Category: Music

Looking for a business idea that satisfies your passion for music. There are many different ways to make money via the music industry without being a musician or a record executive. Here are just a few entrepreneurial ideas for music lovers.

Pexels. CCO Licensed.

Set up your own music venue

Local musicians are always looking for new places to perform. Setting up a local music venue could be a way of supporting local music talent while making money. The venue could double up as a bar or a restaurant – this could be your main source of income so that you’re not having to charge huge amounts for tickets. In order to create a successful music venue, you may want to invest in features such as professional speaker systems and advanced acoustic modelling. You’ll also need to do a lot of marketing to keep people coming in.

Sell old records

You could also make money selling vintage vinyl. This could be via a market stall, a physical store or an online store. On top of having a good knowledge of music, you’ll need to know how to value vinyl. Some vinyl stores also operate as cafes, providing an extra source of income.

Get into music promotion/PR

Another entrepreneurial idea could be to get into music promotion or PR. Musicians need help finding gigs and attracting crowds, which music promoters can help with. Music PR meanwhile involves helping musicians to develop a media presence by approaching radio stations, publications and blogs. A passion for music and understanding of the industry may be all that’s necessary to start up your own business (although a marketing background can help).

Start a music blog

Many people start music blogs as a hobby, but there is money to be made from music blogging. Musicians are often keen to get reviews of their music and are sometimes willing to pay bloggers to write reviews. There’s also the option of other sponsored posts. On top of this, if your music blog gets successful, you could also make some money through ad revenue. This can be a great money-making scheme for those with a passion for writing. Growing a profitable music blog can take time and may work better as a side hustle for some people.

Become a music teacher

If you can sing or play an instrument, you could consider the option of becoming a music teacher. People are always looking to take up instruments or improve their singing – you could offer private tuition or you could start a class. Being able to perform to a proficient level will help your credibility, but you don’t have to be a pro to teach others.

Playing an instrument often seems like something that you should learn to do as a child or at least a teenager. Once you hit adulthood, it can seem too late to really learn to play anything properly, especially if you want to go beyond being able to strum Wonderwall. But just because you’re older, it doesn’t mean it’s too late for you to learn new things. Learning an instrument as an adult is possible, and you never know if you might discover that you have a knack for it. While it helps if you have some previous musical knowledge, it’s definitely not essential.

Get Some Lessons

The beauty of learning an instrument today is that there are so many resources for teaching yourself. However, if you’re really committed to learning a new instrument, don’t overlook the benefit of having lessons. Someone who can guide you, correct your mistakes, and show you different techniques can be invaluable. They can tailor your learning to suit you and respond to your needs. If you want to take advantage of modern technology, online lessons are available too. You can learn through video lessons and sheet music for beginners.

Image from Pexels – CC0 License

Start with the Basics

Even though you might want to jump into learning a favourite song or doing something complicated, it’s essential to get a firm grasp of the basics first. That includes things as simple as how to hold your instrument properly. However, it’s also important to learn how to read music, whether it’s learning how to read a score, understanding a guitar tab, or learning about percussion notation. A little bit of music theory can help you so that you can understand things like time signatures or different styles of playing. It’s a good idea to pick up some basic stuff first, so you don’t need to circle back to it later.

Get to Know Your Instrument

Whichever instrument you learn to play, you need to be familiar with your instrument. It’s not necessarily that important to know what each individual part is called, although it depends on the instrument. But you do need to know things like how to put it together, how to keep it clean, and how to maintain it. It’s useful if you know how to tune your guitar and change the strings. You need to be able to know how to clean your flute or polish maintain your violin bow. Plus, learning about your instrument helps you to understand how to get the best sound and feel, and how to make a decision when you’re buying a new instrument.

Image from Pexels – CC0 License

Find Some Easy Pieces of Music to Learn

A lot of people start learning a new instrument because they’d like to play some of their favourite music. There’s definitely a possibility of finding some of your favourites that are easy to play, but you could find a lot of them are a bit out of your reach, to begin with. You could set yourself a goal of learning something challenging, but you will likely need to learn some more simple pieces along the way. There are plenty of ideas online or books of simple music to start you off. At https://www.musicianauthority.com/easy-piano-songs/, you can find some easy piano songs that are great for beginners. You can get free guitar tabs from ultimate-guitar.com, or you can just browse your local music shop or online for good books.

Put in the Practice

There are no shortcuts when you’re learning an instrument. You might find that you have a natural talent for it, but you still have to put in the effort to get better. Spending time practicing will help you to improve, and you’ll gradually find that you’re capable of more and more. Make sure you set aside a small amount of time each day or some more dedicated practice time once or twice a week. Even when it gets frustrating, you need to keep going if you want to learn.

Listen to and Watch Others

Don’t forget that you can also learn a lot about playing an instrument by watching other people. Whether you have an instructor who can show you how to do a few things, you find some videos online, or you watch your favourite musicians, you can pick up a lot by watching and listening to other people playing.

It’s never too late to try and learn something new. Try learning an instrument, and you could find that it’s a lot of fun.

In today’s movies, it’s quite common to see singers and musicians make the leap to the screen, whether it’s for a cameo or an Oscar-winning performance (Cher). 

While you might not bat an eyelid at this transition, it’s sometimes a strange experience to see people who you think of as actors start belting out power ballads or rock anthems.

Many actors train in both disciplines at the beginning of their career, with musical theatre being a component of many acting programs and drama school, they’re at home both in the recording studio and treading the boards of a theatre, it usually comes down to which area they get their break in first. 

Of course, there are a few people with a foot in both disciplines such as Hugh Jackman and Zendaya and it’s well known that actors like Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp and Russell Crowe play in bands. Here are some actors who’ve released music that you might not have heard.

Photo by Caught In Joy on Unsplash

Bruce Willis

80s TV star and 90s movie action hero Bruce Willis is famous for starring in movies such as Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, The Sixth Sense and Sin City. But Bruce Willis is also a bit of a crooner. He released his debut album in 1987. He followed up with another two albums released in 1989 and 2001. 

Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy is a bit of a chameleon when it comes to choosing his acting roles. From a beefed-up bad guy, Bane in The Dark Knight Returns, to playing both of the Kray twins. He’s a frequent collaborator with director Christopher Nolan and has been one of the front runners to don the 007 tux for years now. 

One thing you don’t think of when you think of Tom Hardy is him rapping on hip hop tracks as his alter ego Tommy No.1

Jeremy Renner

The Oscar-nominated Renner is better known as Clint “Hawkeye” Barton in the MCU. He also took over the Bourne franchise (briefly) from Matt Damon in The Bourne Legacy before dropping briefly into the Mission Impossible franchise. He’s also starred in a number of other critically acclaimed movies. But Renner’s first love has been music from a young age. He’s a bit of an all-rounder too, taking on singer-songwriter duties as well as guitars, drums and keyboards. He’s released a number of singles and released the extended album “The Medicine” in 2020. 

Ben Barnes

British actor Ben Barnes came to prominence as Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia, before moving into more adult roles in Dorian Grey, The Punisher and Westworld. Most recently, he’s been playing the Darkling in the Netflix adaptation of Shadow and Bone.  

Barnes nearly went the music route, signing with Spice Girls svengali Simon Fuller, but nothing came of it and Barnes ended up pushing the acting side of his career instead.

In 2021, he released the album “Songs for You.”

Brie Larson

Another Avenger with an ear for music. Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson received an Oscar in 2016 for her performance in Room. However, in 2005, she gave music fame a shot by releasing her album “Finally Out Of P.E.” 

Zooey Deschanel 

Best known as the star of New Girl, Zooey Deschanel has also starred in a number of movies too. Her love of singing saw her team up with M.Ward, the singer-songwriter to form the duo She & Him. They’ve gone on to release six albums so far. 

William Shatner 

Yes, the man forever known as Captain James T. Kirk has released a number of albums over the decade. They can best be described as ‘interesting’. The aural equivalent of watching something from behind your hands because it’s very cringe-worthy but you can’t completely turn away. 

Scarlett Johansson

Is anyone else picturing an Avengers musical team up? Johansson has been gracing the screens as Black Widow for well over a decade now, fitting in some excellent indie project in-between. She showed she had talent when she performed in a voice role for the animated movie Sing.

She released her debut album in 2008 and has since gone on to work with Pete Yorn and other on further albums.

Hugh Laurie et al 

The Band from TV is a charity band formed by well-known stars of American TV. They give all of their profits to charity. The current performers are Greg Grunberg (Heroes), James Denton (Desperate Housewives), Hugh Laurie (House), Adrian Pasdar (Heroes), Scott Grimes (ER), Terry Hatcher (Desperate Housewives). 

So, were you surprised by any of the people on this list? Will you be rushing to buy any of their albums?