How I Make a Living with Music in 2024 (Without Selling, Streaming or Touring)
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
- This is where talented musicians get traction 🔥
www.makingmusicforbrands.com
#makingmusicforbrands #tommyzee #anthemacademy
How to make a living with music at a time when it's difficult to do so?
Let's talk about it.
(And for all those who want to comment about this video being old and the title being NEW....NOTHING I SAY IN THIS VIDEO IS OUT OF THE DATE - ALL STILL APLLIES!)
ABOUT THIS VIDEO
Tommy explains why you need to stop selling your music to people who are getting it for free, and start selling your music as a service that you can pitch to places that need original music and are willing / able to pay for this.
WANT TO DIVE DEEPER?
Check out the Free Training that will teach you:
➡️ The 5 Ways That Musicians Make Money In Our Business
➡️ How Music for Brands is Made - The Process & The People
➡️ What You Need To Do To Break Into The Business
Free Training:
www.makingmusicforbrands.com/
WHAT WE COVER IN THIS VIDEO
0:00 - Welcome
0:50 The best thing you can do for your music career right now
01:48 How Tommy discovered this world of music for brands
04:02 The one mistake musicians make while trying to make this a living
05:30 How Tommy found his first gig in the ad industry
07:45 Why nobody is talking about this business
09:25 The academy we have helps people becoming full time musicians
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👉Subscribe: bit.ly/3v4HER6
👉The Work: www.tommyzee.co/
👉The Academy: www.makingmusicforbrands.com
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Host: Tommy Zee
Producer: Tommy Zee
Cinematographers/Editors: Tommy Zee, Camilo Lizarralde
Social Team: Juan Manuel Vasquez, Grimaud Bouveret
Do you have any questions about this niche music career path? Ask below!
yes, I do actually (I know this was posted a year ago but it's nice to see this kind of question box)
this is career path is somewhat similar to something I've been looking to pursue for some time now
that is OST/original soundtrack/score composition for forms of media
(Specifically, Japanese's Anime, though games and other things I wouldn't mind, but I have a passion for anime.)
I don't want you to think that I'm somewhat already involved in this field or close to as I'm not even finished with high school yet. (That being said I am a bass guitarist, a violinist and a soon to be pianist and am also currently learning FL studio and Muse score.)
I know this looks like a flex I just didn't want you to think I have zero experience in music
getting to the point though, my main question.
how do I get hired not but a company or brand but the developers for these things. studio/developers, whoever would be the most in charge of these form of media (game, movie, tv show ETC)
Thank you very much for taking your time to read this.
It is much appreciated.
How do you think the AI explosion will affect this career path?
I'm located in Central Florida is this a really hard nich to get into
I have basic studio equipment to need major studio equipment. To get into this industry?
How is AI affecting this business?
How do you expect it to affect this business in future?
The music industry is brutal. I have been doing music forever and still feel so lost with all my efforts. It's brilliant that you are helping others to branch out into other directions. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I believe that you helping others is just a beautiful thing. Thanks Tommy.
It is brutal indeed - had a taste of it early in my journey. One has to learn how to grow a thick skin without losing your sensitivity and soul as a creator. Appreciate your kind words. It is up to each of us to be the change that we want to see. Thanks for being here!
It’s the same as how I retired from the music industry by doing the forensics publishing administration. So many people were having issues getting their money and audits were not correct… I did something about it and BOOM. All of a sudden, I’m 10 points in on 260 major albums JUST for finding all of their missing money. I honestly stumbled on a conference that no one attended and Price was there… He schooled me for hours. I took that info and began hunting the large amounts first. Then I’d contact the artist and tell them about it and how to get it. I’d say, “here’s a contract for 10% if you wish to reward me.” And I’ve never had a band or artist NOT sign the contract. There, rant over… haha.
Who is Price?
Hey this is really interesting, would you mind to elaborate a little to give us some insight on how to do that ?
how can we find out about this/get your info and one of these contracts?
Good night. Thanks for sharing this story. How can we learn more about your service?
Will check your channel here for contact info. Thanks again, have a good night 🙏🏾
You mean Jeff Price?
I have been composing and producing music for 23 years. I composed jingles and background music for brands. Produced hundreds of instrumentals and mixed thousands of songs. The orders only come through word of mouth. Just like you describe in the video, I tried contacting the brands myself and soon gave up. What you said just woke me up again. I'll watch more of your videos and hope I get wiser. Thank you!
dude - when they start selling the "how to" of the business - it means the business is well and truly saturated ( AI is already making decent stock music )
I did music for TV commercials with Ciani Musica. The budget for music for a TV spot was around $250,000. This is nothing compared with what they spend on the visuals and time on TV. The industry was killed by home studios, which are usually too small to use real musicians . All the major recording studios closed. Arranging fees were usually around $30,000. The musicians union has contracts with the three major networks, for residuals and pay rates.
what year / era was this for these budgets you mention?
What does room size have to do with whether you are a musician or not. Real musicians.. Grammy award winning musicians have recorded in bedrooms.
@@doasty I knowI was Grammy nominated for What’s Going On which we recorded at Stanley’s home but you usually cannot record a live band in someone’s bedroom
@@doasty for wind instruments such as sax it greatly effects the sound of that instrument as it’s recorded. The “sound of a room” is influenced by its size. The natural reverb is also influenced by the size. Room sound matters a lot more for acoustic bands recording “live in the moment” but it influences everything really. Hope that helps. The size of a room if money is no object can be an artistic sonic choice. Of course budget limitations can limit what size rooms are affordable. Larger room = usually higher cost
TOMMY. You've lit a fire in me. I've been writing songs and soundtracks for decades, hundreds of catchy tunes that would be great for brand content. I need to learn the skills you've discussed. Will follow up with more of your videos.
I dig your energy! Please look around this channel as there's lots of actionable information about how to get started. The Free Training is also a good way to get a proper introduction to this "hidden world" that almost no one is talking about. Keep that fire going!
Tommy’s wisdom and mastery of this industry have made a TREMENDOUS difference in my musical growth and journey this year.
Grab a pen and a journal, there’s SO MUCH to learn from him!
As a graphic designer and a musician, including my original music in my website designs has been a part of my business since the beginning. And so jobs come in that are just audio from my customers who also need creative music for other advertising purposes other than the website. Nothing new here, but there is a skill to making someone else's music, and not your own for your own pleasure. Many don't have this skill...or maybe it is a talent and cannot be learned. Just like graphic design, we have to create a theme in our heads of the actual desire of the customer which may not have anything to do with what they are asking for. This talent is called empathy, the ability to become your client. You have to be able to turn off your entire personality and replace it with your clients. Narcissists, musicians of only one genre, and easily offended snowflakes will never make it in this business. You may create the greatest 10 second score of all time, but if it is YOUR music that you enjoy, you lost the job and client.
15 years been doing this and counting 🙌🏼
Feel like this is the direction I need to be going in. Been really struggling to make any headway recently my journey seems to have come to a stand still. Thanks for sharing the knowledge 🙂
Stay tuned - lots more practical lessons to help you get unstuck. Thanks for being here!
Toronto! What up!
I see you!
Great to hear about your path Tommy. And thanks for sharing your experience and advice, and congratulations on securing your career path! In my path so far, I've managed to land a bunch of commissions for corporate, commercial work here in Japan, but still struggle to get consistent work, (my mainstay is exporting bass guitars so I still work in the field daily) but that is probably because I haven't got tied to a good agent as yet. Would love to do more of that kind of work as I have an abundance of ideas play guitar, bass, drums, keys and can do vocals (to an extent). Always interested in licencing opportunities, if you need any one to work on stuff on short order in multiple styles let me know. I have the time, a fairly extensive portfolio of varying work, and a home studio at my disposal.
Greetings from Japan!
There can't be enough videos with Mr Tommy Zee sharing these priceless pieces of wisdom! Thanks for doing this 🙏
Thank you Ivo - we're glad to have a talent like you in our family!
When I used to make music this is something I always tried to do, only back then it was very difficult to get a placement in an ad, commercial, or film. There was so much competition and the briefs look for very specific sounding tracks. Also, with all the music libraries available now it makes it even more difficult.
Always was and always will be competition. But what we try to teach musicians is that it’s not about the song - it’s about transforming yourself into a remarkable craftspeople that others will trust and keep coming back to - that’s the focus. Sync and music libraries are not about the craftsperson. It’s a lottery. Imagine if you had the reputation of someone with great skills and sensibility - that could solve creative briefs. Would people come to you or a library? You have to strive to put yourself in a place where the connections you have are immune to competition. Do you think Hans Zimmet competes with Danny Elfman? Each is their own distinct flavour that is clearly preferred by different film directors.
@@Zee.Co.makes very good sense to me. Musicians need to think out the box and explore opportunities.
This video is 2 years old but I respect the algorithm hack bro!
If it wasn’t still relevant - we wouldn’t do it. But watching it today - everything here is still relevant and applicable in 2023. Nothing has changed. Thanks for being here. ❤️🙏
Thanks for this video man. I've been playing and making music for fun for like 3 years and im having trouble with the next step. There's way more to it than just creating a song and posting it on social media
Agreed. Relationship with folks who need custom music and have the ability to pay for it. That’s where it’s at. In short. Brands.
Find free music compilations to get your tracks on, it's a great promotion tool for your self...
very interested in the topic, subbed, keep it up brother, work being fun is something everyone should seek out.
Hey Tommy Zee!! Congratulations on your new channel!! Thank you for being a constant source of light and inspiration for us musical Humans. xo
Thanks Jacqueline - happy to have you here! ❤️
Thank you for sharing this! I’d love to learn more.
One more source of knowledge from Tommy Zee, to spread some real value and wisdom towards achieving a life making music full-time....I'm in!! Congrats and good luck with the channel ;)
I've been doing music for media for years. Definitely a great career move.
My superpower is bass my man. This video is wonderful and I never thought of that either. Surprisingly considering I’ve been teaching since the late 90’s and have also been a more than avid gamer for many decades. There’s always some killer bass tracks there. Thank you.
Thanks as a weekend musician and bass teacher. This is great information. I will subscribe to channel and learn more.😊
Duuuudeee thank you!!! I was going at it all wrong! This is legendary advice
This is great! I need to go this route
Some of my favourite little sounds are somehow from commercials but they were either a piece of a song or sometimes there's songs that remind me of some thing i must have heard in an ad!
Reminds me a lot about graphic design/3d work. Similar struggle as a freelancer while there are all those corporate pools of designers/3d modelers catering to large brand directly.
ive been trying to get into this world for years...im excited.
Supper cool 😎 Congratulations 🎉 on the new channel, looking forward to joining you guys soon!
Much appreciated!
Happy to see you here - appreciate it!
Love your content .. great stuff for independents like myself :) Thanks for sharing your experience! Always nice to have straightforward grounded people! have a fantastic day man .. just working on new material myself now that it’s fall.. :)
Love your frequency - happy to hear from folks like you. Thanks for being here!
Great information! I’m glad this recommended video popped up on my computer today!
I'm glad the robots brought us together!
your testimony is beautiful brother! thankyou! inspiring me and leading me in the right way
thank you for your kind words! sending you love....
Subscribed and shared - all the best!
Appreciate it!
No idea what I'm doin, but music always been there.
No such thing as coincidence, just truth talkin.
Thanks, man.
No coincidences, only signs. Amen.
If I'ld have heard about this path years ago I would be thrilled to be sitting next to you Tommy, being a mentor is great.
The best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago. The next best time? Right now. 😎Thanks for being here Greg!
@@Zee.Co. Well said, do it folks, my roots are planted!
Thanks brother
Great video 👏🏼. It’s hard to break in, but if you can, it’s exciting and fulfilling.
Thanks for been honest and willing to share those "hidden treasure path".Thats true:those kind of doors are keep closed if You don't know how to knock to....I do music for 30 years.I almost dropped that a few times.I'm close of that again,but...
Hopefully thanks to You,I can recover and re-belive that I can finally make money on my music...
The simple reality is that brands hold all the money in the world - and they have the need for creative content....so it's logically a path that a creative cratfsperson can find commissions and projects. It's not easy - but if you have the right talent and the right approach - it becomes your daily bread. Keep moving and sending you good energy.
Yo Zee! I'm very hip---been building up this moment in time for 22 years now as a composer-producer-engineer and singer. I was inspired from working at one of the biggest ad firms in SF during the 90's. The audio interfaces and administrative software that track data wasn't available 10 years ago. It's game ovah. Good work bro!
Thanks for being here and being hip!
Thanks for sharing this inspirational video , subscribed . 👍👍👍
Thanks for being here. Appreciate you. Feel free to browse around for other videos where we do into more details about exactly what to do to move on this path. ❤️🙏
Good grief! A music business advice video that isn't complete bullshit! Steps back in amazement! I'm subscribing.
Glad we passed the bullsh** test - happy to have you here. I guess the difference here is we don’t do theory - we just describe what we do.
Hey man. I'm a musician that feels like I am very very unique. I have exceptional theory knowledge in experimental areas from jazz, jungle/dnb, technical metal, avant garde classical...zappa.
This job sounds like a dream.
I’m a struggling artist and I’m highly motivated to follow this path! I’ll check out the free course and come back with questions!
Come back with money if you're truly serious
@hitzoneproductions7858
nah
@@Nolan14235 You're not willing to put money into your career?
I am so ready to pursue this type of career path I will be watching each video tonight
Right on - let us know if you have questions. Appreciate you being here!
Tommy is one of the best lads in the world - his words are gold!
Thank you Matteo! ❤️
You have to have a rare mindset to want to create music that is deemed appropriate for current advertising.
Great content. I struggled with this myself and still do, but you are correct.
Appreciate you being here.
This is something i really want to do. The idea of making music for movies really got me excited, making aounds that reprecent object and adventures feels really really cool. Time to build my skills and drive my self. Thank you
It's a clear and concrete path....and it's about you as a craftsperson selling your skills....and not about the "lottery" of sync....so go for it!
Thanks for the video, this business models fits me very well, let's take a dive into it. Thanks again very interesting!
Very cool, thanks for sharing your experience. Not my Avenue, but good for somebody out there. 👍
❤ ty for video you opened my mind godbless
Subscribed man looking forward to the valuable priceless info and someday getting a campaign someday
Thank you brother.
How is that going ???
This is such an amazing video. I actually got into publishing My music but honestly I've been looking for a way to do what your talking about in this video
I’m glad this resonated with you. Click around our channel for more videos that show you specific actions to take to get into our biz. Sending you good energy. 🙏
Great video interested in the branding new to your channel!
Yes Tommy! 🔥
yo this is such a fantastic video! world peace!
Love this video! You're real and true!
Appreciate your kind words!
Encouraging, I still not have clear my path into audio/music but would love to follow up!
Great video Zee, def did a lot of the same mistakes when starting out. Jumped in to full-time waaaaay too early
Small steps every day. Patience and perseverance. And other cliche words that actually turn out to be true. Thanks for being here.
Thank you!
Thanks for being here!
This is gold 🔥🔥
thanks Fiona - you're an incredible talent and we're happy you're a part of our family! ❤️
Selling those picks and shovels.
I’d love to learn more, how.
Thank you
Great! Thank you 🙏
Thanks for being here Danielle.
The background music is amazing BTW!
Your right, networking is soooo important.
Everything that is best in your life happens because of relationships.
I chuckled when you mentioned Audi as i recently wrote a song called, she loves my Audi
What i like in this path is the flexibility it can give you around the world
True. You can work from anywhere but you should have high speed internet for fast delivery and be aware of time differences for deadlines. Thanks for being here!
thank you🙏
00:38 click here to start the video
Wow very good information
Very interesting!
I don't want to write jingles for a living, I want to make music!
I feel the same way! Take a look at our work and show me where you hear jingles and not real music. www.tommyzee.co
I felt the same when I first did some production music then realized - would you rather write commercial music so you can eat and write your own music, or work in a cubicle? Honestly any 'day' job involving music in anyway is more fun than anything else IF music is your real calling.
@@studiomilo I worked in radio for 20 years, writing music for commercials and I just found it very un fulfilling. It would be a backward step for me now.
Tommy 🔥👑
This is really awesome
3:29 Thank you so much for this!!!
Thank you for being here!
So let me understand a thing, this is only for riting music for advertising? I mean what if I have already some music and I want to find someone who could need for its advertise or on tv show or film? Is it possible with you or you only make new music for advertise?
I love the way God works. God bless you!
God Bless You Edward!
I do appreciate you speaking about this and sharing your knowledge and experience on this. However, as much as I would love making money out of music, I personally feel that I shouldn't write music for somebody else (in this case clients that require the music to fit to a commercial). I would rather do the music I like and enjoy, and just do it for myself. If nobody wants to pay or even listen to it, that's fine, I don't care. I'll do my own thing, as a hobby, just to have a good time and relax in my free time, maybe jam with some friends, and make a living out out of a corporate job just like most other people. But great video nonetheless!
I think it's very good that you have thought about your music conciously and made a decision about your relationship to it. I really wanted to spend my time in a creative career rather than having an unrelated day job and then doing music at night. So essentially - i made writing music for ads my dayjob - thereby keeping myself in the studio all the time - and then at the end of a long day of writing for others - I'd write for myself. But it really is up to every musician to develop their philosophy around this.
Thanks man! ❤ Hugs!
Very interesting! But what would be the very first step you need to make in order to get things going? Let’s assume one knows how to make music and has a decent home studio - how do you begin?
Watch this. ua-cam.com/video/c70IMNkDts0/v-deo.htmlsi=YMPK6eggtcHLVDMt
Thank you for dropping absolute gems. Much appreciated.
If you don't mind, what's the name of the microphone you used in this video?
EV RE20
@@cymbolic_space1832 Thanks
@@UrbanCraftTvone of my all time faves. Especially in black!
good info
Facts! I can vouch for this... especially bougie luxury brands, they have the budget 😉🍻
It’s really a good idea.
When I read about the title, my first thought was "wtf this is ridiculous, how is it possible to make money from music if you don't sell or stream your music?" but I decided to click on the video anyways, and when you told about the business, I became interested. Especially because I want to be a music producer but I don't want people to know who I am so I planned to make myself anonymous. Maybe this is the career path I'll take instead of the regular selling/streaming/touring etc so I don't have to be anonymous.
I work with a few artists who choose to not put their name on some of the commercials they make - they just want to "lease" their musical skills and get paid. It's definitely a viable idea. As long as you are able to deliver magic - no one cares what you call yourself...dive into more videos on this channel - you'll learn some specific actions to take to begin your journey. The free training is probably the most effective introduction to our business. Start there.
I enjoyed this. Peace to you
Peace to you as well brother. 🙏
Love the video , thank you. I sit and record rhythms and beats. It’s very fun. I would love to sell them and craft
I would LOVE to pursue this path, and wanted to know how it works for sample based producers?
Great Tutorial!
Thanks for being here!
Curious, how long have you being doing this? When did you start?
interesting topic
Brother. You are speaking my language!
Glad we're on the same frequency - much love to you.
It got commoditized…art wants to be freeeeee lol…good vibes man good luck all
There's ART and then there's commercial art. Do commercial art for half the day so you can trade your skill for money and then you can be FREE to do music for art's sake. We all need to work - the question is - do you do work that keeps you in or out of the studio. I'd rather say in the studio.
I just finished a project for a client, yes you go into the studio and with this original that I wrote, I emerged from the finished music product fifteen hours later. You may have days like this, so take care of yourself, it takes stamina.
You got it. That’s why routines and keeping your mind body and spirit healthy is key to a long term marathon well run.
Do you have any tips on becoming a writer for a label??
As someone who has had a few jobs for a music production company let me say the fallowing:
- I didn't think I was good enough until my stuff actually got picked and released.
- the companies will pay you as little as they can. Don't expect your first invoice to have a number on it that excites you like Zee was excited when he wrote his first invoice. There is still lots of money in the industry but it's not easy to actually get a good percentage of it.
- these companies don't need fancy studios anymore and so they might actually not have one.
- Having only one revision on your layout and then it's already getting released is a highly unlikely scenario from my experience. Usually you'll have a lot of layouts from different producers, then the client likes different stuff from different layouts, then you try to combine them, then the client (hopefully) likes the direction it's going and after 5 revisions it's actually ready for release.
You’re absolutely right on all points. My first gig in the biz was an exception in many ways. But you can still see big cheques - it’s just a lottery. If you happen to be on the right gig - you can get big final fees. All depends on the right campaign and right usage. Thanks for sharing your insights. 👍🙏
do its not a stable income i guess??
@@Benjamin-vx2otTrue. They could stop hiring you any time. Life as a freelancer 🤷♀
do you work with vocal artists? this would really be a good platform for growth and learning for me
There are tons of people talking about this form of music income, for many years. It’s called sync licensing. I don’t feel like this video explains how to actually get the work for these types of projects, though.
AI is going to ruin this industry, just keep your heads up about that and hope for regulation... That said, I love the video and the idea, and I'll be looking into it more deeply now lol anything to end the suffering in this cubicle