My account was registered in 2014, first track was uploaded in December 2015, but I started working hard only in April 2016.
Summer was very quit time, I was learning this market, had just few sales, then a little bit more in August, and in September-October I had very little but constant sales qty. And I thought - YEAH! I just need to continue working and everything will be ok, I will increase my income, quality and so on.
But…March 2017 The Terrible has broken me )))))
This is first month after long time with crazy fall in sales. It was really depressing. I had to say “Don’t give up” to myself but every time after checking account and having zero (or sometimes just 1) sales I thought about another job. But what can I do? Come back to office? Noooooo! Oh, please, no!
So, I decided to ctop crying and find a reason of my fail.
One of the reason is new browsing (preference for trending and top items for clients). But, not the main. Most important reason I suppose is in my stagnation. And I am not talking about mixing and mastering skills (i am trying to develop it each day). Stagnation of learning. Stagnation of understanding what people need. I recognize that my 15-years experience in music creating is NOTHING if I still don’t know what people need to hear. Sure, it’s hard to accept, but it’s true. U can make music during the whole life and die being beginner. Learning, learning and learning again. Always try to find new sound, be aware of trends and so on. And maybe the main thing…don’t think about sales. It’s hard, generally when u think how to support your family with your crummy salaries, but don’t think about money. They will come when u deserve it.
So, March motivated me. Never stop learning, because when you do it u understand that u know nothing)))
Interesting story! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Remember: everybody have their ups and downs, so never give up! Analyse market, listen to good music, watch inspiring videos and make a great hi-quality music!)))
My opinion - Each Musician faces such gaps, there is a heap of factors of failure, laws of meanness, etc. It is truly noticed that it isn’t worth being given! And everything Will turn out again!
Hi, can i ask you? How is it now? What is your monthly incom? Can you living with those money and support family? I ask because i want to start at full time but i am not sure that it will be work for me.thanks for your sharing.
No one will be able to give you an answer that is relevant to you. People who can’t make a living will tell you it can’t be done, people who are making a living will tell you “sure, of course it can be done”, or not say anything at all.
This isn’t a job with a fixed salary per item. You either produce things people want, at an optimized price for maximum earnings, with optimized promotion, optimized branding, and at a steady rate for long periods of time (no 6-month breaks…), or you don’t.
No other person’s experience applies to you, only your own.
If you think you can make a lot of good music, do it! You can see exactly what the top people here make, and if you are non-exclusive, the world is much bigger than that.
And if you expect a full-time income, put in 40 hours per week of actual work. Or more.
I make a good full-time living in an expensive country from stock music, so I will tell you of course it’s possible. But I can’t tell you if it’s possible for YOU. Only YOU can find out on your own.
Math can spoil all the fun, sometimes it’s better to just dream and give it a try.
I made an experiment the other day and found out that everytime I “do some math” I come to a negative conclusion. Even if the business turns out to be profitable, it’s “not profitable enough for that amount of risk and effort” Screw math.
Screw math.