Are you tired of working all of the time but barely scraping by? Consider a few ways to make passive income as a musician.
You can choose from more options than you think. Then, you could earn a few extra bucks per month or even double your income.
Before I get into the passive income streams, this post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy to learn more.
What Is Passive Income?
Passive income refers to any money you earn without directly working for it. You still have to do some work, but it’s not connected to the hours you work, such as the number of lessons you teach.
I prefer the term “scalable income” because that’s more accurate. A lot of options are by no means passive. However, as you build an audience and brand, you can grow your income without working more.
Ways to Make Passive Income
If you’re tired of working all of the time, you may want to look into some passive income opportunities. It may not seem like you can do that as a musician, but there are more options than you think.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is where you get a special link to promote your favorite products. When someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase, you’ll earn a commission from that sale.
I love getting to make some extra cash from the content I’d already create. You can share your instrument, sheet music, and accessories. That makes this a great income stream for private music teachers.
It’s also suitable for anyone with a music niche blog. As you get more traffic, you’ll have a higher chance of earning more money.
Display Ads
Another great way to make passive income is to place display ads on your website. Then, every view you get can result in one or more ad impressions. While impressions don’t pay a lot, it adds up.
You can also make more if people click on the ads. All you have to do is get people to visit your website. Then, it’s up to the companies that pay for the ads to create ads that encourage clicks.
Once you set up the ads, you don’t have to do anything specific to make money. However, it’s one of the least-lucrative ways to make passive income. So while it can be part of your business, I wouldn’t rely on ads alone.
Sheet Music
Another way to make money in your music biz is to sell sheet music. If you’re a composer or arranger, you can publish digital versions of your works. Then, you just have to upload the file to a sales platform, such as Easy Digital Downloads.
Whenever someone buys a copy of your music, you’ll earn money. Now, some platforms, like ArrangeMe, have a minimum payout threshold. But if you sell music through your website, you can earn money every time you make a sale.
If you want to make a lot of money, you’ll need to publish a lot of music. You should also promote your music on social media.
eBooks
Another one of the best ways to make passive income is to write and publish an eBook. Like sheet music, you can create a digital file and upload it to your website.
Then, when you make a sale, you can have the money sent to your bank account, PayPal, or another payment method. You can write a book related to your instrument to help more people than just private students.
eBooks are a relatively affordable product. So while you won’t make a ton of money per sale, it can be easier to get a sale compared to getting a new regular private student or other type of client.
Online Courses
Maybe you want to teach something, but an eBook isn’t the best format. If you want to use videos or create a more comprehensive product, an online course might be the right choice.
Online courses take a lot of work to create and maintain. But you can charge more for a course than an eBook. So while it’s not exactly passive, it can be scalable without you needing a massive audience.
You can set up your course on a platform like Teachable. It gives you everything you need to create lessons and modules. The platform also helps you write a high-converting sales page that you can link to from your website or social media.
Audio Files
Another one of the best ways to make passive income is to sell recordings of your playing. Of course, many musicians have sold albums. But with streaming platforms, you can also make money for each stream of your recordings.
Unfortunately, making a lot of money from audio recordings requires a lot of album sales or individual streams. You’ll also need good equipment to record your playing and software to edit your files.
But it could be a good way to supplement your other sources of income. If you’re able to build an audience, you may earn a significant amount of money.
Why Make Passive Income as a Musician
Being a musician can keep you very busy, and you may not always earn a ton of money, especially at first. Consider some reasons why you should incorporate passive income into your business model.
Prepare for Income Dips
Some months and seasons are busier than others. For example, a lot of private music teachers see a drop in enrollment over the summer. That means you’ll be bringing in less money than you’re used to.
But if you’ve been earning a bit of passive income over the year, that income dip won’t hurt as much. You can save your extra earnings for when you know you’ll have less stuff going on.
Get “Paid” Days Off
Unless you get a full-time job with benefits, you won’t have paid days off as a musician. So if you need a day to not work, you can sacrifice some of your income.
With passive sources, though, you can earn money that you can use to create your own “paid” days off. So whether you get sick or need to visit family or want to take a vacation, you can do so without losing out on money.
Increase Your Savings
Maybe you don’t need more days off, but you don’t have an emergency fund. Or you might be looking to upgrade your instrument soon. In either case, you can use any passive income earnings to bulk up your savings account.
Every time you earn passive income, set aside a third of it for taxes. Then, place the rest of it in a savings account. That way, you can reach your savings goals in less time.
Cover Your Benefits
If you live in the US, you know that a lot of people rely on regular jobs for benefits like health insurance and retirement savings. As a freelancer, you’re on your own for those things.
Consider using your passive income earnings to “subsidize” your own health insurance policy. You can also use some of the money to contribute to an individual retirement account (IRA). Then, it won’t feel like that money is coming from your overall paycheck.
Help More People
A lot of benefits of passive income relate to money. One that doesn’t is that it allows you to help more people than you can with private lessons or other one-on-one work.
Whether you sell eBooks, courses, or use affiliate marketing through your content, you can help solve problems for more people. Then, you can earn money for that value you provide others.
How Much Money Can You Make With Passive Income?
You can earn absolutely nothing from passive income, and you probably will not earn much when you first start.
However, some people earn six figures or even seven figures a year. But those people have had passive income streams in place for years.
How Soon Can You Start to Earn Passive Income?
It can take multiple months or even years before you start to earn a significant amount in passive income. But putting in the time now can pay off over the long term.
For example, I didn’t earn anything from one of my music niche blogs for four months. Over time, it’s slowly started to earn more money.
Final Thoughts
There are multiple ways to make passive income as a musician. You can sell anything from sheet music to online courses.
But my favorite option is to use affiliate marketing. You don’t have to create anything, so you could arguably earn a commission much sooner.
If you want to give it a try, enroll in Affiliate Marketing Superstars.
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