//// Is anyone here successful at making money from music?

[Yadgyu]

I see many people here who a few placements with a few companies here and there. While that is fine and dandy, I would like to know if any artist(s) here have made at least $40,000 U.S.D. for the past 3 years solely from music.

I have yet to hear of anyone actually doing good from having songs placed in music libraries and such. I am not sure if the successful people are afraid of being labeld a show-off or what. But I would really like to hear stories of how things picked up for an aspiring musician.

I just get a little tired of hearing about the trials and tribulations of struggling musicians. I know many unsuccessful people in life. They all have a laundry list of reasons as to why thihgs have not turned out their way. I really need to hear success stories from competent musicians who are not afraid of being successful.

So, does anyone have any real news to share

[mazz]

Do you mean 40K total or 40K / year?

[kevinmathie]

Hey Yadgyu,

I make a full-time living at music, if you count live performances. I don't make a full-time living at just music composition, but I haven't been working at composing nearly as long either. I've been performing for 20+ years, so the bulk of my money comes from that aspect of the business. However, as I spend more time recording and composing, there's a growing percentage of my income that's coming from that aspect too.

[elser]

I make my living performing and do better than the number you listed. I make very little from composing all though I do have some ASCAP money due to me. I'm certain that there are some here who are making their living from composing and they are very good at it. It's a difficult road, and it's more complicated than just writing good music, same with performing. Having the right professional attitude is a big part of it. Stay positive, look the part, and be on time are some basic guide lines I can give you for now. It's not for everyone, but if you're passion to succeed is strong enough, you will.

[matto]

Hi Yadgyu,

I'm not sure what your definition of a "competent musician" is but I do meet or exceed all your other criteria . All of my income is from placements of my music in tv/film (about 85%) and upfront music library production fees (about 15%).

What's important to understand about tv/film placements is that 1-it's a numbers game (you'll probably need at least 300-350 active tracks to get to the 40k level) and 2-it takes time. Obviously it takes time to write 300-350 quality tracks, but beyond that it's important to realize that your tracks usually won't start making you money the moment you finish them. You first have to strike a deal with a good publisher/library (or several) and then your music has to be released to the market place. Only then can it start generating placements. And after that it takes additional time to get paid, especially from performance royalties.

So getting to that $40k/year level requires a great deal of determination, persistance, hard work and time. Which is probably why most people give up way before getting there.
This is also why we shouldn't turn up our noses at seemingly "small" or "insignificant" successes like a placement or two or that first $50 royalty check. Because these successes are the crucial stepping stones toward that goal of making 40k/year, and celebrating them tends to give us the energy we need to keep going. It's not like the 40k is just gonna fall out of the sky and hit us on the head one year.

The good news is that if you have the stamina to get to 40k/year from film/tv placements, you're probably not gonna stay there very long. The catalog and momentum you've built up to reach that level should quickly propel you significantly higher, if you keep going.

HTH,

matto

[davewalton]

http://forums.taxi.com/taxi-success-stories-f7.html

There's actually a bunch of people here on the forum that have music on television or films. Everyone is in various stages of this process. Time is a main issue. It takes so long usually for things to happen.

Right now a bunch of us (through a Taxi deal) are writing music for several daytime television shows. The music we're doing now won't air until late September but that really means that the bulk of the airings won't take place until Oct-Nov-Dec... 4th quarter of 2010. We'll see some royalty payments maybe around March-April 2011 but a lot of the royalties won't be paid until June-July 2011. BMI takes at least takes six months to pay royalties, I don't know about ASCAP.

So someone writing their first pieces of music in April-May-June 2010 for this opportunity won't see their music air until sometime in the 4th quarter of 2010 and won't see any royalty payments until March-April 2011 at the earliest. If you ask them now how they're doing... well, they have money coming but it won't be here for a while. There are other placements, etc that happen much quicker but even if you had music placed tomorrow it would still be sometime in the 1st quarter of 2011 before you started seeing royalty checks. That's not a "Taxi thing"... just the way the industry works.

For all of us, making a real living from music (if you're just talking about making music from royalties and licensing fees) takes years... many years. This forum (I believe) is one of the very few places where there's (mostly) positive, professional discussion and assistance, where we all band together for the common goal of improving our music and of getting some success, however that might be defined.

I like the "vibe" that the [REMOVED BY ADMIN] listing has created. A bunch of forum members posting up their music for everyone to listen to. That can be a real learning experience and is certainly a great show of the way things usually are here. Glad to get away from some of the negative postings for sure!

Hope that helps,

Dave

[mazz]

And of course, having music in a library and getting placements with that music are two different things altogether. One's chances are enhanced by virtue of being in a library, but it could be months or years before some of those pieces generate any income, hence the "numbers game" aspect of the business, particularly at the beginning!

I've been getting regular placements on TV for the past 3 years or so, but it's nowhere near enough to live on yet, but I consider myself a success because I do get ASCAP checks every three months. I know that there are folks out there that would kill to get an ASCAP check of any amount so I consider myself blessed, and yes, successful. Am I as successful as I want to be? Not yet, but a definition of success is a fluid thing with many levels and layers, and I'm moving through levels and layers of success. Success, for me, is a journey, not a destination.

Mazz

[rnrmachine]

I use to make a LOT of money playing out live (I only worked because I LOVED my job as a proto-type machinist) Then as a live engineer, I was really good at it. Changing to a recording studio, learning how much difference there is in getting a flat mix and live tweaking probably made it harder for me then someone who just jumps into recording. I also quit trying for about a year, then I had a song placed that I had wrote back when I was learning... so I got back into it. I have a ton of songs written that need some TLC before they can be submitted.. so I am going through the long process of cleaning those up to BQ standards. I expect to start getting some decent deals within the next year or so and within 2 years I should have a few placements. With Taxi connections that is. Also, that is speculating on that though... So long as BBB don't take em all.. HAHA just kidding. I Like to go for a different genre then he does for the most part. I'm more of a metal head. I love all music, but I have a passion for metal.

I do seem to be doing well with another place. No Placements from it yet, but I am hopeful.

Rob

[mojobone]

I'm a full time musician, scrapin' by well south of $40k, but pretty dang happy to not work a straight gig. I make nothing from royalties, (so far) but perform with a few different groups and I make a few CD sales here and there, (they're on the increase, atm, cuz I got new product out) I hire out as a studio musician and freelance audio engineer for both live and recorded sound, produce songwriter demos and jingles and teach a bit on the side. I am also a record label. I got a wife, a car and a mortgage, all of which I'm still payin' for, so I guess you could say I'm livin' the dream.

[zircon]

I was a college student until last year (graduated June '09, and turned 22 right after.) I feel very lucky and blessed to be able to say that this year I have already made more than that figure from music composition and production, with no live touring, no agent, no record label, etc. The vast majority of that comes from writing for video games. Previously, I was earning a steady income from libraries and small-time custom work, album sales (I have six original albums), custom sounds and sample libraries.