Do you make any sort of money from your music?

If so, explain exactly what you do.

Do you play live shows? sell CDs? sell audio stock? do you do something related to music via the internet? Do you run a label?

what prompted you to ask this?

it is extremely difficult and almost next to impossible to make a living primarily from music. IDM/experimental electronic music even more so. everyone hopes to, but it's just not realistic for the most part. this isn't a generalization. if money/fame/ego is someone's only motivation to create music, then they truly are missing out on what music really means and has to offer

  On 11/21/2009 at 3:00 AM, chax said:

if money/fame/ego is someone's only motivation to create music, then they truly are missing out on what music really means and has to offer

pretty much. though i'd like to try selling my stuff a bit more one day. maybe join/form a quirky indie rock band with actual songs and such, lol.

but seriously, some of my music is available for purchase online. nobody ever really buys it though. which is a shame because i was thinking of getting a 12" pressed of the new pselodux album.

dont bother with a band just keep makin tunes like Pilot from "The usual bridge", pretty good shit

  On 11/21/2009 at 5:35 AM, Dr Clitterhaus said:

dont bother with a band just keep makin tunes like Pilot from "The usual bridge", pretty good shit

thanks! i dunno though, it feels too easy to make that kind of stuff, as well as my ambient guitar tracks, i always want a challenge!

chax, I never said anything about making your living from it; I asked if anyone made some type of money from music. I made $50 selling a 3" CDr to people at school, for example. I also sell records on discogs (that's not really the music that I created, but whatever). I also plan to make royalty-free stock audio clips soon.

Nice avatar btw

i payed these guys $35 the other day to put my last ep on itunes. feels kinda like selling out in a way, can't really say why, but whatever.

buy my music. (or listen to it for free @ virb, myspace and watmm)

I've done sound design for animations for money in college because most of the designers didn't know much about music/sfx.

I do sound design and music for my friend's iPhone game company. Some friends and I have been trying to set up a label, too.

I also license my music.

i make a few hundred a month doing live shows

not really enough to live on but i feel pretty grateful to receive it

just released my first single so i'm about to see how the world of digital sales treats me

have also recently been making money doing remix work, nothing major but little advances on digi sales etc...

  On 11/21/2009 at 10:35 PM, Braintree said:

I also license my music.

this is something i want to do more of.

where do you get your bids if you don't mind me asking?

i get bids through my label once or twice a month and am always submitting things but have yet to sell anything

  On 11/22/2009 at 2:05 PM, pantsonmyhead said:

  On 11/21/2009 at 10:35 PM, Braintree said:

I also license my music.

 

this is something i want to do more of.

where do you get your bids if you don't mind me asking?

i get bids through my label once or twice a month and am always submitting things but have yet to sell anything

I go directly through the music houses. It kind of sucks, though, because they only pay out twice a year.

put a paypal link on my youtube channel

one donated £1

another donated £200

couldnt fuckin believe it

bought some drum machines with the cahs

I've gotten a couple of beers out of it, but that hardly covers my expenses.

nope

  On 11/23/2009 at 2:34 PM, chunky said:

put a paypal link on my youtube channel

one donated £1

another donated £200

couldnt fuckin believe it

bought some drum machines with the cahs

link to youtube?

  On 11/23/2009 at 2:21 AM, Braintree said:

  On 11/22/2009 at 2:05 PM, pantsonmyhead said:

  On 11/21/2009 at 10:35 PM, Braintree said:

I also license my music.

 

this is something i want to do more of.

where do you get your bids if you don't mind me asking?

i get bids through my label once or twice a month and am always submitting things but have yet to sell anything

 

I go directly through the music houses. It kind of sucks, though, because they only pay out twice a year.

wait huh?

what are you liscensing them to?

all of the commercial and video game bids i've submitted pay out a flat rate up front for non-exclusive usage rights

  On 11/23/2009 at 8:24 PM, pantsonmyhead said:

  On 11/23/2009 at 2:21 AM, Braintree said:

  On 11/22/2009 at 2:05 PM, pantsonmyhead said:

  On 11/21/2009 at 10:35 PM, Braintree said:

I also license my music.

 

this is something i want to do more of.

where do you get your bids if you don't mind me asking?

i get bids through my label once or twice a month and am always submitting things but have yet to sell anything

 

I go directly through the music houses. It kind of sucks, though, because they only pay out twice a year.

 

wait huh?

what are you liscensing them to?

all of the commercial and video game bids i've submitted pay out a flat rate up front for non-exclusive usage rights

I'm not talking about direct bids. I usually go through music licensing companies like Synchup, for instance. They already have tons of connections, so I give them a bunch of my music and they find tv shows, advertisements, video games, etc. to put it in.

Sometimes I do direct bids, but it's easier to get someone to look for me.

thats dope man thanks for the info!

will look into that when i get a few free minutes

Your only hope is living off live shows, it's not for me.

Braintee, how much do you make licensing your music?

I also have a question about the legal issues of selling music: Can I sample drum beats in my songs that someone else made? For example, the amen break, or the funky drummer? if no, can i rearrange/chop it up in a different order and then sell it?

can i sample the drum loops / kits that came with my music production software, Propellerhead Reason?

i play guitar/banjo and sing on the streets for decent money. it's been my primary source of income for the last 7 months or so (although i've also been homeless for much of that time). i make enough for food, beer and smokes, pretty much. on a normal day i can make between 10 and 30 dollars an hour (at a good spot). example: i went out a few days ago and i played for only an hour and made 25 bucks, half pack of cigarettes and a joint.

i've played lots of real shows in all kinds of venues, sold cds and all that, but playing on the street is the best way to make money, i'd say. also it's more fun and loose, and you meet lots of interesting people.

i run a netlabel and pretty much crush it and spend my evenings scrooge mcduck diving into my money

i've made enough to probably buy 3-4 cds

just made the most money i've ever made from RLR this month. mostly from digital sales

making money off your own music especially right of the bat requires a lot of conformity with a particular scene . a lot of people in here obviously already know this or there wouldn't be threads like 'should i make shit techno to make money?'