This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Hey, hey, what's up? Welcome to Side Hustle School. This is Chris Guillebeau. Today's episode is part of a feature we call your first thousand dollars. It is in fact about how somebody made their first thousand dollars, how they went from idea to income, what were the practical steps, what did they learn along the way, different variations, different versions of telling the story. How in fact did they get to that point? Not the first ten thousand or a hundred thousand
dollars, but that first thousand dollars and then of course they often go much further from there. So with that in mind, today's feature comes from Allie or Allison, an independent musician who earns passive income from Spotify. Did you know that you can get paid for uploading tracks to Spotify? We've had a few different stories about people making white noise tracks, sometimes comedy, other stuff. So in Allie's case, she does, let's see how she describes it, electronic ambient music.
So I actually listened to a lot of that while I'm working. So maybe I have sent a couple pennies to Allie, not intentionally, but I'm happy for her to have it. Anyway, what about her first thousand dollars? How'd she make it happen? What it feel like and what did she learn? So let's hear it from her.
I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap up. Hey, this is Allison, a musician who creates electronic ambient music. I've always been passionate about music, but it wasn't until recently that I learned how to turn this passion into a source of income. It started when I decided to upload my music on Spotify and focus specifically in keywords in playlists related to spas and yoga. To learn how it works, I spent hours researching keywords and playlists to target and even more hours fine tuning my music to fit the aesthetic of those specific genres. But I was determined to make
it work and eventually my hard work paid off. One day I checked my Spotify account and saw that I'd earned my first $1,000 in royalties. I was overjoyed and couldn't believe that my music was actually being listened to and appreciated by others. Artists don't earn very much per stream, so this validation meant that a lot of people were listening. Still, what I learned from this experience was that earning royalties from Spotify is not a one-time thing. It takes consistent
effort and dedication to maintain and grow your income. So I made sure to stay on top of my keyword and playlist research and I've continued to release new tracks on a regular basis. Another lesson I learned was the importance of networking and collaborating with other musicians. I reached out to other ambient electronic musicians and asked if they would be willing to collaborate on my track or playlist together. Not only did this help me expand my audience and reach new listeners, but it also allowed me to gain valuable insights and advice for more experienced musicians.
In one situation, I learned a trick for getting added to a popular playlist. It boosted my streams more than 20% that month. So to anyone else interested in earning royalties from Spotify, my advice is to be patient, persistent, and willing to put in the work. It won't happen overnight, but with some real effort and a lot of practice, you too can turn your passion for music into a source of income. As for me, I'm planning to continue releasing new music on Spotify and other platforms. I'm excited to see where my music takes me next, and I'm grateful for the
opportunity to share my passion with others. Thanks, Chris, and best wishes to everyone else out there. Alison, thanks for telling us about your first thousand dollars, listeners. I hope you found it encouraging. Let's check out Ali's tracks as well. If you search for Ali Rose Yoga on Spotify,
you should find it. If you've got a question or an update for us about your side hustle, sidehustleschool.com/questions. Today's notes, sidehustleschool.com/2256. Take care of yourself out there. We've got a new episode coming out tomorrow. A question about
what is it? Let's see here. An alternative energy car rental side hustle, EV car rental side hustle. Should be interesting. Of course, you can subscribe, listen wherever you get your podcasts.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
