Financial Planning For Musicians
4.1.
Setting clear financial goals gives you direction—and keeps you motivated. Rather than waiting until the finish line, celebrate small victories along the way. Use this step-by-step guide to define, track and achieve your short- and long-term objectives.
Setting & Achieving Goals
With specific goals, monthly targets, automated savings and regular reviews, you’ll turn fluctuating gig income into a clear roadmap for growth—and enjoy the journey every step of the way.
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Specific | “Save $5,000 for new studio monitors” rather than “save more.”
Measurable | Assign a precise amount.
Time-bound | Attach a deadline: “by 30 June 2026.”
Example | “I need $2,000 for a new guitar by 31 July 2025.”
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Reverse engineer | Divide the total by the months available.
Monthly target | $2,000 ÷ 12 months = $167 per month.
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Write it down | Use a vision board, desktop background or journal entry.
Track progress | Update your savings each month—visual momentum fuels motivation.
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Identify streams | Gigs, teaching, royalties, merch.
Dedicated savings rate | Commit a fixed percentage (e.g. 20%) of each payment towards your goal.
Adjust as needed | In lean months, scale back non-essentials. In bumper months, toss extra into the pot.
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Standing order | Schedule a transfer on each payday to your “goal” account.
Separate account | Keep it away from everyday spending to avoid temptation.
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Retirement | Contribute to KiwiSaver (up to 10% of salary, employer match available).
Insurance & safeguards | Factor in income-protection and gear insurance premiums.
Capital growth | Once short-term goals are met, redirect savings into term deposits or managed funds.
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Quarterly review | Check your balances, revisit targets and tweak your plan.
Celebrate milestones | Treat yourself when you hit halfway, three-quarters or the final goal—this sustains momentum.
Remember | You are both artist and entrepreneur—treat your goals with the same discipline you bring to your craft.
4.2.
Long-term Financial Planning For Musicians
When planning beyond the next gig, build systems that compound your wealth over years—even decades. Two cornerstone strategies are leveraging KiwiSaver for retirement and using High-Yield Savings Accounts (HYSAs) to harness compound interest. Beyond these, we’ll touch on additional vehicles for steady, long-term growth.
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![Concert scene with a large crowd of people dancing and raising their hands while stage lights and beams illuminate a performer and DJ in the background. NZ Session Collective Session Musicians.]()
KiwiSaver
KiwiSaver remains the simplest, most tax-efficient way to save for retirement in NZ—even if you’re self-employed with variable income.
Government Contribution
Rate change (from 1 July 2025) | 25 c for each dollar you contribute, capped at $260.72 per year.
Eligibility | Any KiwiSaver member aged 16+, earning ≤ $180,000 pa. Employer and voluntary contributions do not count towards the $1,042.86 threshold.
Employer Contributions
If employed, your employer must contribute 3% of your gross pay (taxed at your marginal rate) into your KiwiSaver scheme.
Fund Choice & Tools
Fund types | Conservative, balanced, growth and aggressive options align risk with timeline.
Sorted’s KiwiSaver Fund Finder | Compare performance, fees and risk to select the right mix.
Retirement projections | Use Sorted calculators to model different contribution rates and retirement ages.
Action Steps
Contribute at least $1,042.86 each year (by 30 June) to maximise the $260.72 government kick-in.
Review fund performance annually and rebalance as needed.
If you earn sporadically, set up automatic IRD or provider contributions to smooth your savings.
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![Two women playing violins with a music stand behind them, one woman in the foreground wearing a black lace dress and the other with a faint smile, both focused on their instruments. NZ Session Collective Session Musicians.]()
High-Yield Savings Accounts
For medium-term goals or as your emergency fund, an HYSA delivers secure, compounding returns.
Example | Heartland 90-Day Notice Saver
Interest rate | Up to 3.50% pa, calculated daily and paid monthly.
Access | 90-day withdrawal notice discourages impulsive spending while still allowing access.
No minimum deposit—ideal for small, regular deposits from gig income.
Why HYSA? Even modest, consistent contributions earn accelerating returns via compound interest, outpacing standard transactional accounts.
4.3.
Investments for Musicians
Investing need not be daunting or inaccessible. With platforms like Sharesies or Hatch, you can start small—and build wealth steadily over years. Here’s how to get going and a curated list of core investment picks.
How Investing Actually Works
Overview
Stocks | You buy a share of a company. If it grows, your share’s value rises. You may also
receive dividends.
Index Funds & ETFs | You purchase a diversified basket of companies in one trade, reducing single-stock risk.
Bonds | You lend money to governments or corporations in return for periodic interest and repayment of principal at maturity.
Key principle | Markets fluctuate, but a well-diversified portfolio and a long-term horizon smooth out volatility. Staying invested through downturns is how true wealth accumulates.
Getting Started | Platforms & Practicalities
Sharesies
Low minimums | Invest from as little as $5 in local or global shares and ETFs.
Fractional investing | Buy slices of high-priced stocks (e.g. Amazon).
Hatch
Access US markets | Directly invest in US-listed ETFs and stocks in NZD.
Monthly Saver feature | Automate regular contributions.
Other options
ASB Securities or HL Shares for direct NZX-50 or NZ government bonds.
Robo-advisors like Hatch Invest or InvestNow for automated, low-fee portfolios.
Building Your Portfolio
Determine your risk profile
Growth-oriented | Higher equity (%), lower bond %.
Balanced | 60% equities, 40% bonds.
Conservative | 40% equities, 60% bonds.
Dollar-Cost Average
Invest a fixed amount regularly (e.g. $200 monthly) to smooth market timing.
Rebalance annually
Reset to your target allocation to lock in gains and buy undervalued assets.
Stay the course
Ignore short-term noise. Focus on progress over years, not days.
Key Investment Picks
Why these picks?
Diversification | You hold equities, bonds and real estate
across geographies.
Low cost | Vanguard ETFs typically have expense ratios < 0.10%.
Accessibility | Available via NZ platforms in NZD, often with no brokerage on small trades.
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Tracks 500 largest US companies. Cornerstone for US-equity exposure.
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Global equity coverage—including developed & emerging markets.
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Core US-bond exposure. Adds stability and income via interest.
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Diversifies bond holdings globally. Cushions equity volatility.
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REITs for real-estate exposure. Offers dividend yield and diversification.
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Tilts portfolio to value stocks with potential upside in market dips.
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Investment-grade bonds outside the US. Hedged against currency risk.
4.4.
Musicians Mindset: You as A Business
As a musician, your craft is your product and your name is your brand. Embrace an entrepreneurial mindset to gain control of your career and finances. It’s not about sacrificing your art—it’s about giving it a structure that can endure.
Here’s a note from our CEO, Ken Naidu, which may be the most important part of our Musician Wealth Book.
Eunoia - by Ken Naidu
You’re not just a musician. You’re a business. That might be a difficult thing to accept, but once you do, everything changes.
The Epiphany Moment
Imagine this: You’re playing a show. The audience is enthralled, you’re in flow, the room is blurred, you feel deeply connected to your passion, and the night ends with a rush of applause.
You’re making your way home. The air tastes different, your ears are ringing, and you’re smiling to the sky. You feel live.
But then you open your banking app.
The money doesn’t quite match the applause, does it?
The high from performing doesn’t pay the rent, doesn’t pay the phone bill, doesn’t give a rats ass about your dinner on Saturday, and doesn’t care that you have a stomach. It also doesn’t fix the busted amp, or fund your recording session. You get what I mean.
Suddenly you’re thinking: What am I doing wrong? What is the universe trying to teach me?
And that’s the moment it hits you. You’re not just a musician, you’re a business. It’s not about sacrificing the art. It’s about reframing it, and respecting it enough to give it a structure—a foundation that can last. So how do you do it?
Lesson One: The Brand You Didn’t Know You Had
When you play live, or release an album, it’s easy to think the music is everything. But here’s the truth: people aren’t just buying the music—they’re buying you. Your name, your story, your vibe—it’s all part of the package. You are the brand.
Take a second to think of some big names in the music industry, as well as your own favourite artists. Of course, the music may sound great, but their image, their personality—that’s what creates the connection. Once that human connection is there (albeit parasocial), people keep coming back. They like you :)
So the first step?
Get intentional and purposeful about your brand. Every performance, every social media post, and critically, every interaction is a piece of your brand. You’re telling a story with each one, whether you realise it or not. The sooner you embrace that, and see through that, the sooner you can start shaping it.
Lesson Two: Pricing Your Art Like A Product
I was talking to a musician friend, and we were on the topic of rates. I asked “What’s your rate?”
He hesitated. “Rate? I usually just take what I can get, or whatever they offer”
Here’s the thing—if you don’t value your work, do you think anyone else will? You need to price your time and services the same way a business would price its products. You’re not just trading time for money; you’re charging for years of practice, your skill, intellectual property, human expertise, and the experience you bring. Understand your worth and demand it, but do so kindly.
It doesn’t just mean live performances. Do you have a rate for corporate events? Private events? A Festival perchance? How about teaching? Every part of what you do holds value. Get serious about defining that value—because if you treat your work like a commodity, others will too.
Lesson Three: Diversify or Die (Financially)
Risk is natural, but relying on just one income stream? That’s a risk that behaves differently. Playing live is great, until it isn’t. We both know how unpredictable music scenes can be. Sometimes the work dries up, the market fluctuates (or tanks), and people stop turning up for live music. What happens then? Oopsie daisies.
Build multiple streams of income if you’d like to thrive long term. Playing live can be one. How about licensing your music to screen? Or releasing music to build royalty income? Have you looked into Arts Management? You’d be surprised at how well you could do.
The more places you have income coming from, the less panic when one of them dries up.
Food for thought: start small. Pick one new income stream to focus on for this year. Perhaps it’s teaching. Passing on your craft, and the things you’ve learnt. I’ve always found that quite beautiful. The key is to keep your financial base as broad as your creative output.
Lesson Four: The Art of Marketing and Networking
Here’s where I’ve found our industry and artists to stumble. You’ve got the music, but what’s missing? Eyes and Ears. Trust me, there’s a lot of them out there. You need people to see you, hear you, talk about you.
The best way to do that? Master marketing and build real relationships.
Let me be clear: Marketing isn’t selling out. It isn’t obsessing over metrics and ROI. It isn’t a granular 3-year corporate strategy which tries to quantify the future. Don’t let 2024, nor any year for that matter, fool you.
At its core, marketing is human psychology. Marketing is behavioural science, and social engineering. Study that. Befriend that. A metric that becomes a target loses its value as a metric. Tell your story in a way that reaches the right people. Social Media is your tool kit, and your website is your storefront. Own your visibility.
My journey as a human, and the transformations I’ve undergone from simply being alive have highlighted the overwhelming value of networking. Get in front of people, and talk to them. Connect with them. You can learn something from anyone. It’s not enough to be talented—you need to be connected. Call that venue owner. Email the producer. Hire the backline. Hit up other musicians and collaborate. Relationships are as important as the music.
Lesson Five: Think Like A Business, Act Like An Artist
Eventually, you will realise something critical: Thinking like a business doesn’t kill the creativity, it sustains it. When you approach your career with a business mindset, you’re really safeguarding your creative freedom. You’re giving your music the resources it needs to thrive.
Your creativity is your greatest business advantage. Businesses thrive on new ideas, fresh approaches, and as I’ve coined this section, “Eunoia” which means beautiful thinking. As a musician, you’re wired for out-of-the-box thinking, let your brain loose. You have some impeccably strong Intellectual Property up there, waiting to be tapped into. Take the same creativity and apply it to the business side.
Build a sustainable system for your art. Set up beautiful processes whether booking gigs, managing finances, or engaging with the industry. At some point, with persistence, your “hobby” becomes a career. That’s when it’s time to treat it like one.
The Takeaway: Building For Longevity
This isn’t a sprint—it’s a marathon. The musicians who succeed (whatever definition that may have to you) are the ones who build systems, who diversify their income, who market themselves with purpose, and who value their art enough to give it structure.
The next time you’re stepping into a performance, think of yourself not just as a musician, but as a business owner. That particular event? One small part of a much bigger machine. You’re in control of that machine. Your music is the fuel. The better you feed your engine the further it will take you.