Three Ways for Artists and Entrepreneurs to Flourish in their Musical Career

Over the last few decades, how fans consume, purchase and share their music has affected not only musicians but entrepreneurs in the industry as well. CD sales have severely decreased with the increase in online streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. There is less revenue in music sales, especially because artists are being paid $0.003 - $0.005 per stream. This makes it hard for artists to make money and support themselves and their art.

While only getting a fraction of their income from released music, artists are desperate to find other ways to make money. The internet is an ever-changing, daunting, and complex way for artists to make money in the industry if they do their research and stay up-to-date on the newest technologies. Social media marketing, SEO marketing, advertisements, influencer marketing, and now NFTs and AI generators can make an artist reach the right audience. This is why not only artists but also their management and creative teams need to find the ins and outs of the newest marketing tactics.

Another way that artists are seeing income is from live events. After COVID, live events are back in action and are booming around the world. People are eager to get out and see their favorite artists again. Small, independent artists may think they can’t book a show if they aren’t popular artists, but that simply isn’t the case. Building a following comes not only from promoting yourself online but also from promoting yourself in front of a live audience. Finding local venues and applying confidence and your art is a great way to start performing live, especially because venues are always looking to book artists.

A new form of technology that is blowing the consumer’s mind right now is the AI online generator. Different websites use the AI generator, but the different tools the AI gives the consumer are next level. For example, on ChatGPT, somebody could type in “write me an email to a booking agent,” and within seconds, there would be a perfectly organized, grammatically correct, sophisticated email for an artist or manager to send to a booking agent. Computers have programmed so many different scenarios and possibilities that there are endless amounts of modules, business plans, email templates, artwork, and even songs circulating the internet right now. This poses the question of originality, and if anything will be truly original in the next five to ten years. Also, does this mean that jobs are going to get filled by AI generators, or will our world simply not need certain jobs anymore? It is very possible, and many are worried about originality and creativity going down the drain in the next ten years.

So how can artists and entrepreneurs in the industry grow their audiences, be authentic and meaningful, and create an impact for their fans? There are endless ways that artists can continue to be authentic to their fans, such as continuing to be personable, asking questions, answering fans, and interacting with people who support their music daily. Additionally, artists can continue to make meaningful, original music to promote to their fans. For entrepreneurs, use your resources, become knowledgeable, be creative and impactful, and to all, never give up on your dreams. Seeing how the industry continues to grow and change in the next decade will be a wild, exciting, and inspirational growth opportunity for creatives around the globe.