Develop Multiple Streams of Revenue
Every successful musician I know, regardless of the instrument, has applied the principle of developing multiple streams of revenue.
Simply put, Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
What does that mean?
If you hope to earn a living on income from gigs alone, it will take time to do that, no matter how good you are. You will have to establish a network, get an agent at some point, and gain sufficient experience to earn the kinds of fees that can pay the bills. In essence, plant the seeds, then wait for them to grow so you can harvest. Even when you’ve got some momentum, if your rely on going back to the same companies every year or working the same side job, you will find that will not offer the security and regularity you’ll need to ensure that you work enough. Many working singers do some combination of teaching private lessons, gigging, and teaching master classes or seminars in various places throughout the year. However, if you’re not a known entity yet, you won’t be getting calls to teach at summer programs or give master classes that pay top dollar. You might have a small private studio, but how much time will you be able to devote to it if you are taking regular professional engagements?
What do starting singers do before they establish themselves? They borrow money. In many cases, they borrow it for school in the form of loans and after school in the form of credit cards, other types of loans, and financial support from friends, family, or sponsors. There are grants and other types of funding you can apply for, but you won’t find ubiquitous well-springs of money begging to put money in your pocket. You also can’t pay the rent with a credit card or a grant in most cases.
Programs like Merola do offer career grants (up to 
12,000 for up to 5 years after you leave the program), but you have to get in to Merola first…
Singers sometimes have to borrow money for more than just living expenses as well. All of those audition costs add up quickly and you can’t get work without auditioning. Flights, audition attire, music, accompanist fees, rental fees for the audition space (depending on the audition), and transportation can all add up. Soon you’ve maxed out some of your credit cards, have borrowed all you can from Aunt Martha, and may have nothing but audition experience to show for it.
You may actually be working steadily and earning a decent income, but what if you get sick, or the presenter cancels a contract or goes under for some reason? What if you have unexpected costs such as medical bills, car repair, or a huge hike in the rent?
Developing multiple streams of revenue is one way to mitigate the effects of the often unstable and unpredictable income stream from freelance gigs alone.
What are some possible streams of income to which singers turn to develop these multiple streams of revenue?
Temp Jobs
This is a good route to go if you can find a job that won’t tire your voice out, allows you leave for gigs or auditions, and pays enough to be worth your time. Many singers work part-time jobs that they love, and try to find ways to keep the job and sing regardless of how well the singing engagements are going. Many check online databases or work with temp agencies to find these jobs. A quick google search for temp agencies near you is usually the quickest way to get started. Here’s a list of some of the top national employment agencies and staffing agencies.
These jobs won’t come with benefits and usually without the possibility of long-term employment, but the flexibility and variety are good factors to consider.
Temp jobs are unpredictable and sporadic.The big selling feature here is that you can take them only when you need them, sometimes calling in to the agency the morning of, to see what’s available.
Teaching Private Lessons
If you don’t want to teach or don’t like to teach, don’t do it. The students you work with won’t have a pleasant experience and they most likely won’t come back for more lessons or recommend you to others. There are other ways to earn extra money.
If you do want to teach however, and frequently have students asking about lessons, give it a try. You may surprise yourself at how much you love it. You’ll most likely find that you learn a lot about your own singing as well.
If you live in a big city, it can be a challenge to find a place to teach for private lessons. You’ll probably have to rent a space every time you teach a lesson, and will have to include that (or a portion of it) in the lesson cost as well. Places like Opera America and Shetler Studios are popular spots. Those of you who live in places like New York, Chicago, Houston etc. will probably already know the hubs as those are most likely the places you go for auditions yourself.
Those of you who live in big cities, where do you teach when you can’t teach out of your home?
If you go the private studio route, you’ll need to maintain a high enough number of students that the cancellations on any given week (there will always be cancellations), will allow you to teach a baseline number of students and count on a certain amount of income. I try to abide by the “half the total” ratio. If I want to expect the income from 4 students each week, I need to have 6 students in the studio, so add half of your baseline expectation to the total number of students. Of course there will be weeks when all 6 show up and you’ll have to be able to accommodate that. There will also be weeks where none of your students come. If you have a small group of students, you won’t be able to reliably expect that income from week to week, which may be fine for you. There are always scheduling conflicts, illness, and sometimes students just can’t afford to take lessons and don’t want a weekly or bi-weekly lesson. Bottom line, don’t depend on a specific amount of private lesson income unless you have a high enough number of students to account for the cancellation factor.
Some private music schools or charter schools will have the facilities and students lined up already and you can teach there, which simplifies things. You won’t be able to determine the rates you charge in most cases, but you also won’t have to worry about finding a place to teach or a piano to play, and you won’t risk bugging neighbors.
Adjunct positions at universities can also be a great source of income. They vary wildly in terms pay rates and amount of work available but are usually flexible. During the summer months, you can usually choose to work or just take the summer off without having to worry about keeping the job, though often the summer university works consists of teaching required courses like musicianship or aural skills instead of lessons. My favorite places to look for university jobs are NATS, HigherEd Jobs, Chronicle Vitae, CMS Jobs List. Some of these websites and databases require a membership fee, but if you’re serious about finding university work, it’s worth the investment, especially in the case of the CMS job list.
Church Jobs
Many singers find employment at a church singing in Sunday services and occasionally extra events during the year. You don’t have to be a member of that specific denomination to sing with a church. Singers tend to love these jobs because the time commitment is not unreasonable (usually rehearsals on Wednesday and Sunday before the services), and the pay is usually decent, sometimes excellent. A few of the singers I’ve talked to support themselves with church jobs alone, but that’s not the norm.
Typically, the best paying church jobs are highly coveted and tricky to get. Sometimes you can get a foot in the door by filling in for other singers when they are out of town or ill, so look for those opportunities. You might not be able to get a full-time spot right away, but can make a little extra on the side and help out a friend.
Typically for these jobs, you’ll have to have good ensemble skills and be an excellent sight reader. If your aural skills are not up to par, this may not be the job for you.
Church singers, how did YOU get your church job? What do you love about it? Drawbacks?
Accompanist work
Some of you singers are also excellent pianist. As you know all too well, vocalists need a pianist in every rehearsal and lesson. If you have decent piano chops, ask around to see who your singer friends take from and contact those teachers to ask if they need accompanists. Depending on your skill level, you may accompany younger beginning students and the teacher may use you for every lesson. If you play for a few specific singers, you’ll probably negotiate that rate specifically with the singers.
Universities are also an excellent place to look for accompanist work. Many vocal programs are perpetually in need of pianists to play for instrumentalists, singers, rehearsals and special events. If you make yourself known, and get on “the list” you can often find some good work, and get a chance to get some second hand vocal instruction as well while in these lessons.
Substitute Teaching
You’ll need to pass all the security checks and they vary depending on the state and city in which you live, but substitute teaching can be another great way to work only when you can work. State-by-state guidelines can be found here
Arts Administration
Arts administration positions are a fantastic way to stay connected to the music business, offer your valuable skill set to a company, and hopefully have flexibility to go out and gig or audition. There also seems to be some demand for qualified people in these positions right now. By no means can you just “jump in” without any training, but it is certainly worth exploring. You may also find that you really love this kind of work. Many singers do, and try to split their time between a job like this and singing professional engagements. Those that I’ve talked to say that if you go that route, you’ll want to be in a larger city or big music hub for this to work. Websites such as Glassdoor, Chronicle of Higher Education, and Higheredjobs have postings on these kinds of jobs as well as other jobs in the music field.
Web Design and Tech Related Work
If you’re handy with technology, you can help other musicians in the field establish a social media presence or design and maintain a website. Many understand the need to have an online presence but don’t have the desire or technical knowhow to make it happen. If this is an area in which you have some skill, or you just enjoy doing it, it can be a good way to make some extra income.
If you have skill with Sibelius, Finale, or Pro Tools, there is a lot of work available. Musicians are in constant need of transcriptions, transpositions, and editing for recordings and video. If you make the recordings for individuals on your own equipment, you can do well at a music school as there’s almost always demand for that kind of thing. You will have to learn a lot about how to record different solo instruments and ensembles, and every performance space will be different. If you record yourself, you’ll also need a variety of high-end mics, a good laptop, and other equipment like a preamp and cables, among other things.
Miscellaneous
There are hundreds of other jobs of course, and you will know best what you want to do or what you can make yourself do. It is important to have some reliable sources of income that are not directly tied to your gigging, at least at first. Singers do everything from food delivery to waiting tables, dog walking, tutoring, cleaning buildings, and working in call centers etc. These jobs tend to have flexible hours, and can pay enough to be worth your time.
Diversification
As mentioned at the beginning of the post, you should try to diversify not only the jobs you take in addition to singing gigs, but the kinds of gigs you take as a freelance singer. Opera, concert, crossover, singing in professional choirs, musicals, backup singing in studio recording etc. If all of your gigs are in one area, you may find it hard to maintain the frequency and fee level necessary to support yourself. Today’s singer must be flexible, adaptable, and have a good enough technique to be marketable in multiple genres and styles, in order to achieve and maintain a steady income stream as soon as possible.
