Hello again.
In last week’s email, I told you to ask me anything. Here are my answers, making no promises of expertise, and in no order.
Could you elaborate on your music income streams? And what do you think it will take to become full-time?
Sure. Here’s a breakdown of the main sources:
- Patreon – $500/month (from 73 paid members)
- Streaming – between $200-400/month (collected through DistroKid)
- Touring and merch – On pace for roughly $20-30k in 2026
Some notes:
- Patreon is awesome, but not for everyone (you should already have a fanbase, and the kind that is deep instead of wide).
- I didn’t even know what I made from streaming until writing this email; that’s how much I think about it. I withdraw it probably once a year when I need to pay for something.
- At least for me, touring is where the money is, which is nice because it’s also where the fun is. I play mostly small shows hosted by generous fans who pay guarantees and cover travel. I do not bring a band. I also have had some opening slots in the past few years that make less money but are great in other ways.
To justify quitting my job (sorry Jon) and going full time, I will need to build up Patreon a bit more (perhaps around double) and play more shows (perhaps around double). These go together, actually – I find that when I play shows and remember to mention Patreon, I usually get a few folks to support.
What are the best ways to contact other artists… looking for collabs? I am not allowed to have any kind of social media access.
I cannot speak to relationships that are mainly music business ventures, as I don’t have any of those (which may be why I am not more “successful”). But there are two main ways I’ve met my musician friends. The first is real life; I live in Nashville, and make music in a niche where those initiated have similar interests. But even before I lived here, real life (mainly church and school) was where I made most of my musician friends. The second is social media. But since you are not allowed access (I assume by either your government or your parents), this is a good time to tell you that of my few friendships that began on social media, the ones that stuck are the ones that found their way into real life. Blessings to whoever disallows your social media access. They are probably right.
On a slightly more practical note, I often get reached out to for collaboration, and I will say that the less someone sounds like they’re trying to use me (and the less they deploy AI), the more likely I am to reply.
I know this may seem silly but how do I find your music? There are a few Tom Andersons out there but I would love to find you specifically so I can hear your music.
That’s kind of you. Like Jon, I go by my first and middle name, Thomas Austin. There are two of us, a rapper and a folk artist who looks like Jon. Guess which one I am.
What’s your experience with someone doing a collab with an artist from a specific region, in order to gain visibility in that region?… Have you ever heard of someone using collabs to expand their audiences in the collaborator’s area?
To answer your direct question: with that exact motive, my experience is zero. I’ve only ever collaborated with friends, and so far they’ve all been in the US, and in the same niche.
To riff on the question: I have a hunch that Justin Bieber singing on “Despacito” in 2017 had a butterfly effect that eventually led to a Puerto Rican headlining the super bowl halftime show in 2026.
In other words, cross-culture collaboration is almost definitely a strategy used by the bigwigs in the music business, so even on a smaller scale, it could potentially be a great way to build a fanbase – maybe even especially outside the US, in countries where the music business is smaller and less interconnected. I say you try it and report back.
I want to get to 1000 fans. I don’t want to play shows or tour. I have 1400 monthly listeners on Spotify, but I suspect that really means that I have 10-20 of what I would call fans… What would you do if you were me?
First, let me ask, are you a fan of your own music?
If no, stop that lol. Start making music you like.
If yes, use yourself as the archetype for your fanbase. What causes you to be a fan of someone? How did you first hear about your favorite band? What kind of ads hook you? Or, do ads hook you at all (they might not)? What platforms do you use to discover and (more importantly) engage with music? How do you express deep fandom?
Start in those places, and don’t be ashamed if those places are small. Fandom is more than, but not less than interest. There are a million ways to get disinterested eyes and ears on your art.
Me and a friend have made some songs and one of them we are thinking about selling… I happened to run into an A&R intern at Universal who said he would love to listen to it and help us. I was just wondering how these things go, if there are things to look out for or if you have any general tips & tricks.
I have no experience here. I write and sing all my songs. I imagine it is hard unless you have a publisher going to bat for you, or connections at labels. It sounds like you have a connection, but it’s also a lowly intern, and Universal is a huge company, so that might be like meeting a hot dog vendor at Wrigley and expecting it to lead to a Cubs tryout.
From friends’ experiences, I have gathered that it’s a tough world out there, but also a long life that rewards persistence. More power to you. I hope your song finds a home.
How is the Hotdog Homie competition going?
Oh, you mean the 15-person league where we try to eat as many hotdogs as we can in the year 2026? It’s still going, which means it’s going well, which means it’s going poorly. I think I’m around fifth place currently.
Do you have any kind of a fan base in L.A.?
A quick look tells me it is my 34th highest streaming city on Spotify. So no, not really. The people there are too cool for me. But my cousin and his family live in Orange.
Did you ever try to do any sync licensing for your music? I’m interested in the concept of monetizing my music for films… but I’m not sure I’m willing to dedicate my time to create music specifically for this. I would prefer to keep doing music as I like it… but does it ever happen if it’s not a famous song?
Again, I don’t have much experience here. I have not sought it out, and the closest I’ve come is people asking to use my song in YouTube videos. I always give permission and don’t really care if they pay or not. I imagine a lot of scoring, instrumental music, and the like will soon be done by AI anyway because it’s so much cheaper and easier.
But I have some friends who have had songs in films and TV shows, none of whom wrote the songs for that purpose. They are not “famous,” but they are career artists.
You should definitely just keep making what you like to make. But if you’re serious about sync, you should make as many friends in that world as you can, and also seek out outlets (like Musicbed, etc.) that are built for this stuff.
I’m playing my first show and I’m scared I won’t sell many tickets. What can I do to promote the show that will actually convert to a few ticket sales? And would putting $100-$200 into meta ads for this show be worth it, even if it gets just 10 sales?
Wooooo! Congratulations! So pumped for you.
The bad news: unless you’re TikTok famous (and probably even then), your first shows are very likely to be small, low-budget, and awkward. That’s how it works. There’s a world of difference between recording music and playing it live, both in skillset and in audience.
The good news: there are ways to get people to come! Make tickets as cheap as you can afford. Collaborate with other artists. Tell all your friends, and ask them to tell their friends. Be kind of annoying about it.
I don’t have all the facts about you, so I’ll say: Meta ads might work, but since this is your first show ever, they likely will not – would you go to a show for an artist you’ve never heard of based off an ad on your social media feed? Probably not. But would you go to a show because your friend asked you to? Probably yes. I think you can spend that money elsewhere to make the show itself awesome, or else save it for ads for the next show.
We are a tiny independent indie folk duo… we have booked three dates for our first shows, and it’s very much a leap of faith… Any advice on making it work?
See the above answer. Congratulations and I hope it is the best time ever, even if you lose money.
This may seem out of the blue but I’ve always wondered are you a fan of rap?
Depends on what you mean by fan. I enjoy rap. I played too much basketball as a kid to not get fired up when I hear Lil Wayne and Eminem and Jay-Z and Kendrick.
But I enjoy it the way I enjoy cats: I am fascinated, entertained, even occasionally utterly transfixed. But rap is so disinterested in me that I could never love it.
Best two ways to promote a song and go viral.
No question mark. Just a cold, straight statement. I respect it.
I want to ask for more information first (“Talk to your doctor to decide if Virality is right for you”). Also, I do not think there are two best ways. I think there are none and I think there are many.
But fine. You wanna know how to go viral? Post on social media nonstop. Spend tons of money on ads. Be insufferable and inexorable. Get lucky.
What’s the most uncomfortable (music-career-related) situation you’ve found yourself in?
Lol. I have two answers, the one-time one and the regular one.
One-time: I said above that I play a lot of shows for generous hosts. I did not say that they are all normal people. There was a two-day event on a two-thousand-acre homestead in the mountains of Virginia. The first words out of the event speaker’s mouth were “This is not a cult,” which is the surest sign that something is, in fact, a cult. Things got weird and stayed weird.
Regular: I get unsolicited songs sent to me asking my opinion probably once a month. These people come in two types. Type one is the best case scenario: they are good and I tell them what they surely already know (people who write good songs know it and do not really need confirmation; they more likely just want someone to acknowledge it). Type two is the much more frequent case: I have to lie to a stranger who likes my music about their music (people of this type unfortunately think they are the first type).
If you are an artist who does not… do anything beyond releasing music to streaming platforms, what would you advise as the best path to make money from your music? AI suggested some obvious ones (YouTube, brand sponsorships, merch, crowdfunding, etc…)
This seems like a good one to end on.
Again, I am limited in my experience and biased in my values here. I make most of my music income from touring, and I also think live music is the best way to experience it.
But I will ask this, and I promise I don’t mean it as sarcastically as it might sound; which are the operative words in your question: “make money” or “your music?” In other words, are you willing or unwilling to sacrifice the second for the first?
The answer is crucial to my answer. If you’re just hoping to make money, then my first and last word is that music is a bad career in general, especially if streaming is your only platform. Unless you’re willing to stoop to let AI make all your music for you, of course.
But if you make music because you love it, and if by various circumstances your only platform for your music is streaming, and you’re wondering why you’re making no money, that’s a different story. In that case, I agree with what AI said (probably because it steals from humans who I agree with). In my experience, Patreon and merch are the best ways to pool the generosity and customership of the fans you already have. Brand sponsorships are for influencers, which I am not, and which you may or may not be. Direct-to-fan music sales (Bandcamp is the main one) are also awesome.
In any case, I hope you keep making music, and I hope you find ways to get it off the internet and into time and space.
Peace,
