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EPISODE 20 ~ MAKE MORE: Selling Royalty Free Music Is a Creative, Lucrative Side Hustle

Thanks to modern technology, if you’re a musician and composer, you can easily record your songs and sell them as a creative side income.  My next guest doesn’t want us to use his full name because he’s a respectable government lawyer by day and a secret musician at night.  Please welcome Evan Barrett to Easy Money.  Hi Evan!

When did you first start playing music and get the bug?

I have been playing music pretty much since I was in 2nd grade. Started with piano lessons.  Back when I was a kid there was software where we could write music. My friends and I wrote a song – Gerbils like to Fly – and it was pretty great as you can imagine. The bug stuck with me and most of my life I have been playing an instrument and writing songs consistently since middle school.

Did you ever consider a full-time career in music?

I play guitar, bass and keyboard.  I’ve been in bands and then when I went to law school I just focused on that. At some point I realized I had a hard drive of half finished songs and I didn’t have the time or energy to be in a band to get them out there and didn’t know how to promote them to launch an album so I started to look at other ways to release my music.

Did you do it for love or money?
In law school, by the time I graduated, in addition to student loan debt I had $10,000 in credit card debt. I paid it all off. That was my first order of business. Paid it mostly off before licensing. But I think it was a motivator for finding more ways of making money.  It helps pay off student loans.

How did you come up with the idea of selling your songs online as stock music?

One day some little part of me realized that all my songs needed to hear the light of day (to mix metaphors), and I began researching sites to license music.  After lots of research I found a few sites that let me pretty easily record, upload and I didn’t have to promote. Buyers would find them on their own.  In your 30s you often feel done with music and I say no – there is still a way of getting it out there if you want people to hear it.

What sites do you like and why?

I am on several sites. The sites I know that work well are Audio Jungle, Pond 5 and Premium Beat. Most sites that have video stock also have audio stock. Pond 5 is the most artist friendly. They let you be more experimental. I make the music I want to make. I don’t try to make it for licensing. I just record and put it up. Pond 5 also lets you set your own prices which is nice. 

For those who don’t know how stock music sites work, can you explain?

It’s sort of like Ebay or Amazon. You type in – fast, classic rock songs – as a buyer and the search engine will pull up sound clips. You can listen to a preview. It is pretty easy. People that need the music know where to go.

Who was the client?

Clients are anonymous so don’t know who buys your song.  I really do wish I knew more where songs are going.  But one day I was home and we turned on a Fios on demand movie so we were on the guide and this really familiar song came up and she wasn’t in the room and I said did you put my song on the computer. The song was over before I realized it was my song. So for about twice an hour for about a year, Verizon was using it on their On Demand channel. That was one place I have seen it.

Is there some street cred in having your song picked up by a well-known company?

In terms of credibility, it definitely helps if you can find one placement and pitch or mention that to other people.  Because that  Verizon thing happened I was able to go to a friend  who is a contractor with NPR and get him to put a few songs on his broadcast.  It’s allowed me to get music on the radio!

Are you ever surprised by which songs sell?

You don’t know what your big songs will be. They sometimes surprise you. Probably about 5 or 6 tracks (various versions of them) are 70%-80% of my earnings. That changes over time. Certain songs hit and I can’t really predict which ones it will be. I think the search engine may reward success so if you sell a song, it might show up higher. It might not have to do with the song. It could be about the site.

How much time do you spend, how many sites are you on and how many songs have you put out there?

•I spend about 20 hours a week.

•I am on about 7 sites but only 2 or 3 actively.

•On the main site I’m on I probably have 200 songs and little edits and clips of those songs cut into stingers and things.

So how much do you make per song?

It’s about $10 -$20 a song but there are other licenses if larger productions need it that can take it to $50. Also are back end performance royalties where if used on TV for example, the networks have to pay a performance royalty. I haven’t gotten one of those yet. They run about a year behind when the song is broadcast so fingers crossed.

Has this become a nice side income for you?

I started 2.5 years ago and it was about $15 a month. It has grown pretty consistently since I started.  I make about $300-$400 a month at the moment.  As this grows I definitely see it becoming more and more significant. I would imagine that part of it is getting my music on more sites which I’ve been lazy about bc it’s more fun to me to write the music. But if I got on more sites I think my earnings could multiply considerably.  It’s sort of an addiction so I can get more gear and write it off which is a nice side bonus.  As a musician you find things you want. It’s sort of an addiction so I can get more gear and write it off which is a nice side bonus.

Speaking of gear, what equipment do people need to do what you do?

It requires at a bare minimum:

  • a home computer
  • a piece of recording software that ranges from $300-$500.
  • An audio interface which is $100-$200
  • and a lot of practice.

OK, so advice for other musicians who want to sell their music as stock.  First, you say you don’t need to write Grammy-worthy tracks, just clean, consistent songs.  What do you mean?

You need to be able to write songs and not every musician can do that.  There isn’t enough margin to send this out to a producer or go into a studio.  You have to do it yourself at home.

What type of music should people try to sell?

The broader you keep it the better.  Looking at the market I think almost every kind of music works if you can do it well. You have to make the music you can do well. Go with what you are skilled at writing and  playing because comes down to that performance.

You say avoid knock-off songs.

If you are just doing a knock off song it will sound like 500 other knock off songs on the site and people wont buy it. If you go with the genre you are familiar with you can probably also do it faster and this is a numbers game to some extent, the more you can get out there the better.

And, finally, you say, if you can sing, do it!

I can’t sing to save my life, which is unfortunate.  If you can sing there is more money to be made because there is premium placements with singing and song writing.

Evan Barrett, song writer and music licenser, thank you so much for joining us.  Evan has provided even more detailed advice for licensing music in a guest blog post and that will be at EasyMoneyShow.com/20.

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EPISODE 20 ~ SAVE MORE: Credit Score: Raise Yours By Asking Your Creditors For A Simple Favor

Save more money with The Easy Money Show

This one is also about credit, namely how to raise your credit score by asking your creditors for a favor.

Our credit scores are based on the information in our credit reports.  If your overall payment history with a company is good and you make one glaring mistake, you may be able to get the bank or credit card company to delete it from your credit report. Your chances are best if you’re a longstanding customer and it’s clear that the late payment or other blunder was out of character. All you do is call up the company and ask. If the first low-level operator says no, ask for a supervisor.

Simply explain that your overall history with the company is good, point out you are a loyal customer (especially if they make a lot of money off of you), and ask if they would do you the courtesy of removing the offending item from your three credit reports. Creditors have the leeway under the law to perform favors like this.

While you’re on the phone with your new call center friend, ask why the company isn’t reporting positive information about your account that could help your score. Some card companies don’t report credit card limits. Others only report to one of the three credit bureaus. If your account is in good standing, it would be a tremendous benefit to your score if that bank reports the account to all three bureaus. Some of the bureaus may not even know it exists! Scan your three credit reports for discrepancies like this and politely ask –on the phone and in writing—if the bank will delete out-of-character negatives and report helpful positives.

Having a high credit score helps you save money by snagging low interest rates on everything from credit cards to cars to a house.

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EPISODE 20 ~ FIND YOURS: Credit Bureaus Can Help You Claim Your Missing Money

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This one is really more about claiming yours.  The government doesn’t always make it easy to get your unclaimed money back.

The positive spin on this is that the bureaucrats want to make sure they don’t give the money to the wrong person.  The cynical view is that they’re reluctant to part with your money because they’re using it on various government programs. 

So, whether it’s federal or state, county or city, you usually have to jump through some hoops to get your money back.  Many people give up when the bean counters start asking for paperwork proving the unclaimed money is theirs.  You may be asked for proof of an address where you live 40 years ago.  Or they might ask you for the account number of the credit union where you banked way back when.  Or to verify that you really did work at the company that turned over your unclaimed paycheck. 

Who keeps records like that?  The credit bureaus, that’s who!  This is a terrific trick!  If you have to produce ancient financial records in order to claim your missing money, order your free credit reports from all 3 credit bureaus and one of them is likely to have the information in its database!  This has worked for several friends of mine.

To order your free credit reports, just go to AnnualCreditReport.com.  That is the one and only site mandated by congress to give each of us one free credit report a year.  I’ll say it again AnnualCreditReport.com —not some other site that advertises heavily.  I’ll also provide a hyper link from my site, EasyMoneyShow.com, so you can be sure to go to the right spot.

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EPISODE 20~ GUEST BLOG: Sell Your Music: How To Make Money Composing Stock Songs

By Evan Barrett

With the cost of home music studios coming down dramatically, millions of musicians have gained access to an affordable way to record their music.

At the same time, this digital revolution leads to more new video content created each day than you could watch in a lifetime. From podcasts to Youtube, from Netflix to Snapchat Stories, all of this new content needs background music.

And that’s where stock music comes in. Stock music is affordable music written to fill this growing need.

Because videographers can’t legally take an existing song and put it in their videos, a whole marketplace has opened up for songwriters like you and me to license our songs consistently.

I should know, I’ve been making hundreds of dollars a month in passive income doing it!

Here are the basics:

First you write and record good music – but it does not need to be a Billboard Platinum hit. In fact, the best selling songs seem to be those that convey a consistent emotion (joy, sorrow, excitement).

Second, you register with a stock music site like AudioJungle, Songtradr, or Pond 5 (my recommendation for beginners). Then you upload your tracks there.

Third, in order for people to find your songs, the most important thing to do is to spend a lot of time thinking about how you tag each song with keywords (you can download a free guide to keyword tagging here).

Finally, you’re going to want to rinse and repeat. To start earning consistent money, you need to upload hundreds of tracks.

But trust me when I say that there is no feeling as good as knowing that your music is out there getting heard – and that people value it enough to pay for it!

Guest Bio: Evan Barrett

Evan is an attorney by day —and Barrett’s his middle name, not his last name— but side hustles as a musician by night. He’s earned thousands of dollars in passive income through music licensing, and his songs have been used by clients like NPR and Verizon. He’s passionate about teaching other musicians how to license their music.

To learn how to license your music, visit www.stockmusicmusician.com.

Guest Contact: Evan Barrett

Website: www.stockmusicmusician.com

Music: www.productiontrax.com/profile.php?id=11478

Twitter: @stockmusicmuscn

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EPISODE 19 ~ TOP TIP: Parking Garages: The Sneaky Way They May Be Overcharging You

Some parking garages set their ‘in’ clock slow and their ‘out’ clock fast, to overcharge you for parking.  I’m talking about the type of garages where you take a ticket as you enter.  Since you pay more every time you pass an hour mark, they’re motivated to make it look like you have!  For example, maybe parking for up to an hour costs $10 bucks, but if they can make it look like you parked for an hour and 5 minutes, you have to pay $20.  And so on.  When I investigated 20 garages, 2 were in the customer’s favor, 3 were accurate and the other 15 were tweaked in the companies favor!  That’s 75%!  Since most of us carry smart phones these days that keep accurate time via satellite, check the time on your ticket next time you park in a garage, and if they’re trying to pull a fast one on you, call them on it.

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EPISODE 19 ~ MAKE MORE: Raises: Follow These Tips To Increase Your Chances Of Getting A Raise At Work

Time now for our make more segment of the show.

Asking your boss for a raise can definitely be intimidating and I’m going to do an in depth interview with a negotiation strategist at some point.  But, for now, here are eight killer tips that can increase your chances of getting a “yes.”

First, lay the ground work. Improve your standing in the workplace by not only doing your own work, but by helping with other tasks.  In particular, see if you can do any problem-solving for a future role you might want.  Never say “That’s not my job.”

Do PR for yourself. In other words keep track of things like how you helped increase revenue or reduced the time it takes teams to complete projects.  If you receive an award for outstanding work, that’s great.  But even compliments from clients or higher-ups counts.   Compile these and find non-obnoxious ways to make your boss aware of them.

Third, set the stage:  Long before you ask for a raise, ask for feedback on your current position and what they need from you and clearly communicate your goal of moving up in the company.  Talk about the future to show you’re invested.

Fourth: Research average salaries for your position in your area.  If you’re current pay is below average, that’s an opening.  If it’s above, you’ll know you need to add value to get value.

Fifth, practice your pitch. This means out loud, in the mirror, or to someone you trust.  But then, don’t just practice asking for more money.  Also practice responding to various responses your boss may give you and be ready for those.

Sixth: time it right.  Ideally you will ask for a raise soon after you’ve accomplished something noticeably helpful to the company.  You don’t have to wait for your annual review.  Also be sure it’s a day that your boss isn’t under undue stress that could make him or her feel negative in general.

Number 7: It’s about them, not you.  When you make your case, remember that bosses kind of care about you but they really care about what YOU can do for the company.  So don’t talk about how you need the money.  Talk about why you DESERVE the money because of what you are doing for them.

And finally, have a graceful exit strategy.  No, I don’t mean quitting if you don’t get what you want!  Rather, if your boss says no to the raise, ask for SPECIFICS of what you need to do to earn a raise in the future and then ask to reconvene after a set number of months to see how you’re doing and revisit the idea of a raise.

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EPISODE 19 ~ SAVE MORE: Online Grocery Shopping Versus In-Store Shopping: What Saves You More?

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Now let’s talk about how shopping for groceries online might actually save you money compared to shopping in person. Yes, despite the delivery fees.

When I tackled this topic for the Washington Post a couple of months ago, my first question was are online and in-person grocery prices the same or different? Frankly, I was worried that there might be a markup on online products. So I compared online and in-store prices at Giant and Safeway, two of the largest nationwide chains, both of which have delivery services.

I checked 10 popular products that most families would buy and found that the total at both stores’ brick and mortar locations was about $45. I’m delighted to say that their online store totals were within a dollar or two of that. Some prices were a few cents higher, but some were lower, so it came out almost even. I only checked the 10 products but when the website cheapism.com did a broader comparison, it also found online and in-store prices were pretty equivalent.

So if we consider that settled, then it’s all about whether you can make back the delivery fee. Stores charge between $7.95 and $12.95 to deliver your groceries, depending on the size of your purchase. You may also want to tip your driver, although some stores don’t allow it. So… can we recoup the delivery fee? Stay with me…

You offset a little of the delivery fee right away since you don’t have to pay for gas. Plus there are ways to get free or discounted delivery: First, many stores offer discount codes for free delivery if you buy a certain dollar minimum. Second, sometimes manufacturers will pay for your delivery if you buy a certain amount of their products. Third: when certain time slots aren’t filling up, stores will often offer discounted delivery.

I would argue that the bigger benefit to shopping online is the time you save by skipping the trip. Plus, if you enter your loyalty card number, all the products you’ve bought at the store in the past should pop up as a customized shopping list. Just click the ones you’d like to buy again and you’re done. No wandering from aisle to aisle. When you shop from home you can also check your pantry to see if you need something, rather than guessing and wasting food. And, if you’re a parent, taking kids to the supermarket inevitably takes more time. So there’s that.

But here’s the real beauty of shopping for groceries online: your online shopping cart keeps a running total of your purchases. If you’re over budget, you simply uncheck something to remove it from your cart and get back on track. By contrast, when you’re at the store, unless you’re Rain Man, you have no idea what your total is as you shop and putting items back after the checker rings them up is awkward.

You can also shop around by unit price online. Looking for something like canned peas, where the brand doesn’t matter? Tell the computer to sort them by price from lowest to highest, and stick the cheapest one in your cart. By contrast, scanning up and down the shelves with your eyeballs is much more time consuming.

Shopping online also helps you avoid impulse buys. In fact, when I spoke with a Giant executive, she admitted that that is challenging for them as a company.

You can even use coupons when you shop online. Some stores allow you to use paper coupons for online orders by presenting them to your driver. Others have virtual coupons right on their websites. Online grocery stores also feature sales. Some even have handy tools that list products you’ve purchased in the past that are currently on sale.

Now, to address what EVERYONE always says when I suggest they try grocery shopping online: picking out your own produce. Yes, it’s nice to choose your fruits and veggies, but keep in mind, online grocery stores DO have a comment section where you can leave instructions for your personal shopper. Like your bananas green? Your apples small? Say so. I now do a combination of in-store and online grocery shopping. I hope I’ve convinced you to at least give online shopping a try.

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EPISODE 19 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money: Find Missing Money For Your Business

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We begin today with our find yours segment.  I’ve told you that small businesses often have larger pots of unclaimed money out there waiting for them than individuals do.  Not as many accounts, but bigger accounts.  My next guest found that out first hand when he was able to find unclaimed money for his business.  Please welcome Chris Miller of West Virginia to the program.  Hi Chris!

Chris, first tell us what type of business you run there in West Virginia.

Chris Miller is a local car dealership owner.  The dealership is called Dutch Miller Auto and they have several locations in West Virginia, including Charleston.

You received a sizable amount of unclaimed money back.  Don’t tell us how much yet, but tell us how you first heard it was out there.

I have always known about unclaimed property but being busy it isn’t something you think about. The state treasurer’s office contacted me and said we think we have a lot of your unclaimed property.

What did you have to do to claim it?

The gentleman from the state treasurer’s office showed up to the dealership. My mother is house majority whip of the state so I knew he was legit and that his business card was legit. He collected my driver’s license, had me fill out forms and said I will get back to you. He wouldn’t tell me how much money, but he said it was sizable and worth coming to see me!

So he was keeping you in suspense and I want to keep our listeners in suspense a little longer.  The unclaimed money you received, what did the money come from?

I do know what money came from. It had to do with insurance settlements for bodywork, deductible payments, overpayment of taxes. A very long list. It was $187 here. $200 there. And it went back to 1989.

So how did you finally find out how much money was out there for you and your business?

The Treasurer’s office got back in touch with me 4 weeks later and said they had great news. They said ‘We would love to do a check presentation with you.’ We coordinated on our end and we did a check presentation.

Alright, it’s time.  How big was that check they handed you?  How much did you receive?

They handed me a big huge check for $11,162!!!!

And what did you do with the money?

I had contacted the Children’s Home Society of WV and invited them to the check presentation.  It’s a place kids go before they go into foster care when they are in abusive situations. It is underfunded right now because of the opioid epidemic so more kids are getting pulled out.  I donated my unclaimed money to the Children’s Home Society right then and there. I received it and handed it over to them. 

Describe your thinking when you cooked up this plan.  I imagine it was fun to take this money that you didn’t even know you had and do some good with it.

I have been a huge supporter of them. I knew what I wanted to do with the money. These funds will provide more of an opportunity for kids being pulled out of their home to have better access to food, pajamas, shoes, special care, funding of people who work in the organization. Better everything.  This is unclaimed property. You don’t have to pay taxes since it isn’t revenue.  I made a donation which was tax deductible.

That’s not all this experience inspired you to do.  Describe how you started trying to get the word out that other people might have unclaimed money out there too.

I got on radio shows and we had a press conference at the dealership. I wanted to spread the word.  People are very very uninformed about unclaimed property and that is why I wanted to get involved to educate people as much as I could. There is $139 million still sitting unclaimed in the state treasurer’s office.

As a businessman, what drives you crazy about all that money just sitting there?

There is $139 million still sitting unclaimed in the state treasurer’s office.  It could be injected back into the economy, donated to charity.  Every single economy is local. You may not need the money but another group might and you can give to them. The small amount of effort, filling out paperwork and forms – to find out to have extra money to give to someone else in your community who needs it is a no brainer.  Can use the money to do good. It is every single business owner’s obligation to give back to the community they do business in. It is something we should all be doing. If it is $11 or $1,100 or $11,000.

I think some people don’t search for unclaimed money because they think it’s too good to be true.  Or that it’s hard to do.  Is it?

It was incredibly easy. I didn’t have to do much at all. Anybody and everybody in state of WV can find out if they have it. You don’t even have to be the person. If you are an immediate heir you can fill out forms, prove who you are and receive this money.  Get online in whatever state you live in and search unclaimed property. Type in your name, family member’s names, deceased family members names and see if they have unclaimed  property. It is easy and it is free.

In fact, after your PR blitz, other people did start finding their unclaimed money, right?

There was a man that heard us on the air talking about what we were doing and when we had the check presentation later that morning he showed up and had done the same thing and had received several $100 for overpayment of gas bills. And he wrote a check to the same charity we did.

Chris Miller of Dutch Miller Auto —and now an unclaimed money evangelist, thank you so much for speaking with me.

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