September 27, 2026
How I Make a Living From Music (After 30+ Years)
How I Make a Living From Music After 30+ Years | The Reality of a Professional Music Career
How do you make a living from music? After more than 30 years as a professional musician, I’m sharing the different ways I earn a living from music — and what it really takes to build a sustainable music career.
Being a professional musician is about much more than playing concerts. Over the years, I’ve built several different income streams around music, including live performance, recording, music production, songwriting, guitar teaching, running a recording studio, organizing festivals and cultural events, and working with other artists.
In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of my career and explain how these different activities have evolved over more than three decades.
I’ll talk about the reality of making money as a musician, why having multiple income streams can be important, and how I’ve adapted my career as the music industry has changed.
🎸 What I talk about in this episode:
• How to make a living as a professional musician
• Making money from live music and touring
• Music production and recording
• Running a recording studio
• Guitar teaching
• Songwriting and composition
• Organizing music festivals and cultural events
• Working with other musicians and artists
• Building multiple income streams
• The business side of being a professional musician
• What I’ve learned after 30+ years in music
There is no single formula for making a living from music. My career has been built by combining different skills, projects and opportunities — while always keeping music at the centre.
If you’re a musician, guitarist, producer, songwriter, music student, or someone interested in the music business, this episode gives you an honest look at what it can take to build a long-term career in music.
🎥 Subscribe for more videos about guitars, blues, music production, recording, the music business and life as a professional musician.
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