There are quite a few ways to call yourself a professional these days. The world is changing and so should our worldview. The best way forward is to be informed of the latest opportunities and how they may change us.
In order to start singing professionally one has to make sure that they’re good enough as a singer to provide their services to other people whether that may be in a band or as a freelancer. Monetary success as a singer can come in many ways but making sure your skill and network are high will make sure you’re exposed to new and upcoming opportunities.
There is of course not just one way to make money and I hope through reading these articles you will find that being a singer needs to serve your goals whether that may include making money or not.
Profession Means Money
We have to establish the fact that singing professionally means making money.
Some might even say that whatever fetches you the most money if you have multiple income streams is your profession.
I highly disagree. I don’t think the world works like that anymore.
So, we must establish that if making money from music or from singing is your primary goal, then knowing that money is far more free-flowing than it was a decade ago.
The word profession is now by itself getting old. Isn’t that something?
With all of this being said I would urge you to look at everything that you’re about to read with an open mind and be able to understand and comprehend that the world doesn’t work the way it used to.
To rely on a single income is committing career suicide.
And for terminology’s sake, if you can make money from it, it’s your profession, and having more than one is completely fine.
Freelancing
The first thing that comes to mind when you have to understand about singing and earning from it is that you ought to freelance. Yes, there is more than one way to earn from singing. It goes beyond having a band and that means freelancing for other people not just as a singer but allowing yourself to develop music-related skills that you can put forward.
One of the ways that you ought to do it and I really urge everyone to do it when they start out is to look at the music industry and see that people are indeed looking for singers to do things on a freelance basis. This is important because the myth or disbelief needs to be broken.
There are people looking for singers.
Because whether you like to believe it or not there are people who want singers as backup singles for their songs and people are looking for them online. Don’t believe me still? Check Upwork and Fiverr.
If you’re into a particular type of singing you can put up a gig on either one of those websites and allow your clients to send you backing tracks that you’ll need to sing over them and get paid in return.
That is just one of the ways that you can earn money.
Also, creativity pays.
Creativity pays in the sense that it allows you to come up with not just solutions for people’s creative problems but also allows you to look at something and offer a creative alternative to things as a whole, maybe there is something that only you can do and other people can hire you to do it for you.
Music Industry
When it comes to the music industry I would like to say that when you first start out, you may have to wear many hats. You can’t just be a singer. You have to be your own manager, be your own producer, composer, arranger, and anything that you’d be forced to be.
I say this because you are not just yourself.
You are a singer to someone and a producer to someone else. An advisor to someone and someone else’s pupil, all at the same time.
Alternative Skills
Think about it like this, even if you have a skill that you possess other than music, why not do that within the music industry?
For example, if you’re an accountant why not try becoming one for a music label? It’s not exactly related to being in the music industry but working for one would give you great insight into how a music label functions.
Additionally, forming and networking will allow you to go far and beyond in the music industry. Who’s stopping you from making friends and professional connections within the music industry? It’s definitely going to be harder when you’re on the outside.
Singing In a Band
The oldest trick in the book is to form a band, release a demo and try to get picked up by a label and let them take care of everything as you take care of your creativity and touring.
While all of this may be great, the majority of the bands are not successful. You still have to realize that you still need to have the correct contacts with the right people who will promote your band and music.
You also need to be the kind of band that makes label money. Because at the end of the day, that’s what it is. You’re a band of the label.
I stated earlier that having just one skill or one stream of income is not the way to go. The same is also true when it comes to being in a band.
They don’t rely on only one stream of income. They rely on merchandise, digital and physical sales, and quite heavily on touring as well.
Whatever You Do You Need to be Able to Sing
You have to be able to sing.
If you have any endeavors of being in a band, performing as an artist, or doing anything else, the only thing that you can rely on is your own singing.
To that end, I don’t really want people to miss out on all the benefits that they can have from having an online course, the importance of which is found here.
To make it easier for you a little bit more, I have curated a list of courses that I believe you ought to look at so that you can start to learn to sing. You can find that page here.
The reason I speak so heavily of this is that if you don’t have the right skills, it doesn’t matter how much effort you may put into other things. It will be all for nothing. So, buckle up and practice the things that are taught to you in the course.
Network
The other half after practicing and getting better is knowing people.
Whether it’s the music industry or any other industry, knowing people is always going to help you a lot, I am not talking about friends either. Without a good network, you will never be able to sit down and work through problems that are bigger than yourself.
Even though you may wear many hats, what about marketing? Video editing? If it ever comes down to it? The question isn’t of knowing how to do something the issue becomes of who can do it for me?
If you can do something and the other person can do something else then you’re already working as a team.
Plus, the power of collaboration is massive. Projects and things that could potentially come to life.
Before I end this I need you to know this, without knowing the right people you will never be successful. Ever.
You need to bring value to them and they need to bring value to you.
The flip side is that eventually, you will have to give back to people who would need your help more than you need theirs because that is something that is going to happen to you when you’re first starting out.
How Do You Define Your Success? (Small steps)
So not that you are aware of how you could possibly start singing professionally by freelancing or being in a band, the importance of networking and being in the music industry in one way or another, but how you define your success is the biggest question you can ask yourself.
If doing music brings you happiness then congratulations, you’ll find happiness from it from day one. However, if you derive more satisfaction from being the band that sells out every show then that may be so, but it’ll ask a lot of you in return as well.
Money is important, I will be the first person to admit that but thinking beyond it and knowing what really brings satisfaction in your life will be a lot more rewarding.
Additionally, asking yourself questions that will eventually help your own career will go a long way to planning what you ought to do about it too.
Other questions like what’s your network like? If you’re someone who hasn’t begun networking at all, what’s your plan? Do you plan to start a company? Do you plan to start a label? Are you talking to people who might be interested in your songs to be put up on your playlist?
All of these questions when answered will not only bring you great clarity in your vision of who you wish to be but also help others achieve this as you help others achieve theirs.
This Will Take Time
While there are overnight successes, I don’t particularly find them to last very long since there was no time given to the foundation to be strong.
Good things that last, truly take their own time.
Finding success like this is not something that you ought to aim for, aim for knowledge to be able to do things and people who will be onboard for the adventures that you wish to take them on.
If you truly wish to be in the music industry in this lifetime, creating and putting one brick at a time is the way to go about it.
Thinking Beyond Money
Okay, so we’re here.
If you had money, would you do things differently? I am not talking about buying equipment but rather, even if you were a little bit that rich would you pursue something else?
It is a tough landscape, it always has been and always will be. The question is, are you prepared to make friends and be good at what you do to take on the challenges that are present for you?