How Much Money Do Independent Artists Make?

In this video, independent dance pop singer/songwriter JONATHAN MILLER answers the question, How much do independent artists make? How much money do independent artists make exactly? Well, it depends on quite a few things: The Size of Your Fanbase; Your hard work & education; and what streams of income you choose to utilize. However, the average salary for independent artists is about $40,000 USD.

The main ways of making money as an independent artist is broken down in a few ways as well. The primary sources of income for independent artists, rappers, and musicians is Publishing Royalties, Writing Royalties, and Artist Royalties. Publishing and Writing are covered by Performance Rights Organizations (PRO) and Artist Royalties (mechanical royalties) are collected by SoundExchange. You'll need to join this company if your distributor (TuneCore, Distrokid, CD Baby, etc) is not already partnered with them (most are not.)