How To Make Money From The Music Industry In Zimbabwe



So you think you’ve got talent and you want to become an artist?


Check out these articles on: The Music Industry Facts Every Musician Needs to Know, Important tips to become a successful-rapper, top 10 keys to success for independent artists.


Okay so now that we have covered the industry basics, how do you actually make money in the music industry especially in the Zimbabwean Music Industry? Well beyond finding a great producer and recording that catchy tune, we all are bound to get tired of hearing; remember Mukoko, anyone?

The first step to making money is forgetting about luck, unless you are willing to wait a few hundred years, luck is not going to get you rich but becoming conscious of how and where you use your money will. If money comes in from one project or aspect of the industry, then keep it and invest it into another aspect. There are a lot of moving parts in music so creating a budget is essential especially to cover marketing and promotional needs but I will cover that in another post. For now let’s talk about where money actually comes from for an Artist.

Here are some of the ways to make money in the music industry;


1) Live Performance
This is usually the most immediate and easiest way to start earning money through the music industry. Why? People will always love to go out and have a good time, no matter how bad the economy. So how do you start performing? The first step can be acquiring a booking agent (if you are still starting out this is one of those jobs you will have to do yourself) but Zimbabwe at the moment has a number of festivals that will pay performers, from monthly events like Unplugged (Sign Up Here), Festivals like Hifa, Let Them and Shoko and even the Carnival. The most important job here is to keep networking and find out what is happening where and when so you can get those applications in before the deadline.


Another way is to simply do it yourself, get a venue, plan around a theme, market the hell out of it and start earning money through ticket sells, donations, maybe even a percentage from the bar just remember the budget and all the costs involved in running an event.


Also become a session musician, play other peoples music at weddings and corporate events. This is a great way to make money before you can money through your own music.

Because Performing makes up about 68% of all revenue in the industry at the moment, it is important that you fine-tune your performance skills and create a performance that is simply unforgettable so people will come to the next one.


2) Digital and Physical
We all know there are hundreds of streaming sites out there but now the internet has made it easier than ever to distribute through these networks with sites like Songtradr and DittoMusic you are able to earn through the same streaming services being used by international Artists but for those of us who need someone to do it for us a local company Njuzu Music has made online distribution easy for you. Not to forget physical CDs, yes a lot of people still buy these so do not completely overlook them especially when you are heading to all those live performances and keep a few on you when you are networking too, Take a few mixes to the kombies in the city too. Now the most important part of being in this day and age is to get creative, let’s not forget when Jnr Brown made $5 000 dollars in one week through Whatsapp sales.


3) Royalties
So royalties are a nifty little way to say this is your music we are playing and here is your payment for letting us play it. Companies, Cooperates, Radio Stations, and Festivals etc are covered under trade associations and are required to acquire rights to play this music.


a) Performing Rights: the rights to perform music in public and is part of copyright law. The users of the musical works have to, by law, pay the creators of those musical works for the public use of their music.

b) ‘Mechanical Rights’ is a fancy name for the royalties that composers, lyrists and music publishers earn when their music is copied and transformed into things like cassettes, CDs, DVDs, MP3s – even ringtones – for public use. In other words when it is reproduced by a device or machine.

c) Needletime Rights royalties make sure performers and recording artists get paid when their music is played in public or on the radio.


How do you begin to receive royalties for your music sign up to one of these music associations, Zimura, Samro, Risa


4) Endorsements and Sponsorship

Ever wondered how Lil Wayne gets to wear a brand new label in each video or displaying a new car and pouring that Hennessey all without actually getting broke. Well here is an industry secret; they don’t actually buy all those things. IT’S CALLED ACTING. The amazing thing about being an artist is you become an influencer, you wear Vans and suddenly people need to wear Vans, you sing mumble rap and suddenly every eloquent English speaker in the world stops speaking plain English.


So let’s come a bit closer to home how do you get local companies to endorse you, first become a marketable brand, which I will cover in the next blog post and second knock on every door but go knocking with a proposal. Don’t go over there with a problem you need them to fix, go there with a solution. Hi, my name is (Insert name that isn’t thuggy, booty or titty, 2 chains learned that lesson the hard way) and I have a following of about 5 000 youths who are engaged In what I do and I am a fan of your brand would like to help market it. This sounds a lot better than, “Hi, I am an artist and I need clothes to wear for a video or an event.” This pitch sounds even better coming from a manager or a brand representative


Also, keep in mind the bigger your brand, the more endorsements you will get as companies and Cooperates will pay to have your name associated with theirs and eventually you will even get paid for appearances. Jah Prayzah and Winky D are a great example of this.


5) Merchandising

Whilst companies will pay you to sell their brands, you could go the root of paying yourself to sell your own clothes. With hundreds of designers in and around the industry now there are more opportunities than ever to sell your own Merch. These are some of the stuff you can sell at concerts or during events like Harare Market Place.
Merch can include t-shirts, caps, hoodies, cups, pens, pencils, shoes. Go a step further and create your own brand of perfume or maybe a cool new haircut. Merchandising can not only make you loads of money but it will also act as its own marketing tool.

6) Fan/Crowd funding
Never underestimate how much a fan is willing to do for their favourite artists. So always remember to come up with new and creative ways to get your fans involved in the process and turn those 1 000 likes into $1 000. Like selling your song for a dollar through eco cahs, or getting you fans to fund that live concert you are live streaming straight from your living room.

Nothing is possible without a lot of hard work but that said making money in the industry is possible as long as you formulate the write plan. Click here to download a sample artist business plan.