10 Ways Music Producers Can Make Money In 2024

Here are 10 ways music producers can make money in 2021

As a beatmaker or music producer, the dream is to be able to go all in and fully pursue your passion. To turn that dream into a reality it’s important to know that there are many revenue streams for you as a music producer. And this article will share 10 ways music producers can make money in 2024.

When you’re passionate about something, you should always have the ability to learn how to make it your full-time job. And that’s no different for music producers. This article isn’t about making a quick dollar, it’s about learning how you can diversify your income streams and bring you closer to making your dreams come true.

This is your business. This is your brand. Your brand is your equity. Your brand as a music producer is what communicates your message and what attracts clients and customers to you. As a human being, you’re unique and that should translate into your brand to differentiate yourself from the masses. So be ready to be patient and stay consistent. That’s the key to building a sustainable career and producing music. Don’t think you need to focus solely on selling more leased beats from your shop on BeatStars or Airbit.

These are 10 ways music producers can make money in 2024. 

1

Licensing your beats

As a young or seasoned music producer or beatmaker, leveraging one of the top platforms to sell beats to license your tracks is a great option to earn revenue.

It allows you to get your beats out into the marketplace while charging affordable prices to up and coming artists. It also allows you to maintain the rights to your beats, so you can re-license them to other interested artists.

Separately, this business model allows you the opportunity as a music producer to develop relationships with artists at the ground level of their career. These are the relationships you can nurture, so if one of them gets to the next level, securing a placement with them becomes more likely.

2

Revenue from streams of your music

With every track you release, make sure they get distributed to all the major platforms. With digital distribution platforms like Ditto or DistroKid, this is extremely easy and inexpensive. Another great thing is that once you sign-up, there is the ability to release unlimited tracks through their service.

With playlisting becoming such a big thing, you can even submit your beats to appear on editorial playlists from Spotify, for example. There are even some platforms like SubmitHub or MySphera where you can launch campaigns to get playlisted.

Definitely upload your beats to YouTube as well because as your grow your channel and subscribers and watch time, you can join their partner program, and start earning revenue from Ads being placed on your beat videos.

Also, when selecting your digital distribution platform, look into their YouTube Content ID service. If someone happens to use your beat in a video on YouTube, you can earn additional revenue through the Content ID system that your distributor will collect.

Soundcloud and Audiomack are also great platforms that you can put your beats on for people to consume and stream, and are great for building your fan base.

3

Sell Sound Kits and Sample Packs

We recently put out articles on the top platforms to sell sound kits and samples and also how to make sample packs that sell. Nowadays music producers are selling their drum kits, melodic loops, sound effects, etc. Any unique sounds that you create can be shared to the world, and at a significant profit.

In our article reviewing platforms, we cover some of the great ones like Sellfy or Splice that truly cater to making revenue selling your original and authentic sounds.

If you are creating melodic loop packs, you can also consider building into your agreement that you collect a percentage of the publishing royalties when beats made with your melodies get used. This is something a lot of the top producers who are selling sounds are doing these days.

Either route you take, this is a great opportunity for music producers to add an additional stream of income.

4

Secure major placements

When you get a major placement, there comes a fee for selling your beat. Through your Performing Rights Organization (PRO), there is writer/composer and publishing royalties, and through SoundExchange comes royalties for non-interactive streaming for when your music gets played on SiriusXM, for instance.

Placements are about networking, building relationships with the right people, so if you're just starting out, it shouldn't be something you're completely locked-in on. Build your brand and reputation, and major placements on something that will become a natural.

If you're working hard on seeking placements, don't be discouraged if you hear No's or nothing at all. Focus on what you can control, and that's continuing to develop your unique and authentic sound.

5

Sync Licensing Revenue

If you're sitting on a catalog of music that you've produced, now is the time to pursue sync licensing opportunities. Get your music placed in Television, Film, Video Games, etc. There are so many opportunities right now with the amount of video content being produced by Over-the-Top (OTT) media services like Netflix, Hulu, etc. that it is a simple supply and demand game.

Check out our complete directory of the top sync licensing music companies, and start doing research on some of the top music supervisors in the game.

Find what makes sense for you, and then craft your pitch.

6

Find the right brands to partner with

Influencer Marketing is a key component to any major brands marketing strategy in 2022. These brands will pay you to create content and/or help promote their products to your fans and followings. Do you see yourself as an expert on a particular piece of music production equipment? Is there a DAW that you're just killing it with? Considering reaching out to these brands marketing teams and seeing if there is anyway you can collaborate on a project. There is a lot of opportunity right now for you as a music producer with influencer marketing.

7

Monetize your social networks

YouTube Partner Program. TikTok Creator Fund. Twitch Streaming. These are social media revenue streams that should be on every music producers radar. To get to the point where these monetization tools become available, you'll need to frequently post high quality content. Make your posts stand out from others. Stay active and connected - it's called social media for a reason. You'll want to nurture and engage with your community. Don't view social as simply a way to promote your beats, but as a way to show who you are as a person, as a brand.

8

Consider live performances

Are you noticing an uptick of listeners of the beats you distributed to Spotify and Apple Music? Is your following growing on social media? Do the research in your data and see if you notice any specific locations that may be heavier than others and consider penetrating that market with a live show. Some music producers are performing in front of thousands of people every night and there is a huge market as a producer for you to perform your stuff live. Lots of people go to shows once you build your brand to a certain level.

Similarly, in the digital landscape, going live on Instagram or TikTok, can offer you other ways to reach the masses without leaving the comfort of your home. TikTok Live, for instance, even gives producers the ability to be sent gifts that can be transferred into real money that you can deposit into your linked PayPal account.

Live music always has and always will build a different type of connection to your fanbase.

9

Monetize your skills and knowledge through a course

As a music producer or beatmaker, you have acquired a unique skill-set that you can market to other music producers or sound designers. Create and host your own on-demand or live trainings to your fan base, or connect with Universities who may pay you to be a guest speaker during one of their sessions.

Again, this is an area where building your brand will enhance your overall marketability as a beatmaker.

10

Join affiliate marketing publisher programs

We talked about partnering with brands, and monetizing directly though social media revenue programs, but an often overlooked way to monetize your content is in the form of affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing gives you the ability to communicate with your fans and followings the products you love, and earn a commission by doing so. We recently wrote an article on the top affiliate marketing programs for independent musicians, but the key here is authenticity. Find something that resonates with you as a producer, and your brand. This shouldn't be your primary focus, of course, and you're not going to get rich from affiliate marketing, but view it as a way to get some passive income for talking about products you might talk about to begin with.

Are there more than 10 ways music producers can make money in 2024?

Of course there could be. Your creativity shouldn’t stop behind the boards. There will always be new ways for musicians and music producers to earn money. And that’s the key. Having a diverse set of income streams as a producer is what can keep you doing what you love full-time.

This list is just meant to spark some new ideas in your mind if you haven’t thought of them before. Or if you’re stuck thinking you need to increase your leased beat sales in order to truly make a career out of this. There are many different ways for you to earn revenue as a beatmaker. Especially in 2024.

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