Musicians face significant financial hurdles, often finding traditional institutions like banks unreliable for funding their creative pursuits.
Eugene Bempong Nyantakyi, an economist, highlights the systemic challenges musicians encounter in securing financial support.
Unlike conventional businesses, artistic endeavors lack predictable revenue streams, making banks hesitant to offer loans or grants.
This reluctance stems from the high-risk nature of music careers, where success is uncertain and income fluctuates.
The music industry’s evolving landscape exacerbates these issues.
Streaming platforms, while lucrative for top-tier artists, offer minimal royalties for most, with only 28% of musicians earning from streams, averaging just $100 annually.
Live performances, a primary income source, often yield meager earnings, with median gig income at $5,427 in 2017.
Additionally, piracy and weak intellectual property protections, particularly in regions like Kenya, further erode potential revenue, forcing artists to prioritize live shows over recordings.
Bempong suggests alternative financing models, such as equity financing through platforms like Royalty Exchange, which allow musicians to sell future royalty shares for upfront cash without debt.
However, these options require artists to relinquish long-term earnings, a trade-off many hesitate to make.
Government grants, as seen in countries like Australia, provide some relief, but such support is scarce in many regions, leaving artists vulnerable.
To thrive, musicians must adopt creative, self-reliant strategies—crowdfunding, merchandise sales, or music-related side gigs like teaching.
Bempong emphasizes the need for structural reforms, including better IP enforcement and government-backed music funds, to create a sustainable ecosystem.
Without such changes, musicians will continue to struggle, unable to rely on financial institutions for the support they desperately need.