The music biz is a tough place to make a living.

It’s a hard truth that I’ve addressed in

various videos and blog posts. At the same time, my vantage point as the CEO of Disc
Makers has revealed that having a long and productive career as a musician is an attainable
goal. Thousands—tens of thousands—of music artists are able to make it work. But how,
exactly? What do they do to achieve music career success?

Well, before we get into my tips for music success and longevity, let me begin by stating
something that should be pretty obvious: There isn’t one single path to making a living in
music. There are many paths that lead to success, and every artist’s journey is different.

It’s a long way to the top…

The list I’m going to give you is by no means the only way, nor is it exhaustive, but it does
include common-sense advice, gained from my experience and the experience of others,
that will greatly increase your odds of making a living from your music.

First, a couple of quick caveats. If you don’t, can’t, or won’t perform live, quite a bit of this
advice won’t apply to you. If you want to make a living as a songwriter, but not a performer,
much of this won’t apply to you. If you want to pursue a full-time career as a computer
programmer and do music as a side gig, some of this won’t be relevant. That said, whatever
your musical goals, most of these tips will help you get closer to reaching them.

If you are interested in building a successful artist career, this is 100% for you.

Tony Van Veen

CEO, Disc Makers

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 1. Treat music like a job
If you are serious about making it in the music biz—whatever “making it” means to you—
then you have to spend the necessary hours on it. You have to make time for it, real time,
after your day job. If you treat music like a hobby, it will always be one.

2. Prepare to play the long game

For most artists, music success takes years and you’ll need a plan to make this journey
financially sustainable. For this music thing to work for you, and for you to have a shot
at music career success, you need to generate income to live—to survive and pay the
bills—in addition to writing, recording, gigging/touring, and keeping your music career
progressing on an upward trajectory.

Until that time when you can actually make a living from your music, that most probably
involves a day job of some sort along with your musical activities.

3. Make financial investments in your music

When a new company launches, they typically invest lots of money upfront—renting
space, hiring people, buying inventory, spending on ad campaigns—before they start
seeing revenue and certainly before they start seeing profits.

It’s not too different with your music career. You need to invest in instruments, music and
recording gear, manufacturing, merch, etc. before you see income. You’ll need funding to
do that, hence, my previous point about having a plan and source of income to financially
support your career early on. You just won’t make money on every album, every concert,
every single thing you try. Initially, this will require more money going in than you’ll see
coming out, and this phase could last for several years.

4. There’s a lot of competition for your fans’ attention

There are lots of songs by other artists being released every day, lots of other concerts
for your fanbase to go to, and lots of other ways people choose to entertain themselves.
To rise above the noise and get noticed, your music can’t just be good. It can’t just be very
good. It has to be great. Your live performances also have to be great. Which means you

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 need to constantly improve your musical skills, musicianship, compositions, recordings,
and performance chops.

5. Stand out from the crowd

Because of what I just said about all the competition, it really helps to find a way, or
several ways—musically, visually, performance-wise—to stand out from the crowd and
break through. Your amazing voice or guitar playing alone may not be enough to do that.
If you’re a young, talented, good-looking pop singer, it’s really difficult to break through
unless you have some angle that differentiates you.

6. Realize you are in business

Specifically, you are in the business of building a fanbase. In fact, you’re not just in business,
you are the business! Just making great music is not enough. Like it or not, you’re going to
have to do work you might not otherwise want to do—like being active on social media,
learning marketing, and interacting with fans at concerts. Remember: if you’re going to
make a living from your music, it’s your fans who are going to pay to make this possible.

7. Build your audience one fan at a time

Yes, we live in an age of social media, but fans have to be won over one by one with an
interaction at the merch table, a comment on a social post, a smile and a wave from the
stage. The occasional social post or new track on Spotify isn’t enough to build a loyal
fanbase. It takes real work, over and over and over again. It certainly helps if you actually
enjoy this part of it… and if you’re nice.

8. Everything starts locally

You need to support and respect your local music scene. Not only that, but since you’ll
likely have to do multiple cycles of touring and come through the same city every year,
local bookers, promotors, DJs, and other operators remain important to your success much
longer than you might think. When you start out, you have no option other than to start
small and local, and do so proudly. Love your local fans and make them love you, starting in
bars and clubs in and around town. Engage with them—in person, outside the venue, after

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 your set—to build fans for life who will be invested in your success and who’ll spread the
word about you to others.

9. Build a network
Networking has become almost a dirty word lately, but a network will really help move
your career forward. Become friends and make connections in your local scene—with
other artists, promotors, DJs, and the like. Then do the same in other towns where you
perform. Get the contact info of the people you meet and reach out with a simple “thank
you” or “it was great to meet you.” Over time, this is how introductions and referrals
happen that can move your career along.

10. Be professional
Specifically, be on time (I can’t overstate how important this is), be polite, be easy to work
with, and be nice. I don’t need to explain why, right?

11. Beware of difficult people

You should be a gem, but inevitably, some people will be jerks. If you have to deal with them,
find a way to do it amicably. Don’t take things personally. From a personal perspective, you
may not like them, but if you need to do business with them—now, or later—you’ve got to
figure out how to work with them. Figure out what makes them tick, what they need, then—
as best as possible—give that to them.

Not everyone you meet in life, and in business, is going to be nice. That doesn’t mean you
can’t do business together. And remember, sometimes that rough exterior is just a front,
and underneath that exterior is a solid, hardworking person who is under a lot of pressure
to perform.

12. Release music regularly

In today’s crowded music space, fans—especially new or casual ones—will forget about you
if you don’t release music regularly. Just dropping an album every year or two doesn’t cut
it. You need to drop singles every four-to-six weeks, plus an EP or an album every year. Each
release builds upon the previous one, gradually growing your streams and your fanbase.

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 13. Hit the road and perform extensively
If you’re not prepared to gig all the time, or if you don’t enjoy performing, then maybe a
music career is not for you. It’s at your performances that your fans get to interact with
you. Heck, in the early stages of your music career, it’s at performances, opening for larger
bands, that potential fans can learn about you and become your fans.

You have to do this constantly. The goal is to keep at it and, every year, grow your base
and play a bigger venue. That’s how you build a sustainable music career over time.

14. Make and sell awesome physical products

Fans love the connection they get with an artist from owning a piece of physical product—a
CD or vinyl LP, a t-shirt or hoodie. Plus, selling merch is a critical part of your financial
survival as an artist. You can’t make a living from streaming, so you need to sell stuff—
merch, music, and concert tickets—to pay the bills. Ideally, your merch, CDs, shirts, etc. are
so well-designed, creative, and cool that fans just have to have them once they see them.

15. Enjoy the ride

Don’t focus so much on your end goal that you ignore the journey. Making music,
performing, meeting fans and people in the biz, playing bigger venues every year… they’re
amazing experiences. Enjoy them! Have fun. Stop and pinch yourself every once in a
while and remind yourself that you’re fortunate to be able to create and share your music.
Whatever level you ultimately end up at with your music career, if you love what you’re
doing, the journey will have been worth it.

16. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse (more than you think is

necessary)
You’re not rehearsing enough (no matter how much you do rehearse) and you’re actually
not as good as people say you are. Sounds harsh, but let’s be honest, the people around
you—your crew, your fans, your family—they won’t tell you the hard truth, they’ll just tell
you they love you.

And in fact, they may love your music, but that doesn’t mean it’s good enough for you to

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 live off it. Look, baseball slugger Mike Trout knows how to hit a baseball. But he’s still in the
batting cage every day taking batting practice. Why? To keep getting better, no matter how
good he is. To keep upping his performance. You need to do the same. Practice like crazy,
and whatever level you’re at, work on getting better.

17. Make your concerts a visual experience

Concerts are not just for the ears. If you get onstage knowing how to play your songs really
well, that’s great, but it’s not enough. Music fans are not there to hear your music—they can
do that on Spotify. No, your fans are there to see—to experience—a show that will inspire
them. You have to plan and rehearse your whole live set over and over again to deliver that
show. Practice how to engage with the audience—during and between songs. Practice your
stage banter. Rehearse the interplay with your fellow band members.

Your goal at every gig should be to blow the headliners away. And when you are the headliner,
you should want to blow your fans’ minds. And here are two quick tips: If you’re an up-and-
coming act, the audience probably won’t know you. So when you’re on stage, tell them your
band’s name! Do that a few times during your set. And remind them to buy your merch at
the merch table. You sell a few CDs, it’s gas money for the van.

18. Build a funnel

Remember, part one of this game is about creating awareness and getting people to notice
you. Then, it’s about getting them to remember you. And finally, it’s about getting them to
give you money. That may sound crass, but if you aspire to make a living off your music,
you’re going to have to get paid at some point. And you need a funnel to do this.

Awareness creation starts with songs on streaming platforms and videos on YouTube,
and, of course, with performing and opening up for other artists. Next, you want people
to subscribe to your YouTube channel and follow you on Spotify. You want to get them to
your social media profiles and follow you there—on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc. And
ultimately, you want to get them onto your email list.

Yes, old-fashioned email.

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 Email is a great tool to retain mindshare with your fans and it’s the single best tool to
monetize your music. When you have a new CD or vinyl LP, single, or merch, email will drive
dollars. One of the things I tell artists is, “Social for show, email for dough.” And, to make
music your livelihood, you’ve got to generate enough income from your music to live off.

19. Track metrics

As you are doing your funnel building and your career building, you need to track the
metrics. How many followers do you have? How many subscribers? Streams? Views?
Merch sales at gigs? Ticket sales? And how are they progressing—are they growing? At
what rate?

Did you do an email campaign? What was your open rate? Click-through rate? Hey… this
is a business. You are the business. You need to deal with numbers and make decisions
based on results.

20. Experiment
Change things up. Get creative and see what works best. Try different price points at
which to sell CDs at shows and see what works. And, per my previous point, measure the
results. Try a “name your own price” program for your CDs. Try different subject lines for
your emails and see which get higher open rates. Try performing a cover song live and
gauge the audience’s response.

Maximizing your performance—and your results—comes from trying new things. Marketers
do this all the time. They call it “testing.” You should do this too! And, you can have fun with
it. Don’t be afraid to try some of your weirder ideas. Who knows, they may work!

21. Celebrate wins

Take time to enjoy that sold-out show. Take a selfie from the stage with the audience in
the background. When you hit that next milestone, take a minute to relish the feeling of
getting that win.

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 22. Learn from failures
Success in the music business is frequently two steps forward, one step back. You’re going
to run into headwinds. Just like you have to celebrate the wins, you have to learn from
your failures!

You will play to the occasional empty venue. You will make mistakes. That’s OK. You’re in
it for the long haul. When you get knocked down, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, take a
deep breath, figure out what went wrong… and take the next step forward. And, of course,
don’t make the same mistake twice!

23. Be open to advice and feedback

Over time, you’ll get lots of feedback and advice—from booking agents, DJs, A&R reps…
from fans… from your mom. Be open to the feedback. Take constructive feedback to heart.
But figure out what advice and feedback to ignore. You need to know what you are about,
have your true north, and do things you want to do in the way that is right for you.

If you get a poor review from Pitchfork, first, look for legit opportunities for improvement,
then ignore the criticism and keep doing what you’re doing. You need thick skin in this
business. It’s hard when your creations, your songs, get trashed by others. Which means
you need to keep striving to do better, but get comfortable tuning out the negativity and
advice that’s not right for you.

24. Don’t tolerate toxic bandmates

Here’s a biggie that many artists are afraid to deal with, and this goes for anyone who is
on your team. It’s hard enough trying to make it in the biz when everyone’s getting along.
Climbing this ladder takes all the energy you’ve got and you don’t need anyone draining
that energy with their negativity—especially not someone in the band.

Look, you’re still early in your career. Believe me, your talented singer or guitarist isn’t
talented enough for you to tolerate their poison. You can afford to replace them and you’ll
be just fine. Trust me on this. I’ve seen it time and time again, in music and in business.
Plus, you’ll feel so much better once you replace that toxic part of your team.

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 25. Do most of it yourself—particularly early on
Recording, releasing, promoting, booking, driving the van… you’ve got to be willing to do
whatever it takes. Remember, no one’s got more at stake in this whole thing than you. You
know your goals, you know your direction, and you don’t want to delegate that too soon.
You don’t want to give up control too soon. Plus, you need to keep your costs low.

This will take a lot of work from you and your bandmates. You don’t want to sign with
management too early. But… you do need someone trustworthy to manage your merch
booth. And if there is one outside expert you’ll need, it’s a lawyer, because trust me, you
don’t want to try to interpret contracts all by yourself.

26. Success is never guaranteed

No one owes you anything. Someone else who started around the same time as you may
be way ahead of you. Maybe they are more talented. Or have a more unique angle. Or
work harder. Or are nicer. Or are more punctual. Or are just plain luckier than you.

Of all the artists who make music, very few reach the top of the charts. That doesn’t mean
you’re a failure if you don’t make it. There’s only one number one… but it is another reason
to make sure you enjoy the journey while you’re on it.

27. You get to define what success is

No one else can tell you what your goals are or what you should achieve. Yes, by all
means, get inspired by others. But there’s no one definition of success. For some, it may
be playing arena shows; for others, it may be playing in a wedding band on weekends and
working on originals during the week. There’s no right or wrong to your goals.

Stretch goals are important to motivate you, but make them attainable. It’s important to
be realistic with your goals. If you play some obscure niche music genre, it’s highly unlikely
you’ll be packing large venues. If you set yourself lofty, unattainable goals, it’s easy to get
discouraged and drop out because you see yourself as a failure… even though, within your
genre, you might be doing great!

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 28. Don’t give up too soon
I’ve seen it on multiple occasions where an artist throws in the towel and calls it quits
just as they are starting to get liftoff. This is why it’s important to watch the metrics. Yes,
the grind in the music biz is real. It’s non-stop. It’s tiring. But if you’re seeing growth—in
subscribers, streams, followers, concert attendance—keep going… You never know where
it’ll lead.

29. Ask for what you want

This is an important piece of advice not just in music, but in life. If you want your fans
to buy your merch, ask them—via email and when you’re on stage. If you’d like to co-
write with another songwriter you respect, ask them. If you want something from your
bandmates, or a producer, or a booking agent… ask.

Be polite, of course. Always. But ask. People can’t read your mind! If you ask for what you
want, you will end up getting it much more often than if you don’t. Here’s a fact about
negotiating (and in music, almost everything is negotiable): people leave opportunities on
the table because they just don’t ask for enough.

Bonus tip! Be true to yourself

If you want to last in music, you have to make the kind of music you feel. It doesn’t matter
what the genre is—reggaeton or free jazz, grindcore or R&B. The music’s got to be you,
and you’ve got to be the music.

If you go chasing commercial trends hoping for success and trying to play stuff that’s not
really you, there’s a small chance it could work financially, but how long would you be able
to sustain that? How fulfilled would you be creating and playing music that’s not really
what you are? And, let’s be honest, would you even be able to create the BEST music you
possibly could if you’re just chasing financial goals?

No… If you want to do music for the long haul, you’ve got to be true to yourself and play
what you want, what you feel.

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 OK, so there you have it, my 29 tips for survival, success, and longevity in the music
business. I’m sure there are 29 more tips… and then another 29 after that. But I think
these are the most important.

One final reminder: you’re doing this because you love making music, and you love how
making music makes you feel. Sometimes, while we’re in the grind, we lose track of what
we love doing—we may even forget that we are supposed to love doing this, and that’s
a terrible thing. As musicians we are SO fortunate to have our music, our creativity to
express ourselves. Most of the world, the non-musicians, have NO idea how that feels. But
you do… And that’s a reward in itself.

Looking to discover more tips from music insiders? Visit the Disc Makers Blog.

About the author

Tony van Veen is the CEO of DIY Media Group, the parent company of Disc Makers and BookBaby
BookBaby.
As a college student, he played in indie bands, created his own LPs, cassettes, and t-shirts, and sold
them at shows. Today, he collects CDs, vinyl LPs, and concert t-shirts to support the artists he loves.

Tony van Veen

CEO, Disc Makers

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