Make Money on YouTube with Your Music
by Alec Plowman
Given the continuing uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, musicians are looking for alternative revenue streams. If that includes you, then it might be worth considering a YouTube channel as one strand of your output.
YouTube music success stories are nothing new. In the past five years, we’ve seen an explosion in songwriters, guitarists, producers etc. who have made a name for themselves using the video platform.
If you do YouTube right, the rewards are there to reap. But, getting it right takes work, and it isn’t as straightforward as you might think.
Being successful on YouTube requires a different mindset to being successful in other areas of the music industry. That’s because the demands of the YouTube crowd are different to the demands of traditional music consumers.
With that in mind, I’ve got three pointers for anyone considering YouTube as an additional revenue scheme. Follow these, and you’ve got a better chance of growing a channel that people will follow.
Make something people can use
You got into music because you wanted to be creative. Being an educator probably wasn’t on the agenda. But, instructional content gets views on YouTube, so think about what useful information you can impart to your viewers.
Tips on songwriting, producing, playing live, warm-up routines… whatever you know you do well, share it with your followers.
There are two advantages to this approach. Number one is that it shows off your personality. Through this content, people get to know you. Mystique might be a desirable trait in the mainstream music industry, but openness and familiarity is what drives success on YouTube.
Number two is that you can use this instructional content to indirectly promote your original material. Showcasing your songs through songwriting lessons or production tutorials gets your music out into the ether without you having to shove it in peoples’ faces. You don’t have to drive a hard sell, and can build up interest in your work more organically.
Covers are king
Unfortunately, “cool new music I’ve never heard” isn’t something people search for on YouTube.
When you look at some of the most successful YouTube music stars, covers are a mainstay in their output. It’s a good way to capitalize on a pre-existing audience and giving people something they’re actually searching for is useful for building views.
The problem with covers, of course, is that you don’t make money off of them. Well, unless you pay for rights, which is an upfront expense that you might not see a return on.
Key to using covers wisely is to balance them with your original content. Think of your covers as a beacon. Other peoples’ songs bring viewers to your channel, but it’s your original content – be that music or instructional content – that keeps them there.
Quality matters (but don’t spend a packet)
Like anything you produce, you want your YouTube videos to be of a decent standard. It’s 2020; HD is the norm and decent, entry-level mics are cheaper than ever. Nobody’s going to tolerate a 240p video recorded on a potato camera anymore.
That said, you don’t want to fall down the rabbit hole of buying lots of fancy equipment before you’ve made any money. Part of the appeal of YouTube is its made-at-home aesthetic, after all.
If you’ve got a halfway decent webcam and a reasonable quality USB mic, you’ve got everything you need to get started. Camcorders, DSLRs, lights and camera rigs can wait until you’ve got the capital to spend on them.
Whatever equipment you are using, take some time to set up your shot. If you’re savvy about your light sources, framing and camera positioning, you can do a lot with a little. Oh, and whatever quality your video is, make sure your audio is on point. You’re in the business of making music, after all, and viewers typically have far less tolerance for bad audio than they do for mediocre video.
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