How To Make Millions with Music as a Side Hustle

Making millions of Naira is every musician’s dream. As a musician or someone who wants to make money in music, it is often challenging, but it’s possible to earn as much as you want. It requires a combination of talent, hard work, dedication, and a bit of luck. Here are some steps that can help you on your journey to financial success in the music industry:

1. Develop or Acquire Exceptional Musical Skills:

First and foremost, you need to be a highly skilled and talented musician, not just a bathroom singer. Invest time in honing your craft, whether you’re a singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, or producer. Nowadays, you can make beats using AI on platforms like AIVA.ai or Sounful.com, modify it to your taste, add your voice to it, and you’ve got a song.

If you have your music already as a music artist, and are looking for ways to distribute and promote it, VerseOne Distribution offers comprehensive artist services, you might want to check them out.

2. Create Outstanding Music:

Don’t just follow the trend; use it to create your own unique blend. Write and produce unique, memorable music that appeals to a wide audience. Amapiano is the big thing now, so consider adding Amapiano vibes to your songs for mass appeal. Quality sound is the foundation of successful music; getting that first hit track takes just more than singing in repetition. Integrate good sound with a good voice, get creative with your rhymes and rhythm, and you will be on your way to earning money from music.

3. Build a Strong Brand:

It’s common to see musicians wear funny glasses like Adekunle Gold, cultural items like Odumodublvck’s red hat, paint their hair, or drip themselves in style and swag like Timaya. That is typically a form of brand building and is a critical part of a musician or singer’s arsenal. So, if you want to earn well from music as a side hustle, building a brand for yourself with the way you dress, the rip at the start of your songs, or any other quirks is critical. Develop a unique brand identity that sets you apart from other musicians. Your brand should reflect your personality, style, and values.

4. Record High-Quality Music:

You must invest in professional recording and production, get some studio time, or use AI tools to make quality music. You can make two 15-track albums daily for 30 days with AI tools. But remember that the focus here is quality and not quantity. Rather than create 15 low-quality tracks, try making just one or two and spend time making them high-quality. Quality production can make a significant difference in how your music is received.

5. Distribute your Music:

Nowadays, you don’t need to be signed to a record label to distribute your music worldwide. You can join platforms like VerseOne Distribution or other music distribution companies. VerseOne does not accept everyone, but they are one of the best in the industry. They can help you with playlist pitching, smart link auto-generation, and even place your songs on international radio and TV stations like Trace TV, BET, MTV, etc. If you cannot access VerseOne, try researching other platforms you can start with, especially around your locale.

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6. Promote Your Music:

Adverts and promotions are your sure way of getting the right attention. Utilize various marketing and promotional strategies to get your music in front of as many people as possible. Remember that music distribution platforms like VerseOne will provide smart links once you successfully upload your music.

The link should look like this e.g. https://verseone.me/trackname. Place the link on social media platforms, websites, music videos, etc., to promote your work. Don’t forget that Promotion is 70% of the music business, so take it seriously. An inside trick is putting your song as background music in TikTok videos and reels each time you want to post.

7. Monetize Your Music:

Apart from the art or fun of it, the major reason why artists make music is to generate income. Explore multiple revenue streams, including music sales, streaming royalties, merchandise sales, and licensing your music for use in films, commercials, and TV shows. Music Distributors such as VerseOne provide music distribution to streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music and publishing services for performance royalties. They also distribute to YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok for monetization.

8. Protect Your Intellectual Property:

One of the cool things about working with a good distributor is that once a music distribution contract is signed and your music is uploaded, the distributor constantly monitors the web to check if anyone else uploads your music. If they do, your distributor protects your interest by preventing copyright theft. Another way to protect your music is to register your music and copyrights with COSON (Copyrights Society of Nigeria) to ensure you receive proper royalties and protect your work from unauthorized use, which is very rampant in the country.

9. Diversify Your Income:

Beyond music sales and performances, explore other ways to earn as a singer, from merchandising, endorsements, publishing, and teaching music. You must have heard about Davido advertising Martell and others representing Hennessy. These are alternative revenue sources for musicians. Businesses like 1XBet, clothing brands like Nike, or drink companies like Martell, Hennessy, and Glenfiddich often look for musicians whose work creates a good appeal to market their brands.

10. Be Persistent and Resilient:

The music industry can be challenging, with many ups and downs. A clear example is the Naira Marley and Mohbad story. It is important to choose the right partners, stay persistent, keep evolving, and learn from failures and setbacks, both yours and other people’s.

11. Hire a Team:

If you plan to take up music professionally as your career grows, consider hiring a manager, publicist, or booking agent to help manage your career and increase your exposure. Working alone might make you susceptible to being cheated or taken advantage of. Always involve your management and lawyers.

12. Stay Informed:

The popular Nigerian slang says, “Follow who know road”. Keep up with industry trends, technologies, and changes in the music business to adapt and make informed decisions. If you decide to make music a side hustle, this information will help if applied correctly. You can make a thousand dollars every month within the first three months. It’s that easy.

If you have your music already, you can sell your music on 280+ platforms including Spotify, iTunes, Instagram, TikTok, and Tencent, while keeping 100% of your copyrights with VerseOne Distribution.

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