get clientele but those of you who don ’ t have those accomplishments can still get a significant amount of work . If you ’ re interested in producing or have been doing it for a while now , maximizing that trade can be very important for you . What helped me a lot was that my work spoke for itself . You don ’ t have to have a degree from Berklee to get quality artists on board , just produce great stuff and your artists will tell their peers about you .
Another great source of income for me is working alongside with other producers . Knowing your role as a studio musician will get you more work . Being open minded about what the producer wants from you and having the patience to grind it out for him is key . A while back I noticed that my sound was very specific and I felt that I needed to broaden my horizons more and play all types of styles . While I think that ’ s helpful , what ’ s been most effective for me is developing my sound . A lot of people tell me that when they hear a solo of mine on the radio that they know right off the bat that it ’ s me . Most of my clients and other producers send me work because they are wanting to have my signature sound on their project . My advice to you guys is find the sound and tone that you love and others will love it too .
Another very creative source of income is online streaming . Whether it ’ s YouTube , iTunes , Spotify or the infinite amount of new platforms coming out they can be something that will help add to your bank account . These forms of income tend to take a while but with hard consistent work you can make them very fruitful . I know some people that make thousands of dollars each month from these platforms . If you ’ re not receiving any income from online streaming , my advice is to put in the grind now so that in a couple years you ’ ll be reaping the benefits from it .
This last source of income I want to talk about is one that a lot of us don ’ t have much control in right now and that ’ s live performance . With the pandemic , the way it is now , it might not be awhile until concerts and tours become a huge thing again but getting yourself in position is very important . Back in March of 2020 I had 72 concerts scheduled that year and the day I was about to fly out to do my first concert was when the pandemic hit here in the states . I was told as I was packing for my trip to not go to the airport yet . The event organizers were discussing whether they were able to still follow through with the concerts . It turned out that later that day I was told that three events out of the five that we had that week were cancelled .
The next morning I was told that the whole year was cancelled . I remember the first couple weeks laying down at night staring at my wife and kids as they slept peacefully thinking to myself , what am I going to do to supplement that income of those 72 concerts ? That was a whole year ’ s salary that disappeared from my life . I remember praying and asking God to bring prosperity and creativity my way . I ’ m grateful to say that He did just that .
It turns out that most of these streams of income that I ’ ve discussed were born from that situation and I believe that last year was a very important year for me . Being creative and willing to get out of my comfort zone was the best thing that could ’ ve happened to me . I hope that as you read this article you ’ ve been able to get those creative juices flowing and have found a way to relate it to your life . Those of us that have found a way to make a living off of the music world are the luckiest ones . Doing what we love is not only finding success but it ’ s finding a way to live joyfully . If you haven ’ t gotten there , follow and commit to the process and one day you will get there .
Chris Rocha Lives in Houston , TX , and is the guitarist and producer for Miel San Marcos