Music and Audio
The short answer: The closest official pay figure for music and audio side hustles is employee pay: according to the BLS, employed music directors and composers earned a median $73,710 in May 2025. The catch: The Side Hustle Show puts 87% of Spotify tracks below the minimum to earn any royalties. (BLS OEWS; The Side Hustle Show) Music and audio suits sellers like Mike Stewart, a music and radio veteran who writes jingles for local trades. (Chris Koerner)
| Median pay of employed music directors and composers | $35.44/hr ($73,710/yr) BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employee pay, not side-hustle income |
|---|---|
| Projected job growth, music directors and composers | +1.2% BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35 |
| One creator's reported part-time earnings | $200–$5,000/month 2 reports by Chris Koerner, Mar 2026 |
| One creator's reported startup cost | $30,000 2 reports by Chris Koerner, Mar 2026 |
| One creator's reported hours | 1–20 hrs/week Reported by Affiliate Marketing & Side Hustles on the Doug.Show, Jul 2026 |
From 8 quotes by 3 creators and BLS data. A creator figure is one person's account.
Go deeper: all the music and audio evidence
How much can you make from music and audio side hustles?
According to the BLS, employed sound engineering technicians earned a median $73,130 in May 2025, which is employee pay, not music and audio side-hustle income. (BLS OEWS)
| Related occupation | Median pay | Middle 80% |
|---|---|---|
| Music Directors and Composers | $35.44/hr ($73,710/yr), BLS OEWS, May 2025 | $39,880–$165,760/yr |
| Sound Engineering Technicians | $35.16/hr ($73,130/yr), BLS OEWS, May 2025 | $37,570–$137,370/yr |
Median annual pay of employed music directors and composers: $73,710 nationally; highest and lowest states below (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
| Highest-paying states | Median | Lowest-paying states | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $122,750/yr | Montana | $51,530/yr |
| California | $93,090/yr | Illinois | $49,270/yr |
| Colorado | $88,460/yr | Alabama | $42,250/yr |
What do people doing music and audio say?
“on a bad month, I'll do about $200 in revenue, but I've done up to like 2 grand in a month.”
“It does a on on a bad month, I'll do about $200 in revenue, um but I've done up to like two grand in a month.”
“Let's say we're sitting at about $30,000 retail of gear in here.”
“sueno costs like 10 or 20 bucks a month”
“I do think you could be working on a podcast one to two hours a week or 10, 15, 20 hours a week.”
What does it cost to start a music and audio side hustle?
For a music and audio side hustle, Mike says Suno and ElevenLabs now replace the studio and session singer. The Side Hustle Show says Suno costs $10–$20 a month. (Chris Koerner; The Side Hustle Show)
- Choose a buyer: Mike writes jingles for plumbers, roofers and pest control firms. (Chris Koerner)
- Produce the track with Suno and ElevenLabs, as Mike does. (Chris Koerner)
- Run it as a skippable YouTube ad in the client's zip code, as he does. (Chris Koerner)
How many hours a week does a music and audio side hustle take?
Music and audio work on a podcast can take 1–20 hours a week, according to the Doug.Show podcast. In Chris's episode on jingles, the process is described as "Suno and ElevenLabs and about fifteen minutes." (Affiliate Marketing & Side Hustles on the Doug.Show; Chris Koerner)
Who is a music and audio side hustle for?
A music and audio side hustle in lyric writing takes a love of music and a knack for rhyme rather than formal musical training, one podcast says. (Side Hustles To Earn Extra Cash)
Which platforms do people use for music and audio?
Platforms people doing music and audio use: Epidemic Sound.
Is a music and audio side hustle worth it?
Pros
- Mike says he resold one pest control jingle over a hundred times. (Chris Koerner)
- Mike's clients paid a monthly fee on top of the jingle price. (Chris Koerner)
Cons
- Ace Enders of The Early November says streaming royalties are hard to trace. (Chris Koerner)
- The BLS projects employment change of -3.1% for sound engineering technicians and 1.2% for music directors and composers over 2025-35. (BLS Employment Projections)
What are the risks of a music and audio side hustle?
A music and audio track earns no Spotify royalties below 1,000 streams, The Side Hustle Show says. Equipment accounts conflict: Mike's episode names Suno and ElevenLabs, while the Doug.Show speaker started out buying two Blue Yeti microphones. (The Side Hustle Show; Chris Koerner)
What are the alternatives to music and audio?
- Content Creator side hustle: Often covered together (1 shared video).
- Brand Deals & UGC side hustle: Also in digital products and content.
- Self Publishing side hustle: Also in digital products and content.
- Renting out your stuff: Often covered together (1 shared video).
- Mobile Car Detailing as a side hustle: Often covered together (1 shared video).
Sources and method
Quotes are verbatim and linked to the moment they were said. A figure from one report is not confirmed by a second source. BLS figures describe employees in the closest related occupation. Every quote, the pay in each state and the full source list are on the all the music and audio evidence.
- The Side Hustle Show, podcast, 4 Jun 2026.
- Chris Koerner, podcast, 21 Aug 2026.
- Chris Koerner, podcast, 10 Mar 2026.
- Chris Koerner, YouTube, 31 Aug 2026.
- Affiliate Marketing & Side Hustles on the Doug.Show, podcast, 6 Jul 2026.
- Side Hustles To Earn Extra Cash, podcast, 13 Dec 2023.
- Chris Koerner, podcast, 17 Oct 2025.
- Katie Gettys, YouTube, 16 Apr 2025.
- Chris Koerner, YouTube, 12 Mar 2026.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35.
Other data behind this page (6)
| Fact | Value | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common pitfalls | Most tracks never reach the Spotify 1,000-stream royalty threshold | Accepted | The Side Hustle Show |
| Demand trend | stable | Accepted | BLS Employment Projections |
| Startup cost | $30,000 | One report | Chris Koerner |
| Equipment | Suno, ElevenLabs | One report | Chris Koerner |
| Equipment | ElevenLabs, Suno | One report | Affiliate Marketing & Side Hustles on the Doug.Show |
| Projected employment change, 10 years: sound engineering technicians | -3.1% | Official statistic | BLS Employment Projections |