How to make money by singing

Alex7 · July 2019

I do not know anything about the music industry so I was wondering, If I took the risk and invested in the most complete package then how would I go about making some money out of it by performing songs? Is it possible to get copyright permits on mayor music hits to be able to record and sell my own discs as a tribute to my favorite singers, or something. I have no idea how I would make a little money from this, without becoming a star or anything like that, no way! lol. It takes someone with a special gift for that, I always thought perfoming is one thing, writing and making music is an entirely different business. But the idea seems interesting. What advice could you give me? Thanks!

HuduVudu · July 2019

If you want to know the nuts and bolts of singing then busk.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=OPDfMS_v0S0

You can also try to make money by streaming online:
https://twitch.tv/videos/453436660

There are many other ways these are the most useful to get you built up so that you know what level you have to be to actually draw the interest necessary to make money. For gawd sakes whatever you do DO NOT spend a lot of money on equipment and ABSOLUTELY DO NOT buy new equipment. Ken's course has a plethora of other ways to make money and how to build and market yourself once you can establish your music. If you choose that as an option. Clearly Ken knows the business.

This path requires all of your time there are many many many people that are far better than you out there that can sing or play music. You have to be exceptional and for that you need to practice constantly. Slash from GNR was practicing upwards of 17 hours a day according to his account. Take it for what it's worth. If you are not serious and I mean REALLY serious about singing/music then don't go down this path you need YEARS, that's right YEARS to get everything online to even be able to have a chance at making what the average fast food worker makes.

The other thing about all of this is that you will be doing this ALL of the time. That means over and over and over again day in day out for years. Practicing not singing. Are you willing to put in this kind of commitment? If not then just focus on singing and building your voice and music and have a good time doing it. Things get very bad when you are doing something you don't like for hours a day and days for years. All for the pleasure of making nothing. Oh, and I forgot to mention the drama and the hate that will be directed at you for reasons that what I can only term as insane. That parts really fun ... not.

Weigh your options carefully.

Shane

Alex7 · July 2019

mmmh, that is interesting. How about just upload my videos to YT of me singing the songs I like? They should be good enough to get plenty of likes and after a while I could become a Youtuber and make a little money that way. I am totally NOT into professional singing, I'm all about creating small but steady streams of income so selling music in the way I described before is not necessarily important, neither is to spend all my time and efforts towards this hobby. I could just take the course, practice for a year then when I've gotten past above the level of ''american idol reject'' on the singing I could start recording my videos and uploading them up there, start from there and then we'll see how good my channel does on subscriptions and notoriety over time, after a while I could start getting some money from Youtube. That is the plan, nothing sophisticated. I can tell that if I apply myself hard enough with these courses, this is possible, and even have fun in the process. 0.00 stress. The only thing I don't know is if performing songs that aren't mine and making public videos for profit is legal or not. Do all those people I have seen on YT pay anything to record companies for making those videos? I have no clue.

HuduVudu · July 2019

How about just upload my videos to YT of me singing the songs I like?

You have to pay for the rights for covers or they will be taken down or stricken. You also have to build enough subscribers before you can be a part of the affiliate program. Once a part of the program you can then monetize your videos. You will generally be monetized around .01 cent per view. The process of gaining enough subscribes takes quite some time and YouTube will do nothing to recommend your videos. Think entry level sales job. You must work to gain those subs. It is not an easy task and I think that you need on the order of 10k subs to even be considered and because the market is so saturated the amount needed is constantly rising.

I am totally NOT into professional singing, ...

Then why sing, you won't have fun and your chances of monetizing it in any meaningful way is abysmal.

... neither is to spend all my time and efforts towards this hobby.

Don't monetize hobbies ... it doesn't end well.

I could just take the course, practice for a year then when I've gotten past above the level of ''american idol reject''

Ummm no. You have no idea how good you need to be to even get past the first round and how much time that will really take. If you spend 40 hours a day for a year then maybe you have a shot at the second round in American Idol.

I could start recording my videos and uploading them up there, start from there and then we'll see how good my channel does on subscriptions and notoriety over time, after a while I could start getting some money from Youtube.

See my previous comments on YouTube. You have to be an affiliate to even have a shot of making any money at all, and yes you have to pay for the rights to cover the songs that are not yours. I have seen many businesses with the I'll just open the doors and then I will make money. They don't exist anymore.

Do all those people I have seen on YT pay anything to record companies for making those videos?

They do not. What they are doing is building their sub base so that they can reach affiliate and then they make different videos. Those videos are always claimed by the labels. Because the record companies are so tired of dealing with the idiots doing this they have YouTube just block uploads of their songs based on algorithms.

If you doing any of this to make money, you are going to fail. You would have better odds of making money buying a lottery ticket everyday for the rest of your life. I don't know why people think that singing is both easy and lucrative. It is neither of those. The people that do singing professional work long hard hours and they take huge risks. You only see the ones that make it you never see the millions that don't, hell you don't even see the tens of thousands of American Idol rejects.

But by all means if you think you have it and you are different then push forward. I have given you a solid path that will get you going, but if you feel like you know a better way then by all means do that.

Good luck on your journey.

DogMeat · July 2019

You can cover many tracks on Youtube. Some of them are ok with it, and rest come with risk of removal of content if the right owner decide to do so.
You can find safe song to cover here: youtube.com/music_policies

doc_ramadani · July 2019

Hi Ari,

wow, cool link. Didn't now that. BTW, are we allowed to hear some of your music when you have been in the Electronic Music scene?

Doc

Alex7 · July 2019

DogMeat said:
You can cover many tracks on Youtube. Some of them are ok with it, and rest come with risk of removal of content if the right owner decide to do so.
You can find safe song to cover here: youtube.com/music_policies

that's cool bro! I'll look into it when the time is right. Thanks!

Alex7 · July 2019

HuduVudu said:
How about just upload my videos to YT of me singing the songs I like?
You have to pay for the rights for covers or they will be taken down or stricken. You also have to build enough subscribers before you can be a part of the affiliate program. Once a part of the program you can then monetize your videos. You will generally be monetized around .01 cent per view. The process of gaining enough subscribes takes quite some time and YouTube will do nothing to recommend your videos. Think entry level sales job. You must work to gain those subs. It is not an easy task and I think that you need on the order of 10k subs to even be considered and because the market is so saturated the amount needed is constantly rising.
I am totally NOT into professional singing, ...
Then why sing, you won't have fun and your chances of monetizing it in any meaningful way is abysmal.
... neither is to spend all my time and efforts towards this hobby.
Don't monetize hobbies ... it doesn't end well.
I could just take the course, practice for a year then when I've gotten past above the level of ''american idol reject''
Ummm no. You have no idea how good you need to be to even get past the first round and how much time that will really take. If you spend 40 hours a day for a year then maybe you have a shot at the second round in American Idol.
I could start recording my videos and uploading them up there, start from there and then we'll see how good my channel does on subscriptions and notoriety over time, after a while I could start getting some money from Youtube.
See my previous comments on YouTube. You have to be an affiliate to even have a shot of making any money at all, and yes you have to pay for the rights to cover the songs that are not yours. I have seen many businesses with the I'll just open the doors and then I will make money. They don't exist anymore.
Do all those people I have seen on YT pay anything to record companies for making those videos?
They do not. What they are doing is building their sub base so that they can reach affiliate and then they make different videos. Those videos are always claimed by the labels. Because the record companies are so tired of dealing with the idiots doing this they have YouTube just block uploads of their songs based on algorithms.

If you doing any of this to make money, you are going to fail. You would have better odds of making money buying a lottery ticket everyday for the rest of your life. I don't know why people think that singing is both easy and lucrative. It is neither of those. The people that do singing professional work long hard hours and they take huge risks. You only see the ones that make it you never see the millions that don't, hell you don't even see the tens of thousands of American Idol rejects.

But by all means if you think you have it and you are different then push forward. I have given you a solid path that will get you going, but if you feel like you know a better way then by all means do that.

Good luck on your journey.

Yikes! You make it sound too complicated, lol. Since it's not my goal in life, singing I mean, I'll follow your advice on certain important points you make there but I'll decide on what to do aftewards. It all comes down to how well I do with the course, if I can hit good notes, and choose a decent song to cover publicly that is more than enough to me, I don't mean to outperform Freddy Mercury, that would be insane! ha ha ha. All those guys, are not just very good singers, they are masters, they are legends, they came, saw and conquered.............I just want to have fun with this, make money or not, and if it happens that some people like what I do and make a couple bucks with it, well, so be it! Will not be dissapointed if I reach a non-profit dead end as you predict. We'll see.....Thanks for the input, it is important to look at things negatively sometimes to get the real scope of one's plan.

doc_ramadani · July 2019

Alex7 said:
Yikes! You make it sound too complicated, lol.

To be honest I think he doesn't. Shane is telling you the truth. I guess he doesn't want to discourage you but he wants to tell you the truth about that business.

If you just want to have fun, then join us and sing every day. I am doing this each day and enjoy it. It would be great to have you abroad.

Doc

Wigs · July 2019

I'm glad you are able to take all this information on board with an open mind, @HuduVudu makes very valid points that discourages people with unrealistic views on the industry. Sing for fun, love and joy, then at least whatever else happens it's enjoyable🙂
P.S. you will find this course amazing!

Alex7 · July 2019

doc_ramadani said:

Alex7 said:
Yikes! You make it sound too complicated, lol.
To be honest I think he doesn't. Shane is telling you the truth. I guess he doesn't want to discourage you but he wants to tell you the truth about that business.

If you just want to have fun, then join us and sing every day. I am doing this each day and enjoy it. It would be great to have you abroad.

Doc

Thanks for the invitation! I will keep that in mind

Alex7 · July 2019

Wigs said:
I'm glad you are able to take all this information on board with an open mind, @HuduVudu makes very valid points that discourages people with unrealistic views on the industry. Sing for fun, love and joy, then at least whatever else happens it's enjoyable🙂
P.S. you will find this course amazing!

Oh definitely! When I saw mr. Tamplin's first videos on YT I was stunned, it was like I had found a ''genie in a bottle'' that would grant me at least one wish: to be able to sing a lot better than I can at the moment, lol. After I began this hobby, just here at home with karaoke YT videos, I began to wonder how is it possible to sing in tune, to be able to elevate your voice without sounding like a poor cat getting tortured or something and many other questions I had a few years back, and I began to learn there's a reason why for all that and a way to improve all that as I watched some of mr. Tamplin's videos. So, I was kind of hooked with this idea, I saw there was hope for me to get past that ugly singing. So, yeah, at some point I will get this course and get started.

originalvonster · August 2019

A

highmtn · August 2019

The music business is very competitive. Taking Ken's course and drastically improving your singing skills makes you a much more attractive band member when auditions are happening. The best singer in a group of 20 people auditioning for a band is almost always the selectee, even if they aren't the best bass player, guitarist, keyboardist or drummer. If they are auditioning for front person lead singer, then charisma and vocal capabilities come strongly into play.

Making a full-time living as a singer or musician is almost impossible, but doing music part-time is a great way to make extra cash doing something that you really love. I started out to be a full-time musician, playing drums, and then reality stepped in and made me have to get a day job. That was many years ago. But for my entire life, I have played in bands, and made a decent amount of money over and above what my day jobs paid, and I always looked forward to my weekend gigs.

I was a musician that could not sing, especially lead singing. That all changed when I started Ken's program at a ripe old age. I now sing lead vocals and when I'm not singing lead, I'm doing killer backing vocals (and drumming). I have made thousands of dollars, year after year, in my lifetime playing music while holding down day jobs.

Performing regularly has really made my life a lot more enjoyable than it would be without music. Singing well is the icing on the cake. If I had not had the day jobs I would have starved a long time ago. If I had not had the bands to play in, I would have had a much less fun life. It's a lot of work to do both a day job and a weekend/night job. But it's worth it, to me, anyway, and although it IS work, it's something that I really enjoy.

I have signed record contracts, played fairly large concerts, and done thousands of club gigs. I know a lot of full-time musicians who have ended up with no retirement or health coverage. I have a retirement, and health coverage, from my day jobs, and I still play regularly, and get those extra paydays from playing music. I pay taxes on my earnings from music. There are no free rides.

You have to earn a living and do what you can to ensure your future and keep a roof over your head. But that does not mean that you have to give up your dream of sounding great on stage. I'm still living that dream, and I would never consider giving it up until I simply can't sing or play anymore. But my voice just keeps improving, and people keep on hiring us to play.

Don't let anyone pour cold water on your aspirations to become the best singer you can possibly be. But realize that it's a lot of work. But if you love to sing, then you should most definitely pursue your desire, simply for the love of it.

I liken playing in a semi-pro band to what most people who love to play golf would think if they were paid a hundred dollars every time they went to play a round of golf with their buddies. That is a dream come true that happens to almost nobody in the golf world. A lot of good weekend warriors can make that playing music, if you play your cards right.

Alex7 · September 2019

Thanks so much for the comments highmtn! It does not get more sincere with a true and genuine desire to give good advice than this. I appreciate it. I wish I could get me started sooner on this singing journey that at my 40 plus years of age have crazily decided to pursue all of a sudden, lol. The main thing that is holding me right now is time and since all this singing business of mine enters in the hobby category, not life career I must wait for the right moment to carry on with it. I don't even have an appropiate place to practice all the exercises in the course to begin with so I really must wait patiently, but the day will come when I can carry on with this plan.....so, anyway, I just came to say thanks for your words sir, they are EXTREMELY appreciated indeed

Alex7 · September 2019

originalvonster said:
Yes if you have some recording equipment you can make money by singing. I make money singing for people on Fiverr. If you want to go down the route of covers then there are a few options. You can upload audio to distribution channels like iTunes yourself. You would need to obtain a mechanical licence (as long as you aren’t changing the melody drastically). If you change it drastically you need a custom licence and if you do a video you also need a sync licence. These can bee obtained from companies such as the Harry Fox Agency.

Another option for audio only is paying for a distrokid membership. I think you can pay a little extra for a licence and it’s probably cheaper than going to HFA. I don’t know if you can only get licences for certain songs with distrokid though.

Third option is if you have 1k subscribers and 4K watch hours on YouTube. You can sign up to a company like Fullscreen. They have a deal with Universal Music. You can get a split of the YouTube ad revenue for uploading Universal covers. This is my plan eventually. I have the watch hours but not the 1k subs.

Thanks much for all these awesome tips and ideas sir! It's highly appreciated!

HuduVudu · September 2019

Real Dude making real money and telling ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psw1RrwRl-Q

CortezWong · February 2023

Hey there, I came across your old forum post and wanted to chime in. Making money through singing can be a tough nut to crack, especially if you're not familiar with the music industry. However, I think it's great that you're willing to take a risk and invest in yourself. As for getting copyright permits on major music hits, it's best to consult with a music lawyer or an entertainment attorney to make sure you're not violating any copyright laws. As for making some money without becoming a star, you could try performing at local gigs, offering singing lessons or even singing telegrams! It may take some hustle, but with passion and persistence, you never know where it may lead. And hey, speaking of making some extra cash, have you checked out the best money-making apps? Here's a link to some ideas: https://joywallet.com/article/best-money-making-apps/. Good luck, and keep us updated on your journey!

How to make money by singing

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