How I Make Money in the Music Industry.
How I Make Money in the Music Industry.
16,000 words. This is how I did it. It’s also how you can do it.
(view the images full-screen to read the text)
Included:
The eBook in a wide range of formats (see below for more information).
The Music Production Bundle (usually $70).
What’s in the Music Production Bundle?
Over 12GB of exclusive samples, presets, MIDI, contacts and resources. Created by Multiplier.
84 packs, and over 5000 samples in total !
See the product page for more information and audio examples of what’s inside.
Why did I write this book? (actually)
In this situation people generally say things like “Because I've got 10 years of knowledge and insight that can change people’s lives, and provide real value. I can change the way you think and give you the tools and strategies to earn good money in the music industry”.
Whilst that's all true, and it feels great to make a difference, improve someone's life, etc.. It's quite clear I'm charging for this information. On the face of it, it's a very logical thing to do. I've acquired useful knowledge, and people are willing to pay for it. The compensation I receive allows me the time to create the thing in the first place. People who purchase it value it more than the asking price, and therefore it's a sensible use of everybody’s time and resources. Great.
More interestingly (and usefully to you) though, why this specific book?
I can charge $175 because this book helps you make money. Top accountants charge high fees because they save their clients money. A great way to make money, is to help someone else make money.
In fact, this is how most people make money in the music industry. So I'll say it again.
A great way to make money, is to help someone else make money.
When I sell a tutorial course or sample pack to a company, it's because they can use that digital asset to make money (usually, more than they paid.. obviously).
Figure out how to be useful. How can you make something that will help someone make money?
If you can make a thing or provide information that helps an audio software company sell more audio software, they will pay you for it. In my case, that's videos on my YouTube channel (I charge way more than you might think to feature products/services - and there’s a section explaining why). But let me give you by far the best example of how you can apply this idea.
As a way to make money writing songs, if you can write ‘sufficiently good’ songs, approach audio plugin companies offering to make demo tracks for them, using their software. The developers who write plugins aren't great songwriters. They spend time developing software. They’re usually a bit older, and so won't be the best people to write relevant and exciting demo tracks to highlight what their software can do. As a result, most don't. Some get a few tracks made in a few modern styles, but it's certainly not what it should be. Pick a few trendy genres/styles that you like, and see if any plugin/ synth developers have exciting demo tracks in that style.. Most don’t. Therefore, make them. If your demo track sells five copies of a full-featured synth, that's maybe $500- $1000+ of revenue you've just generated for that company. Run some numbers. What if your demo track sells just one extra copy a month for them? How much money would that generate over three years? Divide that number by five to determine your fee. Would that be worth the time it’d take you to create the demo? With hundreds of plugin developers, and a constant stream of new releases, you could pretty much do this indefinitely. Make money, by helping others make money.
Who is this NOT for
Someone who isn't comfortable with the price
I have a whole section on how and why I priced it at $175. The principles and specific ideas are worth (tens of) thousands to anyone who wants to pursue this career path, but if you don't put the work in to create that new income, it'll feel like money wasted. And I don't want that. If you purchase the book and change your mind, email me why, and I'll refund you the money.
Someone who ONLY wants to produce tracks
Whilst lots of ideas in this book allow you to earn money producing tracks, there's less creative freedom than you may be used to. E.g. if you love future bass, and want to earn money producing future bass, it might be using a synth or set of samples you don't particularly love (in this case, to help promote that synth or sample pack). Most of the ideas are tasks only tangentially related to creating your art, and often time leverage your experience in music outside of the studio (e.g. consulting on the current state of future bass, say). There will be bits that feel more like ‘work’ too, e.g. compiling lists of companies to email, or monotonously editing audio or video files (for days, in a way that isn't creative or interesting).
Someone who wants to get rich overnight
You can earn great money using these ideas (let's say, as much as a moderately successful dentist, as a realistic ballpark), but not overnight, and if you're looking for seriously big money (cash out and retire type levels), whilst the ideas here are still useful, this won't be the right book for you. Lots of these ideas are capped by the size of our industry, and won't scale to 8 figure pay days like selling a tech company, or becoming Deadmau5 might give you. Deadmau5 level also requires an element of luck, which we don't want to count on. I prefer to work with ideas that don't rely on luck. (Note: it's not that the Deadmau5s of the world are lucky, it's just that, by design, to reach the very top you need hard work, great strategy, AND luck ... as with a large enough sample size, there will always be someone who hits all three. Let's focus on the first two, which guarantees at least the ability to be working in this industry).
Someone who doesn't know much at all about electronic music/music production
I started earning money in music six months after I first decided to start listening to and producing electronic music. The more you know, the more value you have to offer (= more potential income), but there needs to be at least some basic level of knowledge. If you're two weeks in, this style of income generation isn't best for you, as my approach focuses on leveraging your existing music or music production knowledge in ways most people haven't thought of. Therefore, you need some music or production knowledge. This doesn't mean you need to know much about music or music production, maybe you've spent two years in your city’s techno scene, going to lots of events, and learning lots about that genre and culture - this information is valuable to a range of people and companies (not many necessarily, but enough to earn a bit of money at least). You don't need much knowledge or expertise to start, but you need more than zero. 4 months of watching YouTube tutorials 6 hours a week is enough of a starting point for example, but I couldn't apply these principles to horse-riding yet, as I know exactly nothing about horse-riding.
My story
As a little bit about me and the story of Multiplier, here's a bio I wrote recently:
I started using Ableton about 10 years ago, when I was studying maths at the University of Cambridge, all on track to be an investment banker. Dubstep looked like more fun though, so I decided to pursue music instead. I finished up my degree, but by the time I finished, I had started earning my income by DJing and producing music as Multiplier - earning a bit of extra money creating sample packs for Loopmasters too.
Whilst my primary focus has shifted every few years (from touring, to sample packs, then tutorials), I've got involved in almost every side of the electronic music space. I've DJ'd internationally, charted on Beatport, run a record label, released top10 sample packs (with Loopmasters, Splice, Industrial Strength, CAPSUN ProAudio, 5Pin Media), mixed, mastered, and created tutorials and courses for all the biggest platforms (Sonic Academy, Ask.Audio/MacProVideo, Groove3, Pensado's Place, DJTechTools, Plugin Boutique, Pyramind). I've also coached and consulted producers both new and professional, as well as educated and entertained millions as an 'influencer' on YouTube (as Multiplier on my channel - 10 million views, 80k subscribers). With sponsored videos and product placement on the channel I've connected with most of the audio companies - including Ableton, Pioneer DJ, Native Instruments, Sennheiser, Arturia, Mixed in Key, iZotope, FabFilter, Roli, Output, DistroKid, Splice, Loopmasters, Cymatics, eMastered, Clyp, AudioBlocks, Melodics, Noiiz, Future Audio Workshop, SoundGym, SynthMaster, Tone2, D16 & AudioThing. I love it all. I've worked with every genre, and I love the process of helping others create the best art they can - both on a technical level, and a creative one.
How to Read This eBook
I've provided a range of different formats and styles, so you can read the book in a way that works best for you. The content's the same in all versions.
The ePub versions are great as you can choose the font, font size, colours, etc.. in the app you use to read it (see product images for a few examples). On iPhone/iPad you use a free app from Apple called 'Apple Books'. On Mac the app is called 'iBooks' (again, from Apple). PCs and Android phones have equivalent free apps. The ePub versions also have a table of contents, so you can easily navigate to any section. It also keeps track of where in the book you finished reading last time, making it easier to read in multiple sessions.
But I also included 7 PDF versions, each with a different font type, size, spacing, layout, etc.. Click into each to see which style you like the most.
You shouldn't need to use the HTML or Rich Text versions, but I included them as a last resort, in case your device can't open PDF files for some reason.
If you have any problems, or need help with anything, email me at multiplier@multipliermusic.com.