Remember when someone said you can make an income by being a full-time musician? Me neither. 

The reality of the situation is that if you are a full-time musician the chances of you making a sustainable income to support a mortgage and a family is quite minimal. And it isn’t from lack of artists trying; the landscape in the music world has changed dramatically over the last decade. This means that musicians have to think a little more outside of the box when trying to make money from their craft. 

It would have to be one of the hardest industries to make a profit from, and also making it sustainable and seeing a positive return on investment. 

With this being said however it is important to look at your finances to see how your band is tracking. 

You obviously don’t want to be throwing your money at your band and not getting any sort of return. 

While it is hard to make a profit as a band, you want your band to at least be self-funding so that you are not throwing your own funds in to support the band. 

Incoming & Outgoing 

One way to keep track of your finances is to track how much is incoming and how much is outgoing. At the bare minimum you can achieve this by setting something up in an Excel spreadsheet or in Google Sheets. 

On one sheet you would want to have the income of the band. So, from merch sales, ticket sales, CD sales etc. On the other sheet you would want to have your outgoings. So, how much money is your band spending and this could be from rehearsals, cost of setting up merch, the cost of promoting and marketing. 

Whether you’re making or lot of money or not a lot of money with your band, it’s merely the practice so you can see for yourself if there are some places that you can save money for your band or at least earn some money as well. 

It’s a great way to see if there are any holes in your approach; it should be quite apparent if there are major gaps where funds are getting spent but not recuperated.   

As aforementioned, you want the band to be self-funding; if you are putting more money into the band you might want to reconsider what you’re doing and work on how you can be making more money for the band rather than spending everything all in one go. 

Full time income 

Making a full-time income from a band is rarely heard of in the music industry. 

Not only do you have to make enough money to support yourself but you have to make enough money to pay for musical equipment, pay mortgages, and if you have a family you need to think about school fees and any other fees that are associated with cost of living. 

If you were to be a musician full-time for the rest of your life you would have to be 110% committed to make sure that you are earning an income that satisfies your bills. 

The music industry has changed dramatically in the last 10 years and a rare few have survived. So, you need to consider: is being a full-time musician a viable option to continuously earn an income to support at least one adult individual? 

If you are a full-time musician or if you know of a full-time music musician who has been working for the last 20-30 years making a sustainable income off of music please let us know in the comments below. 

It is possible to make a living from playing music; though you would need some other form of income to help fund, or at least to stay afloat in the world of bills. 

One thing is to consider working part time or full time and then focus playing your music on weekends and after work. This way you know that your primary source of income is stable and that you can afford to pursue your musical ambitions. 

Unfortunately, playing music full time AND making a decent income doesn’t go hand-in-hand as gigs are liquid and inconsistent. Not to mention the varying budgets of venues and clients in general. 

How to stay busy musically and make money 

If you are currently playing in a cover band but have some nights where you are not gigging, you can always break the band down into a duo or solo act. 

This is a great way to pick up those mid-week gigs like performing at cafes or smaller venues. Keep an eye out on the various Facebook groups to see if there are any last-minute gigs that popup. If you can cover a range of solo music to full band, there’ll always be an opportunity to pick up an extra gig. 

Don’t forget to have something to sell at your gigs (if the venue allows it). Whether it’s a CD, T-shirt, stubbie holder; having merch to sell is another supplemental way of making extra money at gigs. 

If you are maxed out with gigs but still looking to pursue music full time and make money; focus on building your online presence on social media. Start publishing frequently on channels like YouTube; create engaging content that people want to see, and when you have enough subscribers, you can start implementing ads, which will generate some extra income for you. 

Start by posting videos of yourself performing cover songs, focus on the songs you know you perform well. Then send them to your friends, fans and family over social media. Building a social media presence takes time so if you haven’t started yet, start now!

Tax & Tax Returns 

You need an ABN (Australian Business Number) if you are making money, no matter what your business is. It’s free to register an ABN, so get that done.

As mentioned earlier, you must keep a track of your finances; this will help come tax time. Even if you earn $1 from music in one financial year, you must declare it to the tax department. 

There are some things you can declare as tax deductions such as some musical equipment costing under $300. The details of what you can count as deductions can be found on the ATO website.

There is also great advice and info found on the APRA website.

Keeping your tax returns up-to-date and keeping track of your income protects in the event that the ATO decide to audit you. 

Conclusion

Keeping track of your band’s finances is important so that you can see where your earnings go, and also if there are any holes that you need to plug up. Make sure you are looking at many different ways to make money rather than just gigging. 

You’re running a business so you need to ensure that you are on top of everything to keep the ATO happy. There are plenty of services out there that offer financial advice for businesses in case you need assistance. But if you’re in a state where you can manage things yourself, then take advantge of the points made in this article.