7 Ways People Earn Extra Money With Music, and How Each One Works

Intro

Seven ways people earn extra money with music, and by the end, you'll know exactly how each one works, step by step. Some of these pay when a song is licensed, others when fans listen. And number one puts your songs on streaming services and stores.

7. License your songs for film

Number seven: license your songs for film, television and video games. A track you own can be licensed by creators who need music for their projects. On CD Baby, you add the optional CDB Boost service to offer your music for license. Creators can then use it in film, television, video games, presentations and anything else that pays.

First, your project must be opted in for digital distribution through CD Baby. You must also own the rights to your sound recording before it qualifies. You also need the publishing rights, or the proper license for a cover song. CDB Boost is an optional add-on that helps you collect additional royalties and licensing income for your music.

There are no recurring or subscription fees to maintain an artist account. A single release has a one-time fee of $9 and ninety-nine cents. CD Baby keeps 9% of download and streaming revenues. For placements in commercials, films and television, payments are issued quarterly in the accounting section of your account.

60% is your share of the sync fees CD Baby collects on your behalf for placements. For commercials, films and television, the page says there is no fixed amount per placement. For example, an instrumental track you own could be offered for a video game scene or a commercial. The add-on is optional, so you choose whether a release uses it for licensing.

Your recording rights are required, and a cover song needs the proper publishing license. Licensing rules can differ where you live.

6. Collect royalties for the songs you write

Number six: collect royalties for the songs you write. Songwriting royalties are separate from what a recording earns, so both can be collected. On TuneCore, music publishing administration is the business of collecting money for the music that you write. It is separate from distribution, which collects royalties for the recordings of songs.

Under an Administration Deal, the songwriter retains complete control of their compositions. TuneCore licenses, registers and collects royalties for those compositions on your behalf. To submit a song, you log in and select the Publishing tab at the top of the screen. Then you click Songs in the left-hand menu and add a new song.

Next, you add your share and your co-writers' shares, the percentage of the song each person owns. Then you click Add Song to complete the submission. The status says Submitted until the team verifies the song and sends out the registration worldwide. TuneCore Publishing Administration retains a 15% commission from the royalties that it collects.

100% is the ownership a songwriter retains under an Administration Deal, according to the TuneCore page. That means the songs stay yours while TuneCore handles the collecting side of publishing administration for you. By our count, on $100 of collected songwriting royalties, the 15% commission is $15. In other words, the commission is a share of the royalties that TuneCore collects for you.

The service covers songs you write or control, and sync earnings carry a higher commission of 50%. Royalty rules can differ where you live. If guides like this help you, subscribe: every step in this video comes from each platform's own help page, linked below.

5. Sell your own beats with licenses

Number five: sell your own beats with licenses. Producers who make instrumentals offer them to artists under different licenses. On BeatStars, uploading, publishing and selling tracks needs a paid subscription plan such as Starter, Growth or Professional. With those plans you can post an unlimited amount of beats.

In the Tracks section of your BeatStars Studio, you click the Create Track button near the top right. You can also drag and drop up to a maximum of four files. Those files can be a WAV file, an MP3 file, the artwork and a ZIP file of stems. Stem uploads are only available on the Growth and Professional plans.

When an Exclusive license is sold, that license is no longer available to any other buyer. There is no limit on selling non-exclusive licenses, so the same beat can be sold repeatedly. In the Services section, you create a service with the blue plus button. You then set the pricing type as Fixed Rate or Customer Inquiry Required, for mixing and mastering, for example.

0% is what BeatStars takes from beat sales, unless you choose to cover the customers' service fee. Producers keep 100%, with a paid subscription plan that you can cancel at any time. For example, one beat could sell several non-exclusive licenses before an exclusive license ends its sales. Withdrawals then need a payout method and a completed tax form.

Selling needs a paid plan, and an exclusive license takes the beat off the marketplace once it is sold. Selling and tax rules can differ where you live.

4. Get paid when fans listen to your tracks

Number four: get paid when fans listen to your tracks. Original tracks that you fully own are the ones that can earn there. On SoundCloud, Fan-Powered Royalties pay you based on the actual listening habits and engagement of your dedicated fans. Artist and Artist Pro subscribers set up and manage monetization settings through the SoundCloud for Artists Dashboard.

SoundCloud does not set up monetization automatically, so you start it yourself. Monetization is only available for original content that you own all of the rights to. Eligibility also has format limits: covers, remixes, mashups, DJ sets and podcasts are not monetizable on the platform. Tracks must be over thirty seconds or under ten minutes in length to be monetized.

In the SoundCloud for Artists dashboard, you click Monetization and submit the track you want to monetize. The details step also lets you request an ISRC code for the track. When you monetize directly on SoundCloud, you keep 100% of your royalties. Direct monetization needs an Artist or Artist Pro subscription.

Five business days is the usual upper limit for the monetization review, according to the SoundCloud page. Once approved, the status then shows Monetizing on the dashboard. For example, an original three-minute track you own could be submitted for monetization from the dashboard. Its royalties would then follow how that track's dedicated fans actually listen.

Only original tracks you fully own qualify, and monetization runs only in territories where SoundCloud monetization is live. Payment rules can differ where you live. That's past the halfway mark: licensing, songwriting, beats and fan plays so far. The last three cover teaching, direct sales and streaming, with the best last.

3. Teach music classes online to young learners

Number three: teach music classes online to young learners. Musicians who enjoy working with young learners can turn that into a class. On Outschool, classes are for learners ages one to eighteen, on all subjects and in all formats, music included. All classes should involve significant interaction with the teacher.

You apply on Outschool's teaching page, after reading the steps and requirements to become an educator. There are no minimum or maximum teaching hours required, and educators set their own class times. For equipment, the page asks for an internet connection speed of at least three megabits per second. You also need a computer that runs video calls, so classes can include that interaction with learners.

A 30% Teacher Fee is collected by Outschool from all paid enrollments for every class. Beyond that fee, there are no additional costs to teach on Outschool. Outschool sends your payment seven to thirteen days after your class is scheduled to start. That timing is counted from the scheduled start of the class rather than from the end of class.

Eighteen is the oldest learner age for Outschool classes, which start from age one. Classes are not for adults, though parents of young children are welcome to join their learners. By our count, a twenty-dollar class enrollment leaves $14 after the 30% fee. It works out to a six-dollar fee on that enrollment, which is 30% of twenty.

Teaching is open only to residents of the countries Outschool lists, and classes are only for learners up to eighteen. Teaching rules can differ where you live.

2. Sell your music and merch directly to fans

Number two: sell your music and merch directly to fans. Fans can buy digital releases as well as physical items like records and merch. On Bandcamp, you click add in the top toolbar to add a new track or album. Files must be at least sixteen-bit, 44.1 kilohertz lossless files, such as WAV, AIFF or FLAC, in stereo.

You click add tracks or add audio in the editor to bring your files in. Then you save the draft so the release is stored while you finish it. When the release is ready, you choose the public option and publish. Bandcamp doesn't ask for exclusive rights, so you can share and sell your music wherever you want.

For digital items, Bandcamp's fee is 15%, and 10% after $5,000 in sales. For physical items such as merch, Bandcamp's revenue share is 10%. Separate from that, payment processor fees typically range between four and 6%. By default, Bandcamp sends payouts twenty-four to forty-eight hours after a sale is processed, or you can choose monthly payouts.

15% is Bandcamp's share of a digital sale until you pass $5,000 in sales. The 10% rate then stays while you sell at least that much in twelve months. By our count, a ten-dollar digital album has a one-dollar-fifty revenue share at 15%. In other words, 15% of $10 is a dollar fifty, which is Bandcamp's share of that sale.

Beyond the revenue share, payment processor fees come on top, and larger purchases can take longer to review. Selling and tax rules can differ where you live.

1. Put your songs on streaming services and stores

Number one: put your songs on streaming services and stores. A release you upload goes out to streaming services and stores for listeners to find. On DistroKid, you sign in and head over to the upload form. Your total cost is the sum of your DistroKid subscription and any optional Album Extras and tools.

DistroKid does not take any percentage of what stores send for your earnings. Instead, it sends 100% of the earnings allocated to you straight to your DistroKid Bank. That 100% comes with the paid DistroKid subscription, plus any extras you choose. Services report earnings every one to two months, covering streams or sales from a few months prior.

Services do not report on the same day, and they give no set payout dates. Some of them also pay only after a track meets their streaming thresholds. The payout methods available to you are determined by your location. Earnings wait in your DistroKid Bank until you withdraw them with one of those methods.

About three months is when earnings from most services typically show after a release goes live. Reports cover streams or sales from a few months earlier, which explains the wait. For example, a single recorded at home could go through the upload form and reach streaming services. Services then report its streams or sales to DistroKid on their own schedules.

DistroKid passes on store earnings but charges for the subscription. Payout and tax rules can differ where you live. So, seven ways: CD Baby for licensing, TuneCore for songwriting royalties, and BeatStars for selling beats. Then SoundCloud for fan plays, Outschool for teaching, Bandcamp for direct sales, and DistroKid for streaming.

Rules and fees differ where you live. So open the platform's own help page first, and check what it asks for in your area. Which one would you try first? Tell us the number in the comments.

Results vary, and this is information only, not financial advice. This is Wealth Filings. Next, seven more ways people make extra money, and how each one works, linked on screen.