Hot topic. Let’s talk about money! How much money can you make as a guitarist? If you are thinking of becoming a guitar player, this is the post you want to read. How do you make money? Even better: How do you make more money? Why people think that musicians are broke and why you shouldn’t listen to them. Is there a formula that you can follow to increase your income? Why are musicians so freaking disorganized? There are so many things we can talk about … I will give you three killing tips on how to make more money. Let’s get started!

Why is money so important?

I don’t know if you have noticed, but life is getting really expensive. If you live in the countryside or in a small town, you might feel less stressed about bills, mortgage, gigs, and happiness. I am from a small town, but I moved to London five years ago. In such a big city, things are tough. The rent is really expensive, public transport constantly increasing and quality food … scarce.

In a place like London, if you make less than 2000£ a moth, you live in scarcity.

How guitar players make money in London?

There are though many different things that a guitar player can do to make money in a city like London. Let me list them all:

• Gigs – Pubs, Clubs, Function, and private events.
• Touring.
• Musicals.
• Busking.
• Studio session.
• Teaching.
• Selling your music.
• Composing.

Gigs – How much money –

Let’s have a look at how much money a guitar player can make with gigs. For me, gigs are different from touring and play in a musical. Let’s get into details:

Pub Gigs – 125£ with a duo –

Pub gigs usually pay between 50 and 250£. If you play and sing, you could think about playing alone and keep the fee. If you are a singer, one thing that really works in a pub is a duo guitar and voice.  I use to do many gigs in pubs when I started playing guitar here in London, and the max I got for a pub gig was 125£, which is not bad. It was a duo guitar and voice. I also had some gigs with the band (4 pieces), so we had to split the fee 50£ each, which for me it’s not worth the trouble.

Pub Gigs are good but try to reach better venues like music clubs or musicals/theater gigs.

Club Gig – 150£ average –

 For me, clubs are slightly bit more exciting than pubs. Sometimes I have a chance to play at the Ronnie Scott or Pizza Express jazz club in Soho, which are amazing music clubs. They pay much more than pubs. You can get 150£ each with a full band (5 pieces), so you get good fees plus you get to play in a nice club with people listening to your music, eating good food and drinks.

Clubs are good and pay more. You are more likely to get long contracts.

Musicals – 125£ a day –

For me, musicals are a nightmare! You get to play the same songs eight times a week for months and months. Money is really good, but I think after a year playing Thriller or We Will Rock You, you probably just want to kill yourself! I have friends who played in musicals, and they were really happy with the salary but quite frustrated after six months. I think is a great way to push perfection to the limit because you play the pieces every day and you must keep a high level of energy, but on the other hand, can be quite degrading playing the same stuff over and over.

Really good money but quite frustrating after months of playing the same things every day!

Functions – 200£ average –

 Gigs like weddings and private events are really good for the money. The minimum fee is usually around 150£ if you don’t travel, but it could go up to 350 if you go outside London. It really depends. I used to do a lot of functions before, but in 2014, I decided to quit this industry for good. I don’t like the idea of driving for five hours, play, and then drive for another five hours to go back home. The whole day is wasted!

Good money but a lot of travelling and a drunk audience. There is always someone stepping on your gear. Upsetting!

Touring – Not sure –

 I never really had a chance of touring with a major or minor artist, so I don’t think I can help you with that.

Touring is great but make sure you don’t get underpaid.

Busking – 50£ a day average –

In London, you can sell your talent playing in the street. There are buskers in the Tube station and also in some of the most crowded streets in the center. Some areas like Piccadilly and Covent Garden became the showcase of many street acts. You will find dancers, musicians, and entertainers. How much money can you make with basking? It really depends. I have a friend who makes between 50 and 100 pounds every time he busks. Sometimes I ask him, “Why you can’t find a better gig ?” and he goes like, “I don’t care, mate! I play when I want, and I don’t have a responsibility”. I make a bit of money here and there, and that’s fine for me! I find the whole thing about busking too flaky and depressing. I never did it! What do you think? Would you do it?

Do busk if you are just starting out or you really need money.

Session Player – 150£ a day.

 If you like recording things you want to try be a session musician. I think is a great job and can also be well paid. I use to record for some minor artists back in 2013. I spent six months in a studio three times a week recording different stuff from electric to acoustic and classical guitar. 150£ a day (6 hours slot). I guess if you do it full-time, you might be able to make decent money. I really like the fact that you never know what’s coming. One day is a reggae track, the next day a pop tune with acoustic guitar. You really have to be versatile and a focus person. They don’t like when you mess up too many times. If you are really good you could also make more money than that! The horrible thing is that most of the time you don’t really get to hear the final product. Sometimes I used to record on a drum and bass track with no vocals or piano.

Studio session are really good if you are creative and versatile.

Teaching – 30£x60min lesson.

Teaching is my field. This is when I feel really comfortable and motivated. I like playing but I like more teaching. I have always been quite generous with people and I like to help so I guess teaching kind of reflect my personality. With teaching you can make some decent money too. The average rate here in London is around 30£ per hour. Some charge less or more depending on the type of lesson, grade and location (if you do mobile lesson). Obviously 30£ per hour if you work on your own. If you teach for a school you could get as little as 18£ per hour. This is what I used to get that when I first started in 2012 here in London.

Don’t teach for money! It doesn’t work!

Teaching is also really difficult because students tent go come and go quite quickly. If you are a flaky teacher, you will probably fail to make money and you will see all your student join another school or private teacher. Don’t do it just for the money! Do it because you like to help people learning how to play guitar.

Selling your music – Not sure –

 This is something I don’t really do but I have friends who make a lot of money selling songs or loops. Check out MELODY LOOPs web page. You can send them small loops that can be sold for publicity or movies as well as video games. You get money every time you sell a loop. I don’t really know the pricing here but if you really want to make good money you have to sell many loops a month. If you are good at recording short idea, this is definitely something you could do (not only in London). You could also sell your songs on Itunes or Spotifie and get royalty although it’s a quite saturated market. Let me know what do you think!

Selling your music is great and you can do it at your own pace.

Composing – 300£ average –

If you like to write songs and help singer/songwriters with arrangement you could make some decent money. I have friends who make between 100 and 500 pounds for an arrangement (This is for minor artists. I don’t know how much you would get  by writing and arranging for a major artists). It sounds easy but it’s not. For this kind of job you really have to know the right people. Once you become part of the inner circle you can be ask to compose/arrange a lot of music each month. You could make really good money from home recording and selling your talent. I really like that job and I wish I could do more but sometimes I can’t really deal with the stress. Composing/arranging is like a ticking time-bomb. You need to do the a good job in a short amount of time. The artist will constantly call you for updates putting you even more under stress. If you can cope with that, this is the right job for you.

Composing and arranging is an amazing job. If you are creative and perform well under pressure this is the job for you!

Tip 1 – Focus on what you are good at – Don’t just follow your passion.

The first thing you want to do to make more money as a guitar player is to focus on your strength. You must find your greatest skill and work everyday trying to improve it.

How do I find my greatest skill?

Feedback analysis! Feedback analysis! Feedback analysis! I could copy that for pages and pages. You must be able to be honest with yourself and listen to what other people say. Let me give you an example:

 Let’s say you are a great performer. When you are on stage you are really creative and your playing is always spot on. It doesn’t matter which kind of gig you do, you are always confident and comfortable on stage. You have really good feedback from everybody (crowd and fellow musicians) and your agenda is full of gigs. Based on all that good feedback you know that your best skill is performing.

You are also really passionate about recording sessions. Although is your passion, you realize that the feedback is not as good as when you perform. Once you are in the studio, you start feeling under pressure. After 20 minutes of mistakes you are asked to take a break. You come back and record the song but you are not really happy with the result. It happens all the time that when you are in studio you don’t feel comfortable and your playing degrade. You keep saying to yourself “This is a waste of time”. Maybe you are not naturally good as a session player therefore there is no point in keep on trying. You are better off

Using this time to improve your skills as performer!

Be realistic and honest with yourself. Work on your strength and you will have amazing things happening in your life . Stop trying to do everything! Focus on one thing and start adding value to this one thing everyday. Reword will come!

Books related: These are some really good book that will help you figure out how to achieve more by doing less!

Tip 2 – Write down how much money you want to make then ask yourself ” Do I deserve it” and also “Why I didn’t get it yet”

We don’t like to talk about money. I know that because every time I bring up the topic people get easily fed up. People think money is the root of all evil yet they wish they had more. Even Madre Teresa di Calcutta needed money. Not for herself but for the community. Money is not always evil guys. The reason why you should write down how much money you want to make is because

You get paid in direct proportion to the amount of value you add to your job.

Look at people like Clapton, Page and B.B King. They became rich not because of luck but because they were able to add tremendous value to music . They changed people lives. They inspired generations. They deserve it all. Think also about the Google guys, Jeff Besos who started Amazon and Elon Musk with Paypal. They are billionaire because they worked on their strength to create something unique and cutting edge.

It’s not just about money!

Money is the most common way to evaluate ourselves but it is not the only way. For you it might be the number of people who watch your videos or buy your music.

It doesn’t matter which unit of measurement you use, the main thing is that you try to improve it.

Do you want more views on YouTube, write down how much more and how can you get there. Do you want to sell more music, write down how many units you want to sell and how can you promote yourself better in order to boost sales. Apply this concept and you will be successful because

A compelling vision (your goal) creates a clear picture of the future . Only after you have a clear vision, you can plan, measure and push forward.

Saying I want more gigs doesn’t mean anything. You should know which style you are the best at and focus on that. Be specific then ask yourself “Why I didn’t get it yet”. You will see that there is probably something you are doing wrong.

Once you know what’s the reason why you are not getting what you want, change it! Not tomorrow, not next week, but now!

Let me know what do you think. Leave a comment below.

Tip 3 – Own it –

If you always wait for someone to call you and offer you a gig, or a lesson or a paid studio session, you will always have to go through the middle man. I used to teach for 18£ an hour. Then I figure out that the school was charging 40£. I was making them rich while keep myself poor. Now I manage the lessons myself and you bet I make much more money. Same thing with gigs. Try to deal with the venue yourself. Be the one who pick up the phone and set the price. Be the one who call other musicians.

If you don’t build your dreams someone will hire you to build theirs! Manage yourself. You.Can.Freacking.Do.It!!

We all come from different backgrounds so your feedback is precious. Do you agree with what I say? Let me know. Leave a comment down below.