We're reaching a point where you're going to need a steady income if you want to make a decent living from your music. For many musicians, this means relying on playing gigs at pubs and clubs around the country.
This can be difficult, and we've heard plenty of stories from successful musicians who have found themselves in financial hardship through their inability to earn a decent income from their music.
We know the dangers of relying on gigs alone as there are many bands who have never made money from playing gigs, and in this article, we're going to look at some free ways you can promote your music and make money from your music without spending a penny.
There are more artists out there than there are gigs. Most artists don't want to play gigs because they're not making enough money or they want to have some free time.
So what do you do if you want to get paid for your music? You can make use of social media to talk to other artists, who can help spread your music to more people.
For instance, if you're a singer, you could put a video of yourself on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram singing your song, then promote it to your social media followers.
Many artists have a Facebook page, which they use for this. Some artists choose to keep a private account and only use it for promoting their music, while others like to use their Facebook page to advertise gigs.
The trick to this is to be creative and think of some new ways of promoting your music. For example, you could challenge your followers to write a song to the same melody as your original song, or upload a cover of your song to your page and then share the post with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.
Remember to be original, though. You want to encourage people to create your music in their own way rather than copy it.
Facebook is by far the most popular social media site used by musicians and the majority of the artists we talk to use this site to advertise gigs.
However, you're limited by the number of likes and followers you have on Facebook, which means it's difficult for you to gain a large audience on this site.
However, you can use other sites to boost your following on Facebook. You can buy Facebook likes and followers, but you should only ever pay for them if you're serious about gaining a large following.
For instance, the site Six Degrees has a range of levels of followers, with each level costing you £2.10 to gain the level you want. So, for example, to gain a level three on their site, you would have to spend £2.10 to buy £3.50 worth of followers.
Using this method, you would need to spend £9.10 in total, so you would only be able to get a level three by paying £10.50 for followers.
Another social media site you should be using to promote your music is Instagram. You can use this site to post your music video and gain exposure for your music and your profile.
However, you should only use this site for promoting your music.
If you are a musician or if you want to promote music in general, then you need to think about how you can get signed to a record company.
Many record companies do come to a gig or market somewhere, but often you'll need to do a lot of promoting yourself before you reach that point.
Start on Twitter, for example. Social media is the perfect place to build a following and find potential fans to sign up to your mailing list.
It's the easiest way to get noticed by record companies.
Other free promotional activities include the following.
Most gigs will want you to promote them as well as playing. But this isn't a one-way relationship; the fans will often promote you and your music.
Most gigs will want you to promote them as well as playing. But this isn't a one-way relationship; the fans will often promote you and your music.
If you can get a performance slot at a music festival, you'll find that it has a huge promotional effect.
In-store events can generate a lot of sales for you and your music. If you run a campaign correctly, it will be a regular event for your fans, so they'll remember it and your music will live on in their memories.
Getting the most exposure to a large audience is the most direct way to get noticed. You may have heard of the "eureka moment": it's when something clicks and you think "Wow! That's a great idea for a song!"
You need to do some research and ask your local record shop about gigs, gigs where your band is playing, and festivals. It could be that your new song will make the final cut.
If you have a recording contract with a record company, they can play it at the record company Christmas party. You can't win every time.
If you have the budget to pay a PR company to find you a producer, this will get you closer to your goal. But if you're on a low income, you can still find a producer for very little money.
Asking around in the local studios will tell you who's willing to work for free. You might not get the biggest hit out of it, but you might make an artist out of someone.
And if you need a little help from a friend to make a video, this will get you noticed too.
