The Side Hustle

One of the most important aspects of making money in the entertainment industry is finding ways to create multiple income streams. I like to call this having a "side hustle." With my background being in dance, one of the most seamless ways a choreographer can create new income is by creating a clothing line. Dancers and performers in general love to look good. The image is sometimes more important than your level of talent. Business wise, a choreographer’s main revenue streams are the different “jobs” or “gigs” they book. These can include, but are not limited to, choreographing for a particular stage show, commercial or movie. They can also include anytime they are invited to teach at a dance workshop such as Monsters of Hip Hop or The Pulse.

NappyTabs

 Napoleon and Tabitha D’umo are a husband and wife hip-hop dance choreography duo. They are most widely known for their work on the dance show So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew. To add to their amazing resume of choreography work, they also have their own clothing line, called NappyTabs. NappyTabs can be found on dancewear websites as well as at various dance workshops that they teach at. Nappytabs is a funky dance clothing line that caters to hip hop dancers who are looking for something stylish to wear to dance class or to even perform in.

Brian Friedman

Brian Friedman is another dancer who has made his way up the ranks to choreographer for the stars. He’s worked with Michael and Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber to name a few. He has most recently added a clothing line called “Brian Says B Free.” He played with this idea a few years ago when he partnered with a shoe company and came out with his own shoes (which I own and love). BSBFree is now branching into clothing and continuing to grow.

These are just two examples of dancers and choreographers who have decided to make a clothing line their side hustle. In the world of entertainment, one must be flexible and multi-talented. The more hats you’re able to wear, the more opportunity to make money.

Let's Do the Math

As an artist, I think we care 100% about the art that we’re making. Regardless if it’s creating music, dance choreography, or physical paintings, sculptures etc.: the art is the most important thing to us. We want to put out the best material possible, and the ultimate dream is to be able to make a living sustainable doing what we love.

One of the most important aspects of the entertainment industry that artists tend to be fairly clueless about is the business side of things. Artists will often trust contract negotiations to their managers and sign without knowing what exactly they’re signing.

Industry insider, Russell Brennan gives some great tips on how artists can be a bit more educated about the types of agreements they’re signing, especially regarding record labels. One of the most well known examples of young artists getting into agreements that they don't completely understand is TLC. At the peak of their career, they were the highest selling female group. Their manager, former singer, Pebbles and her company Pebbiton worked as managers for the group. Unfortunately, the deal that they had with Pebbiton and LaFace Records didn’t allow them to make much off of their first two successful albums. At the height of their careers, they were forced to file bankruptcy. There are several other instances where successful bands, artists or groups signed agreements that they did not understand very well. This generation as the luxury of learning from these artists' mistakes and becoming more and more reliant on themselves to get their art out to the public. The internet is a great tool that allows artists to build fan bases, without the help of a record label. The moral here is to educate yourself. When a contract in presented to you, have a great lawyer on standby that you can trust to look it over and make sure it's in your best interest!