For many musicians, the Covid pandemic and following restrictions have felt like the end of the world. Many jobs, from live gigs to teaching, have been put on hold or lost. However, despite all the hopelessness, musicians are nothing if not adaptable and resilient. Many have utilised the internet to continue working to some extent or another.
Here are 5 ways you can utilise your music skills during the pandemic:
- Teaching
Teaching has long been one of the more stable jobs in the music industry, and as schools and universities have transitioned to online teaching, so too have many teachers. This may not an ideal be situation, due to issues such as internet lag meaning you cant play at the same time, however you will be able to teach more students since you don’t have to commute, and you will be able to teach anywhere in the world. As many people are working from home and saving time and money, many have chosen to use their extra time to learn new skills and hobbies, which means more teaching jobs are potentially available.
Whether you are a singer or instrumentalist, producer or engineer, there is a wide range of skillsets and topics you can provide to. This could be private one-on-one lessons on Skype, Zoom workshops, or prerecorded material for youtube. There are a lot of opportunities, just make sure you know your stuff!
2. Home Recording & Session Work
Technology has advanced considerably in recent years, and it has never been easier or cheaper to create music. Most, if not all, computers are capable of running a DAW (digital audio workstation) software such as GarageBand, Logic, Pro Tools and Cubase. These softwares range from high end professional standard DAW’s such as Logic and Pro Tools, to more beginner friendly ones, such as GarageBand, with countless tutorials on how to use them online. Combine this with an affordable interface such as the Focusrite Scarlett, a MIDI controller and a microphone and voila! You have a relatively inexpensive home studio where you can capture professional quality audio.
In recent years, due to the cost of music studios, many musicians had begun to work from home when they can. During the pandemic, a new trend has arisen with people remotely collaborating by sending files between them to create music. You could also use the same setup for session work. If you are a guitarist, keyboardist, singer etc. you can continue recording your own work, or work for others. All you need is the skills and knowledge to match.
3. Create Music & Write Songs
In line with the above point, you can utilise your home studio to create music, whether thats beats, ambient tracks or pop songs. Anything you like! There are many online platforms and libraries where you could upload and market your tracks, specific to genre and context. Music libraries, fashion shows, rappers and singers are always on the look out for new tracks so if you are skilled here you could earn some money.
If you consider yourself a songwriter you could also utilise your home studio to make demos that may, depending on the songwriting and production quality, attract publishers or other interested parties.
Increasingly, even pre-covid, many musicians prefer these methods as they cut down on costs and means you can work at your own speed, from the comfort of you own home.
4. Live Stream Gigs
Live streaming has been around for a while on social media platforms such as facebook and instagram, and musicians have always utilised it. This could be for casual entertainment and simply promotion, or even for mini shows with a donation or tip jar system in place.
While professional level live streaming is still in its infancy, its progress has been greatly accelerated due to the pandemic. We will explore it in full in the next blog post, however it is evident that live streaming is going to be here to stay long after the pandemic. Large scale live streaming concerts have digital capacities that greatly outnumber any physical venue and this translates to a much higher profit margin, coupled with less expenses. Many musicians and stars are already holding live, virtual concerts where they sell tickets in advance and coordinate a broadcast on all their platforms or websites. It is possible to do something similar on a smaller scale using just your laptop camera and microphone paired with a free software like OBS which allows you to broadcast to multiple sites in real time.
5. Pre-Recorded Virtual Concerts
Similar to the above point, many concerts and festivals have had to move online. Whether you are a solo artist or a band, you may still be able to get live gig work from promoters or event organisers where you perform a pre recorded set for later broadcast, similar to an asynchronous TV gig. This has always been around, but it is happening more frequently now since live music is still in demand. It may not be the same as attending a live concert, however it enables people who otherwise couldn’t have attended a gig to watch you perform.
Bonus: Related Jobs & Reapplication of Skills
Given the changes in the music industry, and the world in general, musicians in recent years have had to wear many hats. Most of us have become entrepreneurs or owner operated ventures, having to brand and market ourselves in our fields. Many of these skills are transferable to related industries, with many musicians becoming bloggers or journalists, marketers, or even offering music skill services such as transcription via sites like fiver.com. You just need to identify your strengths and skills and see how applicable they are elsewhere.
Conclusion: The Portfolio Career
Gone are the days when musicians could survive from one or two skills. In the modern world, there is much more competition as the internet has allowed for more musicians to exist. Couple this with the increased cost of living and reduction in the relative value of music and you have a problem.
Musicians now adapt by continuously expanding and improving upon their skillset. Many are freelancers or self employed. The same musician who may be an artist, may also do session work, write for others, and teach in their free time. This means many income streams, some passive income like royalties, which when put together help musicians survive and thrive.
The list above are just some of the ways musicians can exploit the internet to earn a living, but there are many more ways depending on your exact skillset. See the link in the bibliography for more options and remember, it is all in creativity!
As always, please like, share and comment to let me know what you think!
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Bibliography:
Future of Music, 42 Revenue Streams, http://money.futureofmusic.org/40-revenue-streams/
E.Diamond, 2020, Bandcamp, Ticketed LIve Streaming Comes to Bandcamp, https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/bandcamp-ticketed-livestream
OBS Studio, https://obsproject.com/
The Truth About Music 
Great little insight!
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