Q&A: Making Money as a Musician w/ Katie Zaccardi

Kayla Coughlan, Social Media Director at Cyber PR and Kate Zaccardi, holistic music career coach, talk all about making money as a musician without burnout on this Instagram Live Q&A. Zaccardi is a songwriter, artist, and certified yoga instructor who strongly believes in the need for conversation surrounding mental health and self care within the music industry. For this reason, she established Out To Be, which advocates for a balance of personal and professional success grounded in wellness and positive attitudes. In an industry with a lot of burnout, such as the music industry, it’s important to learn how to make money without the extra stress of overworking yourself.

“Making money from music isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. By setting up diversified, automated revenue streams⁠, musicians in 2020 are able to reduce the risk and take a chance on their dream career.” – Shopify

Katie Zaccardi is a songwriter, artist, music industry professional, and certified yoga instructor. Through her work in both music and wellness, along with her own experience with a generalized anxiety disorder, Katie discovered the urgent need for conversation surrounding mental health and self care within the music industry. Realizing the music industry’s demand for honest discussion on such topics as mental and physical wellbeing, Katie established Out To Be. Out To Be advocates a balanced path to personal and professional success that is grounded in wellness. At its core is the idea that what you set out to do, you turn out to be; that no matter where you begin, you make your own way to the most authentic you. The Out To Be Podcast invites listeners to engage with insightful dialogue on all things wellness and their relation to working in music. Through the Out To Be Coaching platform, Katie supports artists and professionals with a personalized approach centered on cultivating positive actions & attitudes.

WATCH THE LEVERAGING MAKING MONEY AS A MUSICIAN Q&A ON YOUTUBE!

Get Into A Routine

One of Kate’s #1 de-stressing tips for musicians is having a daily morning and night routine. Having a routine every morning helps to prevent you from diving straight into your work and becoming consumed in it way too fast. It’s important to allow your mind and body to adjust and get ready for the day ahead! Similarly, having a nightly routine will help you have better sleep at night, which in turn will prepare you for the next day and make you feel good overall. It’s also important to do things throughout the day that aren’t work related, but just make you feel good. Whether that be cooking a meal, going for a walk, or doing a face mask, you should always have some “me time.” For musicians, it’s also sometimes best to do something creative that isn’t related to music, because even though it can be a stress reliever, it can also remind you of your work and make you stressed out as well.

Write Things Down

As a musician, you may often feel like you have a million things to do and become easily overwhelmed. When this happens, a way to reduce that feeling is to write down all of your responsibilities on paper, identify your top priorities, and tackle them one at a time. You should also have a conversation with yourself about what you want to focus on, and channel your energy into that. However, Kate says that if you are ever in a place where you can’t deal with all your stress, reschedule, walk away, and get back to work whenever you feel ready.

Prevent Burnout

Another great way to overcome burnout is to prevent it in the first place! It’s really beneficial to get in the habit of planning out your days and managing your time so that you don’t find yourself in a place of overwhelm. Always work smarter, not harder! It also helps to give yourself extra buffer time in case something goes wrong or you need some extra time to complete it. Kate also says to always stick to your time boundaries. If you happen to go over your allotted time for something, leave it for the day and go back to it tomorrow. This will help your days feel more structured and you won’t let your responsibilities consume you.

Making Money As A Musician

Now for the big question: how can musicians make money during the pandemic? Kate offers lots of great ideas and approaches to leveraging our new virtual landscape to make an income. Now, more than ever, it’s important to connect with your fans. Ask them what they want from you so that you know exactly what kind of content to offer them, and then use that to make some money! Livestreaming on social media is a great way to maintain this relationship, but it’s also important to not give away too much content for free. Your social media should give your fans a taste of what to expect, leaving them wanting more for a paid performance, like a virtual gig. Additionally, be creative! During your virtual gigs, offer VIP packages, private shows, or song requests that people can pay for. These are personal experiences to share with fans, and you’re also getting paid so it’s a win-win situation!