a predetermined amount for every 1000 pageviews on your site. So for example, let’s say you are working with an ad network that pays $2 CPM. Every time their ad is shown 1000 times on your site, they pay you $2. Pretend your site gets 50,000 pageviews a month (and a particular ad shows up on every one of those pages). That means you will be paid $100 that month for that ad because $2 for 50 thousands (times it is “viewed”) is $100. Make sense? When is PPC, CPM & CPA right for me? Perhaps it’s obvious, but all of these advertising options work best for sites with high traffic since they are all dependent on lots of eyeballs seeing the ads and either clicking or completing actions. Having said that, don’t be discouraged. My recommendation is to try all kinds and see which works best for you. All blogs are different and all bloggers have different levels of success when it comes to the types of ads they use. What if I don’t have a lot of traffic? Well, you have a few options:
Increase your traffic
Diversify
Use PPC, CPM and CPA ads as one of your many streams of income
Even if you don’t get a whole lot of money, a little is better than none
There’s nothing that says you can’t start advertising now, even if your traffic isn’t huge. In fact, it might be even better so you can work the kinks out of your system while your blog is still small. Do some research and find the campaigns that pay the most. For example, some CPC ads pay $.05 per click while others pay $10 per click. If you capitalize on the bigger ones, you’ll obviously make more. How do I maximize my profit from affiliate marketing? I hate to sound like a broken record, but again, it’s all going to be unique to you and your blog or website. But if you’re stumped and truly aren’t sure where to start, take a look at the bigger blogs in your niche. How are they utilizing advertising? What types of ads do they use? Where are they placed on the page? Ask around. In my experience, if you establish a good relationship with other bloggers (and especially if you are giving more than you are taking in that relationship), over time, most are more than willing to share tips and hints about what has and has not worked for them. Never stop trying new things.
4) Merchandise:
So I know what you're thinking...no duh! I get it. My reaction most likely would be the same had I not gotten educated on this business leaving no stone unturned. Surprisingly, most indie's (Independants) don't know how to tackle this one. Even I, myself must confess that I'm guilty of
making the same mistake as everybody else in the beginning stages of my career and simply throwing up different clothing merchandise and album CD's expecting people to line up at my virtual door to spend there hard earned money on yet another unsigned, underground rapper. Does it come as any surprise to you that it didn't work out the way in the slightest? My guess? No! See there's a strategic and analytic way to approach selling your merchandise and you're in luck because I'm about to tell you what that is.
Merchandise sales are tricky. Being that we live in the age of torrent downloads and pirated album galore, our reliance on other revenue sources are amplified that much bigger. What you have to take into consideration here is that, nobody's buying your album for the music my friend. They've more than likely already gotten it for free through some app or peer-to-peer file sharing program but...! No need to worry! That doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't wanting to buy your album CD at all. No, in fact i've found that most people are very willing to pay $20 - $25 for a good souvenir to take home. That's right! You heard correctly folks. The fact is most of the people who would potentially buy a physical copy of your CD, want to throw it on their shelves to look pretty and collect dust until spring cleaning comes around. Uplifts your spirits doesn't it? But in all seriousness, put yourself in your fans shoes. When was the last time you purchased some ones E.P. or Mixtape? I can tell you from my experience that the last album I purchased was about a year and a half ago at a Hopsin concert where I spent $35 on a signed album of "Knock Madness". Now i'm sitting here thankful or having done it because it allows me to give you guys a perfect example as to how far things like a simple signature on your album can go. Guess how much it takes me to press up a physical copy of my latest album "Rapping Under The Influence"... $3. Yup! It's true, cross my nuts and hope to fly! Now just imagine this scenario, I press up 18 albums, costing me a mere $54. I divide the 18 CD's in half, 9 unsigned and 9 with my signature on it. I charge $20 for the unsigned and $35 for the signed copies each. If I only sell 2 (I repeat) 2!!! Signed copies, I've already made $70 leaving me a profit gain of $16. Freaking incredible right?! So incorporate things such as this to give the fans a more personable souvenir.
For clothing apparel items, there's a number of resources you can use to make sure you're not eating any losses towards unsold merch. One in particular that I've used and seen success with is online 3rd party hosting platforms that let you design the clothing item online and when an order is placed for it, they take the larger cut of the profits but leave you a generous percentage considering that you really didn't do anything at all besides play virtual dress up. They also take care of pressing it up and shipping it out at no extra cost to you. Below are just a few places you can go to for these services but it might be beneficial to study up on the different companies around and see which one gives you the highest percentage, has the best quality product, most options, ect... Remember, if someone buys a product through your website, they automatically assume it's you and your organization dealing with their order, so find a company with great ratings and reviews that will represent you well.
Now hey, don't get me wrong this is a great option for those who are looking at maybe selling 5-10 items a month but even still, you are sacrificing most of the profits or the amount you could be making selling your own product to avoid the risk. So here's my tip. Try it out for a couple of months and see how you do. If clothing merch sales are poppin, then it may be time to upgrade! A good heat press isn't going to cost you your children's college fund like you might think. On the contrary, they're actually quite affordable and wise to invest in. A heat press allows you the freedom to buy your blank T-shirt or other clothing apparel items in bulk and press the logo / design on your self. That means you keep 100% of what you make but if you're not smart about the way you approach this, you can definitely take on uneeded risk. Not to mention the burden of how time consuming the task of pressing each logo onto your merchandise one-by-one can be. obstacle in itself but if you're able to recruit helpers or you can make time then this is definitely an option to consider. Below i've listed a very affordable, and useful option that being the Morphon Heat Press model. This is a great choice to consider due to it's relatively low price and multifunctional capabilities that allow you to press other product items like hats and coffee mugs.
Mophron Multifunctional Heat Press:
Large 12" x 15" transfer element, Adjustable multi-spring balancer;
Hat/Cap Press: 6"x 3" (curved); Wattage: 1400W
Full 360-degree rotation of swing-away design;Fahrenheit and Celsius scale are selectable
Five Elements: Platen Press (telfon-coated): 12" x 15" (38X30cm);Hat/Cap Press: 6"x 3" (curved);Mug Press: 3"-3.5" diameter (11OZ);Plate Press #1: 5" max diameter;Plate Press #2: 6" max diameter
Just because y'all tha homies!...I'll go ahead and share a bit of a "not so secret" secret ;) If you're like me then you're going to do anything you need to do to get the work done. Even if that means, spending 20 minutes on each t-shirt pressing the logo's on with a regular house hold iron! Catch that? Well just in case let me recap. You can get the job done with a blank T-Shirt, regular handheld iron, and printer transfer paper (princess panther who?) yep, in case you're unfamiliar with it...transfer paper is a type of paper you can print your logo / design on straight from your inkjet or laser printer and press or iron on afterwards. I've used it myself many of times and the end result was great. Let me show you a picture of the result:
8.5x11", 50 Sheet Pack
Thick 20.0 mil Transfer
Apply with only an iron
Create unique clothing designs
5) Digital Music Distribution Companies:
The playing fields have been leveled between the underground and mainstream music industry and online music publishers (such as CDbaby, Tunecore, Reverbnation, ect...) play a huge role in maintaining that balance. If you're not familiar with these organizations or how to capatelize on their services then allow me to explain. Here's how it works. Basically, you register with one of these companies (of your choice of course) online and pay a one time fee (don't freak out, it's actually generally a very miniscule amount) for getting your album or singles licensed for
commercial use. Once you complete the process of doing so, the digital distributor then gets you're music published on all major internet streaming and radio services, as well as music web retailers like Itunes and google play to be listed for sale with most of the profit going to you. So I mean that's all fine and dandy and it certainly does right by you in terms of exposure but hey...let's keeep it real, exposure alone doesn't pay rent. I get it trust me....and so do the distributors, which is why they collect a percantage royalty commission fee for you every time your song is played on internet stations like Spotify, Jango, Pandora, ect.. as well as when your song is played in someone else's youtube video's ( say for a commercial or another musicians music video to a song you collabed with him / her on). There are hundreds of different companies out there and they all pay differently and many offer alot of additional services like education, website hosting, ect... and once an album is licensed through one of them you can't then go license that same album through another company while under your term agreement. Make sure that you do your research and see wich company is going to suit you best and give you the most bang for your buck. I've put in many hpof research myself looking for the best one to use with my own music and more recently wich ones favor the most among people. Below are a few links to different digital distribution companies as well as a few recources to do your own research and make your own conclusion.
Tunecore
Find Out Who The Best Digital Music Distribution Company Is:
6) Rent Studio Time:
Soooo yea...I know, not the most appealing of the choices but hey, nonetheless, it's a way to generate a decent amount of income and it's not really a ton of work. You're simply letting other artists use your recording equipment in exchange for a designated amount per hour they wish to be in the studio. You
can charge your customers differently if you wish of course but i find that to be the easiest way. Keep in mind, you're not producing, you're not mixing and mastering, you're not doing anything except being present to hit the record and stop recording button. If there are certain days or times of the day you aren't available then all you have to do is specify that opon announcing or advertising your service. Here's I go about doing this. On my website, I actually have a form artists can fill out specifying the date and time they wan't to schedule (making the dates and times i'm not available un-selectable, the amount of hours they want to rent the studio for, and a paypal or ccl section to pay. The price is automatically calculated in a section of the form before they pay. I actually have it encoded and programmed to then automatically set a reminder for that date and time in my google calender as well as theirs automatically and immidiately upon submission. I will list the link to the page where you too can learn to set up your google forms with that function. It's really as simple as copying the HTML code and pasting it in the script editor of your forms but there are a few steps in between. What you charge per hour should really be dependant on the quality and amount of equipment your renting out. If you're renting out $10,000 worth of recording equipment then an hour using it is obviously going to be worth more than than an hour using a $200 Protools starter kit set up. I'm not really out to gouge people by any means but with that being said I recognize that an hour for a customer (artist) to record is an hour of my time that doesn't go to marketing, promoting, networking, producing, mixing, ect.. My time is valuable... and if you're working towards your dream passionately then so is yours. I personally charge $30 / hour to record in my studio but you should asses your specific set up and maybe check out online to see what others charge to use their set up and make comparisons with that information before you make a determination regarding the amount of money you charge.
7) Produce and Mix:
I listed this one in a seperate section because you can sell these services without recording anybody, and if you did record the artist then you just tack on an extra fee for producing, and mastering. Having recorded the songs on your hardware and DAWS only makes the job easier. Figuring out a way to lock a set price on top of your mixing and production services is difficult, because of this
I reccomend using a quote system where you have the artists send you the songs or albums they want you to work with for the purpose of damage assesment. In other words, because mixing and mastering is more work with certain songs and less with others, have your customer send you a sample of their work so you can get a rough idea of how long it will take and what kind of tasks will be involved with completing the job. I keep a checklist of things the song will need for mastering like low pass, high pass, compression, ect, so that I have a visual of the job i'd be doing and a documented record that I can refer too for the customer. The price you charge is completely
dependant on you and what you feel like your time and service is worth. If you're a stranger to the world of mixing and producing feel free to go ahead and check out the link below for lessons and information on how to master audio tracks using the free software "Audacity".
8) Crowdfunding:
Here's the magic question though...how do you make a music project happen? Great question! The poet inside of me wants to tell you that it's all about passion, inspiration, hard work and perseverance..And don't get me wrong it definately is. To some degree…But let's not beat around the bush, we all know what it’s really about. That big fat
nasty M-word. Nope, it’s not magic (although a little magic would be nice). As hard as it is to say, it’s about M-O-N-E-Y. I know, it's a hard truth to cope with. But every musician has to think about money eventually. Especially if you wanna take music promotion seriously.So how do you turn a following into funding? Easy. It’s called crowdfunding. But where do you start? And more importantly, how do you make it work? Here’s what you need to know about crowdfunding and how to use it to get funding for your next project. Crowdfunding means getting a small amount of support from a large audience (like your fans!). It lets you stop looking for a huge advance from one source (like a record label, or a loan). Crowdfunding lets you tap into all those loyal followers you’ve been building through learning how to promote your music, and guess what? Your fans WANT to support you. All you have to do is ask. Crowdfunding lets you do it in a manageable way. Plus you get to give back to your fans along the way. If you apply yourself right and promote smart, crowdfunding really works. Bands like Misery Signals have used it to fund albums. Independent musician Rob Harris funded his entire album in 5 days. And since launching, Kickstarter has helped creators raise over $2.5 billion dollars in funding. Other platforms like "Indiegogo" tailor towards independant musicians and film makers. Smart crowdfunding is all about your community. You can definitiely add to your community through smart crowdfunding. But it’s easier if you have a fanbase and network established first before you get started.That means growing your following through SoundCloud, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, MailChimp or any other social media platform that you use for your music promotion. Crowdfunding let’s you do 3 very important things:
1) Give back to your loyal fans
2) Get valuable insight into what your fanbase cares about and what your project means to them
3) Turn your community into a sustainable resource for your future projects
Crowdfunding isn’t a money machine you can turn on and let the bucks roll in. Campaigns need a lot of DIY work. Promoting your campaign will take solid planning, a promotion plan, and help from everyone involved.
DO’S AND DONT’S OF CROWDFUNDING:
Do: Make a business plan
Remember what I said earlier about everything being up to you? Well when it comes to promoting your crowdfund campaign this couldn’t be more true. You need to tell ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE (especially Grandma). This is where all your other platforms come in. Use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or even your live gigs to get the word out about your campaign. Most platforms claim that your project is easy to promote right inside the platform, but you’ll see a way bigger return if you use every possible channel. That means face-to-face word of mouth as well!
When you’re setting a goal for your project, make sure you know your budget. That means making a business plan and sticking to it. If you’re recording an album make sure you consider everything you’re gonna need. That means thinking about studio time, gear, mixing, music mastering and anything else that needs funding. This will help you set a realistic goal for your crowdfunding campaign. It will also ensure that you’re able to deliver on what you promised to your fans.
Here are the links to the most established crowdfunding platforms but of course as with anything else I encourage you to do your own research and find out what each one offers as well as how much of a percantage will be charged if you meet your goal. Check out the link below for a side-by-side comparison of the top platforms.
Do: Promote the F outta’ your campaign
Remember what I said earlier about everything being up to you? Well when it comes to promoting your crowdfund campaign this couldn’t be more true. You need to tell ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE (especially Grandma). This is where all your other platforms come in. Use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or even your live gigs to get the word out about your campaign. Most platforms claim that your project is easy to promote right inside the platform, but you’ll see a way bigger return if you use every possible channel. That means face-to-face word of mouth as well!
Do: Tell a story
It’s easy to tell people WHAT you want. But you need to tell them WHY to. Tell your story. Use your campaign to let everyone know what you’re trying to accomplish. Tell them where you’ve been and where you want to go. But most of all, tell them why you’re using crowdfunding. If you’ve had bad experiences in the past with projects let people know! Telling a story will help your project get traction and make you more personable to your audience. If a fan knows WHY you create for them, they’ll be way more likely to hit that donate button.
Don’t: Over promise and under deliver
When someone donates to your crowdfund they’re doing it because they expect you to complete your project. Don’t promise something unrealistic. Start simple so you can deliver something well-made to your fans. When it comes to building a fanbase, crowdfunding can backfire if you don’t follow through. So be real with your fans and deliver something they’ll love.
Don’t: Take the money and run
Just because your campaign ends doesn’t mean you can stop engaging with your fans. Crowdfunding means staying involved long after you have your funding. Keep your fans up to date with what you’ve been working on. Send out all the rewards you promised as soon as you can, and turn all your funders into super-fans. Crowdfunding can help you get money, but it also helps you build and maintain an audience. So work hard at keeping all of them interested long after the campaign is over. So that the next time you launch a crowdfunding campaign, they’ll be right there with you
Kickstarter is the most established crowdfunding platform. If you know what crowdfunding is you probably know what Kickstarter is. A Kickstarter campaign is easy to setup and free to start. The funding is pretty straightforward:You set a goal for funding and set a deadline. If you meet your goal in time you receive all the funding you managed to get (Kickstarter takes 5%). If you don’t meet your goal in time, every donation made by your fanbase is refunded. It’s an all or nothing gamble, but it’s the most well known and recognizable platform for creating a campaign.Depending on how much a fan donates they get rewards that you decide on. Like tickets to gigs, albums, posters, private shows, or anything else you wanna give away (maybe even a pair of stinky old shoes?).It’s a great way to use some imagination in your campaign and give back to your fans.
Patreon is newer than some of the other more established crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. But it’s a bit different from other services.
Instead of asking for a one time amount Patreon lets you set up a funding campaign that is ongoing. You can decide if you want your Patreon to be on a monthly or per-project basis.
For example: if one of your fans chooses to pledge $5 it would be a recurring $5 donation every month or every project you start.
It’s great for funding an entire album project that will unfold over time, or for branding your project all around with music videos, gigs, tours or merchandise.
Indiegogo is another one of the original crowdfunding platforms for creators. Their services are more tailored to artists like musicians, filmmakers, and other creatives.
It’s pretty similar to Kickstarter. It’s free to get started. You create a page and video explaining your project. Then you set a a goal and deadline for your campaign.
If you meet your goal you get the money (Indiegogo takes 4%). If you don’t meet the goal you get nothing.
There you have it folks! As you can see getting your music career off the ground is no small task but the good news is that it's totally possible, contrary to what alot of people tend to think. We are lucky to have access to so many online recources in our generation and with the right kind of drive and creativity, acheiving success in the underground music scene is bound to happen for you. If you found this article helpful then please share with your freinds so they may as well. Also, leave your feedback and suggestions in the comments so I can bring you guys the kind of content you like best! ;:) Thank you all so much for your support. Until next time, peace!
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