Question: I am worried about success in a music career, especially in a band concept. Signing with a record label takes away a lot of money and music ownership rights. If you don't sell thousands of records every month, making a living from music seems nearly impossible. So my main question is: How can a band make enough money to live from music when signed to a label?

Tom Hess's Answer: When it comes to working with a record company or being signed to a record label, you need to first be clear on the reasons WHY you want to have a signed deal with a particular company. There are ways in which your career can profit greatly by having a record deal (both financially and artistically) and there are also ways in which having a record deal can interfere with your career progress. To start, make sure that you understand (and apply!) all the points described in this article on getting a record deal.

In addition, in order to avoid the outcome of you making “less money” due to giving up some share of the profits in a record deal, you must do the following:

1. Do NOT expect the record label to do “all the work for you” in terms of marketing and promotion of your music career. Many musicians assume that making a living from music requires that their promotional efforts be entirely delegated to other people once they sign a record deal. If you approach the process with this mindset, then your career WILL take a financial hit (as it does for most musicians). Instead, you must leverage the increased promotional resources that you now have at your disposal from your record company partners and be very proactive in doubling or tripling the amount of promotion for your music and career in order to sell A LOT more records and make a good living from music in the process. If you continue to take responsibility for the growth of your music career even after the deal is signed, you will be much more likely to succeed and prosper.
    
2. Continuously look for multiple ways to make a living from music in addition to record sales (and occasional gigs). There are multiple ways to do this and I have discussed several effective ways of doing so in my articles on how to make more money in music and music career backup plans. When you do this, your career will have multiple “independent” streams of income that will keep your livelihood secure and stable.

Work with a music career mentor and learn how to build a successful career in the music industry.