Being a musician is more than just an expensive hobby; it’s the thing that gets you out of bed in the morning, and is your last thought before you go to sleep – it’s your life.
We all want to spend our working lives doing the thing that we get the most enjoyment from – especially give that until you retire you’ll spend around 35% of waking hours in work.
Unfortunately, not everyone can make a living from what they like the most. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t love your job.
Below I have outlined 8 business and career ideas for a music lover like yourself, including jobs that some of the world’s most successful musicians have held. Read on and find out what The White Stripes’ Jack White did prior to becoming one of the world’s best known rock stars….
Within The Music Industry
There are plenty of jobs within the music industry in addition to being a musician. With a love of music it would make sense for you to take your passion into the workplace.
Here are three business and career ideas within the music industry that you’ll love.
Set Up Your Own Record Label
You’re a musician, so of course you know what music sounds good. You can apply this knowledge in a business environment by setting up your own record label.
How To Go About This?
There are a lot of great resources online that will give you guidance on how to go about setting up your own record label. The Balance have produced a great in-depth guide on how you can set up your own record label.
This is a great starting point and it also points you in towards other useful tools that will help you get an idea of how to start your own label.
Pros
- Get to release music you like
- Get to help artists you believe in achieve their dreams
Cons
- You’ll be competing with established labels who are larger and more powerful
- It’s very time consuming and difficult to monetize
Start Your Own PR Company
As a musician, you might consider this the ‘dark side’ of the industry, one that exists to misrepresent the interests of artists. Banish those thoughts. PR companies play a vital role in advancing the careers of musicians and your PR company would be no exception.
How To Go About This?
Join an existing PR company and get some experience; as a musician, you’ll already have an appreciation of the industry, you may even have contacts that can get you a foot in the door. Once you know the mechanisms of the role, build up a list of contacts and strike out on your own.
Pros
- You get to work with musicians
- It’s a creative role
Cons
- You’ll have to deal with a lot of disappointment
- You will be a middle person – between musicians/artist managers and journalists/record labels
Become A Music Therapist
You know about the therapeutic qualities of music: how it can reach into your being, massage, and address your inner conflicts. So why not use this knowledge to start your own music therapy business?
How To Go About This?
The American Music Therapy Association has an enormous number of resources that advise you on how you can get into the practice of music therapy. Here they explain the educational standards you’ll need to meet in order to become a qualified music therapist.
Once you’ve attained the qualifications then you’ll need to decide whether you want to set up your own practice or seek employment with a company as a music therapist.
Pros
- You’ll be able to use your music skills to help people
- You can earn good money – up to $71,790
Cons
- You’ll need the relevant qualifications to practice music therapy
- It’s stressful – remember, you’re helping people to deal with their problems
Image credit: Wikimedia
Go Digital
It might be that you don’t wish to mix business and pleasure. That’s fine. There are plenty of career and business options available out there that will give you professional reward that allows you to make sure you can still take pleasure in your music.
As we live in a digital age, one that is only going to become more digitized, the online world is a natural place to launch a business or career outside of the music industry. Here are three examples that you’ll love.
Become A Vlogger
You have a huge amount of knowledge on music — and that’s a valuable commodity. By utilizing YouTube and turning your hand to vlogging, you have the potential share your knowledge with a huge audience.
How To Go About This?
Set up an account on YouTube, begin uploading videos, and build up your subscribers.
You can then monetize the videos that you share by connecting with brands who wish to sell their products to your audience, by using an influencer marketing platform like FameBit.
Pros
- You’ll get to spend your work day talking about music
- You get to connect with an audience who share your interest in music
Cons
- You will need a lot of followers to make money from vlogging
- It’s a crowded marketplace
Start Your Own Online Business
All it takes to set up your own business is a good idea. You’re a musician: you’re creative, inspired, and you’ve got loads of good ideas.
All it takes to set up an online business is to turn a good idea into a marketable product and then chose the right online platform to sell it on.
You may be able to sell branded band merchandize, creative fashion products inspired by music, or music industry paraphernalia like gifts and t-shirts.
How To Go About This?
There are a few ways that you can set up your own online business. You could sell your product(s) direct via Ebay, Etsy, Facebook, or you could set up your own online store. (In fact, why not do both?).
If you decide to set up an online store then your options are:
- Pay a developer to build you a custom website to your specifications
- Use an online store building platform
- Buy an existing store from a website marketplace like Exchange and then give it a tune up — there are plenty of music-friendly stores on there to choose from.
If you are selling physical products (as opposed to software, for example) then you’ll need to chose how to get these to your customers. There are two ways you can do this:
- You can hold and ship the goods yourself
- You purchase your products from a third party, who then dispatches them to your customers. This process is known as ‘dropshipping’.
Pros
- Gives you the freedom of being your own boss
- Can be set up with low overheads
Cons
- You need to come up with a product that sells
- You’ll be your own boss – this means that your income will depend on how successful your business is
Take Inspiration From Your Heroes
You know the importance of drawing influence from your musical heroes when you’re making music, so why should this be any different with your vocation?
Here are some of the businesses and careers chosen by some of the world’s most successful musicians:
Furniture Upholstery: Jack White, vocalist/guitarist for The White Stripes
Prior to releasing three US top 10 albums, as one half of the hugely successful blues-rock/garage rock revival duo, The White Stripes, Jack White ran his own furniture upholstery company, Third Man Upholstery.
The work must have left some impression on White because in 2001 he formed Third Man Records.
Taxi Driver: Philip Glass, American composer
Three of his film scores have been nominated for Academy Awards – Kundun (1997), The Hours (2002), Notes on a Scandal (2006) – but prior to making a living from music, Philip Glass worked as a taxi driver.
Glass’ reason was that he wanted to take a role that wouldn’t cause him to lose sight of his goal of forging a career in the music business, explaining: “I was careful to take a job that couldn’t have any possible meaning for me.”
Second-hand Clothing Salesman: Freddie Mercury, vocalist/pianist for Queen
As frontman for Queen, it’s estimated that the late Freddie Mercury has sold anywhere between 150 million and 300 million records. But it could all have been so different for him.
Before becoming one of the most beloved musicians of all time, Mercury was a second-hand clothing salesman, selling, as Queen drummer Roger Taylor says, “old Edwardian clothes” on a stall at Kensington Market.
The dream for any musician is that releasing records and playing gigs/festivals pays enough for you live off your music.
You should never give up on your dream – Philip Glass didn’t make a living from his music until he was 42 – and there is no shame in taking a different role while you’re on your journey to selling a platinum record and headlining Lollapalooza.
Not all of the job business and career ideas that I’ve listed above will be for you. But even if just one of them is, don’t hold back: take the plunge and take the first step towards starting a job that you’ll love.
Victoria Greene is a branding consultant and freelance writer. On her blog, VictoriaEcommerce, she shares tips on digital business and creative strategies. She is passionate about using the experience she has gained to help other creatives improve their digital lives.
