A lot of people dream about being professional musicians and making their living out of their music. Some people just want to earn a few extra bucks a week doing something they enjoy. If you want to get into the professional scene, one thing's for certain – being able to make music is not enough. You have to be able to make money as well!

Have you met musicians who tell you they 'are not into the money thing' and 'don't care about money', then in the next breath they tell you they plan to 'go on the road and make a living out of playing gigs?'

Next question, have you ever met any one who talks like this, and has survived in the music business (beyond just using up their savings while they drove around the country playing the odd pub)? Doubt it!

Professional musicians are, above all, professional.

What we are talking about here is the 'making money out if it' side. We are assuming you can do the 'making music side of it', right?

Professional musicians understand that if they want to make their living out of music, they do have to 'make a living out of it'. Well, we thought it would be useful, to those of you who want to make your living out of your music, to collect together some information to help you create your dream.

In this area we are talking about success in business terms and most of the ideas we put up here apply equally to any new business. When it comes down to it, all successful start-up businesses have done the same things well, no matter what the business.

When you can see that starting up a successful working band is not a lot different to setting up any other business, a couple of things happen. First, you significantly increase your chances of commercial success and getting to a point where you are making your living out of your music. Second, you can now learn from other businesses and apply what you learn to running your business ('the band'). Ever thought of increasing your band's success by looking at what other successful businesses do? If that is not a too difficult concept, keep reading.

As time goes by we will keep adding sections to this part of the site. We planned on you being able to read each topic by itself in any order! If it don't flow exactly like that then, Sorry! If you have committed yourself to successfully making a living out of this industry you will be reading a lot. We have put links to books we think will help you. If you have found other books helpful, send us the details and we will list them as well.

If you want to contribute to this section of the site then email us.
 

GET PAID INDEX
The Get Paid section of the site is a guide to how you can make a living from your music. This is an index of the pages in the Get Paid section.

Want to be a professional musician? Be professional!
The first step to making a living from your music is to recognise and appreciate the business side of the music industry.
Who are your customers? Before you can begin to sell what you do, you have to establish the market to which you are selling. Get to know who your customers are and you can start to figure out what you can sell them.
What do your customers want? In order to be successful, you have to offer the right service to the right people. If you can do this, you will succeed. If you have already found out who your customers are, chances are you are already well on your way to achieving this step.
What is your bands brand? Think of your brand as being your bands identity. The more you can reinforce this identity with everything you do, the easier it is for the people who want your style of music/performance to recognise and hire you.
How many potential customers do you have? Recognising how many potential customers you have allows you to gain maximum value from your market. It is an important step in planning your promotion and schedule.
Promotion. Promote yourself well, you will make money. If you promote yourself badly, you will waste a lot of time and money. Good promotion is easy to achieve if you know the basics.
Find a role model. Learning from others saves you from doing it yourself.
Recommended books.

What They Dont Teach You at Harvard Business School by Mark H McCormack is a really good introduction to basic business. More information on this book and others is available on the recommended books page.
 

Losing My Virginity is the autobiography of Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records. Richard has a habit of coming up with seemingly impossible ideas and making them happen. More information on this book and others is available on the recommended books page.