Every business has a purpose and for most that purpose is to earn the business owners money. I do not know of any musicians that have decided to go into the music business for fun! Yes, they may enjoy their work! Yes, they may have this need to get their creative tallents heard! In every case however they all want to do what they love and make money too. So how do you make money in the music industry? These days it seems that with rampant music piracy, and dropping compact disk sales makes the concept ofearning money in music seem rather bleak.

Well it is fine to want your music heard. Would you like your music to be heard more then once? Would you like your audiences to come back to hear more? The more your audiences come back to see you;

- The more of your music they purchase.

- The more concert tickets you sell.

- The more promotional items you sell.

- The more venues you fill.

- The more publicity you get.

- The more money you earn!

Of course you want your audiences to come back for more! Every musician wants to have his or her music appreciated. Every musician wants to sell more albums and more concert tickets.

Do you actually know who your customers are? Can you tell me where they come from? How they found you? Or even what it is that they like about you, your music, or your work?

Most musicians and bands that I come across always say the same thing! Of course we do! Yet when I ask them how their audience found them they would always answer. At the bar! When I asked for specifics I always got the same answer. I dont know!

Tip 1: The key to your music success is Knowing who your audience is and how to reach them. If you where a Gospel Singer, where would you most likely find an audience that appreciates your music, in a church or a Jazz bar? I know, I made it a bit obvious but rest assured it is not always that clear.

The second most important way of guaranteeing your success is to give your audience quality. Ok, that said how do you measure quality? Well there are several ways of doing it but the best method that I have seen is to use the six sigma quality standard. What does that mean? Well in general terms it means that:

- For every 1,000,000 people that hear you sing all but 3 want more!

- For every 1,000,000 concerts that you perform all but 3 sell out completely!

- For every 1,000,000 albums you sell all but 3 customers want to buy more of your albums.

Think of the possibilities. A large audience full of very happy customers. How much money you would be making? Its mind boggling!

Tip 2: Understand your audience and give them what they want. Dont know what they want? Then go to the trouble of asking them. Work your audiences. Mingle and chat with them. Find out what they like and what they do not like about your act. Give away a few free CDs to the people that answer your surveys, or that give you helpful information. Make the effort and you will be rewarded exponentially!

The main idea here is to learn what pitfalls to avoid when performing and publishing your music and learn how to keep your audiences happy. Like anything else we do in life, education is the key. You do not drive without taking driving lessons, and you do not swim without taking swimming lessons so take advantage of the resources that are out there and learn how to distribute your music and keep the profits in your pocket! Learn new ways of increasing your exposure and get your music heard!