Kamata Music and Media school, the best music school in Kenya has a well-renowned reputation for making great music personalities. Being part of Kamata Entertainment and Music company, the school has seen through the beginning, transformation, and growth of music figures such as Kymoh of the famous Thitima Anthem. The school has great music tutors that have in-depth experiences in the music industry. For this reason, the music instructors at Kamata Music School have a clear understanding of what it takes to make a great musician out of a beginner.

 

The music industry is one of the most internationally recognized industries that have a high-income generation. To bear witness to this, just take a look at various musicians who have made it to the top of the charts. These individuals raw in flashy cars wear the latest fashions of clothing and have the most expensive jewels with them. In this article, I am going to discuss various ways that musicians make money. Are you ready? Let’s dive in!

1. Live shows

Well, this is one of the many ways that musicians make money. Here is a glimpse of what happens in a successful live show. When a musician and his or her promoters decide to do a live show, they organize how the event is going to happen. They cart up the number of people they expect to show up (target) and then go on air with details about the event after having made enough preparations. After this has been done, tickets for everyone who is going to be on the show are made and then sales are made. After a successful show has been done, what has been collected is then shared. The musician gets his or her cut, and the event organizers get their portion of the money according to the agreement they had in place.

 

2. Merchandise

Have you ever seen someone wearing a T-Shirt, cap or clothing that has a portrait of your favorite celebrity? Well here is the thing. Because of the fact that people like simulating their role models in terms of clothing and character, it is quite easier for a musician to make money through selling their merchandise. Selling of merchandise can turn out to be really profitable. In many cases, the sale of physical merchandise happens during live shows. The logic behind this is quite clear. If one can afford to pay an entry fee to a show, he or she can hardly fail to have a few dollars to spare. It is important to understand that the sales made by a musician depend on the number of live shows he or she has! So if you wanna sell more merchandise, do more live shows!

3. Royalties

Collection of royalties is the other way that money is made by musicians. There are various kinds of royalties that are made by musicians. They include; publishing royalties, digital royalties, and live performance royalties. Publishing royalties are often earned by musicians when their songs are played on the radio, TV, commercials, films and live venues. To earn these royalties, a musician needs to be signed up to an organization that takes care of the performing rights of a musician. In Kenya, a perfect example of such an organization is the MCSK. Live performance royalties are often earned by musicians when they get to perform their original material on live performances. This could be at music venues such as bars, clubs or restaurants.

 

4. YouTube

This is another platform that is revenue generating to musicians. I am pretty certain that more than 75% of the world’s population with smart-phones in this digital era use You-Tube. What happens in this case scenario is that YouTube does run ads that displayed when your music is being watched. These ads are not done freely. There is a portion of the ads money that YouTube does pay. With good monetization strategies, you can earn a dime out of YouTube!

 

5. Licensing

Have you ever watched a movie and then got to hear a song you like or a common song you have heard before by a musician you know? Well, that song does not get in the production of that movie without payments being done to the musician. Because of copyright issues, the movie production companies have to pay a licensing fee before they are allowed to use a musician’s work in their film!

 

There are many other ways that musicians make money. I have highlighted these 5 in this article because they are the most common ways that are known globally. The music industry is very competitive. You don’t wanna chase the wind. You can be a very successful musician if you choose to be. One key step is getting to know how the industry works and to do this, you need to learn. Kamata Music and Media School has open doors for everyone who would like to would like to take his or her music career to another level. You are all Welcome!