The Corona crisis affects every musician. All performances have been canceled and people are no longer organising events the coming months. It touches me, artist coach Maaike, to see how many of you are struggling to make ends meet. That's why I wrote down some tips for making money as an artist during the Lock Down.
I am touched to see how resilient the music sector is: musicians are looking for new ways to present themselves and their work. It gives me hope that, despite everything, the focus is on the future. For now it is mainly a matter of living by the day and, if necessary, using the help that is provided (including from the government).
To help you generate income nowadays, I have listed a number of tips. I admit, the possibilities are limited. But hopefully you can at least continue working with these tips.
The audience have to say at home, so what can you do as an artist?
1. Online initiatives
I see many musicians who organise concerts via livestream. Usually they do this for free, but there are also stages that launch new initiatives and pay musicians for online concerts. Recording studio Honeymoon suite for example, that organised an online festival with the livestream tool Crowdcast. The ticket price was a 5€ minimum donation but most people chose to donate more. Around 170 people tuned in to the first session and the studio raised more than 1,350€. I expect more initiatives to emerge in the near future.
2. Patreon
Crowdfunding, but different. Via Patreon fans can support artists with a fixed monthly fee. The idea behind this platform is that the artist get certainty and therefore more space to focus on creating. In return, fans will receive access to special exclusive content. You could think of it as a paid variant of Facebook for your fans.
3. Online classes
Many musicians are currently experimenting with giving lessons via online tools such as Skype and ZOOM. And because many people are at home, there is also a need for meaningful and inspiring activities. I can therefore imagine that there are many opportunities right now with online classes.
Gigstarter artist Raoul Michel also gives online guitar lessons.Individual teaching via an online tool is an option, but there are also teachers who offer complete online courses. An example is www.discoverdoublebass.com. An additional advantage of this is that you can sell such a course unlimited once you have made it.
I am convinced that there are also opportunities in every crisis. If you want more tips, feel free to send me an email, I would love to help: maaike@succesvolondernemenalscreatief.nl
Related blogs on Gigstarter:
