Royalty Shares | Cool Things You Can Do After Selling Music Royalties
You don’t have to be Bruce Springsteen or Stevie Nicks to sell shares of your music royalties and reap some serious rewards. Here are some of the cool things that selling royalties can unlock.
Additional income streams are always welcomed when you’re an independent musician. Selling royalty shares is a great way to access instant revenue, and can help you access some pretty useful things to help further your career.
Over the last few years, huge legacy musicians have been selling off their back catalogues for incredible sums of money. Whilst the thought of never having to work another day in your life sounds very attractive, you do have to spend decades churning out smash hits and playing some sizeable shows. But, that’s not to say that you can’t sell royalty shares for your music.
What is royalty sharing?
You can get money for your music royalties without selling your back catalogue or giving up all the royalties forever. Royalty sharing is exactly how you can do it.
When you distribute your music to platforms like Spotify or Tidal, people can stream and listen to your music. In return, you receive royalties each month (depending on the platform or your distributor). These royalties, whilst not a substantial amount for everyone, do contribute to most musicians’ income.
The problem is you have to wait for your royalties to drop into your bank account each month. This means it could take you a while to gather together a decent amount of money, after months of saving up.
Instead of waiting around, you could split your royalties into percentages and sell them off to dedicated and loyal fans. You decide how much you split them up and how much you sell them off for.
Here’s an example: you could take your debut album and keep hold of 50% of the streaming royalties it generates each month for yourself. Then, you could split the remaining 50% into 10 shares of 5%. Each 5% could be sold off for $100, and the buyer would receive 5% of the streaming royalties your debut album generates each month.
You gain $1000, and your fans can enjoy a passive income each month and feel great about the fact they’ve supported you directly.
Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right? To get you even more excited about royalty shares, let’s look at just some of the things you could spend this revenue on.
Enhancing production quality
One of the most crucial aspects of an artist’s success is the quality of their production. Allocating revenue towards upgrading equipment, software, and studio space can significantly enhance the production value of future projects.
Investing in high-quality microphones, instruments, soundproofing, and production software can help artists deliver polished and professional recordings that capture listeners’ attention.
Typically, this equipment isn’t the cheapest. It could take a few months to save up for these upgrades if you’re solely relying on music streaming royalties. Selling shares of your royalties enables you to buy these higher quality pieces of kit much sooner.
Collaborations & networking
Building a strong network within the music industry is essential for an independent artist’s growth. Consider using the revenue to collaborate with other artists, producers, and songwriters.
Collaborations can introduce new perspectives, creative ideas, and potentially expand your fan base. Allocating funds towards attending industry workshops and music festivals can also provide valuable networking opportunities and foster relationships with influential figures in the music world.
Marketing & promotion
Investing in effective marketing and promotion strategies is crucial for gaining visibility in today’s competitive music industry. You can spend money on marketing and promoting your music in a number of ways.
Firstly, you could allocate a portion of the revenue towards hiring a publicist, digital marketing experts, or social media managers who can help create a targeted marketing campaign. Even just hiring one expert to help you out can boost your online presence significantly.
Or, you could promote your music through social media platforms, investing revenue in paid advertising and boosted posts. If you engage in content marketing, you could spend some money on quality equipment or on building an attractive set or studio to film or record in.
Done well, these marketing efforts can help your music reach more ears and increase your monthly streaming revenue. Then, you can sell off your royalties for a higher price. It’s a delicious cycle.
Live performances & touring
Live performances provide a unique opportunity for artists to connect with their audience on a personal level and create memorable experiences.
You can put income earned from selling royalty shares towards organising your own shows, booking tour dates, and hiring a professional tour manager can help you expand your fan base and create a loyal following. Investing in stage production, lighting, and audiovisual elements can also elevate the overall impact of your performances.
Health & wellbeing
It can be all too easy to burn out and need a prolonged break from music when you’re an independent musician trying to do everything yourself. Taking care of your physical and mental well-being is vital for sustainable artistic growth.
The revenue from selling your royalties can be used for health insurance, gym memberships, therapy, and other wellness activities. Prioritizing self-care through activities like meditation or retreats can help you maintain a healthy mindset and even fuel creativity.
These are just a handful of the cool things you can do with the revenue you make from selling royalty share of your music. How you spend your money is obviously up to you, but you can invest further in your music career and progress on your journey that little bit faster.
You can sell music streaming royalty shares with Fractis, a music royalties NFT marketplace. Dedicated to creating a fairer music industry that artists of all levels can enjoy, Fractis enables musicians to take control of their income.
Find out more about how it all works right here!