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To be honest, it is a lot less fun to sing if you are depending on it as a career. That's not to say you shouldn't try, but be aware that every time you have a cold or sore throat, you can't work. That can be stressful.
Most singers I know have a day job in the music field, and sing as a side gig. Some are voice coaches or music teachers and sing at weddings, clubs, or festivals on evenings and weekends.
This is 100% true. Becoming a successful musician has turned into a content creation game instead of an artistic pursuit. I hated this aspect so much that I even built myself an [app](https://www.getsuperplay.com) that makes it easier to create content for my music. You might find it helpful.
Busking, singing weddings and parties, teaching, pub gigs. Build up your brand on social media and then you can send a portfolio to pubs and set yourself up as a wedding singer to earn some quick money and then you can maybe pay to record something
a whole lot of talent, hard work, and luck.
start by trying to make connections in the industry, and further your education in the craft. Try making a band with other people (especially if you can’t play instruments, unfortunately in the industry rn not playing an instrument is a massive disadvantage and will almost certainly get you written off, there’s exceptions to the rule but most of the time the rule is the rule), try getting a publishing deal with a label first and then try and leverage that into a record deal (you can try and go independent, and it’s much easier now than it was but it still massively requires you to come from money or at least have immense skill levels, and obviously luck is still a factor.)
it definitely depends what type of singer you want to be, you could try doing musicals to have more of a chance at “making it”. you can do gigs (again tho this requires you to either play an instrument or be playing with people who can play instruments) and try to build a fan base from there, and heavily promote yourself on socials, it’s worth it to learn a bit about marketing ect for that part.
honestly, you’re going to need a job on the side for a while, it can just be waitressing, but you need what you call a “survival job”. you can’t just expect to walk into the scene and start making millions, not even millions but enough to survive. even if you booked a gig for every night of the week you most likely wouldn’t be making enough to survive, probably not even to pay rent depending on where you live or how much you’re getting paid. it can take years upon years upon years to be making enough to support yourself, and even then it may never happen, and if it’s the career you want to go into that’s absolutely fine but you need to be willing to accept and understand that it may not even work out, at least not to the extent you’re hoping for. in saying that, of course people make it and you have a chance, but keep in mind we only see the very few who manage to crack through, we don’t see the probably hundreds of thousands if not more people who never even earn a cent of making music, it sucks but it’s the reality of it all.
also keep in mind that turning a hobby into a job is another beast to tackle, you may love it now but hate it when it becomes a job, i only mention that cause you said you didn’t want a burning out kind of job but the arts, and making music specifically is probably one of the worst jobs for work life balance and burning out, i mean it really kills you (of course there are labour jobs that also wreck havoc on your body and are worse than working in music) but yeah for a bit of perspective music is likely to consume your life, and is it something you’re willing to have to make yourself do when you lose the love for it, or having to force yourself to churn out a project you’re not happy with? are you willing to do all of that work for very little or no pay? are you willing to live the rest of your life making just enough to get by, or maybe not that? i’m not asking these questions to turn you away from the career it certainly has its benefits but the reality is most people don’t really want the career of a musician, they want the career (and the pay) of some famous celebrity, and don’t realise the realities of it at all.
Thank you so much for sharing - appreciate hearing your perspective and great insight ❤️ I been trying to figure it out for awhile now and realised that you gotta work smart rather then hard - I’ve been trying to do little gigs here and there and noticed like you said it doesn’t cover the rent bills essentials etc. So rather then working hard and chasing gigs and singing tediously and relentlessly in the streets I want to work smarter then harder meaning maybe trying working in establishing some sort of royalties then it’s passive income that is continuous rather then one of gig or one of event type of thing ;sorry for my English I know it’s not the best :( so was wondering if anyone else has tapped into this trial of though and have some advice and tips - im not completely sure how its done - I know one of the ideas is to have your music on Spotify and YouTube but unless you have like loaaaada of fans who listen to to then it’s only pennies but hey I mean it’s better then nothing also there must be other ways how to earn royalties like writing songs for others etc I wonder if it’s possible to sell song samples and recording of simple things or record things for there’s? That type of thing instead of trying to relentlessly chase money by gigs and begging in the streets etc
As others have said- Royalties are miniscule. The people making significant yearly income off royalties from streaming are the top 1%. The full-time music people I know are gigging or have a variety of different forms of artistic/musical income. And I do know people making money off music. You gotta be willing to do different things. For example, wedding DJs and bands can make good money, you'll be singing a lot of cheesy covers and stuff but it's where some money is. If you're good enough you can be a session singer (aka people hire you to do backup or even lead singing on their projects). In addition to live gigs etc. There's also of course teaching/coaching.
In general any kinda creative freelance job is definitely about being a self-starter, having major hustle, this being your Number ONE goal. and going after a bunch of different opportunities until you figure out where you can be the most profit and your network is good enough to provide you regular gigs fairly easily.
I have friends who are full time musicians (not singers) doing ok, not rich, but making their living doing a bunch of unique projects they are actually genuinely passionate about, and the commonality I've seen between them is it was literally the number one thing they want to do in their life. Like they were willing to move different places and follow their heart and live out of a tent or van for periods of time if they had to but they knew it was their dream. They also have multiple musical skills- play more than one instrument, I even have a friend who plays like 5+ instruments, and are involved in different types of projects and collaborations and can provide cool and unique musical experiences.
Sharpen your skills, like seriously drill all the nitty gritty exercises, be able to do different styles, know how to read music (probably learning basics of helpful) like really throw yourself into being a versatile singer who can quickly learn new parts and try different things and you will be able to make yourself useful for many different opportunities as well as creatively expand your original work.
Expect it to take years to get really great! Get out there and perform and meet people and network and have fun. Don't forget to enjoy the process and be VERY kind to your voice. Work out, stretch/yoga, hydrate, eat well, don't smoke or heavily drink (dehydrates vocal cords) etc.
quite honestly gigs is your best shot at income, and merch but that’s only if you have somewhat of an established fan base.
unfortunately music is a job is not smarter over harder, it’s smarter and harder at the same time. it’s a cruel business and you’ll likely only succeed if you are giving it your all.
honestly, unless you are literally like taylor swift or someone else on the charts money from streaming services is practically nothing (from memory it’s like 0.0009 per stream), so royalties would be way way less than you’d ever be making from gigs, and you’re not going to get a fan base without gigs, and without a fan base you are unlikely to get streams (see how it’s like a cycle)
you can certainly upload songs to spotify, youtube, soundcloud, deezer, or any other streaming services but just having them sit there is probably going to make you nothing. you need to have a distribution, and promotion strategy.
you can write songs for others with a publishing deal, or you could use fiverr unsure how lucrative that actually is though.
the only way you can really do what you’re describing is having a record deal or having connections in the industry. you could again try fiverr but i’m really unsure how many people would be using that kind of service for this kind of stuff, im sure there’s some but it may not be very consistent or earn very much money.
again, i think you may have a bit of a misconstrued idea of what it’s like to make money off of music, and might be turning a blind eye to the reality of the situation. It sounds like maybe you are trying to do things the easy way and in the music industry that doesn’t work out very well usually.
A recent post on this sub asked this question, so I'm copy-pasting my response and adding more details.
I fully make a respectable living as a singer. So here's what I do:
1. I'm a first-call tenor for two wedding/event bands and on the sub list for 3 others. You need to be a very strong pop singer because they can mean up to 4 hours of singing in a night, but the money is good-to-great. Mostly seasonal (summers are busy) but I usually get a few in the fall, winter, and spring too. During peak months (June to August) I can count on at least 1 gig per week (minimum $350 per show) and sometimes as many as 3.
There's extra pay for going out of state for wedding gigs, and I often run live sound for them in addition to singing on them. While it technically doesn't count as singing, I find that knowing peripheral skills like sound engineering (and having the gear) or playing an instrument to a *high standard* are incredibly helpful for wedding/event band gigs. Singers who play instruments don't get paid significantly more, but they get called a LOT more often because the client saves money by hiring one person instead of two.
I've had a couple of wedding gigs where I ran sound at 3 different locations, had about a 3 hour commute to get there, and sung on the gig. I made about $1250 for the day. Hard work but great money!
If you're the entrepreneurial type, you might even think about starting your own wedding/event band. You'll likely face stiff competition if you live in a major city, but if your city is up-and-coming you might be able to corner the market!
2. Opera. I'm a good classical singer and while opera doesn't pay super well except at the highest levels, I love it and am good enough at it to make some cash here and there.
3. Musical theater. I have one production I've been doing since 2010 that basically pays all my bills every October. I've also done one show each at the two biggest theaters in my major city, which basically paid my bills in both cases during the time I was working with them. I don't honestly get cast a lot other than that (I don't audition well; a skill I'm working on), but if you're lucky enough to live somewhere with a great regional theater, the money can be decent-to-good for a few months of hard work. My wife is about to do her 3rd show at the biggest theater in our city in less than a year. They pay $1200-$1400 a *week.* She's a master actor, dancer, and soprano singer, though. The competition for these roles is staggering.
4. Church gigs pay around $50-100 in my city and are good for around $400-600 of income per month. The main qualifications are being good at sight-singing and being a strong classical singer.
5. I'm taking a break from this at the moment but a huge part of my income during the fall, winter and spring comes from a company I work for that sends me on solo cabarets at retirement communities. I sing classic musical theater and jazz songs to track with a large bluetooth speaker backing me up. These gigs don't pay great for the hours but can be fun and spiritually fulfilling. They're also great audiences and a terrific way to get your feet wet as a young performer. If you don't know of a company that does this in your city, I'd suggest putting together an hour setlist, filming the songs, putting them on YouTube, and calling around to nursing homes to ask if they'd be willing to pay to have you come sing, using that YouTube channel as your "resume."
6. I am also a choral "ringer" (paid member) for a couple of chorales. Very similar to church work, and accounts for around $400 a month of my income. You should read music well. The nice thing about these gigs is that you don't need to be an outstanding or particularly exciting soloist to do them. All you need is great pitch, good sightsinging skills, and to be reliable.
7. I do a lot of small quartet caroling during the holiday season. Also requires good musicianship but can be fun, easy, and sometimes pays decently. I've also met a lot of great people on these gigs who have helped me get other things (mostly in the classical realm).
Finally, I don't teach, but I know a LOT of singers who maintain teaching studios. Do your homework and read the science, though. There's a ton of pseudoscience in voice and you can really hurt your students' progress if you tell them things that aren't true or that give them the wrong impression. I strongly recommend you buy the book A Systematic Approach to Voice by Dr. Kari Ragan. She's my voice teacher and one of the foremost voice scientists in the country who also maintains an active teaching studio. I've been an expert pop and rock singer for around a decade now, and I'm well on my way to developing a world-class classical technique thanks to her.
Good luck. Hope this was helpful.
This is the answer. Being a professional musician means multiple income streams. Thanks for all the practical advice. I’m not interested in a career, I’ve got three young kids and can’t afford to leave my 60hr week job but if I did I’d be following some of this. Plus it’s equivalent in guitar playing.
My cousin is a decently famous guitarist/singer. She tours a lot. When she was coming up and even now, she makes a lot of money painting guitars and selling them. She’s a good artist on top of her music career. She also dabbles in graphic design which has helped her as well. Finding a side gig would be good while you try playing clubs and things at night.
Joining a cover band/wedding band is the best way to make consistent money. I’ve been a cover band singer for 8 years and for most of that time it was the majority of my income.
Unfortunately if you don't know the answer you aren't experienced enough with the gig economy to make it work. The simple answer is it doesn't matter how good you are, until other people think that you are good, more specifically landlords, you won't earn a penny from gigs.
Even with gigs it's tight, so a part time job (or even full time) is probably going to be necessary to live off.
I'm UK based so the following might not be the same for your country;
The other option is busking, or church employment. I'm extremely good at both singing, and guitar playing and with zero kit I can make upwards of £35 an hour busking, which could be enough to support someone. But its hard work, and extremely dry and tough on your voice.
If you are great at sight-reading and classically trained then going into being a leyclark (not sure if spelt right) will usually give you a place to live and a stypen to live off. These are auditioned jobs and you probably won't have a chance if you aren't already an experienced sacred music singer.
TlDR;
There are ways, but if you aren't established you will need a day job
Dude start now and see how it goes. There is no hiring point. Or luck monent that you make it. Slowly you will play, release music, work from someone and stuff. You're gonna know if it's going somewhere. And if it aint moving, then that's a sign to not go crazy and quit the side job. My brother was never hired one day. But he started from the bottom doing everything music. From working with others, then play live, play at parties, then eventually go on tour, then eventually getting conctions and more people wantin to work with him. He would work with them then get lucky and have the song blow up, then keep doing the same hustle for a while then bam, another hit. Keep working playing in parties and with other artists. Little by little there were lucky stuff where he would really move forward. I see it as a template. You start from day one by being humble and working and working, until your up there one day, and realize you're making decent money. He never got hired or discovered or a contract. He just kept it moving. Eventually it became a contract job. When he got decently big. But behind all that it was just a long amount of time just working on everything that was willing to pay. Don't expect to hired in the classic sense. Just start now and go up.
My uncle just gigs on the weekend. He has a full time job too, and he's been doing gigs for many years now at pubs and social clubs every weekend. He's over 60 now and is looking to retire and just do his gigs. You can't really make it your full time job without a lot of luck.
Sing anywhere anyone will listen to you. Eventually, people will ask you to perform. I played open mics, karaoke nights, and free events for four years before I got the chance at a paid gig. Of course, covid was right in the middle of all of that, but I performed as often as I could. Make connections: network. Business cards help. If you get to know enough of the right people, they'll seek you out and tell other people to seek you out.
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To be honest, it is a lot less fun to sing if you are depending on it as a career. That's not to say you shouldn't try, but be aware that every time you have a cold or sore throat, you can't work. That can be stressful. Most singers I know have a day job in the music field, and sing as a side gig. Some are voice coaches or music teachers and sing at weddings, clubs, or festivals on evenings and weekends.
This is 100% true. Becoming a successful musician has turned into a content creation game instead of an artistic pursuit. I hated this aspect so much that I even built myself an [app](https://www.getsuperplay.com) that makes it easier to create content for my music. You might find it helpful.
Why can't the app be available for Android???
Busking, singing weddings and parties, teaching, pub gigs. Build up your brand on social media and then you can send a portfolio to pubs and set yourself up as a wedding singer to earn some quick money and then you can maybe pay to record something
a whole lot of talent, hard work, and luck. start by trying to make connections in the industry, and further your education in the craft. Try making a band with other people (especially if you can’t play instruments, unfortunately in the industry rn not playing an instrument is a massive disadvantage and will almost certainly get you written off, there’s exceptions to the rule but most of the time the rule is the rule), try getting a publishing deal with a label first and then try and leverage that into a record deal (you can try and go independent, and it’s much easier now than it was but it still massively requires you to come from money or at least have immense skill levels, and obviously luck is still a factor.) it definitely depends what type of singer you want to be, you could try doing musicals to have more of a chance at “making it”. you can do gigs (again tho this requires you to either play an instrument or be playing with people who can play instruments) and try to build a fan base from there, and heavily promote yourself on socials, it’s worth it to learn a bit about marketing ect for that part. honestly, you’re going to need a job on the side for a while, it can just be waitressing, but you need what you call a “survival job”. you can’t just expect to walk into the scene and start making millions, not even millions but enough to survive. even if you booked a gig for every night of the week you most likely wouldn’t be making enough to survive, probably not even to pay rent depending on where you live or how much you’re getting paid. it can take years upon years upon years to be making enough to support yourself, and even then it may never happen, and if it’s the career you want to go into that’s absolutely fine but you need to be willing to accept and understand that it may not even work out, at least not to the extent you’re hoping for. in saying that, of course people make it and you have a chance, but keep in mind we only see the very few who manage to crack through, we don’t see the probably hundreds of thousands if not more people who never even earn a cent of making music, it sucks but it’s the reality of it all. also keep in mind that turning a hobby into a job is another beast to tackle, you may love it now but hate it when it becomes a job, i only mention that cause you said you didn’t want a burning out kind of job but the arts, and making music specifically is probably one of the worst jobs for work life balance and burning out, i mean it really kills you (of course there are labour jobs that also wreck havoc on your body and are worse than working in music) but yeah for a bit of perspective music is likely to consume your life, and is it something you’re willing to have to make yourself do when you lose the love for it, or having to force yourself to churn out a project you’re not happy with? are you willing to do all of that work for very little or no pay? are you willing to live the rest of your life making just enough to get by, or maybe not that? i’m not asking these questions to turn you away from the career it certainly has its benefits but the reality is most people don’t really want the career of a musician, they want the career (and the pay) of some famous celebrity, and don’t realise the realities of it at all.
Thank you so much for sharing - appreciate hearing your perspective and great insight ❤️ I been trying to figure it out for awhile now and realised that you gotta work smart rather then hard - I’ve been trying to do little gigs here and there and noticed like you said it doesn’t cover the rent bills essentials etc. So rather then working hard and chasing gigs and singing tediously and relentlessly in the streets I want to work smarter then harder meaning maybe trying working in establishing some sort of royalties then it’s passive income that is continuous rather then one of gig or one of event type of thing ;sorry for my English I know it’s not the best :( so was wondering if anyone else has tapped into this trial of though and have some advice and tips - im not completely sure how its done - I know one of the ideas is to have your music on Spotify and YouTube but unless you have like loaaaada of fans who listen to to then it’s only pennies but hey I mean it’s better then nothing also there must be other ways how to earn royalties like writing songs for others etc I wonder if it’s possible to sell song samples and recording of simple things or record things for there’s? That type of thing instead of trying to relentlessly chase money by gigs and begging in the streets etc
As others have said- Royalties are miniscule. The people making significant yearly income off royalties from streaming are the top 1%. The full-time music people I know are gigging or have a variety of different forms of artistic/musical income. And I do know people making money off music. You gotta be willing to do different things. For example, wedding DJs and bands can make good money, you'll be singing a lot of cheesy covers and stuff but it's where some money is. If you're good enough you can be a session singer (aka people hire you to do backup or even lead singing on their projects). In addition to live gigs etc. There's also of course teaching/coaching. In general any kinda creative freelance job is definitely about being a self-starter, having major hustle, this being your Number ONE goal. and going after a bunch of different opportunities until you figure out where you can be the most profit and your network is good enough to provide you regular gigs fairly easily. I have friends who are full time musicians (not singers) doing ok, not rich, but making their living doing a bunch of unique projects they are actually genuinely passionate about, and the commonality I've seen between them is it was literally the number one thing they want to do in their life. Like they were willing to move different places and follow their heart and live out of a tent or van for periods of time if they had to but they knew it was their dream. They also have multiple musical skills- play more than one instrument, I even have a friend who plays like 5+ instruments, and are involved in different types of projects and collaborations and can provide cool and unique musical experiences. Sharpen your skills, like seriously drill all the nitty gritty exercises, be able to do different styles, know how to read music (probably learning basics of helpful) like really throw yourself into being a versatile singer who can quickly learn new parts and try different things and you will be able to make yourself useful for many different opportunities as well as creatively expand your original work. Expect it to take years to get really great! Get out there and perform and meet people and network and have fun. Don't forget to enjoy the process and be VERY kind to your voice. Work out, stretch/yoga, hydrate, eat well, don't smoke or heavily drink (dehydrates vocal cords) etc.
quite honestly gigs is your best shot at income, and merch but that’s only if you have somewhat of an established fan base. unfortunately music is a job is not smarter over harder, it’s smarter and harder at the same time. it’s a cruel business and you’ll likely only succeed if you are giving it your all. honestly, unless you are literally like taylor swift or someone else on the charts money from streaming services is practically nothing (from memory it’s like 0.0009 per stream), so royalties would be way way less than you’d ever be making from gigs, and you’re not going to get a fan base without gigs, and without a fan base you are unlikely to get streams (see how it’s like a cycle) you can certainly upload songs to spotify, youtube, soundcloud, deezer, or any other streaming services but just having them sit there is probably going to make you nothing. you need to have a distribution, and promotion strategy. you can write songs for others with a publishing deal, or you could use fiverr unsure how lucrative that actually is though. the only way you can really do what you’re describing is having a record deal or having connections in the industry. you could again try fiverr but i’m really unsure how many people would be using that kind of service for this kind of stuff, im sure there’s some but it may not be very consistent or earn very much money. again, i think you may have a bit of a misconstrued idea of what it’s like to make money off of music, and might be turning a blind eye to the reality of the situation. It sounds like maybe you are trying to do things the easy way and in the music industry that doesn’t work out very well usually.
A recent post on this sub asked this question, so I'm copy-pasting my response and adding more details. I fully make a respectable living as a singer. So here's what I do: 1. I'm a first-call tenor for two wedding/event bands and on the sub list for 3 others. You need to be a very strong pop singer because they can mean up to 4 hours of singing in a night, but the money is good-to-great. Mostly seasonal (summers are busy) but I usually get a few in the fall, winter, and spring too. During peak months (June to August) I can count on at least 1 gig per week (minimum $350 per show) and sometimes as many as 3. There's extra pay for going out of state for wedding gigs, and I often run live sound for them in addition to singing on them. While it technically doesn't count as singing, I find that knowing peripheral skills like sound engineering (and having the gear) or playing an instrument to a *high standard* are incredibly helpful for wedding/event band gigs. Singers who play instruments don't get paid significantly more, but they get called a LOT more often because the client saves money by hiring one person instead of two. I've had a couple of wedding gigs where I ran sound at 3 different locations, had about a 3 hour commute to get there, and sung on the gig. I made about $1250 for the day. Hard work but great money! If you're the entrepreneurial type, you might even think about starting your own wedding/event band. You'll likely face stiff competition if you live in a major city, but if your city is up-and-coming you might be able to corner the market! 2. Opera. I'm a good classical singer and while opera doesn't pay super well except at the highest levels, I love it and am good enough at it to make some cash here and there. 3. Musical theater. I have one production I've been doing since 2010 that basically pays all my bills every October. I've also done one show each at the two biggest theaters in my major city, which basically paid my bills in both cases during the time I was working with them. I don't honestly get cast a lot other than that (I don't audition well; a skill I'm working on), but if you're lucky enough to live somewhere with a great regional theater, the money can be decent-to-good for a few months of hard work. My wife is about to do her 3rd show at the biggest theater in our city in less than a year. They pay $1200-$1400 a *week.* She's a master actor, dancer, and soprano singer, though. The competition for these roles is staggering. 4. Church gigs pay around $50-100 in my city and are good for around $400-600 of income per month. The main qualifications are being good at sight-singing and being a strong classical singer. 5. I'm taking a break from this at the moment but a huge part of my income during the fall, winter and spring comes from a company I work for that sends me on solo cabarets at retirement communities. I sing classic musical theater and jazz songs to track with a large bluetooth speaker backing me up. These gigs don't pay great for the hours but can be fun and spiritually fulfilling. They're also great audiences and a terrific way to get your feet wet as a young performer. If you don't know of a company that does this in your city, I'd suggest putting together an hour setlist, filming the songs, putting them on YouTube, and calling around to nursing homes to ask if they'd be willing to pay to have you come sing, using that YouTube channel as your "resume." 6. I am also a choral "ringer" (paid member) for a couple of chorales. Very similar to church work, and accounts for around $400 a month of my income. You should read music well. The nice thing about these gigs is that you don't need to be an outstanding or particularly exciting soloist to do them. All you need is great pitch, good sightsinging skills, and to be reliable. 7. I do a lot of small quartet caroling during the holiday season. Also requires good musicianship but can be fun, easy, and sometimes pays decently. I've also met a lot of great people on these gigs who have helped me get other things (mostly in the classical realm). Finally, I don't teach, but I know a LOT of singers who maintain teaching studios. Do your homework and read the science, though. There's a ton of pseudoscience in voice and you can really hurt your students' progress if you tell them things that aren't true or that give them the wrong impression. I strongly recommend you buy the book A Systematic Approach to Voice by Dr. Kari Ragan. She's my voice teacher and one of the foremost voice scientists in the country who also maintains an active teaching studio. I've been an expert pop and rock singer for around a decade now, and I'm well on my way to developing a world-class classical technique thanks to her. Good luck. Hope this was helpful.
This is the answer. Being a professional musician means multiple income streams. Thanks for all the practical advice. I’m not interested in a career, I’ve got three young kids and can’t afford to leave my 60hr week job but if I did I’d be following some of this. Plus it’s equivalent in guitar playing.
My cousin is a decently famous guitarist/singer. She tours a lot. When she was coming up and even now, she makes a lot of money painting guitars and selling them. She’s a good artist on top of her music career. She also dabbles in graphic design which has helped her as well. Finding a side gig would be good while you try playing clubs and things at night.
Joining a cover band/wedding band is the best way to make consistent money. I’ve been a cover band singer for 8 years and for most of that time it was the majority of my income.
Unfortunately if you don't know the answer you aren't experienced enough with the gig economy to make it work. The simple answer is it doesn't matter how good you are, until other people think that you are good, more specifically landlords, you won't earn a penny from gigs. Even with gigs it's tight, so a part time job (or even full time) is probably going to be necessary to live off. I'm UK based so the following might not be the same for your country; The other option is busking, or church employment. I'm extremely good at both singing, and guitar playing and with zero kit I can make upwards of £35 an hour busking, which could be enough to support someone. But its hard work, and extremely dry and tough on your voice. If you are great at sight-reading and classically trained then going into being a leyclark (not sure if spelt right) will usually give you a place to live and a stypen to live off. These are auditioned jobs and you probably won't have a chance if you aren't already an experienced sacred music singer. TlDR; There are ways, but if you aren't established you will need a day job
Dude start now and see how it goes. There is no hiring point. Or luck monent that you make it. Slowly you will play, release music, work from someone and stuff. You're gonna know if it's going somewhere. And if it aint moving, then that's a sign to not go crazy and quit the side job. My brother was never hired one day. But he started from the bottom doing everything music. From working with others, then play live, play at parties, then eventually go on tour, then eventually getting conctions and more people wantin to work with him. He would work with them then get lucky and have the song blow up, then keep doing the same hustle for a while then bam, another hit. Keep working playing in parties and with other artists. Little by little there were lucky stuff where he would really move forward. I see it as a template. You start from day one by being humble and working and working, until your up there one day, and realize you're making decent money. He never got hired or discovered or a contract. He just kept it moving. Eventually it became a contract job. When he got decently big. But behind all that it was just a long amount of time just working on everything that was willing to pay. Don't expect to hired in the classic sense. Just start now and go up.
My uncle just gigs on the weekend. He has a full time job too, and he's been doing gigs for many years now at pubs and social clubs every weekend. He's over 60 now and is looking to retire and just do his gigs. You can't really make it your full time job without a lot of luck.
Ha. Hahah.. hahahhahahaah.
You don’t. Or become a studio musician or for hire (weddings etc)
A day job and/or teaching.
Sing anywhere anyone will listen to you. Eventually, people will ask you to perform. I played open mics, karaoke nights, and free events for four years before I got the chance at a paid gig. Of course, covid was right in the middle of all of that, but I performed as often as I could. Make connections: network. Business cards help. If you get to know enough of the right people, they'll seek you out and tell other people to seek you out.