Not strictly New Music Strategies territory, but I guess there’s a good reason I should tell you what I’ve been up to for the past week or so.
Apart from all the usual stuff I like to occupy my time with – like travel to Northern Ireland to give a music industry seminar, make a video blog about whisky, listen to lots of records, meet with commercially inviable record labels, do a spot of research about the BBC, and involve myself in long examination board meetings at the university – I’ve thrown together a new website with a talented friend of mine.
It’s a simple idea: people make wishes – and then… well that’s kind of it, really. People make wishes. You can type your wish in on the site – or twitter it (just follow isowish on twitter, we’ll follow you back, and then “d isowish that I was Jimi Hendrix”) – and then you can take a code away and embed that wish on your blog or other website etc.
Like this:
What do you so wish?
The website’s called I So Wish… and the grammatical awkwardness serves a purpose as well as fills a need because so many of the other desirable domains were gone.
Passive income
But there’s a point to be made here. One of the reasons for I So Wish to exist is for the purposes of passive income.
The idea of this was simply to be a web application that we could get off the ground quickly (we’ve spent a grand total of about 3 days work each on the site), and – all going well – it will turn over a little bit of an income without too much in the way of further engagement.
Here’s why that’s important: I strongly believe that ‘making music your career’ (a phrase often put forward as an ideal situation for musicians) has the hidden trap of turning music into something you HAVE to do, rather than something you GET to do. The question of ‘how do I make money making music?’ can more reasonably be split into three parts:
1) How can I make money?
2) How can I spend my time making music?
3) How can I do both without having to also do something I hate?
You could, of course, become immensely rich making music you love – and nobody would begrudge you that. It’s also possible to make just a reasonable income out of music without sacrificing or compromising one little bit.
But another successful route is that of passive income. There are some very happy musicians who make very good money, only spend their day making music and buying themselves nice things – but their money comes from what some people call a ‘cash machine’.
Make money while you sleep
The idea is to make money while you sleep, so that you can go away and make music HOW you want, WHEN you want, WITH WHOM you want – and so on, rather than making the music that you HAVE to make because that’s the only way you’re going to eat this week. It’s not a problem everyone faces – but it’s a problem all the same.
This is one way I’m trying out that principle myself.
So… the point of me telling you this is twofold:
1) You can make something very quickly that will generate an income for you. It might not solve all your problems by itself, but setting up some money-makers that take care of themselves will often take the pressure off elsewhere.
2) You can partner with other people – and I suggest that technologists are good for this – in order to help with your ideas. I invented something I thought would be engaging and fun, but could not make it. I then explained it to someone who had the ability to make it, but hadn’t invented it. And then we went 50/50 to make things nice and simple. Three days from idea to launch. Two more days to our first 1000 visitors.
Wishing for cash
So how is I So Wish making money? A couple of ways. There’s a fairly subtle Amazon affiliate ad on the page that shows you your wish after you’ve made it – and I’m selling an e-book I wrote called ‘How To Make Wishes That Come True‘.
It’s a reasonably substantial piece (75 pages) and I’m quite proud of it.
I wanted to make it something I felt okay about putting my name to and charging people money for – so I was certainly not going to spin them any wishy-washy crap about ‘putting your positive vibes out into the universe’ or ‘focusing on improving your receiving energies’. This is practical, down to earth, ‘getting stuff done’, goal setting, project-managing, helpful and strategic stuff.
I’ve had a little bit of success with e-books in the past. This one is for sale, and our hope is that the use of the fun ‘make a wishes‘ bit of the site will generate some interest in the book too. It’s an experiment.
How this is useful to you
The bit that I hope you take away from all this is the following truth:
You are creative, and can come up with things – both musical and otherwise – that other people would find real value in. You may not be capable of realising all of those things on your own. Partner with people (hint: geeks are people) who are creative in other ways – and then use each other’s skills to generate something that will capitalise on that value.
The more you can set things up so that you can make money while you sleep, the more freedom you’ll have to make the music that you love – and connect with audiences in a way that expresses your art.
Sounds like a wish come true.
The photo on the e-book looks great, Andrew. I hope you can sell it.
Isowish reminds me of http://www.twistori.com Do you know that site?
We are making money while we sleep with royalties weget for our music and we love it. That is why rights are so important. We play what we want, when we want.
Recently Elizabeth encouraged me to start Morning Tune Up, a mostly daily little video of uncensored, improvised music to greet the new day. It started as a self – experiment without any commercial intention, but it feels as if it is getting big and then it might even earn some money. I’m actually creating content – effortless. Morning Tune Up is here: http://sexyguitar.blogspot.com
I know it is possible to have passive income, but you have to contribute something to make the exchange happen. There are too many people out there selling ideas like:
“How to make money by selling your own e-book even if you can’t read or write and get thousends of customers within the next 24 hours!”
I think it is important that you have something to give, and then passive income is possible!
good luck, I think the e-book + isowish site is a great idea. Especially like the bigger picture thinking behind it. Have you been reading Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek book per chance?
So the solution to making money from music is to make money from something else?
Well, yes and no.
“How can I make money from music?” is not always the right question, would be another way of looking at it.
There are, of course, a lot of ways to make money from music – none of them perfectly reliable in all instances. But I suspect almost nobody gets into making music as a way of making money. Most people who love music want to spend as much time as possible making it – and so the answer they come up with is to make it their job.
The ‘solution’ offered here is simply one way to approach the twin problems of “how do I make music?” and “how do I make money?” from a slightly different angle. One that is almost never discussed in these sorts of situations.
Personally, I think your best bet is to set it up so that money comes through the door no matter what you do – and then you can make (and sell) as much music as you like without the stress and panic of having to make money from it on a consistent basis.
In a perfect world, everyone with a scrap of musical talent would be handsomely rewarded every time they played a note. Sadly, this world has one or two minor flaws…
Sure, I take your point, I was playing devil’s advocate really.
I myself work a full-time job whilst making music.
This brings with it the advantage that I do not worry about making money from my music, and am happy to give it away for free, which serves as a great promotional tool, but I am only able to do this because I am propped up by a job.
Working a full-time job and making music isn’t as hard as it sounds. You can make music say three or four nights a week or on weekends and provided you don’t work too hard in your job I can get away with doing all my online stuff whilst at work.. !
Dubbers idea is great – as you get more free time, but really, you can get a proper job, that pays well and make music. I’m not ever going to have to have to stop making music because I’m not making enough money from it, but if by some stroke of luck my stuff takes off, then I can quit my real job!
Could I make a suggestion for the preview pdf of the book?
At the moment it’s all tease because it stops just before the content. If you added just one page of actual meat then it would enable people to judge whether your advice is actually worth shelling out cash for.
I have another question…
As ebooks become more popular surely they are destined to go the way of music and become widely available for free on blogs and torrent sites?
“I so wish that more musicians could just make the money they need AND make the music they love” Make this wish come true: check out our eBook it says when you click on the link…
Says Andrew Drubber.
Rob Moore’s comment:
“So the solution to making money from music is to make money from something else?”
Hits the nail on the head.
You have called this website “newmusicstrategies” yet your blog has a theme around giving away music for free so that more people hear it without ever explaining at what point money changes hands for the music!? If that’s your music strategy – It’s not very helpful is it!
Now you have written a new ebook you want people to PAY for!!??!?!?! which implies that you know some magic secret to making money from music in the digital age:
“I so wish that more musicians could just make the money they need AND make the music they love” Make this wish come true: check out our eBook”
When actually yoru solution is to give up on the idea of making money from music and make money from alternative sources!?!?!
Any Joe could say that!
You say “you can make (and sell) as much music as you like without the stress and panic of having to make money from it on a consistent basis.” how is that helpful!?!?!
The point is you have attempted to establish yourself as somekind of industry guru yet you don’t have the answer to the question that a lot of the artists and label owners who read your site want to know:
HOW TO MAKE MONEY FROM MUSIC ON A CONSISTENT BASIS…
Now I know there are people out there who are happy to give away their music for free- That’s great but i’m not interested in them. My campaign – Real Fans Pay (www.myspace.com/realfanspay – I’ve featured you on the homepage so you should check it out!) is about supporting those who WANT to make a living from their music – so why don’t you talk about that Mr Drubber?
How do your readers – Independent Artists and Label Owners who want to earn a living from music – make a living from music exclusively?
This means not having a day job or hatching some crazy money making scheme but actually making a genuine living from your music.
I look forward to your response.
Thanks, Sarah – you’ve pretty much encapsulated the frustrations that musicians and music businesses have. Let me respond briefly, if I can.
1) Not painting myself as a music industry ‘guru’. Just making some observations and trying to be helpful.
2) Not selling an e-book about how to make money from music online. Giving that one away. Selling an e-book about practical goal setting and project management steps designed to help you go about “making wishes that come true”.
3) Giving away recordings is not the same as giving away your music.
4) Not only do I not KNOW a magic secret for making money from music – I’m saying flat out that there ISN’T one.
5) Your campaign seems geared around ‘correcting people’s behaviour’ rather than adapting your own approach. I don’t happen to agree with that strategy, but good luck cracking the 50 MySpace friends barrier all the same.
Sarah, my comment wasn’t a dig at dubber.
It’s true, the solution to making money from music is to make money from something else!
I don’t really see why this is such a scary prospect.
I personally find it very exciting that we live in a time where it becoming harder and harder to make a living from ‘the music’.
You can’t say anyone joining a band in this day and age is ‘doing it for the money’, and frankly, your site is simply trying to cling on to a past that is fading away.
The promotion that can be achieved through openly giving away your music free, and encouraging it to be shared should not be underestimated. This in turn can help you to build a brand around your music, and tie in products such as gigs or merch that DO make money.
Bands have been giving away their music on Cds for free since before the internet, the only difference is now it costs nothing to do. It’s totally free promotion that people love, I see no problem here.
I’m slowly implementing this strategy for myself, so we shall see how it goes!
Thank You for your response Andrew.
You say you are giving away an ebook about making money yet you are charging for it! I know about the 20 things book – i’m not talking about that I’m talking about:
“I so wish that more musicians could just make the money they need AND make the music they love†Make this wish come true: check out our eBook”
There is definitely a music and money link there unless I missed it?
You say “Not only do I not KNOW a magic secret for making money from music – I’m saying flat out that there ISN’T one.”
This is common sense but what i’m interested in is a debate around the way that an independent musician can make money from their music – You don’t seem to have any tangible thoughts on this is that correct?
If you haven’t got a clue that’s Ok – Just say you haven’t got a clue don’t try and peddle ebooks on the subject and then say it’s actually about something else – It’s called false advertising.
You say “Giving away recordings is not the same as giving away your music” can you elaborate on that for me?
It seens this comment was made in spite: “but good luck cracking the 50 MySpace friends barrier all the same.”
It’s a little petty (but hey you are a lecturer – all lecturers are petty types in my experience! – those who can do, those who can’t teach and all that!).
If you read the dates on the page you will see i set it up on FRIDAY!!! today is MONDAY!!! its less than 72 hours old!!!!!! I have a full time job and partied at the weekend so hey it’s not going to have thousands of friends on it just yet is it! (in fact 46 is not bad in my opinion!).
Check back in 6 months….
Anyway, I would rather that we didn’t have a petty conversation but an open one – I want to debate the ways an independent artist can make money directly from their music – If you have some ideas please share them!
Hiya Rob!
Nobody said you were making a dig – You made a valid point. A valid point doesn’t have to be a dig does it?
You say “I personally find it very exciting that we live in a time where it becoming harder and harder to make a living from ‘the music’.”
What’s so exciting about making it harder for a musician to earn a living? That’s like saying “i find it so exciting that with a recession around the corner I might lose my job, my house and my wife”.
It’s a bit like when you apply for a job advertised at £50k a year and then at the interview get told its “commission only” your broke and have no job so you say “that sounds REALLY exciting, that sounds like a REAL challenge!” except in reality you would much rather the regular £50k option!.
Then you devalue your worth and start scouring for other commission only jobs as these are all you feel you can do – Who would take you on as a full time paid employee – Your not worth it are you?
The reason it is becoming hard is because the artists are not fighting hard enough. If we as an industry roll over and say “ok, ok i give up! take my music from me please!” at the first sign of trouble then why on earth should the fans and the media owners support us!?!?!!
Artists provide ALL the content for ALL the radio stations, music portals, live gigs ect worldwide and if we all took a stand and asked for a fair financial reward for our music (instead of being grateful to give it away) then the people behind these networks would have to take notice.
When actors get screwed over they strike – If they didn’t and they accepted lower and lower wages every year they would eventually be earning nothing and making their money from public appearances or autograph signings or some other rubbish instead of from their core work – Acting!
The arguement is that “people love to act”, or “its entertainment – do it for free” – RUBBISH!!!! They know it is WORK and they want to get paid for it.
I mentioned already i am supporting those who love music and want to pursue it as a career – it is their work – not those “enthusiastic amateurs” who want to give it away. I respect their choice but i’m not here for them.
Sarah.
Sarah, comparing being a musician to working a commission based job is, in fact quite accurate.
You make commission on every track/CD sold – nobody is going to give you 50k and then not have you sell anything. Even major label advances are tehcnically loans that you pay back through commission on the CDs you sell.
The idea that before people started downloading music musicians were all living comfortable existences without worrying about ‘I might lose my job, my house and my wife’ is ridiculous. In fact, the only way to be financially comfortable, and make the music you love is to generate an alternative income stream, as dubber suggests.
I would say that it doesn’t have to be entirely unrelated to your music as dubbers idea is, but that products/services related to your music will sell, and the music is the promotional tool with which to achieve this.
I find it interesting that your url is ‘real fans pay’.
Real fans DO pay, but fans are also not stupid, and why should you pay for something that you can quite easily (if not easier) get for free online. I am a music fan and a musician. I download others music, for free, so why should I expect other people to pay for mine? If I like an artist I may buy a t-shirt or go to a show, the fact that I download music for free means that there are now more artists that I like, that I go to shows of, and buy merch from.
I spend more money on artists than I did before, I just don’t spend it on their music.
So you’re here to support a small minority of ‘professional’ artists. I’m sure they’re happy to have you.
Here’s an interesting thought that some of you may find interesting.
In communist Russia, musicians were paid for shows only, they were paid well for shows as they had to make as much in an hour as most people did in a full day. Records were simply a way to advertise the concerts, recording and practicing were al done at the musicians cost.
Was this a fair way to pay musician? It did mean that if a band had enough money to make a cd it could make the leap to ‘professional’ quite simply. Although the same is true today, pay enough money and people will buy your cds.
Other than that, please continue, this debate has raised some interesting issues.
I do want to make one thing clear, because Sarah is under a misapprehension about something.
She quotes:
“I so wish that more musicians could just make the money they need AND make the music they love†Make this wish come true: check out our eBookâ€
There is definitely a music and money link there unless I missed it?”
And then:
“Just say you haven’t got a clue don’t try and peddle ebooks on the subject and then say it’s actually about something else – It’s called false advertising.”
I’m sorry if this was unclear. When you make a wish – of any kind – on I So Wish, there is a link to the book sale page.
The book is about wishes – not at all about the music industry. I thought I’d made that clear in the body of the text and in this explanation on the purchase page (and in the free sample chapter).
Here’s a wish about something else entirely. Scroll down and you’ll see the link: “Make this wish come true: check out our eBook”. It’s what we say at the end of each wish, regardless of topic. It’s automated, you see.
This is NOT a book about the specific topic of the wish that you make. It’s about deciding what you want out of life, and then going about systematically accomplishing that.
I’d be more than happy to send you a free sample copy if you email me directly, Sarah. I hope you find it more useful than you’ve found my writings here on New Music Strategies.
And I apologise for the remark about cracking the 50 MySpace friends barrier. I’m sure you’ll make far more than that.
If you’re unable to find anything at all of use in the 287 articles that so far populate the archives of New Music Strategies or in the 20 Things e-book, then can I suggest a couple of other writers that you may find more helpful:
Derek Sivers
Bruce Warila
Ariel Hyatt
David Hooper
These guys are far more pragmatic and results-focused than I am. They tend to give good advice, for the most part, though we diverge on some matters. That’s to be expected.
Finally, with regard to Real Fans Pay: While I absolutely and fundamentally disagree with your approach — and think it’s not only detrimental to the independent music sector but seeks to dig even deeper the hole that the major labels have spent the past 10 years excavating — we are 100% on the same side when it comes to the idea that we want musicians and independent music businesses to make money.
Trouble is – you’re right. I don’t have answers. Don’t claim to and never have. I wish there was a button you could press and a lever you could pull in order to be successful with music. But there isn’t.
My whole thing is about the idea that in order to come up with YOUR answers for YOUR own particular case, you have to have a good understanding of the new media environment and how it works, so that you can join the dots between the music you make, the audience you seek, the technological tools around you and the various unique aspects of your own situation.
Online music success, I believe, is something that has to be customised in each instance, based on a general understanding of some principles about what people do with technology.
I don’t believe it’s about simply saying “Well, if you were a REAL music fan, you’d give me money!”
One of my hesitation in entering into message boards like this is getting into conversation with people who are frustrated and get irate with people exploring the issue. There’s nothing wrong with Dubber making observations about things you can do to find ways to make a profit. There’s certainly nothing wrong with him charging for his efforts. Nowadays off-setting and redirecting your audience is one of the best ways you can create opportunities to sell you art. Personally, I get annoyed with all the artist who seem to think they deserve a free ride because they decided to create art and put it up for sale. Few of them seem to take the NIN or RadioHead approach and see this as an opportunity to apply their CREATIVITY to marketing and creating a successful business, but they are quick to complain about no one else providing them answers…
I’d agree wholeheartedly with J’s statement about artists thinking they deserve a free ride to be honest.
You can’t just create something – put it up for sale – and then expect people to buy it.
Musicians are (or should be) creative people, and we should be creative in how we make money too!
Another interesting interview with the most backward thinking band on the planet..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20080707_oasisdeal.shtml
Hello Andrew,
Thank You for your reply.
The Title of the campaign “Real Fans Pay” is meant to be controversial as I wanted to provoke a strong debate and get peoples interest. I find it jarring but it’s meant to be – I didn’t want people to ignore the issues!
I wanted to get to the bottom of what the artists feel about the rise of “free” music, and also what new revenue streams they are exploring and whether these are more or less beneficial in the current climate.
I have made some posts on other forums and drawn a huge response in some cases.
It seems to me that the industry is currently in a state of flux – It is going through major changes and a lot of Independent Artists are quite happy to go along for the ride as long as they are getting free promotion.
This makes sense to me but I feel that the “free promotion” gravy train is going to end shortly especially with MySpace talking about “stripping band profiles from the site” and focusing on streamed tracks from the Major’s – However time will tell!
Now I’ve put some effort into the launch I’m going to reflect on the many, many, many different views and issues raised and see what comes out of the last few days worth of work in the next few months!
Thank You for the links I will check them out and best of luck with the eBook.
Sarah.
re: Another interesting interview with the most backward thinking band on the planet..
LOL! Yeah-these guys defy Darwinism…
J
Re: Sarah Sings
Checked out your MySpace…
I like what you’re trying to do, but personally, I think its the wrong approach.
To be clear-I am the rare combination of artist and technical person with a business mind-set (years in the computer graphics and music fields). I really do understand your perspective and have openly told many ‘fans’ that they are completely wrong for taking music from bands they like and avoiding paying for it. To me, those people are the enemy-not people who happen upon music-just the ones who think that they are ‘sticking it to the man’ by trying to get media for free.
I’ve schooled a few people about what really happened in the Napster case (the fact that Metallica actually only asked Sean Fanning to take down their UNFINISHED, UNMIXED versions of music and Fanning went on a PR war). In the end though, you are dealing with people who don’t understand the business and don’t have a desire to. Going after them or attacking them is not going to get them back, but it will create a ‘we/they’ kind of attitude which won’t help your cause long term.
I came up with my own approach which basically has its foundation in giving them a reason to buy by creating VALUE, not just telling them they should pay for it. I wouldn’t pay for a Paris Hilton LP, but I would (and did) pay for RadioHead (though I must admit, I haven’t ever listened to Paris Hilton).
Here are a few of my Blogs which deal with my approach:
http://theoppositeoffaith.fuzz.com/blog/entry/What-we-all-face-as-artist-in-the-future
http://theoppositeoffaith.fuzz.com/blog/entry/Because-I
I do think you have some valid points, I just think most people don’t really care, unless we go back to the thing that makes music really work-VALUE. I’ve never met a suit at a music company who understood that…you don’t have to MAKE someone buy something they love.
Looking forward to your response…
J
Anyone hear the news of last.fm’s artist royalty program? Surprised this hasn’t been mentioned yet. Free streaming music online that generates advertising revenue, which is shared with the artist. Hmm… sounds like a great way of making money from the recordings themselves, rather than offsetting profits to merch and live shows, etc.
My prediction is that this business model, that of free content and paid advertisements, which already supports massively profitable enterprises like myspace and facebook, will become very important in the music industry.
Sarah – quit your bitching and get with the times. You’re not going to convince anyone to buy something they can get for free. Promoting productive debate is great and all, but telling people they’re doing something wrong by taking advantage of new technologies will get you nowhere.
I am signed up for this program, but it’s only just started and nobody will receive their first report until October.
The bulk of my plays do not come from last.fm but I’d be interested to see what the pay is, I’m guessing not a lot, but hey!
I’ve had almost 40,000 plays on Myspace in the last few months, so I’m wondering if this was turned into a last.fm model whether this would produce a meaningful source of income?
Anybody know the rates?
This is awesome! I have already embedded my wish on my blog and tonight I am going to buy the ebook. Great work, Andrew!
Hi Andrew,
Great thinking, as usual. Sorry I got to it a bit late.
I had the same idea last year and my effort is at http://www.musowiki.net. It’s taken a bit more than 3 days to build and is more of a music-industry site than I So Wish is, but it’s purpose is essentially the same: I hope that one day it will find me to play music.
BTW – you should list all your sites in there. My goal is to include every site that might be useful to Musos in building their careers – and it’s free!
Cheers,
Hughie
Hey Andrew,
Been reading your stuff for some time. I appreciate the advice you are offering up here, even if it is non-music related. While it would be great to actually make a living by making music, alternate revenue streams are at least a step in the right direction, especially passive streams. I’m also taking another approach…voluntary simplification. I’m in the process of minimizing all of my expenses so that I don’t need as much income to survive. That way, I can work at my non-music dayjob less (part-time?) and have more time to do less lucrative work that I enjoy more (music & art).
Again, I know that the ultimate goal is to “make it” as a musician, but we can at least diversify our income and minimize our expenses until we come up with that final solution.
Jeff
I definitely agree with this idea of making a ‘passive income’. It’s something I’ve thought about a lot, and something I’ve tried to put into action. It hasn’t really happened for me yet, but I continue to work towards it because I would love to be able to spend more time making music.
Every time i come here I am not dissapointed, nice post