How to get paid as a musician
Most musicians hone their talents day in and day out... practicing hours a day.
We concentrate on preparing the charts and what music we need to be performing on certain
shows, memorising our lines, what we're going to wear etc. etc.
But if we want to make a living out of it, there's more than one way to do so.
Contrary to everyone's beliefs, we don't have to be the next "grammy award winners" to be able to make money.
Some turn to:
teaching music online or in schools
streaming live online or making online content for Youtube, Instagram etc..
playing live shows, restaurants, festivals, wedding, corporate events etc.
recording covers and selling them online
studio session musicians
and many more...
One crucial thing that lots of gigging musicians lack, is admin.
Sending a proper invoice to clients is how we get paid for our services. Having insufficient information in the invoice could cause huge problems and delays on getting paid.
So what do we do now?
There are tons of musicians invoice template that you can use online. You'll need to customise it every time, maybe even print it and write the information by hand. If you are that kind of musician, here's an easy template that you can use.
Musicians Invoice template
.pdf
Download PDF • 135KB
If you have a smart phone, we can utilise that smartness and download a free invoice maker that is built for small businesses/free lancers.
I personally have been using Invoice Maker Pro but this is only available for iphone/ipad users.
But I found this app and tested this for you:
It's available in both OS & Android users.
It lets you customise the details so the important information is always there.
Such as:
Your name, company name, contact details and logo
A clear title with the word ‘Invoice’
Payment terms (how to pay you, which bank, exact bank account name, bank account number/fps etc.)
After setting up your template, you can just add other specific details.
Name and address of client
Invoice issue date and payment due date
Invoice number (not just Invoice #1, customise it so the client knows it's from you, like a Prefix of your name/company)
Description of service / Event name, date, etc.
Subtotal for each service
Total amount due, including taxes and/or discounts (if any)
If at any point, you get confused on how to use the app, there are guides and tutorials here:
https://bookipi.com/guides/invoice-mobile-app/
One more tip for customising your invoices, as most businesses have to print them, keep it printer friendly by not making it way too colourful.
Leave the background white.. black text.. maybe some colours on your logo, but please, not the full page colour.
Now, let's start invoicing like a pro!
All the best,
Ela