Budgeting for Musicians: Necessary but Not Evil
Budgeting for Musicians: Necessary but Not Evil
Budgeting for albums or touring is a scary process. Often, the human brain wants to avoid the pain of failure. However, a budget can help control the process and make it less scary when financing albums and tours. Quite frankly, budgeting is not tricky to put on paper or a spreadsheet, but projecting the income is the great unknown. This article has some tips on preparing for unknown revenue and managing expenses.
Using historical data from personal experience or from someone at the same stage of their career is a great place to start for album releases. This approach provides a comforting guideline, allowing you to build in at least a 10-15% buffer for a most likely case scenario. By this, I mean take what you think your revenue will be and reduce it by 10-15%. If you are more risk-averse, build more of a buffer into your income estimate. It's crucial to consider physical and digital sales to ensure a comprehensive budget.
When it comes to touring, the income from venues is usually fixed. However, if your touring income depends on ticket sales, applying the same buffering process as you do with album sales is crucial. Additionally, it's essential to thoroughly review the contracts with venues to understand how cancellations could affect your income. This thorough review will leave you feeling prepared and less vulnerable. By factoring this into your budget, you can mitigate potential financial risks. With more experience, you'll find that this process becomes more efficient over time.
Budgeting for album release expenses is less nebulous due to contractual agreements. However, accounting for all expenses is more tenuous. The key is to think about all the costs that will be incurred. For albums and studio recordings, account for these potential fees that may be overlooked:
- Extra Session Musicians and Vocalists
- Studio Overages
- Equipment Rentals
- Added Sound Design and Effects
- Revisions and Additions
- Additional Producer and Engineering Fees (Both Contracted and Unexpected Billing)
Touring expenses such as travel, meals, and lodging are fairly straightforward. However, like budgeting for album releases, there are hidden expenses to watch out for, such as equipment maintenance, insurance, and additional marketing.
Budgeting is necessary to ensure that your financial position is not compromised when recording and releasing albums and going on tour. However, don’t overlook quality and marketing regarding your music and live shows. Find the highest-quality production and marketing team that fits your budget. By accounting for the revenue and expenses highlighted in the article, understanding your budget, and reviewing it with your management team, you will be able to deliver quality and have some money left over, in the end, to continue your career in the music industry.
A good, cost-effective management team to communicate with and guide you is available. Reach out and talk to some of them. Budgeting for album releases and touring is necessary but not evil.