Lisa Occhino

When I moved solo from New York City to Lisbon in 2022, quitting my remote job wasn't part of the plan.

Turning casual listeners into paying customers is one of the biggest challenges for independent musicians, but it’s the key to a sustainable music career. If you want to make a living as an artist or band, it’s not enough for people to occasionally stream your tracks on Spotify. You need active supporters — and your website is a pivotal tool for making those conversions happen.

Releasing new music is one of the best opportunities you have to grow your audience and propel your artistry forward. But how can you make sure fans don’t forget about you while you're between projects?

Investing in your music career isn’t just about spending money. Sure, you might end up deciding that you do actually need that new guitar you’ve been eyeing for months, but we're going deeper than that: think about how you can be more intentional with your time and energy. What small steps can you take today that will help you reach your goals throughout 2025 and beyond?

Many musicians mistakenly believe that they only need to worry about branding once they hit it big, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The music industry has never been more competitive; putting out excellent music is a basic requirement. The artists and bands most likely to stand out and achieve success are those who focus on branding from the get-go.

It never used to be this difficult to motivate yourself to create or take initiative. After all, you’re doing what you love, right? Cue the layers of guilt and shame on top of everything else you’re already dealing with.

Grants are an excellent form of funding for musicians. There are several music grant organizations in the USA that regularly award cash to serious artists, allowing them to focus on furthering their music careers. And unlike loans, they don’t need to be paid back.

If you’re a Canadian musician, one way to find funding is through the extensive network of grant programs that provide financial assistance for music projects.

Do you want to take your career to the next level? Here are six strategic ways to invest in your music career to build momentum and ultimately a lasting and sustainable career.

If you’re looking to make a living as a musician, finding multiple sources of income to fund your career is crucial. Musicians living in the UK have a powerful funding option at their disposal that they might not be aware of: music grants.

It can be challenging for musicians to make money doing what they love. While there are plenty of ways to diversify your revenue streams as a musician, one way to get funding for music projects, touring, and marketing is through grants.

If there’s all this streaming money out there, why does it seem like it’s not ending up in artists’ pockets? We’ll get into more specifics below, but the simple answer for now is that everyone — especially the major labels — wants a piece of the pie. By the time it trickles all the way down to the artist, the slice that’s left is usually shockingly small.

Learn how to get your music featured on Spotify playlists with this comprehensive guide. Unlock key strategies and tips to boost your streaming numbers and dramatically grow your fanbase.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a powerful tool that can help you get discovered organically and book more gigs.

If you haven’t yet gotten much further than “create a TikTok account and hope something eventually goes viral,” don’t worry. We’ve got you covered with 13 essential marketing strategies for bands.