GUITAR
EXTRA REVENUE STREAMS | James Duke
Recently I was talking with a musician friend of mine about creating extra revenue streams . Any successful self-employed musician will tell you how important it is to have money coming from as many sources as possible . Looking back at 2020 and seeing so many of my touring musician friends lose all their work for the year has driven that point home even more . Some people call them side-hustles , and I ’ ve always tried to have at least a couple going at all times .
Looking back at my own career , one of my biggest regrets is dragging my feet getting started doing things that have shown to be great sources of income for me . Left to my own devices , I can be the king of procrastination . I have no shortage of ideas , and I will dream all day long about how to make them happen . I will talk a big game , and then let those dreams fade away .
One of the reasons I have such a hard time following through is simply being a perfectionist . That might sound like I ’ m bragging about myself , but I ’ m not . Perfectionism isn ’ t always great . For me , it can become paralyzing . Being worried , before I even start , that I won ’ t be able to do it up to my standards . Worrying that I won ’ t be as good as my peers and that I will embarrass myself . In the end , it ’ s all pride , and it will hold you back from growing .
I put off giving online lessons for years because
I didn ’ t know if anyone would care . I was more worried about promoting it on social media and not getting any clients . Looking back , it ’ s so ridiculous . Even if no-one contacted me at all , no-one else besides me would know that . It ’ s not like I would have had to take to the socials and give an update that I booked zero lessons and no-one cares about me . I talked about it for two years until I finally got the courage to offer guitar lessons . When I finally did , the response was insane . I worked with people all over the world . From California to Germany . Australia to Russia . Brazil to Hawaii . It became a very helpful revenue stream when I was not touring and I met some amazing people that I now call friends .
Another big regret was waiting so long to get started tracking guitars from home . I used the excuse that I didn ’ t know how to use Logic or Pro Tools and I didn ’ t think I could capture good enough guitar sounds . One thing I should have considered was that no-one knows how to use Logic or Pro Tools until you learn how to use them . So instead of spending those years teaching myself how to use those programs , I just did nothing . It hurts to think about how much money I left on the table because I was being lazy and insecure . A few years ago , a producer friend texted me asking if I had time to record some guitars for him . Instead of saying no , I said yes . What did I do ? I figured it out . Was it amazing ? No . Did I know what I was doing ? No . Did it take a really long time to track
guitars for two songs ? Yes . Did it sound good ? Yes . I figured it out .
Another producer texted me a couple days later . I did a way better job the second time . The third time was better than the second time , and so on . I started getting so much recording work . All because I said yes instead of no . It ’ s become my biggest side hustle , and this year I have been so thankful to have it .
If you are an aspiring professional musician , I cannot stress enough how important it is to learn a variety of skills . Learn a second or third instrument . Learn to use recording software . You can get started with very little investment , and you will add a whole new aspect to what you can do as a musician . If you dream about teaching , start with one person . Teach a friend or the neighbor ’ s kid next door . It could be as simple as that , and you could begin building a clientele .
Build your career on a solid foundation of skills . You ’ ll never regret being a diverse musician . Go play guitar .
James Duke James is a musician , songwriter , and producer from Jacksonville Beach , Florida . Most known for playing guitar alongside artists like John Mark McMillan , Matt Redman , Johnnyswim , and Steven Curtis Chapman , James also records his own music under the name All The Bright Lights . He currently lives in Nashville , Tennessee with his wife and 3 kids ..