How about having the power and freedom to work when you want from wherever you want to...Without a boss, or having to keep searching for gigs?
In just a few short minutes you’re about to see a MONSTER list of the best sides hustles for musicians I put together and you’ll be able to pick and choose one or multiple options and finally be able to lay your head to rest knowing one thing…
You can make LOADS more money! That is what you’d like to have right?
Listen, there are some side hustles that make you scrap and you’ll be wasting all your time and energy on, and then you get frustrated because you thought you were squeezing the heck out of an orange juice but you were squeezing a cactus…
OUCH! Luckily for you, that doesn’t have to happen as I “Michael Granados” a side-hustler and online business owner will show you how YOU can realistically make money online without having to worry about getting another side gig or going to get a 9-5 job(because trust me when I say, that sucks!)
Alright, are you ready to get started?
20+ Best Side Hustles For A Musician(Huge Money Making Too!)
#1 Freelancing
You can use your creative outlets as a musician to exponentially increase your chances of making great money through freelancing making:
- Graphic designers
- Web design
- Photography
- Videography
- Video Editing
- Speaking
- Writing/Blogging
If you’re great at songwriting(and even if you’re not) a good place to start is with blogging which you can make A LOT of money blogging if you have the patience and want to monetize it. If you’d like to start your own blog, you can check out the 30 Day One Blog Post Away Challenge here.
#2 Provide A Service
What would you like someone to provide a service for YOU as the artist? Can you provide that service to aspiring, younger, or even older artists?
Here are some ideas:
- Making a Song-writing workshop for young kids or older adults
- Moonlighting as a guitar instructor
- A Studio Musician
- Managing social media sites for other musicians(links)
- Virtual Assistant roles with places like Upwork(link)
- Create websites and funnels for musicians
That last one “Create Websites and funnels for musicians” is probably my favorite because I’ve helped out 100’s of musicians improve or make a sales process system where they can earn $1,000’s more per person, and I do that by giving them a pre-made music template like the one on this page.
#3 Monetize Your Hobbies/Interests
Do you have a certain hobby that you like or love doing and would like to get paid for? Such as:
- Pet sitting
- Lawn mowing
- Coaching soccer
- Knitting
- Etc.
You can make a few $100’s per month extra JUST doing one of these hobbies or even more.
#4 Teach Something
Do you have knowledge as a musician you’d like to share with others? Or how about any other type of teaching you have an interest for like:
- Math
- English
- History
- Etc.
You can make easy money by simply being a teacher and teaching others your knowledge with just a few hours per week, and now that this world has made us connect more web-based through video software’s like zoom, you can make it real. You might need to get certified, but that’s fine.
To add on, if you would like to teach people about things like:
- Vocals
- Songwriting
- Playing the guitar
- Mixing
- Workshops
..Then a course platform like Teachable would be a great place to host your own classes online and earn money doing it.
#5 Affiliate Marketing
How would you like to make HUGE daily commissions?
What about the idea of promoting other people’s products and services without ever having to own your own OR be “selling”?
Affiliate Marketing is my #1 way I make money on the internet and have made well over 4-figures per month, and I did it by adding value to people’s lives, listen in how.
Affiliate Marketing is a business, and if you want to have a business that’ll make you money long-term where you can eventually transition away from the music scene or keep it and make additional money as your side hustle, part-time or full-time with affiliate marketing…
Then no one is stopping you...ONLY YOURSELF!
I shared earlier how you can start a blog to make commissions and that’s one way to do it, but you can also follow people who were once a Musician in your place like my mentor Jeff Lerner who was a piano player with a degree but that’s all it got him…
NOWHERE! It wasn’t until he realized he could use the internet to make money through affiliate marketing and the two other business models he reveals inside his Entre Blueprint here.
#6 Resell Stuff
There’s a whole world dedicated to reselling items and or refurbishing them and if you can devote a day from Friday-Sunday to pop open a garage sell, you can make fast cash, let me explain how.
You might have physical books, textbooks, clothing, and other items you can set outside for people to buy from you or you can go onto eBay and Amazon and list them. I have an article on how to sell on eBay here you can check out that’ll help you.
One great place to list your books are on BookScouter.com, all you have to do is list your ISBN number and you’ll be given information of people willing to purchase them, and all you have to then is print out a shipping label and send them out.
How about reselling cards?
This is a luxury I learned from an Entrepreneur named Gary Vaynerchuck where he really trades cards but you can resell them too and make huge profits! (link to my post). Many sports cards are in demand like:
- Soccer
- Basketball
- Baseball
- Football
- And many more
Heck, how about Pokemon cards? You know what I’m talking about, gotta catch them all...the money I’m talking about.
#7 Fill Out Surveys
Surveys are a tricky one because some pay you centers and others will pay you dollars but nonetheless it made it today’s list for ONE reason….
It’s side money. You can fill out surveys from places like:
And you can get paid out via Paypal, get Amazon gift cards, add miles to your travel card, and earn points towards other things like shopping. I used to do this when I wanted to stack up more points not when I was trying to earn Paypal money because to be honest with you…
YOU will earn very little if anything at all because it can get frustrating. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
#8 Invest In Stocks
Stocks and bonds are not only a great way to get a WIN or two at the end of every month but investing compounds over time and you’ll see the marginal differences each time you invest more…
It’s kind of like a game of Poker...if you’re a beginner you put in a few chips to get your feet wet and as you learn to spot the ways to win, you begin to bet more, higher and higher you go, and everyone else is now adding more chips to the pot, and you win!
Now you can take all that with you or decide to try your luck again. That’s what it can kind of be with stocks and bonds, but when you spot the market trends and you understand how to spot them, your money will compound over time and you will have $1,000’s+ and even MILLIONS by the time you retire, pretty cool, right?
#9 User Testing
User testing is a very unique way to make side-hustle money on the fact that you’re reviewing other people’s products/services and seeing how useful they will be to another user. Some of these include:
- Testing websites
- Testing language services
- Testing Software
- Testing encryption
- And many more!
I tried it once and while it did work, I couldn’t act fast enough to get the job because they fill up quick! Once a job becomes available, you must accept it faster, and then here’s the other part…
You’ll go days and weeks without getting a job. So keep that in mind. Some jobs pay more than others but it’s not the most reliable source of a side-hustle in my opinion(like Surveys).
#10 YouTube
Do you have a desire to teach people what you do as a musician? Or how about in any other hobby, passion, or interest?
Did you know you can monetize on YouTube after like 10,000 watch hours?
Yep, it’s true, YouTube will ACTUALLY pay you to use their platform because you’re bringing people to them and it helps with User experience as well people clicking on ads making YouTube and you money!
I started one in the Health and Wellness space years back(2017) helping people with lower back pain in the office and I offer them solutions like:
- General Q And A’s
- Products/Services
You can link to a certain product you want to make money with, this goes back to the affiliate marketing business model I shared with you earlier where you can simply promote other people’s products and services and make a commission!
Here’s one of my videos on that channel:
And in the description are my links to other videos, products and services, my website, and more!
#11 Transcribe
How would you like to convert speeches or recordings into text documents?
Depending on your level of experience, you can get paid between $20-$45 an hour as a home transcriptionist. In the beginning, your pay scale will be low but as you gain more experience and take on more clients, the more you will get paid.
Industries you can work(but not limited to) are:
- Legal
- Medical
- Corporate
The type of equipment you will need are things like:
- A reliable computer
- Laptop or desktop
- Recording system
- Printer
- A work office
- Comfortable chair and desk
You can learn the 10 things you must know before becoming a transcriber at Transcriptioncertifictioninstitute.org here.
#12 Virtual Assistant
Want to put your administrative tasks to the test?
Whether you have them or not, you can learn how to:
- Set appointments
- Travel arrangements
- To Research
Companies ranging from startups to global corporations often hire virtual assistants and making it a great first step to a remote career.
The one company I trust and have tried out with is Arise and you can start a call center opportunity and be on your way to becoming your own boss!
#13 Dog Sitting
People will pay you to take care of their dog(s) and they will pay you on average $25 per 30-minute visit as well:
- $20 to $30 per day
- $45-$75 per night
- $250 to $375 per week
Not bad, right? If you devote just a few hours per day you could be potentially making around $100 a day! That’s more than most places in the world that pay minimum wage.
You can learn more about pay and how to get started with homeguide.com here.
#14 Secret Shopper
Back when I had student loans I contemplated becoming a mystery shopper so that I could make extra money, and while it didn’t make me rich, it added extra money in my pockets to spend on bills and miscellaneous items.
Mystery or “Secret” Shoppers go into grocery stores and grade how they are doing, and get paid to shop! I was able to regularly earn between $150 to $250 a month and I earned free items and services like $50 to spend on restaurants, health products, and more.
I know you’re thinking it’s too good to be true(because I did too) and you may be getting those emails in your inbox or spam folder telling you how you can get started…
And is it really just getting paid to shop?
I’ll be honest with you, it takes work - You have to keep your receipt, answer surveys, and report to a mystery shopping company about how your shopping experience went. This helps that mystery store improve their customer experience.
My favorite Mystery shopping company has to be Bestmark which you can click here to see.
#15 Instacart
How would you feel delivering groceries to people’s doors?
Kind of like mystery shopping going to a grocery store, but this time you’re actually shopping for someone and going to their residence to drop them off, and here’s what I liked about it.
You can get compensated like $20+ per job(depending on the demand and the type of job) and during times like these in COVID-19, the demand to deliver groceries to people’s doors has skyrocketed, why?
People, specifically older don’t want to be in public and risk their health, so you know there will always be work and jobs of higher pay right now.
#16 Uber Driving/Lyft
What do you think about driving your car to pick up strangers and taking them to their destination?
You can work with companies like Uber and Lyft on YOUR own schedule and drive when you want and earn what you need, there’s no cap!
Can you make $100 a day with Uber?
Let’s break it down…
You’ll have to work 6 hours per day and you have to clear at least $100 per day after you paid Uber commission and your fuel expenses, but make sure you pick the busiest times of the day so you can work fewer hours.
Other Ways To Earn
- Uber eats
- Postmates
- Grub Hub
- Doordash
Final Thoughts - And Next Steps
There are LOADS of ways you can make side-hustle income as a thriving or “dying” musician all of which are great and trustworthy ways OH and don’t forget…
Worth your time! It’s important when you evaluate your situation and the requirements of these side-hustles that you will meet them and that you have enough time to fulfill them because if you don’t this can happen…
You will give up too soon before you make worthy money or you will believe they don’t work...for you. Alternatively…
You can always try to start an online business with some of those that made the list today like Affiliate Marketing, and servicing clients too, and if you’re interested in heading this direction, Click below to check out my #1 recommended program and training below.
Do you have any questions and need further help? Please leave me a comment down below and I'll get back to you ASAP!
