Live & Touring

Who’s The Pirate Now? How One Band Generated $83,000 In Revenue On The High Seas

HeadwaterOnTheFerryFARGuest post by Matt Bryant of Headwater.

Piracy is killing the music business. Album sales are a nightmare and millions of would-be consumers are now low-life thieves who prefer to steal from the starving creator, than pay to support their craft. This, of course, is how the heads of the music industry frame things – they're wrong. They're dying trying to insist that they're not, and I'm tired of it. The internet, as Neil Young says, is the "new radio."

But if you're good, willing to be creative, and to think about things from non-traditional angles there is a world of opportunity for musicians. I'd like to share how my band, Headwater, put piracy of a different sort to work – making us over eighty thousand dollars on the high seas.

On the BC Ferries system since 2008, Headwater has generated $83,000 in revenue by getting on board as paying customers, performing music, cracking jokes, making people happy, and selling our wares to them.

HeadwaterOnTheFerryCLOSEYou haven't read that wrong. $83,000 in sales and ferry-related bookings combined.

3,000 CD's sold over 55 sailings.

Giving away songs on the high seas is our form of reverse piracy. We use the ferry the same way as a streaming site works – people get to hear great music they otherwise wouldn't, and they also have the opportunity to purchase it – just like online. And it works. People are still just as hungry for good songs as they ever were – and lots of them are willing to pony up, once they've heard the band.

In total we've sold 3,000 CD's for $47,000 on the ferry over 55 sailings – about $835 per sailing. The CD's cost us $5,000 to print. Gas and parking were $1100. Our fares were $3300.

A total of $9400 in costs and a net profit of $37,600.

For every dollar we put in we made about four back, and when we added them up, the gigs we got (including major festivals and weddings) out of playing on the ferry totalled $36,000!

It isn't a traditional way to "make it" in the music business – part busker, part pirate, part comic – but it worked – to the tune of over twenty thousand dollars a year, for us. People love music – that hasn't changed, and if you're willing to be cool and give them the opportunity to hear yours – they'll be cool with you and pay you for it.

If you're dedicated and open-minded – there is a world of opportunity for the modern musician like never before. Thanks very much to all the wonderful staff on the BC Ferries system and the thousands of amazing people who let us entertain them, if unexpectedly, and supported us in return.

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17 Comments

  1. God bless you. But let’s be honest, when you break it down from 2008 to 2011, 4 members, the income stream is not inspiring. I have to ask, do you live a home with your parents or do you all have part time jobs? This is a nice story, but the information is selective, and what about those groups whose format doesn’t lend itself to busking? Or opportunities like B. C. Ferries doesn’t exist. I also detect some bitterness. Did you ever try to get a major label deal?

  2. Well – this isn’t our ONLY gig, you know? But adding $20,000 a year that otherwise wouldn’t have existed to our revenue stream has made a big difference for us – and made us thousands of fans, as well.
    Totally zero bitterness, as well – if you’re reading that in, it’s unintentional on my part!

  3. I like the way the article’s author grabs attention by invoking the “piracy” debate when this is really just a clever example of busking. It’s street singing, with a captive audience on a boat. Clever enough, certainly, but “piracy” really has nothing to do with it.

  4. I enjoyed your “concert” on the ferry on Friday April 27. I guess I now feel a little duped by your “oh, we didn’t realize anybody was listening” routin, although I did suspect you would need BCF’s permission to sell CD’s and wondered if perhaps it was a regular thing. Now I know. But I did buy a CD and we’ve been enjoying it. You’re a talented group. Won’t mind if your onboard next time I travel.

  5. I’m happy for anyone who can make even SOME kind of revenue from their music, but unfortunately this is not an inspiring story. I don’t recall reading how much TIME or bookings you played. That’s also a big tip off. I calculate that each member’s earned profit is equal to $384 a week. That’s also BEFORE taxes. Again, I’m not trying to put down how much you made (because I would be happy making that), but I think the official sign of success is to do what you live while completely supporting yourself from it or more.

  6. I see where you’re coming from, but really, what we did was ADD $400 a week on average, and how is that not inspiring?
    By doing something no-one else is up to we gave ourselves a $400 per week raise. And we DO make a living at it.
    This isn’t our only source of revenue, it’s the icing on the cake. I see what you mean, but generating $80,000 out of thin-air is a pretty darn cool thing to me.

  7. Congrats on finding a niche and working it. There’s always room for creative people. All those nay sayers are probably just jealous because they can’t come up with anything like this.

  8. To say “generating $80k ” depletes the value of your and your band’s efforts, which I’m sure was worth way more than that value, not to mention your overhead costs.

  9. The big question is: How does BC Ferries feel about your profits on their service? Not as a naysayer, but as someone who has been stopped from selling items on-board.
    I think I’d have to side with a few of the commenters opinions; This strategy of busking on the ferry is a really creative idea to have a captive audience. So, kudos. But the problem is that now this is published: What happens when another band comes onto the sailing?

  10. 55 trips @ 3 hours roundtrip = 165 hours
    $37,600 ÷ 165 = $227/hr ÷ 4 people = $57/hr
    That’s not a bad hourly wage. And that doesn’t factor in the long term gain in fans, exposure, and great stories to tell.

  11. I simply didn’t care for the misleading title; the article has nothing to do with piracy, other than to take a cheap shot at people who are defending your copyrights.Kudos on finding a niche, and filling it.

  12. Well, look at it this way: If word gets out and most people like the ride from Victoria to Vancouver while being entertained by the group then it’s just nice. BC Ferries should PAY THEM a stipend as they generate more Passengers for them in part due to their popularity.I’ve been on BC Ferries and it’s a pleasant ride.FYI: there’s ok food and massage chairs.Music will add value to the experience.To my knowledge most Canadians and Americans only ride in summer anyway so it has a limit as it’s Seasonal Tourism for the most part.IMO: I think some extra $ is a byproduct of this promotion.

  13. Hey Matt, stop calling it the “High Seas”, eh. It’s Canadian Waters and American Waters, not Int’l Waters.
    Even if you take the ride from Victoria, BC to Anacore, WA it’s not the “high seas” – until your outside the 100 mile limit headed for Japan.FYI:Years ago the RCMP patrol boats used to use a “12 mile limit” until the laws changed.In part this was due to Russian fishing boats taking all the fish from the Grand Banks of NFLD. With overfishing there was almost extinction.
    Good Music, however, can never become extinct.

  14. It was a well said post.. I like the way you started the post as “Piracy is killing the music business”.. It is pretty much true..Thanks for posting..

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