8 Unique Side Hustles for Musicians

8 Unique Side Hustles for Musicians, Side gigs for musicians. Part Time jobs for musicians. how to make more money as a musician. How to make money as a musician.  careers musicians, famous musicians with day jobs, best jobs for gigging musicians, alternative careers for musicians, careers for classical musicians, jobs for classical musicians, flexible jobs for musicians, best jobs for touring musicians, job ideas for musicians, jobs for aspiring musicians, legal side hustles,


Your day job is what pays the bills but these 8 unique side hustles will help bring in some extra cash while you do what you love to do: play music and be awesome.





8 Unique Side Hustles for Musicians, Side gigs for musicians. Part Time jobs for musicians. how to make more money as a musician. How to make money as a musician.  careers musicians, famous musicians with day jobs, best jobs for gigging musicians, alternative careers for musicians, careers for classical musicians, jobs for classical musicians, flexible jobs for musicians, best jobs for touring musicians, job ideas for musicians, jobs for aspiring musicians, legal side hustles,

▲▲Weddings - Make it known on your website and social media pages that you do weddings and there will be a greater chance that you will come up in internet searchers when a couple is looking for entertainment to hire. Also, place ads on free ad sites like Craigslist, classifiedads.com and Facebook sales group pages. This gig is especially ideal for classical guitarists, pianist and harpers... harpists? Harp players?




8 Unique Side Hustles for Musicians, Side gigs for musicians. Part Time jobs for musicians. how to make more money as a musician. How to make money as a musician.  careers musicians, famous musicians with day jobs, best jobs for gigging musicians, alternative careers for musicians, careers for classical musicians, jobs for classical musicians, flexible jobs for musicians, best jobs for touring musicians, job ideas for musicians, jobs for aspiring musicians, legal side hustles,

▲▲Private Music Lessons - Give private lessons for whatever instrument you're most proficient in. You can rent a small studio to use as your classroom or save money by giving the lessons right in your home. Take in individuals or do small classes for families or friends at a group discount rate. Make sure to post your services on Facebook, Craigslist and even your local newspaper.




8 Unique Side Hustles for Musicians, Side gigs for musicians. Part Time jobs for musicians. how to make more money as a musician. How to make money as a musician.  careers musicians, famous musicians with day jobs, best jobs for gigging musicians, alternative careers for musicians, careers for classical musicians, jobs for classical musicians, flexible jobs for musicians, best jobs for touring musicians, job ideas for musicians, jobs for aspiring musicians, legal side hustles,
My friend Fred plays Jack Sparrow at many Renaissance Faires with his wife as Elizabeth
 and other events and he plays music! Their info HERE.

▲▲Renaissance Faires - You don't have to know chamber music and play the lute to perform at renaissance faires (that's a bonus though!).  Many renaissance faire musicians cover modern Celtic music and original songs on the guitar, mandolin, violin and even the ukulele. You can create a stage act for yourself and get hired for an entire season or be hired to set up and play for tips in the lanes (the side of the walking paths). This is an ideal gig for people who don't mind getting a little dirty and sweaty and have weekends open. As a performer and the former owning of a renaissance faire, I know how this works quite well so feel free contact me if you have any questions about getting started with this!
And no, guys, you don't have to wear velvet leggings to be a renaissance faire performer. 





The Ukulele Teacher on YouTube Screenshot
The Ukulele Teacher on YouTube Screenshot

▲▲Start a YouTube Channel - Review instruments and accessories, give your opinion about bands, cover your favorite songs, play original songs, give tutorials and anything you can think of. Where will the money come from? You can monetize your channel and get paid for ad views and you can also include affiliate links for companies you've partnered with and get paid a small commission for the sale of any items you promote. If you don't want to track down a ton of companies to partner with, consider joining the Amazon Affiliates Program or Shareasale.





8 Unique Side Hustles for Musicians, Side gigs for musicians. Part Time jobs for musicians. how to make more money as a musician. How to make money as a musician.  careers musicians, famous musicians with day jobs, best jobs for gigging musicians, alternative careers for musicians, careers for classical musicians, jobs for classical musicians, flexible jobs for musicians, best jobs for touring musicians, job ideas for musicians, jobs for aspiring musicians, legal side hustles,

▲▲Become an Impersonator - Can you belt out Jolene just like Dolly Parton? Then grab a blonde wig, stuff your bra and grab your guitar! (Guys too I guess?). Celebrity impersonators are a dime a dozen but those who can sing, act AND play an instrument are the ones people really want! Impersonators are hired for festivals, casinos, local theaters, nightclubs and so much more. Make sure you've got a good quality costume and that your act is spot on before trying to go public. When you're ready, have professional promotional photos made and join entertainment hiring sites like GigSalad.com and GigMasters.com.





8 Unique Side Hustles for Musicians, Side gigs for musicians. Part Time jobs for musicians. how to make more money as a musician. How to make money as a musician.  careers musicians, famous musicians with day jobs, best jobs for gigging musicians, alternative careers for musicians, careers for classical musicians, jobs for classical musicians, flexible jobs for musicians, best jobs for touring musicians, job ideas for musicians, jobs for aspiring musicians, legal side hustles,


▲▲Start a Blog - Much like with the YouTube channel idea mentioned above, on your blog you can write reviews of musical instruments and new albums, share news about up and coming bands and songs, write product recommendation guides and more. Your money will come from ad placement, earning commission for the sales of products from your partners, sponsored posts and more. This is ideal to pair along with a YouTube channel.




8 Unique Side Hustles for Musicians, Side gigs for musicians. Part Time jobs for musicians. how to make more money as a musician. How to make money as a musician.  careers musicians, famous musicians with day jobs, best jobs for gigging musicians, alternative careers for musicians, careers for classical musicians, jobs for classical musicians, flexible jobs for musicians, best jobs for touring musicians, job ideas for musicians, jobs for aspiring musicians, legal side hustles,

▲▲Busking (**Street performance for tips) - When we think of buskers, we usually think of some unemployed guy who's down on his luck, playing his heart out in the train station for loose change. This can be true for some cases, but many of them are just doing it for extra cash and even more, some performers actually earn their living wage that way; earning hundreds of dollars in just one day! **Be sure to check your city's laws about street performing. Some places require you to have a permit.



8 Unique Side Hustles for Musicians, Side gigs for musicians. Part Time jobs for musicians. how to make more money as a musician. How to make money as a musician.  careers musicians, famous musicians with day jobs, best jobs for gigging musicians, alternative careers for musicians, careers for classical musicians, jobs for classical musicians, flexible jobs for musicians, best jobs for touring musicians, job ideas for musicians, jobs for aspiring musicians, legal side hustles,

▲▲Act Like a Musician -  Get your headshots ready and check online and in local papers for movies, theater productions and television shows looking to cast real musicians. You might make a month's wage in one day by playing a nameless cowboy strumming a guitar by a campfire or the sad lonely piano player in a 1940s nightclub. And plus, being in a movie or TV show even as an extra looks great on any performer's resume!

4 comments

  1. Great ideas! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I need to share this with my boyfriend's brother. He's in university for music and was looking for side work. He's shy but it would be good for him to bust out of his comfort zone with any of the gigs above.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm all for this! I think everyone should have a side gig outside their day job, because money isn't the only gain <3
    Cheers!
    Kristi | Kristi Means Business

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jam sessions are the way to do this. This is when musicians get together and just... well, jam. Someone starts a groove, a lick, or a melody and the rest of the musicians are inspired and pick it up - letting the music take them wherever it wants to go.yourlisten

    ReplyDelete

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