Wedding musician reveals how he went from performing for $3 in tips to a millionaire by age 30
A wedding musician has revealed how he went to performing for $3 in tips to a millionaire by age 30.
Moses Lin, 31, from Anaheim, California, always had a passion for music.
In college, he started a YouTube channel where he would share videos of himself performing instrumental covers on guitar as a ‘fun, creative outlet.’
But as his channel started to take off, he decided to drop out of college and pursue music full-time – but it wasn’t easy.
He would perform for hours and only earn a few dollars in tips, which left him struggling to make ends meet and with sometimes barely enough money to buy food.
But his hard work and dedication eventually paid off, and he’s now a wildly successful wedding performer who has played at a slew of stars’ ceremonies – including Meghan Markle, Oprah, and Gayle King.
He recently spoke about his journey exclusively with DailyMail.com.
‘[My first performance] was for three hours at this cafe, but I was completely ignored by almost all the guests, and I made only $3 in tips,’ he recalled.
A wedding musician has revealed how he went to performing for $3 in tips to a millionaire by age 30
Moses Lin, 31, from Anaheim, California, dropped out of college to pursue his dream of being a musician – but it wasn’t easy
‘After the performance I got back in my car and broke down crying. I felt like an absolute failure, and began questioning if I was throwing away my life trying to pursue music.
‘I wondered if I could ever make any money from music, and on the drive home that day, I almost gave up on a music career completely.
‘That was the lowest point in my journey, and I am so grateful that I somehow decided to believe in myself that day and keep going.’
As he tried to break into the music industry, Moses explained that he would perform at ‘local restaurants, shopping malls and hotel lobbies.’
He also started teaching private guitar lessons, and between the two, he brought in roughly $1,000 per month.
But his rent was $700, leaving him with only $300 for gas, food, and everything else.
‘Every month was a struggle, but it was honestly also thrilling at the same time,’ he admitted.
‘I had the privilege of being able to devote 100 percent of my attention towards music and to be my own boss.
He would perform for hours and only earn a few dollars in tips, which left him struggling to make ends meet and with sometimes barely enough money to buy food
‘My goal was never to become successful or wealthy, my goal was simply to be happy.
‘And looking back, I was genuinely happy back then. I loved what I was doing and I had complete freedom and control over my life.’
After being invited to perform at a friend’s wedding, everything changed for Moses.
But his hard work and dedication eventually paid off, and he’s now a wildly successful wedding performer who has played at a slew of stars’ ceremonies – including Meghan Markle, Oprah (seen), and Gayle King
He dished, ‘I very quickly realized how incredibly fun weddings are, and how much I loved the energy.
‘I decided I wanted to work more weddings, and slowly began branding my business as a wedding guitarist.’
Flash forward to now, and Moses has been named the ‘Top Wedding Musician in the Country.’
He plays at weddings all across the globe, and charges up to $15,000 for his services, which includes ’30 minutes of live music before the wedding ceremony and about an hour of live music during either cocktail hour or dinner.’
‘Looking back, I think there were two things that really contributed to my growth,’ he shared.
‘I always try to push boundaries and innovate. I’m always thinking of ways to be just one percent better than yesterday.
‘I know that if I spend hours rebranding my website or tweaking the color grading on a video or testing out a new guitar pedal, you might not really be able to tell a difference.
‘But if you have a one percent improvement happening a thousand times, it will compound into massive growth.
‘[Also], unlike most musicians that download sheet music and can learn a simple song in a few minutes, I spend 40 hours on each song, creating a complex instrumental version that only I can perform,’ he explained.
‘Over my career, I’ve spent over 3,000 hours creating these complex arrangements, and it’s something that I’m truly proud of.’
He’s now a millionaire, and is ‘projected’ to earn another $500,000 this year alone
He told DailyMail.com that he earns roughly $25,000 to $30,000 per month, while his real estate portfolio brings in another $12,000 per month.
He’s now a millionaire, and is ‘projected’ to earn another $500,000 this year alone.
‘My wedding business started doing quite well in 2019, so I began investing the profits into real estate,’ he added.
‘Since then, I’ve been able to purchase a home in California and eight houses in Little Rock, Arkansas, that I rent out.
‘I have a property manager, so I’m still able to devote my full attention to weddings. Thanks to those real estate investments, I became a millionaire last year at the age of 30.’
As for his biggest advice, he suggested living ‘frugally’ even if you’re earning a high salary, and teaching yourself ‘as much as you can about finances.’
‘Most people are more concerned with having a certain lifestyle and appearing wealthy, and that becomes the very reason they never become wealthy,’ he added.
‘I’m quite proud of the life that I’ve created for myself and I’m grateful for all the opportunities that brought me here, but honestly, my life’s not that much different than when I was making $100k/year.
‘The million dollars isn’t in a bank account, it’s all equity trapped in my houses that I can’t touch, and over half my income goes into a savings account to buy the next property, so my lifestyle is actually quite simple, and I’m pretty happy with that.’
‘[I’m not going to lie] it’s really difficult [to become a millionaire], but if you find something you’re exceptional at, put in ungodly amounts of hours, mercilessly cut your spending, and have a little bit of luck, you have a great shot at succeeding.’
