From Crumbs to Wholeness: How Musicians Can Earn Beyond the Tech Giants

When we talk about the realities of being a musician today, one image keeps coming up: crumbs. As Hemmeth recently pointed out, that’s often what musicians are left with after the streaming platforms have taken their share. Billions of streams generate massive profits for tech giants – but for the individual artist, the payout is often negligible.

Yet musicians have always been creative – not just artistically, but also in finding ways to make a living. And here’s the point: it’s possible to supplement streaming income with other revenue streams.

From crumbs to new paths

Being a musician today requires a broader approach than ever before. Where live shows and record sales once carried the weight, today’s picture is far more fragmented. But that also opens up new ways to create value – both for audiences and for musicians themselves.

Some of the most obvious income sources are:

- Gear trading: Musicians are constantly buying and selling instruments and equipment. It’s both a necessity and a potential source of income.
- Teaching: Many musicians earn a stable side income by teaching – from beginners to more advanced students.
- Collaboration: Offering time and talent as a session musician, songwriter, or producer can provide both financial and creative rewards.

Wholeness instead of fragments

The challenge is that these opportunities are often scattered: Facebook groups for gear, word-of-mouth for teaching, random posts for collaboration.

This is where new solutions are needed to tie everything together. Beatnickel has plans to do just that: building a platform where musicians can generate income beyond streaming.

Right now, musicians can already use Beatnickel to find collaborators for new projects. In the future, the vision is to bring even more of these opportunities under one roof – so musicians can build a whole from all the small pieces.

From crumbs to wholeness

Beatnickel is not a “quick fix” for the industry’s challenges. But we believe musicians need more ways to earn – and that those ways are stronger when they’re brought together in one place.

Because if tech giants are only offering crumbs, it’s time for musicians to start baking their own bread.