It’s hard making money doing music

But what if you treated it like public speaking. A gig/show = a seminar. Speakers often don’t make much money from their seminars or speaking events, they make money from the business they do with the people who they meet at the seminar.

Lynn Bunting (my mom) does a seminar a year. When she was first starting out, she did four seminars a year. She doesn’t charge for the seminar because she knows that 40% of the people there will come see her, and 10% will become long term clients.

As few as 60 years ago, entertainers caught people’s attention and then sold them medicine or various household goods. Companies selling things on TV employ the most number of actors and pay huge amounts of money for songs to play in the background of their commercials.

Why couldn’t music be your business card for your “real” career? Why couldn’t giving away your songs bring customers to your guitar shop, or counseling center, or church, or book? Rather than asking other companies pay for the use of your songs to sell their products and services, why not take out the middle man and use them yourself?

Even if it's not the path I want to take, it could be good for somebody.