While in an earlier post today, we told the story of Lance Allen, who learned how to make some decent money online with his music, Nick Roberts of the indie band And The Giraffe from Nashville, Tennessee has learned a completely different lesson.

As Nick points out, making fans and getting your music heard, when you’re just getting started, is expensive. On the other hand, revenues are low.

In his case study of a few years ago, Nick evaluates a “profit” per fan as low as 18 cents. With the roughly 4,000 fans they gained in the 18 months up to there, that makes a total of $ 720, or $40 per month.

I would say, that the big difference between Lance Allen and And The Giraffe is, that Lance understands his music as a business, and for Nick it is still a hobby. As he points out as a final thought:

“In the case of And the Giraffe, reaching fans is much more important to us than the money they’re bringing in. Music is a labor of love and while the short term costs may be difficult to overcome, the lifetime value and connection with fans who resonate with our music and who may not be able to pay for it otherwise, outweigh any of the short-term financial challenges that face us.”

Buy And The Giraffe’s EP Creature Collection on iTunes