{"id":3420,"date":"2021-09-14T21:12:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-14T21:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/14\/how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician\/"},"modified":"2021-09-14T21:12:25","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T21:12:25","slug":"how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/14\/how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Earn Passive Income as a Musician"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span>Streaming revenue. Publishing royalties. CD sales. We\u2019ve talked a lot about those revenue sources.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But today we\u2019re talking about a lesser-known source of music revenue: passive income.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_79 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/14\/how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician\/#What_is_passive_income\" >What is passive income?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/14\/how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician\/#How_can_I_benefit_from_passive_music_income\" >How can I benefit from passive music income?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/14\/how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician\/#What_are_passive_income_sources_for_musicians\" >What are passive income sources for musicians?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/14\/how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician\/#Affiliate_programs\" >Affiliate programs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/14\/how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician\/#Subscription_services\" >Subscription services<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/14\/how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician\/#Monetization\" >Monetization<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/14\/how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician\/#Online_courses\" >Online courses<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_passive_income\"><\/span><span>What is passive income?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Passive income is any revenue generated <\/span><i><span>after<\/span><\/i><span> work is finished. You\u2019ve invested in the work upfront, and now your finished product is ready to work for <\/span><i><span>you<\/span><\/i><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the case of music, some passive income is generated AFTER you\u2019ve released a song, uploaded a video, or launched a new merch line. And through that lens, you could consider the revenue mentioned in the intro as passive income.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But it could also mean you\u2019re earning tangential revenue WHILE you share your music or video content via affiliate links. In other cases, it might mean earning repeating, subscription income BEFORE you create anything new at all!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>We\u2019ll cover those passive income sources below. But first\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_can_I_benefit_from_passive_music_income\"><\/span><span>How can I benefit from passive music income?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>As we said above, passive income works for <\/span><i><span>you<\/span><\/i><span>. This is money that comes in after you finish the hard work of creating music. We\u2019re talking months, years, even decades. You never know who\u2019ll be interested in something you finished long ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If you have massive success with passive income, great! But even if revenue is only a little here, a little there, that\u2019s nearly effortless money you can use to help your music go further.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_passive_income_sources_for_musicians\"><\/span><span>What are passive income sources for musicians?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Passive music income falls under a variety of categories:<\/b><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Affiliate_programs\"><\/span><span>Affiliate programs<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>This is one of the biggest sources of passive income, and probably the most elusive to indie artists. So what is an affiliate program?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>An affiliate program (or affiliate marketing\/affiliate models) is a form of advertising that scales according to performance. In short, an online retailer like Amazon pays a small commission to another party for web traffic and sales that are directly attributable to referrals. In other words, you post a link to a product or service. If someone clicks the link and makes a purchase, YOU earn a percentage of that transaction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Lots of aspiring content creators use affiliate marketing to earn revenue. Have you ever watched a YouTube video and the creator mentions that viewers can buy the product with links in the video description? That\u2019s affiliate marketing!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So how do musicians use affiliate marketing? Pretty much the same as anyone else, only tailored to your music career.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Musicians can use these affiliate programs:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Amazon:<\/b><span> This is a big one, since Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world. It\u2019s also the most accessible affiliate program. Through the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/affiliate-program.amazon.com\/welcome\/getstarted\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Amazon Associates Program<\/span><\/a><span>, you use link-building tools to direct your audience to certain products you use. You then earn commission from purchases through those links.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Got a favorite guitar or pair of headphones? What about the DAW or audio interface you use for all your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/diymusician.cdbaby.com\/music-career\/how-to-record-and-produce-music-at-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>home recording<\/span><\/a><span>? Recommend them through Amazon\u2019s Associates Program and earn some money whenever someone buys those products through your links!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Amazon\u2019s affiliate program is especially powerful for musicians because you can also earn commission from a link to your own song on Amazon Music. This is done through a system called <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/affiliate-program.amazon.com\/resource-center\/earn-generous-commissions-with-the-amazon-music-bounty?ac-ms-src=rc-search-result\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Bounties. <\/span><\/a><span>These are fixed commissions you earn when your fans sign up for a free trial or subscription to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/music\/unlimited?=undefined&amp;linkCode=sl2&amp;tag=passive_blog-20&amp;linkId=9fb563e4780060d1161d1a5bae4bd904&amp;language=en_US&amp;ref_=as_li_ss_tl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Amazon Music<\/span><\/a><span>*. Basically, you\u2019re earning money while sharing your music with your audience!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Apple Music:<\/b><span> The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/partners.applemediaservices.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Apple Music Premier Partner Program<\/span><\/a><span> works on a bounty system like Amazon Music\u2019s deal, where you earn a one-time commission when a referral from you results in a conversion to the first paid month of Apple Music.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>These referrals are done through links to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/diymusician.cdbaby.com\/releasing-music\/the-indie-musicians-guide-to-apple-music\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Apple Music<\/span><\/a><span> you can create through their Apple Music Toolbox and place on your various online profiles. You can link to Apple Music to generate subscriptions, or to iTunes for a commission on download sales made through them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>You can even get extra fancy and place a QR code for fans to scan that will take them to Apple Music instead of clicking a link. Just add your affiliate code for that sweet kickback!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Active on Twitter? You can also embed a 30-second preview track into a tweet along with your affiliate code. That way you get commission from any subscriptions resulting from those clicks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Deezer:<\/b><span> Like the other two partners above, participants in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/affiliate.deezer.com\/hifi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Deezer\u2019s affiliate program<\/span><\/a><span> (called Dealers) earn money when people subscribe to the service through links they provide. This program only applies to subscriptions to Deezer\u2019s HiFi service for streaming in lossless FLAC. Deezer sweetens the deal even further by offering participants a free Deezer HiFi account.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Subscription_services\"><\/span><span>Subscription services<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>Subscription-based income is revenue driven directly from people following your music career and contributing in a dependable, regular way. Content creators use subscription services as a sustainable source of steady income generated from the art they create.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>These models also tend to foster a closer relationship between content creators and their audience because the creators\u2019 fans are paying their favorite creators directly. It\u2019s like walking right up to your favorite musician after a show and handing them a few bucks, except fans <\/span><i><span>also<\/span><\/i><span> get cool content for their membership.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Musicians can use these subscription services:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Patreon:<\/b><span> Definitely the most popular subscription service with content creators, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Patreon<\/span><\/a><span> is a flexible platform with tons of options for musicians. You can host exclusive content like music videos, instrument lessons, and demos of new songs just for your subscribers who pay a monthly fee for access to this content.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Patreon does take a 5 to 12 percent commission of monthly income from creators. They also take a 2.9% plus $0.30 processing fee on donations over $3 and 5% plus $0.10 fee on donations of $3 or less.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Bandzoogle:<\/b><span> Do you use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/diymusician.cdbaby.com\/music-promotion\/music-websites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Bandzoogle<\/span><\/a><span> to host your own website? If so, you can create a subscription service right on your site!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>With <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bandzoogle.com\/features\/subscriptions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Bandzoogle\u2019s subscription option<\/span><\/a><span>, fans can pay you commission-free revenue for access to your content. You can even create subscription tiers for different levels of access.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Monetization\"><\/span><span>Monetization<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>This is a pretty broad category, as monetization can mean many things in the music industry. Here, we\u2019re talking about revenue generated when someone uses your music in media, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>YouTube Content ID:<\/b><span> Did someone use one of your songs in a YouTube video? When that happens, YouTube places an advertisement on the video. Whenever someone clicks on the ad, you earn ad revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/auth.cdbaby.com\/account\/login?returnUrl=%2Fconnect%2Fauthorize%2Fcallback%3Fclient_id%3DAC68A4B0-552C-4576-8356-32D5D2625100%26redirect_uri%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fmembers.cdbaby.com%252Fsignin-oidc%26response_mode%3Dform_post%26response_type%3Dcode%2520id_token%26scope%3Dopenid%2520profile%2520email%2520cdbAPI%2520cdbAuthApi%2520cdbMembers%26state%3DOpenIdConnect.AuthenticationProperties%253Drliu7O1iNqcFhyWJFj3m0rV2_tZIkxaOaPDKyx84q78b2eKHIl1Ti2It4UXUZzeEr0dXm63UeozgA1VphLFPpmWrbWNkskeg3apgQnAqhZrO-lFzLHno6wJYeAxvRb9ZRd6fdfmGc9pSwbRDcIIfJTuRSL3SyE2hhuPv15igVGHRU_aCv3x9l_4KF889s8SNkEGBy4je9dgVQ0TwyHbdU3HBV0-mYa_vmWQfsuxbquMKX1c9vZaHxQPUX0Eh9ucd2S28HNwY3lmkOaggrVtboQ%26nonce%3D637671601315390575.NGE2NWNkYzMtZWRhNy00ZWY4LTgwMjYtNTE4NmMzZWQwYWQ1MmM0ZTk5MzQtYTViZC00NDAzLThkZmYtYmMyNDdlMmMzNTZm%26x-client-SKU%3DID_NET451%26x-client-ver%3D5.2.1.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Opt in for YouTube monetization with CD Baby.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Sync licensing:<\/b><span> Like Content ID, sync licensing works through song placement in media projects. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/diymusician.cdbaby.com\/music-career\/earn-real-money-with-sync-licensing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>Sync licensing<\/span><\/a><span> is even more expansive in that it\u2019s any type of media: TV shows, movies, video games, anything that uses music.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>CD Baby\u2019s sync licensing service places your songs in a catalog that music supervisors all over the entertainment industry can access. If they want to use your song in their project, they simply contact our sync team to make a deal. This can result in a huge payday!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Since the songs in our catalog are pre-cleared, you don\u2019t need to do anything except wait for your payment for the upfront placement. That same clearance also makes our catalog attractive to music supervisors due to its ease of use. Since they only need to go through one party, music supervisors love working with CD Baby to get the right song for the job.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Online_courses\"><\/span><span>Online courses<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>This is a source of income musicians often ignore. If you\u2019re an expert in a specific area, sign up to teach a class at an online school!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Are you an awesome guitarist? Maybe you\u2019ve been producing your own music or booking your own shows for years and you\u2019re ready to share your knowledge with other indie artists. You can create an online course and get paid whenever someone enrolls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Got some knowledge to share? Become a teacher at these online schools:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skillshare.com\/teach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Skillshare<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.udemy.com\/teaching\/?ref=teach_header\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Udemy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/teachable.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span>Teachable<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><span>There are bound to be many other sources of passive income for musicians, and we\u2019d love to hear your ideas! Have you been earning extra money on autopilot? Let us know how in the comments below.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>* CD Baby earns affiliate revenue from Amazon via this link<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/diymusician.cdbaby.com\/music-career\/how-to-earn-passive-income-as-a-musician\/\" target=\"_blank\">How to Earn Passive Income as a Musician<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/diymusician.cdbaby.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">DIY Musician<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Streaming revenue. Publishing royalties. CD sales. We\u2019ve talked a lot about those revenue sources. But today we\u2019re talking about a lesser-known source of music revenue: passive income. What is passive income? Passive income is any revenue generated after work is finished. You\u2019ve invested in the work upfront, and now your finished product is ready to work for you. In the case of music, some passive income is generated AFTER you\u2019ve released a song, uploaded a video, or launched a new merch line. And through that lens, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3420\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}