Let’s be real for a second – being a musician in 2025 isn’t exactly what your parents thought it would be. The days of just writing songs and waiting for a record deal are long gone (though we’re not complaining about the terrible haircuts from that era). Best side gigs for musicians have become essential to keeping the lights on while you chase your dreams, and honestly? Some of these hustle opportunities might actually bring you closer to your musical goals than playing dive bars until 2 AM.
The Money-Music Balance: Why Musicians Need Side Gigs
Look, we need to address the elephant in the room – making music rarely pays the bills right away. Even our beloved Post Malone worked at a Chicken Express before those face tattoos became famous. The trick is finding best side gigs for musicians that either complement your craft or at least don’t completely drain your creative energy.
Teaching Your Craft: The Original Musician Hustle
Starting with the most traditional type of a side hustle, teaching music, let’s contemplate on the concept for a minute. Yes, you may think it is a total cliché compared to your rock star dreams and visions of selling out the famous Madison Square Garden. Teaching music is not merely a way of earning money; it is an opportunity to improve one’s skills and let others find their love for the art.
Whether you’re giving guitar lessons in your living room or teaching vocals online, this gig has serious perks:
- You get to talk about music all day (and get paid for it)
- Students often push you to learn new songs or techniques
- Flexible scheduling means you can still chase those gigs
- You’re building connections in your local music scene
Digital Hustles: Making Money Without Leaving Your Home Studio
The internet has opened up a treasure trove of best side gigs for musicians that don’t require you to put on pants (though we recommend it for video calls).
Session Work and Remote Recording
Do you recall that Nile Rodgers jammed the guitar on Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” while recording at his own studio? That is the dream, but here is something that can be achieved at a more modest level. Such websites as SoundBetter and AirGigs are aimed at connecting musicians with producers and artists from all around the world who need:
- Guitar, bass, or drum tracks
- Vocal performances
- Mixing and mastering services
- Songwriting assistance
The beauty of this gig? You’re literally getting paid to make music. Mind-blowing, right?
Music Production and Beat Making
If you are good at creating beats, then selling beats online should be your easiest way of ensuring you have a good income. Some producers began like this, too, including Metro Boomin who was in a position to make beats in his bedroom and market them online only. Applications such as BeatStars and Airbit have made producers who originally work in their room are making six figure incomes.
The Live Performance Angle: Beyond the Regular Gig
Sometimes the best side gigs for musicians are still performance-based, just not in the way you might expect.
Wedding and Corporate Events
Yes, I understand that singing along to “Sweet Caroline” for the fifth hundred time may not be the ultimate ideal musical existence. Though wedding bands and corporate event musicians make their quick bucks by earning in one night compared to one month’s to and fro touring of an indie band. Plus, you get free food. Can’t argue with free food.
Busking with a Digital Twist
Open-air performance has been something quite customary but when augmented with contactless money transfer and social media marketing it is a relatively new concept. Some artists like Tash Sultana began their music journey as a street musician in Melbourne. Mobile payment and live streaming makes it possible to make payments and perform in front of the world from a corner.
Content Creation: When Your Music Meets the Internet
The line between musician and content creator has become so blurred it’s practically non-existent. Some of the best side gigs for musicians now involve cameras as much as instruments.
YouTube and TikTok Creation
It is possible to make money by creating content related to music – gear reviews, tutorials, reactions, or everything about one’s journey. For instance, consider Mary Spender, who transition from a poor guitarist to a YouTuber with more than 700 thousand subscribers and at the same time a musician.
Podcasting About Music
Got opinions about music? (Oh really you do, you are a musician by profession I believe.) Sponsoring your podcast about your scene, local music and history, as well as industry news will also be possible and will boost your brand image”. The show “Song Exploder” made Hrishikesh Hirway, an unknown individual and helped him become a well-known name in the industry.
The Technical Side: Using Your Skills Behind the Scenes
Sometimes the best side gigs for musicians involve stepping away from the spotlight to work in supporting roles.
Sound Engineering and Live Sound
The knowledge you have conveyed shows you have the potential to fulfill sound engineering positions. From live music, recording podcasts, even joining other sound companies as a freelance studio engineer such jobs are lucrative and ensure that one is involved in the music fraternity.
Music Transcription and Arranging
If you got perfect pitch or good knowledge about theory lessons, it will be a plus factor. Demand of Transcription services is always high. Transitioning from producing sheets that contain music from popular songs to writing score arrangements for the pieces suitable for played for different groups can be done remotely and it is reasonably well compensated.
Finding Your Perfect Side Hustle
The key to choosing among the best side gigs for musicians is finding something that either enhances your skills, builds your network, or at least doesn’t make you want to throw your instrument out the window.
Therefore, always ensure that the said side hustle complements the main purpose of your life and not necessarily be your source of income. Professionals in this industry always look for other ways to make revenue since they earn from teaching as well as performing and producing content. The problem is in the fact that the music industry has evolved, and to be quite frank. That is, it is not necessarily an undesirable state of affairs.
Whether you are just starting to teach your children finger picking or you are a music producer putting down tracks for producers from around the world, or creating catchy TikToks that even generation Z is interested in music theory, there is side hustle that fits your talent and flexibility.
Just one thing which I want from you to do is do not stop hating those wedding playing gigs which once kept your bills paid when you were not making it big. The chubby guys dancing to “Uptown Funk” in company of their ‘sis’ were an aspect of your journey as well.
