How Musicians Can Keep Rocking on Through the Pandemic
Musicians raise their instruments toward the sky in unison. Photo courtesy of Pexels.
With the entire world on pause, the $19.1 billion music industry has found itself in limbo. Performers, world-renowned rock stars, and instructors alike have postponed their shows and classes indefinitely, which has severely impacted their ability to generate a sustainable revenue.
Although streaming contributes to 37 percent of the music industry’s value, artists only earn a fraction of a cent each time their song is streamed, according to Ditto Music. A recent Forbes article shows that even the highest-paid musicians earn more than half of their revenue through touring.
As for instructors, PayScale reports the average music teacher earns about $28 per hour and $42,715 annually. Their entire career revolves around teaching students in classrooms, music stores, and in their homes – and they don’t necessarily have streaming revenue or fan merch to fall back on financially.
Before you start singing “Bye, bye, Miss American Pie,” stay at home orders don’t have to mark the day that music died. In fact, these unprecedented circumstances have allotted musicians the time and space to truly hone-in on their craft.
Furthermore, there are still avenues for performers and instructors to generate consistent cash flow from home.
Making Music in the Time of Coronavirus
A musician composing a song from home using a MIDI pad. Photo courtesy of Pexels.
Stuck at home with nothing but their passion for music and a couple of instruments, musicians now have more time than ever to write new songs and focus on practicing – which is an anomaly for individuals who are constantly on the go, from venue to venue, state to state, country to country, or continent to continent.
The boom of “bedroom pop artists,” indie musicians, alternative-rappers, and other “DIY artists” has proven that it doesn’t always take a team of sound engineers working tirelessly in a studio to create a hit single.
Just take Clairo, a young soft-indie artist from Boston who rose to popularity on SoundCloud, for example. Her lo-fi, self-produced singles “Pretty Girl” and “Flaming Hot Cheetos” have acquired over 121 and 112 million streams respectively on Spotify. As of May 2020, Clairo has over seven million monthly listeners on the platform.
Chance the Rapper is yet another example of a successful musician whose roots run back to his start as a self-made artist on SoundCloud. The Chicago-based rapper gained a passionate following after the release of his first mixtape in 2012, “10 Day,” and now he has received three Grammy Awards and five nominations.
Needless to say, musicians can still make music from their humble abodes – albeit, in a much more intimate space with perhaps a bit less equipment, but that hasn’t stopped artists from making record-breaking debuts in the past.
As days stretch into weeks of social distancing, an increasing number of musicians are releasing pandemic-inspired singles. The alternative band Twenty One Pilots released their groovy, anthemic single, “Level of Concern” last month, which contains various references to the world’s current situation.
However, a musician’s still got to eat and pay rent. Although some artists have performed digitally for their followers on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms, they still need the ability to profit from their performances.
How Musicians Can Generate Revenue During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A musician stands alone by a microphone stand, looking down thoughtfully as he plays the guitar. Photo courtesy of Pexels.
On MeetHook, music performers and instructors can host paid, one-on-one video call sessions with their fans and students. It’s the first platform of its kind that allows a video call host to set their rates and guarantee payment without having to rely on another service to send an invoice for the session.
The comprehensive, user-friendly website and mobile app offer hosts complete freedom over their own schedule. A host can book as many sessions as they’d like throughout the week and let their audiences know they’re available by spreading the word across their social media platforms or e-newsletters.
MeetHook’s one-on-one video sessions give performers the chance to foster deeper, more meaningful connections with their audiences. It also creates a space in which music instructors can keep classes in session while still social distancing.
The opportunities are endless on MeetHook. Whether a host decides to hold classes over the platform or simply use it as a tool to give their fans a digital, VIP-pass experience is entirely up to them.
All you have to do to join a number of other successful musicians and start earning revenue on MeetHook is sign up online or through the app, which is available on iOS and Android devices.