Being a composer in the modern world is a difficult position to succeed in. Only the few that achieve wide scale fame can really make a nice living composing music, and a few more can become professors. At least, this is what used to be thought about the job prospects for a composer. With all of the developments on the internet and in media production, it should now be possible for more independent musicians to make a living if they are creative and divide their time between a few different things.
Lets first talk about some things that a composer can do to make money that are not actually about composing music. One of the best jobs is providing music transcriptions. Many people out there will pay to have a song or piece transcribed so that they can play it on an instrument. They either lack the skill or time and willingness to transcribe it themselves, which is understandable, so they will pay you to do it.
Keep in mind that if you want to do this you have to be good at it and you have to enjoy it to some extent, or else it will get tedious and may even turn you off of music temporarily. The advantage is that you will be exposed to a lot of new music and it can be very effective practice to be constantly breaking apart pieces and seeing how they work, not to mention the benefits to your musical ear.
Composers can also consider using the internet to find students for private music lessons. Not only can the web be used to advertise your services for real life students, but you can also convene private lessons over online services like Skype, to teach students located anywhere there is internet.
For people who want to stick to composing music to make money, there are a few ways to do this as well. Song composers can make good money writing music for other musicians or singers, and with some thought, it should be possible to use the internet to help make this happen. Websites are also in need of music sometimes, and this may be a new area for music composers to explore.
A new age of media consumption and production is upon the world, both on and offline. In order to get the most out of recent advances in the distribution and employment of video and audio, composers need to position themselves in the marketplace, and this means being online. Having a good website and knowing how to use it to make yourself money is crucial if you want to become a successful freelance composer, so start thinking about it and experimenting today.
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