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Do You Qualify?
Record Label Realities
Lifestyle of Freedom
Income Streams
Music Business & Money
How Much Money
Getting Started
Pro or Amateur?
Common Pitfalls
Do You Qualify?
Record Label Realities
Lifestyle of Freedom
Income Streams
Music Business & Money
How Much Money
Getting Started
Pro or Amateur?
Common Pitfalls
 |
Why Small Time Musician? How much money does a full-time musician make? Qualification #1 - Talent How can I get paid to play music full-time? Qualification #2 - Sales Skill What does it take to be a full-time musician? Qualification #3 - Discipline How do full-time musicians get and keep regular gigs? |
| Why not Big Time Musician? How do I get my music noticed? |
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Why Small Time Musician?
Did you know that the average full-time musician works about 20-30 hours a week and earns an average of $55,000 per year? You can verify this info at US Dept. of Labor.
Of course this varies as much as $20,000 per year depending on their instrument, geographical location, clientele, etc.
There is a lot of information on the web for “do it yourself musicians” and “independent artists.”
Much of it is good when it comes to building an online presence and marketing yourself. Yet there is no real information about how musicians can replace their current income and transition into playing music full-time.
That's where I come in, to share insights from our experiences and the experience of other successful full-time musicians. I won’t waste your time on ‘untried’ theories. Only what has actually produced results for us and other full-time musicians.
If you are still waiting to get 'discovered' or 'signed' by a record label then you are on the wrong website. We know nothing about how that works and can offer no experienced advice.
We do discuss that topic here because so many musicians we know personally, have been let down by record labels. None of us have a clue how you can get rich and famous. But come back and see us after you have exhausted that route or after reading Record Label Realities.
We are here to help the musicians stuck at a job they hate, wondering 'how can I play and get paid?' If that's you, then you have just found the best information that can truly make a difference for you. We can give you a jump start into your music business.
Within months QUALIFIED musicians can create a $30,000 plus annual income as a full-time musician. Within a few years that income can grow and deliver you into a damn decent lifestyle. It did for us!
In the end we work for ourselves, make new fans every day of the week, have a comfortable life style, live where we want, do what we want and go out to see live music when we want.
We create, sell and own TMoody's original music as well. We're happy, fulfilled and free. We enjoy the lifestyle of full-time musicians. We want you to enjoy it too!
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.
-Jim Rohn
Qualification #1 - Talent
You don't have to perfect...just pretty darn GOOD! This is the only one out of the 3 qualifications that cannot be taught. Bottom line is...you gotta have the goods!
The truth is if you are not really that talented then the music business is not going to make you a living. But how can you know for sure?
If you have only played in front of friends and family then you do not really know if you have the right amount of talent or not. You will need to play multiple shows in front of total strangers to see the true level of your talent.
There are several ways to gauge how much strangers enjoyed your performance. The tip bucket, CD sales, verbal responses and getting asked to come back.
After you are confident that your talent is truly enjoyed by total strangers it's all downhill from there because the other 2 qualifications can be taught. If you do not have real talent you may have to find another business to develop.
But if you pass the talent testing phase, and you are free from a 'day' job, you will have all day to develop and hone your talent even more. Your gift will actually grow and develop more when you are a full-time musician!
In the video below TMoody talks about how he 'tested' his talent in the very beginning to see if he really had 'the goods' to connect perfect strangers through his talents.
There is no substitute for talent. Industry and all its virtues are of no avail.
-Aldous Huxley
Qualification #2 - Sales Skill
Everybody is a salesman to some extent. We used to 'sell' our parents lines of crap. Many of us have 'sold' ourselves to someone we want to date or marry. We 'sell' ourselves on job interviews and even to new friends.
You will need to sell yourself, your style, your music, your gigs, your fee, as well as the benefits to any client who may want to hire you.
If you make money teaching you will have to sell clients on why you will be the better teacher and why your fee is higher than the college kid's fee on CraigsList.
If you sell your music online you will need to be able to write sales copy to sell your downloads over and above the other millions of choices. This also applies to your official website.
If you do not have sales skills do not fear! TMoody didn't have them either, but now he is the master of selling gigs. I taught him what I knew about sales over the years and he applied this knowledge well.
Besides...there are a million books on the subject of selling, and I've read hundreds of them. I have listed my top picks on our Resources Page.
All business success rests on something labeled a sale, which at least momentarily weds company and customer.
-Tom Peters
Qualifications #3 - Discipline
This skill will make the difference of a full time income and a part time income. As with any skill, discipline can be acquired. The more you practice it the more it develops.
You already have this skill if you are a self taught musician, are successful at your 'day' job, work out physically, or raising children. Simply look back on your accomplishments and you will recognize the discipline you displayed in achieving them.
If you are weak in this area the solution is simple. Get yourself an accountability partner. This is someone with whom you can share your 30 DAY PLAN with then report to weekly to discuss your activity and results.
It could be a parent, spouse or a friend but they need to be supportive of what you are trying to accomplish. The best accountability partners have successes of their own and know how to encourage and motivate you.
You can speed up your results by finding an accountability partner with TRUE business ownership experience. They can share insights with you that no one else can. This is best even if they don't know you that well.
With self-discipline most anything is possible.
-Theodore Roosevelt
Why not Big Time Musician?
Big Time Musicians are the ones lucky enough to have their music careers catapulted to success by the brilliant sharks running the record label's lucrative business system.
The Big-Time Musician life is unfamiliar to those of us who have to earn our own success step by step. So to comment on their lifestyle or actual income from music would be guesswork. And irrelevant.
Small Time Musicians must build their income one step at a time. My desire is that the artist be fulfilled as a human being. So if you are a musician who desires to play and get paid then the information found here can help you do so quickly and efficiently.
We are by no means finished testing and trying things to learn what works and what doesn't. Even Mickey Mantle once said "It's unbelievable how much you don't know about the game you've been playing all your life."
Therefore, I will continue to update these pages and my blog, with everything new that we learn.
Fame is the thirst of youth.
-Lord Byron
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Copyright 2012. Content Copyright 2011. Small Time Musician. All rights reserved.