Sharps and flats of a musical career

Multi-instrumental and multi-genre musical act Jeremy Loops creates music with collaborators by layering different sounds on top of each other. Handling different sources of income and projects can be just as challenging, he tells Brendan Peacock.

Do you manage your own financial affairs - and are you good at handling money?

I do manage my own financial affairs, and I'm very competent at handling money. I did a business degree in property management and finance at the University of Cape Town.

How difficult is it to manage your finances if you don't have a fixed income?

The biggest downside is an inability to budget reliably. You don't know what's coming in, so how can you know what should be going out? The biggest upside is that you can earn a lot of money in a short time. Freelancers always joke that it's feast or famine, and that's so true!

The way we work around that is to treat Jeremy Loops Music as a business and pay ourselves a small fixed monthly salary, and commissions on a gig by gig basis. Come year-end, we'll see what profits are left and distribute or re-invest .

How difficult is the administration of collecting royalties or other payments when you put your music on the internet ?

Thankfully, there are entities that do this for you. The internet has revolutionised how easy it is to get your music out there and get paid for it, too.

Here's a quick crash course on how musicians can start collecting royalties and online payments: register with a music rights organisation (in this country, that is the Southern African Music Rights Organisation); learn about publishing and find a publishing company or, at the very least, a publishing administrator; and if you're independent, you can use a music aggregator to get your music online. Companies such as CDBaby, TuneCore and a few others will let you upload your music to the big online stores like iTunes, Amazon MP3, Spotify, Deezer, for a small fee. They collect fees for you and pay it into your Paypal account.

How do you get through the rough times? ?

In my personal capacity I don't borrow. I've always saved since my late teens. I've been broke, but never out of pocket.

For my businesses, Jeremy Loops and Greenpop, a social enterprise I co-founded that plants trees in communities, I have borrowed money to fund major projects and significant opportunities.

What did your childhood experience teach you about handling money?

I don't come from money, and that's a blessing. My father works really hard, and has always been flexible with his careers. He's been a puppeteer, a journalist and is currently a web developer. Changing careers resets your income scale within that occupation, but the courage to do so has inspired me to know I can do whatever I want to if I apply myself.

Perhaps the experience taught me the value of living a flat lifestyle that can absorb earnings dips and embrace earnings growth.

What was the best money advice you were ever given?

Money is just a tool. It is an enabler to allow you to do interesting things and build interesting projects or organisations. Money is powerless unless put properly to use.

Do you save or invest?

I save a percentage of my monthly income. I used to invest quite heavily in forex while I was working abroad, but that's more like gambling . I have a small share portfolio that I try to add to when money permits.

Nowadays, I just invest in my music. I have to set most of my savings aside to bankroll the ongoing international tours and attempts at worldwide exposure for my music.

What's the best thing you've ever bought or spent money on? And the worst?

My first guitar, a R600 Cash Crusaders special, and my loop pedal were huge investments. The worst? It's hard to say. I always get annoyed at myself the few times a year when I waste money on junk food.

What advice could you give to someone considering a similar career in music in South Africa?

Write relentlessly and work on your live performance. The quality of your music and the way you position it to an audience will determine your chances of success. Then build a great team. A good manager is all you need in the beginning and a booking agent soon after.

Then book tons of shows. Finally, understand the different revenue streams available to you and exploit those that are relevant to your music style. Be interested in everything that affects your business. Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the fact that music is also a business. Respect your craft, and place a value on it. If you're fortunate enough to build an audience, the rest will follow. And don't quit your day job unless you've got massive savings or are making a reliable income from music. At that point, if this really is what you want, go all in.