Synthesis can earn you money while you sleep (literally)

Hey music producers,

This month we're talking about synthesis.

We started off by discussing pain points:

• How presets eventually become a bottleneck

• Why YouTube is terrible for learning the fundamentals of synthesis

• Falling into the trap of believing you need a certain synth to create a particular sound

Now we're discussing how simply knowing synthesis can dramatically improve your career:

• How synthesis saved my ass when a client changed direction last minute

In that same vein, I want to finish this series today by sharing with you how knowing synthesis is the direct reason why I earn money while I sleep. Let's dive in!

I love getting emails from Stripe...

A few days a week, I get emails from Stripe in my inbox. And, let me tell you, I love getting emails from Stripe. Why? Because it means that I just got paid. Usually, this means a producer like yourself has signed up for a coaching session with me. This is a pretty typical work-for-hire scenario. I am being paid for my time and expertise like anybody else who works a job.

But recently, I've started receiving payment notifications from Stripe that require nothing else from me beyond simply receiving the payment.

The first time it happened, I was freaking out with excitement. I never thought something like this would be possible. If you're American, like me, the dream of passive income is something that is (rightly or wrongly) dangled in front of you from the moment you are born. If you grew up working class, like me, then you assumed that this dream would always remain as such.

...because I'm getting earning passive income from my skills.

Most of you know that I have a YouTube channel where I make weekly tutorials about music production and Ableton Live. I am often making custom instruments and effect racks to use as demonstrations in my videos. At some point, I realized that between those presets and all the custom patches I've made for my own music over the years that I built up an extensive library.

I decided I would try offering my presets to anybody who was interested online. Some would be available for free, most would be available for purchase. I ultimately considered this an experiment. In the list of professional hats I wear, I am a composer/music producer first and an educator closely behind that. What I am not is a software instrument manufacturer. I figured a few people would pick them up at best, and at worst it would be an archive of my work.

My non-expectations were blown out of the water. Without any marketing or promotion aside - from my YouTube channel with just barely 2000 subscribers (at the time of writing) - I am averaging about $300 in sales a month from my presets. Now that isn't a salary but it most certainly isn't nothing.

All because I know how to use the tools available to me

I am able to add this additional revenue stream to my income portfolio simply because I know sound design and synthesis. When I need a sound, I load up a synth and dial in what I need. Now, I just take the extra step of exporting it as a pack and uploading it to my website.

I straight up would be earning less money every month if I did not know synthesis.

This is the reason why I focus on education and the reason why I talk so much about the fundamentals. If you learn the core music production skills that others lack, people will pay you to help them learn - and they'll also pay you for what you can do with those skills, like make presets. It's one of the many reasons why I created Beginner Synthesis in Ableton Live, which is now open for enrollment.

What do you know? What don't you know?

We all want to earn a living from music production. The first step in that process is figuring out what we know and what we don't.

Learn the things you don't know. Offer the skills and knowledge that you do possess to others, they will take you up on it - even if you don't expect them to.

Til next time,

ZW