To increase your music income you must first increase your active fanbase
This is the golden rule that, in my opinion, isn’t talked about near enough. There is no magic bullet to making money off your music. The reality is hard work but it is simple — increase your existing fanbase.
While not rocket science, mastering the three fundamental principles that lead to financial success does demand dedication and strategic planning. Unlike products addressing tangible needs, music appeals to emotions and experiences. That means it requires something a little different; a tailored strategy that keeps your fans front of mine. Ready to find out how to do that?
The Three Ways to Increase Your Music Income:
1. Increase your number of fans (fanbase).
Here is how you can do this: Get serious about your newsletter.
On socials, it’s easy to go down the rabbit hole frantically searching for new fans, trying to keep up with the never-ending social media popularity came. The problem is, you may be forgetting the ones you already have. Also, there are much easier ways to find and maintain a fanbase outside of just Instagram and TikTok!
Studies have proven that it is much harder to make a new client and get them to purchase something than it is to get a client who already knows and trusts you to purchase from you over and over. This is true of fans as well. Focus on the fans you have, and let them be your biggest spokesperson.
The #1 way to get fans to engage and increase your music income is still with your email list
You must be able to track open rates and customize and train yourself to send your newsletter at least once per month. Train your audience to expect them on a certain day and time of month. Consistency is the most important thing here, so if you can only commit to once per month for now, that’s ok. Just remember to stay on top of it.
Just as you wouldn’t leave your bff on read for a month, you don’t want to do that to your fans either.
Always Be List Building
Take time every month to add new email addresses to your list. There are a ton of ways you can do this, which I go over here. A few include sign-ups at shows, running contests in exchange for email addresses, and building community both online and offline.
Send DMs to Your Most Engaged Fans on Socials
Start by identifying your most active followers—those who regularly like, comment, and share your content. These fans are likely to appreciate the personal touch of a direct message. When you reach out, be sure your message is personalized and shows how much you appreciate their support. If you can, specify what it is you appreciate. For instance, do they always comment first? Do they show up to all your shows? You can also use DMs to share exclusive content, such as behind-the-scenes glimpses, unreleased tracks, or early access to upcoming projects.
Building genuine relationships with your fans will lead to higher engagement, word-of-mouth promotion, and ultimately, a more devoted fanbase. Plus, it’s a great tool for gaining valuable insights into your fans’ minds
It’s so old school but it works – pass a clipboard around the venue asking people for their social media as well as their email addresses.
Invite people onto your mailing list with a raffle or giveaway from the stage, and collect e-mail addresses that way. You can also use something like KingSumo to run digital contests.
During your performance, hold up a merch item on stage and then give it away: you’ve just inserted a full commercial into your set without feeling “salesy” and you’ve excited one of your fans by giving them a gift.
Or get a cheap phone and ask fans to text you their email straight from the stage!
Study Newsletters And How To Best Utilize Them
There’s no better way to get a feel for how something works well (or doesn’t) than by studying others who have done it before you. Sign up for a few newsletters and you’ll soon get a feel for how they work and what you’re naturally drawn towards.
Incorporate the things you feel connected to and ditch the things you don’t.
Here is a full article on best practices that expands on this – I touch on subject lines and CTAs (calls to action).
Volume has made it super easy to build a fan club on their platform, and monetize it. All you have to do is sign up for a Volume accountand from there you can set up a Fan Club account and start earning money through that and your live streams!
Special Events – Build Some
Create a fan club that hosts periodic special events a year. Not all of them have to be you performing. In fact, you can use this as an opportunity to build your ties with the community.
Invite other artists both in and outside music. Have a wine tasting, a bowling night, a dessert party, or a pub crawl. Get creative and recruit local businesses by holding these events on a slow night, like a Monday, or during a down month for the business.
Artist Critique and Feedback
Invite your biggest fans to come to hear the songs that you’ve written for a new album or EP release. If your fans don’t all live near your hometown you can do this on a live streaming site or IG or Facebook Live! It’s a great way to show them how much you appreciate them while giving a once in a lifetime experience.
Play the tracks and let them contribute their opinions. This makes your fans feel extra included because they can help you choose what will make it onto your new record. Downupright did this with their Kickstarter backed album, where fans got the opportunity to hand-pick the songs included on the album, and it made for a rewarding experience for the fans, who got to be part of it.
Private Gigs
Private gigs are one of the most lucrative ways to make money as a performing musician. It can be small and local like a dinner party or backyard BBQ or it can be an event hosted by a non-profit, a company retreat or party, you name it. I’ve worked with artists who have made upwards of a thousand dollars on private gigs like this.
Don’t forget to mention in your newsletter that you’re available for private gigs. You never know what the fact that you are available to play private gigs in the newsletter. Your fans may bite – but you have to make the offer!
An Event for Each Season
How about a concert for each season? This would be a great way to get fans to pay four times a year. Hold a quarterly concert with a theme, such as Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Summer Solstice, April Fools, or Winter Wonderland.
3. Invest In A Long-Term Musician’s Marketing Plan based on music income.
Before you go straight to hiring a radio promoter, a Spotify playlisting company, or a publicist – STOP!
Ask yourself what your objectives and goals are! Most of the time just getting PR won’t add money to the bottom line!
I am always amazed that artists will spend years preparing a release and then spend almost zero time planning for how to properly roll it out according to what is working in today’s wild west of the music business.
To create momentum, this you need aLong-Term Strategythat focuses on money – Is it playing more gigs, licensing to film and TV, or creating better merch that sells for you? Without a plan in place for how to increase your income you won’t.
I deeply suggest you work with someone who knows how to build a plan or take some real time to get clear on how you are going to build and make sure you allocate serious time for each part.
We have identified 15 steps to prepare to release new music in our Musician’s Marketing Plan series – Here they are:
Put these 5 into place before any official announcements about a new album, EP, or even a single
1. Distribution – choose the right distributor 2.Website – modern and functional and easily updatable 3. Social Media – well branded and primed for building news 4. Newsletter – platform selected and new contacts added 5. Single (s) Selection – choose the strongest singles and plan out how each one will be released before a full EP/album.
The next 5 elements are all about organizing so you will be in action and not in reaction mode
1. Timeline – plan some milestones before the release date and follow through – make sure you focus on music income while planning. 2. Release– make sure the release day is as effective as it can be 3. Social Media – content strategy and calendar planned out 4. Press & Promotion – PR targets and social media tastemakers identified 5. Shows – release show or special listening party event planned
And finally, the work transforms into supplying consistent compelling content to strengthen relationships with fans and potential fans.
1. Releasing New Music – keep fans engaged with what they originally came for 2. Live Shows - hit the road or get in front of your audience without leaving the comfort of your own home 3. Ongoing Social Media – keep your channels exciting and fans interacting 4. Merchandise - plan what merch to get, how much, and when 5. Making Money – Newsletter, film & TV placements, continuation programs, VIP experiences, and crowdfunding are all fabulous options
Want some help with organizing your Long-term marketing perspective while keeping music income at the forefront? Come download this fabulous checksheetto help you get organized:
Or watch my presentation at the Sync Up Workshop in New Orleans, ‘Making the Most of Your Record Release.’
Building a list and following up with offers are crucial. I prefer to use a general email service like getresponse.com rather than a band-focused email service. You can also offer your list products that you don’t make, using affilate offers of products you like. These emails can be autoloaded so they get sent out on a regular basis automatically.
Since selling mp3s has fairly low value these days, you have to find things of higher value to sell. Most musicians focus on selling their cds or merchandise but there are many spinoffs or things you may know about that you could charge for.
The ‘Ali Brown’s’ of the world are charging thousands of dollars for 10 cd sets and seminars. They repurpose their content in various formats of higher perceived value. So we can try to replicate this by selling ‘home study courses’ for songwriting, singing lesson, guitar lessons, or anything else you have expertise in.
I see musicians traditionally working at music stores, gigging and playing guitar on the street and it makes me sad that most won’t be able to support their music careers.
These are great examples that go great with the grass-roots promotions approach we teach the bands in our artist development program. Thanks for all the new internet marketing tips!
Thanks for this, Ariel! What I appreciate most is your recommendation to have everything linking back to my official site. My practice has been to send my newsletter to my subscribers, then send or post it in full on my Facebook music page, MySpace and other places. Really, what I need to do is use the social networking sites as gateways- not alternatives- to my official site. I heard the same message in terms of CD and merch sales at a marketing session I attended ASCAP Expo last month. I’m sure I’m not the only artist who is looking to focus their marketing efforts, to work smarter instead of flailing around internet.
Thanks also for the tips on using Twitter following and ReverbNation widgets more effectively. Looking forward to trying those!
To Will- I agree with your thoughts about increasing value by expanding one’s “products” beyond mp3’s. In addition, I have found that my biggest activity/subscriber spikes happen when I’ve participated in a cause or other event where I haven’t been focused on selling myself. Too often we focus on hustle for hustle’s sake and forget that music is at its best about creating community. Communities tend to develop lives of their own that feed the artists they grew around.
Ariel has always published some of the best ‘free’ advice on the Internet.
We are advocates of making fan based building one of the highest priorities an artist has. In, Texas, the first thing a venue owner/booking agent will ask you is: “How many fans will come to see you, if we book you?” If you give them a number that is not real, I can assure you, you will not get a second chance, unless you guarantee them the difference out of your pocket.
What kind of fans do you need? WE call them TBF (True Blue Fans), which means, they support you in ALL that you do, including coming to your shows and buying your merch. They are your street team workers in each city; they are your advocates, wherever they go & to whomever they meet; they are your ‘wheels’ that keep your career moving forward; they show up at your shows with new fans.
As an artist you acknowledge them each and every day; you provide them with free tickets; you provide them with backstage access from time to time; you make a ‘special’ section on your website, only accessible to them. Most artist have no ideal of how much work they should be doing. And, you can find out a lot about artist by just follow them on their social networks sites & I mean: How dedicated they really are, then they wonder why the world is not knocking on their door each day & buy their M&M’s (music & merchandise).
Music Success is a long & never ending road. An artist has to keep moving down or up that road, each day, or they will get run over.
Ariel’s approach and her programs can help any artist, plus, they are priced for just about any budget. If they are not affordable, then I would suggest an artist get enough side work to afford them.
Interesting – I’ve been playing regularly btwn 8-12 times monthly in Central Texas since 2012 and have never had a venue owner ask me that. Sounds like you’re going to the wrong places for gigs … just sayin’ …
These are all really great tips. I’ve already put a lot of them into practice, but I think my twitter might need more attention than I’ve been giving it. I look forward to reading parts 2 and 3.
Yes – Twitter is one that is not as trendy as it used to be – but I still meet and connect with great people (especially music bloggers) on this platform every week! Try my Twitter Class – https://www.cyberprmusic.com/social-media-for-musicians/ Hope it helps.
Very simple but helpful advice – especially the ‘clipboard to every appearance’ thing. We’ve forgotten it several times, and not having it is a great way to lose fans. As of now, the clip board goes into the gig case, with my gig guitar and does not come out except at shows and then at home to add email addresses. Thanks for the reminder. Following people on twitter is also a great way to connect with other musicians and fans. Doing that right after I put the clipboard in the gig case.
Really awesome blog, thank you! I agree with everything that was said here. I hope many aspiring music artists who want to step up the promote their music can see this. I also recommend trying out a https://www.miradamedia.io music management tool to help you promote your brand, grow your audience and give your music the attention it deserves.
This article offers a refreshing perspective on boosting artist income, focusing on cultivating existing fanbases, diversifying revenue streams, and adopting a strategic, long-term marketing plan. The emphasis on newsletters, creative fan engagement, and a comprehensive 15-step marketing guide provides actionable insights for musicians looking to thrive in the ever-evolving music industry. A must-read for artists seeking innovative ways to maximize their financial potential. Gain traction and enhance your music’s reach by attracting more free spotify listeners to enjoy your tunes and broaden your audience
Building a list and following up with offers are crucial. I prefer to use a general email service like getresponse.com rather than a band-focused email service. You can also offer your list products that you don’t make, using affilate offers of products you like. These emails can be autoloaded so they get sent out on a regular basis automatically.
Since selling mp3s has fairly low value these days, you have to find things of higher value to sell. Most musicians focus on selling their cds or merchandise but there are many spinoffs or things you may know about that you could charge for.
The ‘Ali Brown’s’ of the world are charging thousands of dollars for 10 cd sets and seminars. They repurpose their content in various formats of higher perceived value. So we can try to replicate this by selling ‘home study courses’ for songwriting, singing lesson, guitar lessons, or anything else you have expertise in.
I see musicians traditionally working at music stores, gigging and playing guitar on the street and it makes me sad that most won’t be able to support their music careers.
This is a great article! I think that we defintiely should utilize the social sites to ask for email addresses. This is the best way to grow a list.
Awesome advice. As an independent artist trying to build a following and career, this type of advice is incredibly helpful. Keep it up!
Thanks, Alex! I’m so glad you found this useful.
These are great examples that go great with the grass-roots promotions approach we teach the bands in our artist development program. Thanks for all the new internet marketing tips!
Thanks for this, Ariel! What I appreciate most is your recommendation to have everything linking back to my official site. My practice has been to send my newsletter to my subscribers, then send or post it in full on my Facebook music page, MySpace and other places. Really, what I need to do is use the social networking sites as gateways- not alternatives- to my official site. I heard the same message in terms of CD and merch sales at a marketing session I attended ASCAP Expo last month. I’m sure I’m not the only artist who is looking to focus their marketing efforts, to work smarter instead of flailing around internet.
Thanks also for the tips on using Twitter following and ReverbNation widgets more effectively. Looking forward to trying those!
To Will- I agree with your thoughts about increasing value by expanding one’s “products” beyond mp3’s. In addition, I have found that my biggest activity/subscriber spikes happen when I’ve participated in a cause or other event where I haven’t been focused on selling myself. Too often we focus on hustle for hustle’s sake and forget that music is at its best about creating community. Communities tend to develop lives of their own that feed the artists they grew around.
Ariel has always published some of the best ‘free’ advice on the Internet.
We are advocates of making fan based building one of the highest priorities an artist has. In, Texas, the first thing a venue owner/booking agent will ask you is: “How many fans will come to see you, if we book you?” If you give them a number that is not real, I can assure you, you will not get a second chance, unless you guarantee them the difference out of your pocket.
What kind of fans do you need? WE call them TBF (True Blue Fans), which means, they support you in ALL that you do, including coming to your shows and buying your merch. They are your street team workers in each city; they are your advocates, wherever they go & to whomever they meet; they are your ‘wheels’ that keep your career moving forward; they show up at your shows with new fans.
As an artist you acknowledge them each and every day; you provide them with free tickets; you provide them with backstage access from time to time; you make a ‘special’ section on your website, only accessible to them. Most artist have no ideal of how much work they should be doing. And, you can find out a lot about artist by just follow them on their social networks sites & I mean: How dedicated they really are, then they wonder why the world is not knocking on their door each day & buy their M&M’s (music & merchandise).
Music Success is a long & never ending road. An artist has to keep moving down or up that road, each day, or they will get run over.
Ariel’s approach and her programs can help any artist, plus, they are priced for just about any budget. If they are not affordable, then I would suggest an artist get enough side work to afford them.
–end
Thank so much for the kind words. It is an ongoing process!
Interesting – I’ve been playing regularly btwn 8-12 times monthly in Central Texas since 2012 and have never had a venue owner ask me that. Sounds like you’re going to the wrong places for gigs … just sayin’ …
Lowering the price can make money, provided the demand is there.
These are great tips. Some I’ve shared with my own clients.
These are all really great tips. I’ve already put a lot of them into practice, but I think my twitter might need more attention than I’ve been giving it. I look forward to reading parts 2 and 3.
Yes – Twitter is one that is not as trendy as it used to be – but I still meet and connect with great people (especially music bloggers) on this platform every week! Try my Twitter Class – https://www.cyberprmusic.com/social-media-for-musicians/ Hope it helps.
Very simple but helpful advice – especially the ‘clipboard to every appearance’ thing. We’ve forgotten it several times, and not having it is a great way to lose fans. As of now, the clip board goes into the gig case, with my gig guitar and does not come out except at shows and then at home to add email addresses. Thanks for the reminder. Following people on twitter is also a great way to connect with other musicians and fans. Doing that right after I put the clipboard in the gig case.
Nice article loved it
Thanks, Michael!
What an Informative article. I found it very interesting as I read it. I learned many ideas from it.Thanks for sharing information.
Thanks for this tips, very useful. Can I post your article on http://www.artistpush.me/
Really awesome blog, thank you! I agree with everything that was said here. I hope many aspiring music artists who want to step up the promote their music can see this. I also recommend trying out a https://www.miradamedia.io music management tool to help you promote your brand, grow your audience and give your music the attention it deserves.
This article offers a refreshing perspective on boosting artist income, focusing on cultivating existing fanbases, diversifying revenue streams, and adopting a strategic, long-term marketing plan. The emphasis on newsletters, creative fan engagement, and a comprehensive 15-step marketing guide provides actionable insights for musicians looking to thrive in the ever-evolving music industry. A must-read for artists seeking innovative ways to maximize their financial potential. Gain traction and enhance your music’s reach by attracting more free spotify listeners to enjoy your tunes and broaden your audience