Whether you're a budding musician or a seasoned industry veteran, pivoting your audience online has been a difficult journey. Here are some tips on how to build your audience and monetise your online platforms.
By Az Samad
Musicians are often confused about how to make a living from music. There are the standard business models like:
- teaching at a music school or college;
- performing at clubs, hotels or cruise ships;
- being a session musician and playing for pop artists;
- starting a band and becoming famous;
- writing jingles for advertisements; or
- joining an orchestra.
But besides that, other ways are often unclear.
When the pandemic hit, most people were waiting for things to go back to normal. Few people expected it to go on for this long. Few were prepared to pivot to an almost completely online business model. Most didn’t even think about the need to have an online business model. So, the ones that survived and thrived are those who adapted quickly or those who already pivoted before this.
As a professional musician who is interested in the business of music, I’ve been thinking about this a lot. In my opinion, there are two important parts to making money online as a musician.
- Building an audience (getting fans and supporters)
- Monetising (selling products and services to your fans and supporters)
That’s basically it. But so many musicians overcomplicate this.
For example:
They do live streams and hope people will show up when they have a very small social media following.
The fact is that it’s a chicken and egg situation. On one hand, you need to build an audience so you perform or post content online. On the other hand, you want to make money so you promote to almost no one listening.
The biggest mistake musicians do is have nothing to sell or not have a way for their audience to support them.
The second biggest mistake is to not build an audience and just focus on selling.
Here are examples inspired by real world observations of what some musicians have done.
Example 1: The Facebook Live Musician
Musician A needs to make money. He starts doing Facebook Live broadcasts. The first few broadcasts get about 10 to 17 people watching. 2 to 3 of them actually tip him. The rest watch quietly, some will comment but most will just lurk. After doing it for a few weeks, Musician A quits because he doesn’t see any immediate financial rewards.
Example 2: The Video Uploader
Musician B posts content online. He posts videos of his playing on his personal Facebook profile. He starts getting comments, some people even share his videos. But no money comes from this because he has no tip jar and no products for sale.
Example 3: The Aspiring YouTuber
Band C realises that you can make money by posting videos on YouTube via ads that run on their videos. So, they try to get everyone they know to subscribe to their YouTube channel. They get more subscribers but most of the subscribers don’t care about their videos because they did it as a favour. Point is, it’s more valuable to get real people who want to watch your content than just friends who subscribe to show support.
All of these musicians do not understand the strategy someone needs to have to succeed in this new music economy. One does not just post a video and become famous. Sometimes that might happen, but for the most part it’s rare.
So what do you do instead?
Part One: Building an audience
So how do you build or grow an audience?
Right now, it’s social media.
How do you do it?
Pick one main social media platform and two secondary ones.
In the beginning, mine was Facebook and my secondary ones were Instagram and YouTube.
You can choose whatever platform you want, but you have to be dedicated to grow that main platform.
Then, you use the secondary platforms to repost content and support your primary platform.
How do you get people to like or follow you?
By consistently creating content and testing to see what works.
In the beginning, organic traffic (people who find you from organic shares and posts) is the logical option for most musicians. After a while, when you have a budget, running ads is a good way to scale your growth. However, I recommend starting with organic so you can build your skills of creating content.
Every platform will have an optimum format that works better to reach your audience.
FACEBOOK BASICS:
For Facebook, I recommend doing Facebook Live. Facebook Live continues to be a good format because of the LIVE element. That interaction is what makes it exciting for a viewer to tune in.
Az Samad’s Facebook live video garnered 476 comments, 1.2K shares, and 417K views. Watch the video here [link]
PRO TIP: Pick a day or time and try to keep your Facebook Live to that schedule. This helps people to know when to look out for your broadcasts.
YOUTUBE BASICS:
For YouTube, I recommend picking the frequency of how many videos you want to post and to stick to that schedule. You can also do YouTube Live videos if you’d like.
A YouTuber that I know has a system for his videos. For example, he would plan the video subject on Tuesday, shoot on Wednesday and upload on Thursday. Friday to Sunday is for promoting the video that was uploaded on Thursday.
PRO TIP: Alternatively, you could batch your content and record 12 videos in a single day. This way, you can release one new video a week for 12 weeks (about 3 months).
It really depends on your personality! If you’re more spontaneous, you might enjoy doing new videos every week. If you like planning in advance, batching can save you time.
INSTAGRAM BASICS:
Instagram is similar to YouTube—start with a schedule and keep to it. In general, I do around 1 to 4 posts per day and experiment with different numbers of IG Live and also IG Reels.
Az’s Instagram feed is a mix of guitar lessons videos, music tips and performance videos. Variety is important to keep it interesting for followers.
PRO TIP: Because Instagram is a fast-paced platform, it’s important to keep uploading new content regularly. YouTube is more of a search engine, so the lifespan of a video is longer than Instagram.
For YouTube and Instagram, hashtags and tagging are important.
The most important part besides making the content is to have one clear Call To Action in every piece of content. You can ask people to tip, buy a product or follow or subscribe.
So many musicians forget to include this in their content!
Part Two: Monetising
So how do you monetise your platform?
You can either sell something (a digital or physical product) or offer a service.
For online performances, you can also do it as an online show on a platform like Peatix or on a platform that allows tipping. Ticketed shows can be more profitable because you can tell how much money you’re making before the show happens. Performances that rely on tipping depend on getting a dedicated supportive fanbase and/or growing your audience over time.
Some of the courses that Az has created for musicians and content creators.
PRO TIP: I recommend selling products or offering a service. My audience buys eBooks and online courses from me. Digital products like these are more scalable. That means that after I’ve created an eBook or course, there’s no real limit to how many people can buy the digital products.
Physical products like t-shirts, stickers, CDs, picks and other collectibles might have higher perceived value but also include more logistics like packaging, shipping, and storing inventory. If you do physical product sales, remember to factor in labour costs and time as well into the pricing of your products.
Important Things to Consider
Social media is about awareness, brand building, marketing, credibility building, and visibility—but the product or service is where you can make a living.
If you want to get private students, teach on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram—then offer your services in the post. A small percentage will want to study with you. That’s how you can make a living.
If you’re a session musician, post your work via videos—then offer your services. A small number of people will hire you.
It’s very important to be very clear about what your products and services are. If not, you’re going to have a tough time promoting it. The more people see you, the more likely you can get hired. The more frequently people see you, the more you become top of their mind.
PRO TIP: People hire people they trust and like. That’s what you’re building via your social media.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you’re a musician and you’re not growing your audience and fanbase, you’re not building your career. There will come a day when your friends and family are not going to come to your gigs and shows (virtual or in person). That’s when you know whether you actually have a fanbase.
Remember that you’re building a long-term career. Every step you take can help you grow that. Understand your long-term goals and then plan your daily action steps. Zoom in and zoom out regularly to have a healthier perspective on why you’re doing this. Good luck!
Cover image is a snapshot from Az Samad’s tutorial video on Facebook.
Guitarist-Composer-Educator Az Samad graduated Berklee College of Music and performed in the USA, Europe and Asia. An advocate for Malay Jazz, Az focuses on the music of Jimmy Boyle and P. Ramlee. His latest project, Kelab Gitar Az Samad, aims to develop online guitar education in the Malay Language.
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