It is never safe to just think of one flow of cash!

One major thing I have learned in my many years of being an artist and as a vocal/artist development coach is that it is never a good idea to just focus on one area to bring in cash flow. Why is this? Well, things are always changing and with each change can come a change in how much you may earn from that area as an artist. 

Take for example when streaming services came into play. Before this, making money on your songs/CDs could earn you a decent amount of money upfront so long as you had a good following of people interested in your music. Heck, you could do a show and have people pay $15 a CD and if you had 100 people buy a CD you could walk away with an extra $1,500 on top of what you would be paid for from the venue. Now with streaming services like Spotify and Youtube artists are either earning pennies off of streams or in Youtube’s case nothing, that is if you do not meet the qualifications of what you need to have to monetize the channel.  

We could look at places like Nashville that have exploded in recent times as a point of change to the game in regards to making money on paying gigs. Before the boom of Nashville, one may be able to get compensation for gigs. Now with so many artists, many venues do not pay or pay minimum and artists are working for just tips.  

So with times changing and with these cash flows changing, how does one survive? Well, you have to think about creating multiple areas of cash flow. You have to diversify. Though this is not a new thought in the music industry I have found many starting artists are so focused on the creating process that they fail to set themselves up with a business model that trains them and prepares them to earn money in multiple areas.    

For me now when creating a song I, of course, want and need it to be an authentic song and creation but I also think about how that song will work for me. How can I earn my money back and more?  Things I think about are, could this be great for a TV show, could this be a cool viral TikTok video, could this song work for certain venues that would allow for performing opportunities, and lastly is it something that could resonate with my audience and they may want to buy some merchandise.  

Also, one could think about how they have a certain set of skills and how they could also use those skills to earn money.  For example, I have found many artists are not only great at singing or playing an instrument but also wonderful producers, writers, photographers, graphic designers, video editors, etc. So beyond just the creation of music one could also think about some side hustles to generate income. 

So whether you are going to look at earning money from just you as an artist or not I would urge you all to think about multiple areas you can generate cash flow in order to set yourself up for success because at the end of the day, people do need you and your music!