Make Money Online as a Musician
This is actually how I make most of my money online, so I have a feeling there will be quite a few of these posts!
There are several ways of doing it. One is to simply be a “gun for hire.” As usual it’s a case of getting your name out there with an excellent showcase website, but then people get in touch with you and pay you to produce some music for their project. If you’re emotionally attatched to your music and don’t want anything commerical to be near it then this isn’t for you! You do what they say, then completely change it when they give you feedback. Small projects can be a few 10s of dollars, but some people can earn a fortune from doing this.
One other way is to write and record you own songs and sell them via iTunes. Being on a tropical beach is probably going to give you lots of inspiration! Again get a showcase website with your best stuff, PR yourself around Myspace and Youtube and get videos online of every gig you do. Then you send your CD of tracks off to CDBaby.com who then get them featured on iTunes for you. You aren’t going to make millions, but if you’ve got some catchy stuff then it’s more than possible to pay for a location free lifestyle.
I carry around a laptop with Ableton Live, a Korg Kaossilator (the best thing ever!) and an Edirol PCR-M1 which is small enough for carry on luggage. It also fits nicely infront of the laptop on coffee shop tables! Some Shure E530 headphones are also one of the best investments I’ve made recently. Not only are they great for recording and playback, they are brilliant on planes as they cut out almost all the background noise and make it seem like you are just floaing through the air!