Freelance Performer and Teacher

by Kye Lawton

I am going to be focusing on being a freelance performer and teacher, and the main issues that may come up. To become a successful freelancer who others in the industry want to employ, you may not necessarily need specific qualifications, but you will need more than just the skill of your craft.

Firstly, a major part of being a freelancer is treating yourself as a business, therefore understanding self-promotion and networking is key. There is always the option of having a manager or agent, but even to get their attention, you will need to promote yourself. The most underrated way of doing this, is simply word of mouth. Many musicians forget that just as we may talk about so and so, people are talking about us. It is a worthy thing to bear in mind. A major part of promoting yourself is trying to make sure other musicians, sound engineers, producers etc, all think of you as a lovely, kind and overall enjoyable person to work with.

Another common form of self-promotion and networking is social media. Admittedly, I am not the most active social media poster however, I will delve into the various reasons why certain social media platforms are so widely used by musicians. The first and main social media platform I will talk about is Instagram. From my experience so far of going to jam sessions, gigs, music courses etc, the first thing anyone asks for nowadays is your Instagram. It’s an incredibly useful tool for networking. For example, I may really need a mixing engineer last minute. All the people I know personally are busy. What do I do? 2 things. I start by posting an Instagram story. This is seen by many people from across the industry. The information that I need a mixing engineer is spread. The seed is planted. Before long, someone messages me. Another option is to go through everyone I follow, I start messaging all the mixing engineers, or people who I know, who know a mixing engineer. It’s a complex web of networking.

Instagram is also useful for promoting things such as gigs, as well as advertising that you may be free for a few days and looking for work. It is important not to advertise yourself too much, as it may look to others like you don’t get much work. While this may be the truth, you don’t want others thinking or knowing such, as they may assume the reason for which you aren’t getting work. TikTok is another major platform for music promotion. Many artists and bands use TikTok to promote gigs or new releases such as singles, EP’s and albums. This can be a great way of doing so as TikTok posts can reach further audiences. This use of social media in the creative industries has become so prevalent, that many (mostly larger) musicians and artists will have their own social media team to manage several accounts on several platforms, all promoting things like tours and new releases. An interesting thing to consider, is that Instagram (and other platforms) won’t promote an account if they don’t think you will be continuously putting out content (Becky_alice_sings). This means that consistency is the most important factor to building you or your bands following. 

Another great way of both promoting yourself and networking, is having your own website. This website should of course be coherent and clearly display who you are, what you do, and how someone can contact you. Websites can still be a very useful way of displaying all sorts of information about yourself (or your band). You can have links to new releases on all streaming platforms, advertising gigs and tour dates, as well as advertising other skills and experience you have that may help you stand out to those looking to hire you. It is also a great way to promote instrumental lessons with a clear going rate so that people know how much you charge. In fact, work like teaching (or any work) can come from anywhere. Someone may know someone who would like Drum lessons, or someone may message you on social media asking if you teach. I myself, have messaged drummers before on Instagram and asked if they teach, and more often than not, the answer is yes. I suppose to wrap this segment up, it is important as a self-employed musician, to make yourself easily approachable. To be someone that people want to work with or have lessons with.

One of the biggest worries for majority of musicians is unfortunately financial stability. Music is a difficult way of making money. Let’s first look at gig rates. A function up to 3 hours at pubs or club should pay a minimum of £154.50 per musician, and £206.00 per musician for up to 4 hours. So, £51.50 per hour. However, there are other considerations to how much you should charge, such as distance travelled, whether accommodation will be required, as well as working overtime. It is recommended to charge your hourly rate x 1.5 for overtime, so £51.50ph would become £77.25ph. (Musicians Union) Having said this, travel and accommodation costs don’t necessarily have to be considered in your payment for gigs. These things can be considered tax deductible. Say that you make £25,000 in a tax year, but your allowable expenses add up to £5000, you will only need to pay tax on £20,000 which is considered your taxable profit (Simply Business). Another factor to consider is that for every 2 hours of playing, you should get a 15-minute break. (musicians union) I would say that even 1hr 30 mins should Ideally be split into 2, 45-minute set

If I do regular teaching from my own home, I could claim a proportion of certain costs such as, heating, electricity, Council Tax, mortgage interest or rent and internet and telephone use. (Gov.uk) As long as you give a reasonable estimation, you should have no problems. A reasonable estimation (assuming you only use 1 room for work) would be done by dividing the entire energy bill by how many rooms are used in the home. Other payments can be calculated similarly. For example, you may have 1 phone that you use for both work calls and messages, and personal. Or you pay have one car that is used for both driving to work, as well as driving to the shops. Being a freelance musician (along with other self-employed jobs) means that you as an individual are a business. Reasonable expenses deemed necessary to run an effective business can be deductible. These include buying and maintaining instruments and equipment, fees for recording studios (including paying session musicians), travel to performances or teaching, management and publicity fees, accommodation (hotels) (musicians union). This means that sometimes buying a new cymbal or booking an extra day at a recording studio may be the best financial decision for you as a business. 

When considering a rate for private instrumental tuition, you should consider factors such as experience and location. London teaching rates may be slightly higher than Leeds for example. Both age and experience also play a role in how much people will be willing to pay for a lesson. If I have a high level of music education, as well as plenty of experience playing gigs, recording music etc, I can charge more. £40.50 is the recommended hourly rate for the 2023/24 academic year (Musicians Union). However, I know many more experienced players and teachers who charge £50 or even £60 per hour.

GIGS1 PER WEEK (52 weeks per year)	@£150 = £7.8k@£250 = 13k
TEACHING	12 hours x 36 weeks @£30= £12,96012 hours x 36 weeks @£50 = £21,600 6 hours @£50 = £10,800 + 4 x 45 mins @£40 = £5,760+ 6 x 30 mins @£30 = £6,480=12 hours per week (432 hours total per year)=£23,040

The estimates shown below give a rough breakdown of potential ways to make money. The average UK salary as of 2022/2023 is £23k. This breakdown shows that £23k is just about possible with a few gigs and teaching alone. I personally believe that my gig rate and teaching rate will be lower than estimated here at first. But there will be other ways to make money, like studio work, busking, or even releasing and selling CDs and Records. There are some downsides to be weary of as someone who is self-employed. Those who are employed get employment rights such as minimum wage, Statutory sick pay, statutory maternity and paternity rights, paid annual leave, statutory redundancy pay, and protection against unfair dismissal. Non the less, musicians can still make passive income from recordings, thanks to PRS and MCPS.

Another important legal consideration when working as an industry musician is understanding copyright law. Copyright prevents people from copying your work, distributing copies of it, performing it, making adaptations etc. Copyright for sound and music recording lasts 70 years after it is first published (gov.uk). For the most part, a jazz musician playing jazz standards and covers standards in a live context, is not likely to get into any trouble. However, if the gig was recorded and published as a live album, permission may be requested. Say I was to release an album of jazz standards, I would have to pay copyright to the owners and publishers. To make life easier, I could have a distributor such as Distro Kid, CD Baby or Landr. You can pay these companies a flat fee and they will sort out the copyright for you. If I was going to release an album of original compositions, I may be worried that someone could claim one of my tunes as their own. Although compositions in the UK are covered by copyright the moment they are created, you could still send yourself your music. This can be used as evidence as it has a clear timestamp to prove ownership (Becky_alice_sings) (PRS for music). Another aspect to understand is your Moral and performers’ rights. Your Moral rights identify you as the owner of your work. This allows you the right to object to how your work is presented as well as object to changes made to your work. Performers have their own rights, separate to Moral rights. You have the rights in your performances separate to copyrights if you’re a performer. This means you have ‘economic rights’ in any recording, even if the copyright is sold (gov.uk). Another consideration to bear in mind is that if you are doing an unusual arrangement or messing with someone’s composition, you may need to seek permission to do so. You should also seek permission for derivative works. As the copyright owner, you have sole authority to copy the music, distribute copies to the public, perform or play the music in public, and to communicate the music to the public (broadcasting). 

Most musicians will become PRS and MCPS members. PRS – Performing Rights Society – pay royalties to members when their works are broadcast on TV or radio, if they are performed or played in public whether live or through a recording, and if they are streamed or downloaded. Whereas MCPS – Mechanical copyright protection society – pay royalties to members when their music is made into physical copies, streamed/downloaded, and when used in TV, film or radio (PRS for music). These are all to do with the publishing rights for the composition itself. PPL covers master rights to the sound recording. PPL specifically covers the performance royalties of the master rights and PRS covers the performance royalties for the publishing rights.  When a song is performed live, only the performance royalties from the publishing rights are paid (PRS). When song is broadcast, both the performance royalties from the publishing rights, and the master rights are paid (PRS + PPL).

Although for most aspects of the music industry I am likely to enter I will not need many specific qualifications, for certain teaching jobs there are some considerations. If I was to teach at any educational facility, there are certain things I man need, or that would help me get the job. It may not always be required, but having a bachelors or even a master’s degree may give you the upper hand when candidates are being picked. Experience is also very important for your CV or during an interview. This can include your musical experience, as well as teaching experience, and experience with childcare. (Becky_alice_sings)

1. Musicians Union  https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/gigs-and-live-performances/live-engagement-rates-of-pay/national-gig-rates (Accessed 3rd January 2024)
2. Becky Hadlett (Becky_alice_sings) phone interview with notes included (28^th Nov 2024, 13:00)
3. Simply Business (2024) https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/self-assessment/self-employed-expenses  (Accessed 3^rd Jan)
4. Gov.uk – Expenses if you’re self-employed – https://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-self-employed  (Accessed 3^rd Jan)
5. Gov.uk – License and sell your copyright https://www.gov.uk/copyright/license-and-sell-your-copyright  (accessed 6^th Jan) 
6. PRS for music – how copyright works https://www.prsformusic.com/works/how-copyright-works  (Accessed 6^th Jan) 
7. PRS for music – PRS and MCPS  https://www.prsformusic.com/what-we-do/prs-and-mcps  (Accessed 6^th Jan)
8.  Musicians Union – What expenses can musicians claim on tax? https://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/what-expenses-can-musicians-claim-on-tax#:~:text=What%20musicians%20can%20claim%20as,and%20maintaining%20instruments%20and%20equipment  (Accessed 6^th Jan)
9. World Bank –  http://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators (Accessed 12th Jan)
10. Backlinko – Instagram Statistics: Key Demographic and User Numbers – https://backlinko.com/instagram-users# (Accessed 12^th Jan) (Written by Backlinko Team – Last updated Nov. 21, 2024)