October 25, 2021 6 Work-at-home music jobs that actually pay well
I’m an introvert. I have to be excited about doing something in order to leave my house. So work-at-home music jobs are a godsend.
I sit on my butt, make music, and earn a consistent income doing it.
This post will introduce you to six ways to make money from music without leaving home, all of which I’ve done before.
What I Mean By “Music Jobs”
When I say “work-at-home music jobs,” I’m talking about music-related jobs for musicians. So this doesn’t include music business or music marketing positions.
Basically, these are jobs you can do thanks to your musical abilities and knowledge.
These are all things I’ve done before (or hired other musicians to do), so I can attest to their fair pay.
These avenues of income have allowed me to be a work-from-home musician (and writer).
You: “How Do I Start a Music Career From Home?”
Maybe you’re an introvert like me, or maybe you just really like your house. Either way, you can build a music career through work-at-home music jobs.
Here’s how to make money from home as a musician…
Find your Big Picture
You have to know what kind of musician you want to be before you build your career.
It’s like using your maps app to get somewhere you’ve never been. You need to know your destination.
Decide on 2-3 main elements you want to mark your music career.
Find avenues to income
Next, figure out avenues that will provide income related to your big picture.
These “avenues” could be certain platforms (Spotify, SoundBetter, etc) or methods (networking, playing shows, etc).
Find several avenues that will move you toward having the music career you want (i.e. your big picture).
RELATED: Make Money as a Musician Using This Simple Method
Add small tasks to your calendar
Lastly, come up with small things you can do today that will take you down your chosen avenues to income.
Then, instead of using a to-do list, add these tasks to your calendar.
Don’t let them linger. Block out a little bit of your free time to work on music.
RELATED: Figure Out Today with the One-Thing-A-Day Worksheet
My Work-From-Home Schedule (and My Recommendations)
I’ve been working from home as a writer/musician since 2017. So I’ve learned a lot through trial-and-error.
Here are a few tips on working from home…
Hold yourself to a strict schedule
I need to hold myself to a strict schedule or else I’ll go through the day aimlessly.
Currently, this is what my schedule looks like:
- 7:30 a.m. – take my kids to school
- 7:45 a.m. – go for a 10-15 minute walk
- 8 a.m. – get ready for the day
- 8:15 a.m. – do 15 minutes of songwriting
- 8:30 a.m. – do about 4 hours of work
- 12:15 p.m. – lunch
- 12:30 p.m. – email
- 1 p.m. – do 1 more hour of work (usually admin tasks)
- 2 p.m. – do 30 minutes or so of music stuff
- 2:45 p.m. – get my kids from school
- 3:15 p.m. – finish up a few work things
- Evening – do more music stuff after my kids go to bed
I understand a lot of people can’t have this kind of schedule. But you still need to hold yourself to some sort of routine.
Maybe you’re free to do music every Tuesday night or Saturday morning or every other Sunday. Whenever you’re free, block out some time to work on your music career.
Designate a work space
One downside of working from home is that you have no commute. Don’t get me wrong, I love not traveling to work.
But going from your living space to your workspace does something for the brain. It’s like a signal that says, “Alright, we’re going to work so turn on your work brain!”
So instead of working on the couch, use your extra bedroom or walk-in closet as a home office. If you don’t have an extra room, set up your workspace in the corner of your bedroom.
My work/music desk is in the corner of my living room. And I always work there so I can use the rest of my house for living my life.
Say “no”
I have a tendency to take on too many projects at once and get overwhelmed. Don’t do this.
You’re doing music on the side, so saying “no” is a very important skill to develop.
You only have so much time in a day. Only accept music jobs you’re excited about.
Yes, in the beginning, you don’t have as much leverage to be choosy. But you can still say “no” to jobs that would drain you.
RELATED: How I Make Music Every Day
6 Work-at-Home Music Jobs
Okay, now let’s talk about some work-at-home music jobs and how you can get started with each…
Music blogging
Music advice writing is a big part of my music income. I’ve written for Bandzoogle, Ari’s Take, Musician On A Mission, and many other places.
I love music blogging because it helps me be a better musician and a better music advice writer.
I never run out of content ideas because I can just write about my experiences as a musician. And when I research a topic for a blog post, I learn something that helps me as a musician.
This can be a good way to make supplemental income if you’re good with words, you’re willing to do some research, and especially if you have a unique perspective (like playing an uncommon instrument).
Expected pay: $0.04-0.07 per word for beginners (increasing your rate as you gain experience)
Get started: How To Start Freelance Music Writing
Music production jobs
I’ve been producing my own music since 2009, and now I produce music for clients. I’ve also created custom music for podcasts and small businesses.
So I’m familiar with getting music production jobs.
The best place to find jobs where you create custom music for a podcast or business is Music Jobs HQ, which pulls in musician-specific jobs from Upwork and Indeed.
The best place to find jobs where you produce other artists is by networking, online and in-person. As of this writing, I’m producing some songs for an artist I connected with on Facebook.
Expected pay: $0 for the first 1-5 songs to get experience (unless you already have a portfolio), then $200 a song and 15-25% of the master recording royalties, gradually increasing the front-end fee as you get more experience
Get started: How To Get Music Production Jobs
Session musician work
I’ve hired several session musicians for my music. And they’ve all come from Facebook groups, or they’re my musical friends.
In recent years, we’ve recorded everything remotely. And producers/artists expect that to be an option nowadays, so you’ll need to have the right equipment and know how to use it.
You don’t have to be an expert engineer. You just need to know how to record a good-quality track from home.
Expected pay: $0 for the first 1-3 jobs (unless you already have a portfolio), then $25-50 an hour
Get started: How To Become a Session Musician
Online music lessons
If you’re really good at your instrument, you can teach others how to play it. And you can get paid decently for it.
My friend used to teach guitar lessons in his home before he got a “real” job. And he was making about $20 per 30-minute lesson. He had several students, too, so he was making some decent money.
I’ve also given a handful of in-person and online guitar lessons, and this was about what I charged too.
Expected pay: $20-40 per hour
Get started: Make Money Giving Music Lessons
Sync licensing
This is how I make most of my music-related money. And I do it all without leaving my home recording studio.
I work with the royalty-free production music library Music Vine, and that provides a little passive income every month.
My song got on NBC via a licensing company called Crucial Music, which paid me a sync fee, and I earned performance royalties on the backend.
I also made $300 for one hour of work through the royalty-free stock music library Pond5.
My point is, this is a nice way to make passive income from your music.
Expected pay: royalty-free libraries pay between a few bucks per license up to $100+ per license, while licensing companies and music supervisors can land placements for you that pay between $500 to $150k per license
Get started: Everything You Need To Know About Sync Licensing
Jingle writing
I thought jingles weren’t a thing anymore, but I stand corrected. Plenty of small businesses are still commissioning jingles.
I’ve written and produced several jingles for small businesses, all via Upwork. It’s a fun creative outlet for songwriter-producers.
Yes, I was singing about a dog-sitting company. But I had fun and I got paid for it.
Expected pay: I’ve gotten paid between $80 and $400 for writing and producing a jingle
Get started: Find Jingle-Writing Jobs on Upwork
Is a Career in Music Realistic?
As I found through my research on making a living in music, you can totally make a full-time income as a musician. In fact, 13,400 artists made over $50,000 in 2020 in Spotify streaming royalties alone.
Talk about passive income right there.
The key is to diversify your income streams. Pick 2-3 ways you want to make money, then use the One-Thing-A-Day Worksheet (FREE) to plan out how you’re going to get there.
Then get started on earning money from these work-at-home music jobs.
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Caleb J. Murphy is a songwriter/producer based in Austin, Tx. His music has been on NBC, NPR, and licensed by hundreds of indie creators. He also started Musician With A Day Job, a site that helps part-time musicians keep going.
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Caleb, thank you for your inspiring post - I've been working remotely for the last ten years, but I have found some new options you're writing about - I had no idea about them, really - thanks a lot. Frankly, I'm rather writer, and writing songs / lyrics is one of my ways of earning living, so your advice about blogging sounded especially close to what I love to do. By the way, I'd add one more option - writing for musicians websites - recently, I've had this opportunity at Simple Music Ensemble World - they play awesome music and it was a real pleasure to write for them. Thank you again and good luck on your ways!