Times are tough. Unemployment is rising, pay cuts are everywhere, and it’s becoming harder and harder to pay the bills. Everyone is looking for ways to supplement their income in 2009. For songwriters and musicians, there are many different ways to make money making music. Here are some ideas to help you leverage your music and songwriting skills to earn extra income this year.

Social media has taken hold. Web 2.0, the second revolution of the internet, whatever you want to call it, the web is now social and that means you must tap yourself in or get out of the way. This development impacts all industries and that clearly includes the music world. It’s time to get serious about using social media for your online music promotion efforts. Finding success as a band or a songwriter is all about promotion, promotion, promotion. Spread your music to as many ears as possible. Increase your head count at live shows as much as possible. Expand your audience and fan base as far as you can. The question is, given the new state of the music industry, and the changing scene on the internet, how do we do all of these things? If you haven’t already, you have to stop sleeping on social media and dive in.

It’s a question that so many songwriters that are just starting out will ask themselves: “Should I sell my music or give it away for free?” You may be thinking, why would you give it away?! If you want to make music your career, then you need to make music make you money! But maybe there’s another side to this argument. When reality and passion have their say, you may find your goals of a success have a new twist.

As a result of recording and producing literally hundreds of demos, I’ve learned that it is always better to “Prepare and Prevent” than to “Repair and Repent.” Here are a few steps you can take to help make your demo recording experience more successful. In this post we will discuss song preparation, rough recordings, session musicians, and getting the most out of your demo production process.