Money Money Money. Where can I find revenue?

We all know that the lack of financial support is one of the biggest challenges every emerging and even established musician will face. When you start from nothing, it’s incredibly hard to build. Revenue in the music industry doesn’t always come via traditional routes either. Unlike a part-time or full-time job where you go and work a number of hours and then get paid a fixed rate, musicians more often than not have inconsistent income streams. This makes it harder, but not impossible!

One of the most important things is to make sure you are covering all bases and not losing out on any potential revenue. You need to be totally across all of your financials if you want to be successful in the music industry.

Revenue Checklist for emerging musicians

We have created a revenue checklist, have a look through and see if you are missing any!

☑ Streaming Income

☑ Publishing Revenue

☑ Performances Pay

☑ Performance Royalties

☑ Mechanical Royalties

See more examples of societies below:

Australia – AMCOS (in partnership with APRA)
Austria – AUSTRO-MECHANA
Belgium – SABAM
Brazil – UBC
Canada – CMRRA
France – SDRM (in partnership with SACEM)
Germany – GEMA
Mexico – SACM
Netherlands – STEMRA
Italy – SIAE
Japan – JASRAC
Portugal – SPA
Scandinavia – NCB
South Africa – CAPASSO
Spain – SGAE
Switzerland – SUISA
UK – MCPS
USA – MLC and HFA

☑ Commissions

☑ Social Media Yield

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Instagram

☑ Merchandise Revenue

☑ Patreon Cash Flow

☑ Bandcamp Proceeds

☑ Email Marketing revenue

☑ Grants

☑ Awards

☑ Donations

☑ Advances

Revenue Wrap Up

Remember that there are so many working parts when it comes to revenue for emerging musicians. Don’t get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of places you can source revenue. Work through the checklist one step at a time and then take a breather!

Want to know more about how to manage yourself as a business? Vampr Academy has it all waiting for you. >> Try a 7 day free trial today!

Christmas music is coming… ❄️

Hurry up and submit any music you want distributed before the holiday cut-off dates! It’s getting to that time of year where we start to walk into shops, cafes, grocery stores and hear Christmas Carrols over the sound system. Popular artists are preparing to drop those big Xmas albums or singles that will absolutely dominate radio play and the charts. You want to get in before then, once they drop, unfortunately, you don’t really stand a chance.

Don’t get lost in the noise.

In order to avoid getting lost in the sea of big artists, we recommend that you get your tracks in ASAP or hold off until at least February next year.

It’s time for a break.

Have you noticed that from December to January the music industry gets very quiet? Typically, the music industry shuts down during the holiday period, so make sure if you need to email anyone you do it before December rolls around! Also, don’t be deterred if you don’t get a lot of responses during this time. It’s not personal, people just need a break! Don’t forget to give yourself a break too from time to time. Burn out is a real issue in the music industry. You can’t be creative or share your incredible music with the world if you are not in a good place.

>> Submit your music today with Vampr Publishing

The hottest and latest music releases by emerging Vampr musicians. 🔥

Vampr wants to pay homage to our incredible community. We have so many artists releasing insane music and living their best musical lives – we want to spotlight as many as possible!

If you’re in the mood for some ear food, go listen, follow, and like your fellow Vampr community members. 🙌

1. Tessa Elaina 

Tessa Elaina is a singer/songwriter from Virginia. She composes her songs with guitar, harmonium, piano and looper pedal in her home studio. Tessa is releasing her mastered recordings soon but in the mean time you can enjoy her song Soil & Earth streaming on all platforms.

Listen to Soil & Earth single below:

2. Chad Carlisle 

Chad Carlisle is an Indie Rock Musician and Live Sound Engineer hailing from Los Angeles, California. He has honed his skill in the Live Sound space for the last 10 years working with the likes of Allah Lahs, Regrettes, Morgxn and Blame My Youth, to name a few.

Listen to Time Capsule album below:

3. Emanuel Brown 

As a native to Newport News, Virginia and now resident of the greater Seattle area, Emanuel draws in inspiration from experiences while growing up there. In a career and genre where authenticity is vital to success, E. Brown‘s sound is an embodiment and personification of the lates 80’s and early 90’s entwined with new-age intensity, uniqueness and rawness.

With vast years of musical expertise, independent artist Emanuel Brown identifies and resonates with the Hip-Hop and R&B community. E. Brown has been fortunate to work with well respected artists in the industry and is always looking to improve his skill set as a lyricist and singer he has dropped two albums, two EP’s and a slew of singles to show his commitment to his craft.

In 2021 Emanuel was fortunate enough to chart four times on the iTunes Charts in Japan & Africa for carious songs. As well as being placed on Spotify’s “Fresh Finds” playlist in February of 2022! The Virginia product has also released his newest single Don’t Stop which is one of his proudest works thus far.

Listen to Don’t Stop single below:

4. Casey Cavaliere 

A Philadelphia-based musician, producer, mixer, and songwriter. As guitarist and founding member of The Wonder Years, Casey has enjoyed an exciting career recording and has toured extensively around the world.

Currently, Casey is doing an EU tour but when he’s not touring you can find him front and center on his podcast “The Record Process.” We’ll be doing our Accelerator Session with Casey this November, talking touring, production, helping artists define their sound and brand and how to grow as an artist.

Listen to the latest episode below:

5. WolfStang 

Wolfstang is part wolf, all ‘stang. A hit maker. Shape shifter. She’s been a waitress, a student, a loner, a clown. A producer, a CEO, the wannabe queen around town. “We’ve all got scars. I just got tired of hiding mine.” – Wolfstang

Listen to her latest EP below:

Was that not sweet music to your ears? We couldn’t get enough. Go and connect and say hi to these artists, they are all on Vampr and smashing it!

If you have music that’s ready for distribution or publishing, you can also submit it via Vampr! You never know, your next sync might be waiting for you around the corner. 👀

Submit your track to Vampr Publishing today >> Click here
Submit your track for Vampr Distribution today >> Click here

Awareness

The first step to making your performances more inclusive and accessible is becoming aware of the different working parts of a performance. Think through each of the steps you take from the beginning to the end of the performance process and break down each stage to assess whether they are individually accessible.

For most of us, it is easy to plan our days and activities without too much stress or effort. We see a gig online that we want to attend, so we buy a ticket and share the event with some friends. We meet them there for a drink, climb the winding stairway that leads to the band room, and enter a usually very dark band room. Often we will get shoved a little by the large crowd and in between sets yell at the bartender what drink we want so they can hear. It’s about time we use the bathroom which is up another set of stairs, hear some great music with our mates and leave with our ears appropriately ringing.

How often do we take for granted how easy this is for the majority of us and forget how incredibly difficult or altogether impossible this is for people with disability?

Where to start? Think about the process and how accessible each step is.

Finding the gig, is it accessible to everyone?

So you found the gig online. Where did you see the gig? Most likely shared on a friend’s social media post, so you listened to the video snippet of the band, liked what you heard, so you clicked and got redirected to tickets. That was easy enough.

But, imagine if you were blind or had low vision. Would it be as easy to find? Was the post copy accessible and clear enough for a screen reader to read out loud to someone? Was there a video description describing what was visually happening in the video?

What if you were d/Deaf or hard of hearing? How could you be sure it was going to be a show you would enjoy and understand? Were there subtitles or captions on the video so you could read the lyrics and get a gist? Will there be a sign language interpreter at the show so you can understand what is being sung?

Making amendments to your posts by adding clear and succinct image/video descriptions and captions and/or subtitles to your videos can make all the difference to a person with disability. When you do these things, it shows you are thinking of who might see the post and making it as inclusive and accessible as possible.

Getting to the venue

Generally, when planning a trip to a music venue, the biggest question is; “should I take public transport so I can drink? Or, should I save some money and drive?”. This is not the case for everyone. Just getting to the venue alone can be challenging.

In this situation, you can offer some clear instructions for people with disability. You can identify if there is disabled parking nearby and if so, where is it in relation to the venue? You could suggest carpooling for anyone who cannot drive.

Another option is to suggest accessible public transport options. Where are the nearby bus stops, train stations, etc? How far is the walk from those stops to the venue?

Social Story

You can also provide a Social Story for those who are neurodiverse or with Autism. A Social Story offers certainty at all stages of the journey.

Social stories explain social situations to autistic children and help them learn ways of behaving in these situations. These stories are sometimes called social scripts, social narratives, or story-based interventions.

You can create a social story on platforms like Canva. Creating a handful of slides that outline what a person can expect can be the thing that encourages them to attend or stay at home. Your slides can have images of the venue or mode of transport on them as well as descriptors of what can be expected at each stage of the journey.

For example:

You will get dressed for the gig and get into the car.
You will drive to the music venue. (Include a picture of the venue)
You will go upstairs to the band room and get a stamp on your hand as you enter. (Include a picture of the band room and stamp)
The band will come on stage and perform. (Include a picture of the band)
The band will finish and you will clap.
If you need to go to the bathroom, you will follow the bathroom signs. (Include a picture of the signs and venue toilets)
You will meet your father downstairs out the front of the venue to be picked up. (Include a picture of the front of the venue and a car waiting)

A Social Story might take you 15-20 minutes to create. It is not a lot of time or effort on your part and could mean the difference between being inclusive and accessible for a community of people. In 2021, The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 15% of the world’s population is living with disability. That’s roughly 1 billion people. This is not a small community, it is vast and historically, this community has not been included or considered in the music industry. Change is well overdue and it starts with each of us doing what we can to cause a shift in the music landscape.

Accessibility of the venue

Let everyone know whether the venue is accessible or not. Some venues have an accessibility tab on their websites like The Corner Hotel. This goes into great depth about the venue and what it has and doesn’t have in terms of accessibility. Down to things like door width measurements. Sadly, most venues do not have any information online about their accessibility.

So, as the artist, you should ask and share with your audiences! The onus should not be on the person with disability to call and find out the information.

Ask the venue questions like:

These are not all of the questions that should be asked. There are certainly more. But this is a good place to start. You can also encourage your audience to reach out to you if they have any specific questions about accessibility and you can enquire directly with the venue.

The performance

There are two aspects here. One is an audience member wanting to attend with disability and the other is a musician who is performing with disability.

What can we do to make sure both are included and accommodated?

For the performer

Much of this depends on the disability of the performer, but some basic things to think about are the following:

Stage access
How is the performer getting on stage if they have a physical disability? Are there steps? Do they have a handrail? If the performer is a wheelchair user, is there a portable chair lift that can be organized?

Seating
Is the artist able to stand for some or all of the set? Is seating available if not? Performing is a physically taxing endeavor. Venues and bookers should be thinking ahead about the comfort and safety of the performer.

Sound and Lighting
Having a discussion prior with the venue manager and the sound engineer for the night could be the proactive measure that allows a performer with disability to carry out an incredible show. All that needs to be discussed is the needs of the artist and what can be accommodated. Bright lights on the artist may be sensory overload. Or, any artists who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing may need specific foldback settings that are on the louder side.

Water
Something as simple as hydration or sugary treats can also make a world of difference. For anyone with diabetes or chronic fatigue, a bit of food and water could be a game-changer.

The people who will know best about what they need are the artists themselves. Never assume you know best, always ask respectfully. Another way for performers to communicate what they need is by having Accessibility requirements on their rider/tech sheet. This means everything is clearly spelled out and can be carried out by venue staff on the night.

For the punter

American Sign Language Interpreter (ASL)
Provide a sign language interpreter and ensure they are standing in a well-lit area so everyone can clearly see them. There are specialized interpreters for music performers. You need to send them your lyrics and the music ahead of time so they can learn how the words match the rhythm. Melodies don’t have the same tempo or rhythm as regular speech, so allowing an interpreter to adjust their signing to the speed of the song is essential for an accurate experience. Amber Galloway is a great example of what an incredibly experienced and passionate interpreter can achieve.

Sound and Lighting
It is important to pre-warn punters about flashing/strobe lights for anyone who has sensory requirements or epilepsy. In addition, you can measure how many decibels performances have reached in the specific band room and list this for punters to see. They may then opt to bring noise-canceling headphones to reduce auditory stimuli.

Seating/Viewing
Make any wheelchair users aware of viewing platforms if a venue has them. Also having additional chairs for anyone who may need them throughout the performance can be helpful.

How can you help make the industry more inclusive and accessible?

Be aware, be inclusive. Be the change you want to see in the industry.

Want to hear some incredible music from artists with disability? >> Listen Here

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

This spooky competition is all about Halloween Vamps! The competition will run from Friday 28th – Monday 31st of October.

ICYMI a Vamp is a short video that you can post to your profile and it will populate in our watch feed. 

To participate all you need to do is create a Vamp with some sort of Halloween/spooky vibes.

What are you waiting for? It’s time for some spooky creations… 👻

HOW TO WIN

Best Vamp

Our favorite Vamp will win a $100 cash prize and we will repost it across all our social channels. Psst…we have a lot of followers! 🤫

Best Comment

Not only can you win by creating, but you can also win by engaging! The prize for the best comment is 1 month free of Vampr Academy + Pro! 🎓🏆

We will also be looking for the best comment on Vamps during the competition. That means something that makes us stop and notice.

Whether it’s the best Halloween pun we have ever seen or some really high-quality feedback on the Vamp – we are all for it! 

Post your Halloween Vamps anytime from now onwards and then keep an eye out for the watch feed to get all spooky from the 28th-31st. 🎃

Post your Vamp now >> SUBMIT NOW

You may have noticed that Vampr has had a few changes lately. We are excited about these new changes as they are aimed at improving user experience and helping the Vampr community connect and create together!

In case you are confused about any of the changes, we have everything you need to know in this article!

New and Improved Vamps

We have redesigned Vamps! What are Vamps you say? Great question.

Vamps are short audio and video posts that used to sit at the top of your feed in the app. We have given Vamps a makeover and they now look better, perform smoother and they stick around for good! No more disappearing after a couple of days. 

Vamps are free to make and you can create as many as you like. These will live on your profile and in the Watch feed so your followers and others can see them at any time.  

Takeaways:

New Vampr Watch Feed

We mentioned that Vamps will now be housed in your profile and your Watch feed. Want to know what your Watch feed is? Great, we will tell you.

Watch Feed is another of our new features! A new section dedicated solely to watching Vamps from both people you follow and people you don’t.

You can choose what’s more relevant for you, by toggling between both. 

Takeaways:

New Vampr Academy Courses Available

Vampr Academy has released a heap of new Deep Dive courses. Exclusive to Vampr Academy members. 

We now have:

Content Creation For Musicians
Learn how to create engaging content with your phone. Make everything from music videos, Tik Toks, and EPK’s using your phone to grow your audience.

Management Contracts
This course covers all the key terms of management agreements and is essential for artists contemplating working with a manager.

Indie Record Label Contracts
Pros and cons of a label licensing deal, how they impact artists’ rights ownership, and what revenue streams artists can expect from these contracts.

Building Your Team
Learn the keys to building a successful team to develop your music career. From finding creative team members and a manager to getting an agent and marketing support, this course will provide you with some tips for building the right team at each stage of your career. 

Music Business Essentials
Music Business Essentials is designed to provide artists with a comprehensive understanding of the modern music industry. It covers a wide variety of different topics in the music industry such as contracts and copyright, types of businesses operating in the contemporary music business and their business models, marketing strategies, and more. After completing this course, you will have the tools to qualify for employment in the music industry and be empowered to build a successful career as an artist.

+ some new Armchair Expert Interviews!

Also coming soon:

We are offering a free 7-day trial for Academy. >> Start your free trial NOW. 🎓