DISCLAIMER: None of these are short cuts. All these methods are meant to be for the long haul, but once you get all your bases covered, it can work wonders for your finances, even in times of global crises. Provided, of course, the internet stays on.

Find Your Niche (And Stick With It)

Your niche is not just the genre of music you choose to specialize in, it is also your personal brand, that one unique twist that makes you stand out. For instance, rather than just being another dime-a-dozen “metal guitarist”, you can choose to be a “video game metal guitarist” or a “fingerstyle folk metal guitarist”. It is easier to stand out the deeper you dig into the niche that resonates with you.

Of course, this will depend entirely on your skills and interests. Choose a niche that highlights your strengths and your passions as it will also affect how often you can create content. It will be much easier to create consistent content if you’re especially passionate about your niche and have the skillset to deliver said content. Once you’ve locked down your niche, don’t deviate. Experimentation comes much later once you’ve reached a sizable audience.

Be Everywhere (Within Reason)

On the topic of social media, choose a main platform which caters to your strengths. For example, musicians who create music videos usually prefer YouTube since the chance of discovery is at an all-time high with an audience of two billion daily users. You can then use other social media platforms to direct people to your YouTube channel. Mix it up, experiment, and see which platform resonates with you the most. Once you find your platform of choice, you can use additional platforms to supplement it.Social media is a great tool, but it doesn’t replace the need for having your own website. MySpace is a cautionary tale that relying solely on social media platforms for your web presence is a big no-no as any site can go bankrupt and disappear forever, rendering all your hard work nil. Having your own website is key to a permanent web-presence. What’s more, it’s easier than ever to create your own free website nowadays with tools such as Wix or Squarespace. (Editor’s Note: I couldn’t agree more!)

Build Your Audience

As you create more content and engage with your audience, you will eventually identify the loyal fans who always comment early and like and share your videos. There’s a marketing principle called “1,000 true fans”, or “100 true fans” if you are working on a smaller scale.

What this means is that, in any set of followers, there will always be a micro-set of super fans who will gobble up your content and go the extra mile. These super fans will be the ones that buy all your albums, watch your livestreams, support you on Patreon, and buy your merch. Take care of these loyal fans as they will be the ones literally putting food on your table.

Make Covers

Unless you have the backing of a major record label like Taylor Swift or John Legend, chances are you will have a difficult time building a following from scratch unless you do this: make covers. Covers are the easiest way to build an audience since covers use familiar material to help people discover you. If you do a great job on a cover, chances are listeners will probably follow you for more of your music. I know some people are probably resistant to doing covers, but there’s a reason why YouTube is full of cover musicians—because it works.If you’re dead set on creating your own original music, then you can upload your originals along your covers. Of course, it helps if your cover songs are in a similar niche or style as your originals. This will make your subscribers more receptive to your originals.

Timely and Timeless

When it comes to choosing cover songs, I go two ways: timely and timeless.“Timely” means something trending right now, for example, a new video game, movie, or the latest meme.“Timeless” is more for the long haul, but it can also produce great results. Any classic songs from Queen or the Beatles would be timeless. The music from the Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy is also in this category because people still listen to these soundtracks years or decades since they were first published.Sometimes, it’s best to choose both. For example, Star Wars is a pretty timeless franchise, but because they’ve been making new movies and shows, it’s also timely.

Sell Your Music

There are three main ways to earn money as an online musician: passive royalties (e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Ad Revenue, Licensing), crowdsourcing (e.g., Patreon, Twitch, Kofi) and commissions (e.g., Clients, Fiverr). There is a fourth way—selling physical merchandise via an online store—which can also be highly lucrative, but not as common. I will be focusing on the first way since discussing all four would require an entire article.Passive royalties are the most common way online musicians earn money. This is done through the use of online distributors who then disseminate your music to digital music services such as Spotify and Apple Music. Every time your music is streamed, you get royalties. And if you want to sell your cover songs? Soundrop or Distrokid can legally license and distribute your cover songs. In fact, a huge number of successful online musicians earn a hefty chunk of royalties from streaming cover songs.Of course, one published song is not enough to make this a lucrative option. But given time, and 10 or so albums, the royalties add up quickly, and the great thing about this is that once you do the initial work in publishing the album, it is out there. Forever. Earning you royalties while you sleep. You simply have to occasionally remind your audience that it exists so that loyal fans can enjoy it again, and new fans can be excited with a fresh discovery.

Rinse and Repeat

Now, all you have to do is execute my tips and do them 10x, 100x, 1000x more. Being a successful online musician is not just all about quality. It’s quality mixed with quantity that will put you ahead of the game. Take your time, but not too much. Publish new material at least once a week, or twice a week, once you’ve found your groove. It is important to be consistent as your fans will take you more seriously if you show them you have the drive to keep making content.

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Resources: The Savvy Musician Show (podcast)