It’s not easy to make money as a musician in 2025. Some artists are removing their music from streaming sites due to abysmal payouts and the platforms’ support of AI-generated music. On the concert end, many venues are struggling, which means less money in the pockets of musicians.
Not quite two years ago, the RN&R talked to a local benefactor who had started an organization to help with the crisis. The goal of For the Song is to make shows more lucrative for bands and musicians, and the organization has been consistently hosting concerts in its two years of existence. In August, For the Song will feature two artists: Walt Wilkins and the Ramble, and Raul Midón.
“We’re small enough where this is still curated by my wife and me. We have decades of following Americana music in all of its forms, whether it’s rock ’n’ roll, or folk, or country, or even jazz,” said founder Ford Goodman during a phone interview. “I was a tech executive until five years ago, when I retired, but through that process, I learned a lot about the business model. … The artists we’re looking to help are nationally touring, critically acclaimed, but virtually unknown in the Northern Nevada area. … It’s unlikely a venue would see this as a profitable opportunity, yet we know their music is terrific, and it’s something that the community ought to see.”
When a musician works with For the Song, they end up performing two or three concerts, including at least one show for the public, and one private show. Walt Wilkins and the Rumble will perform Wednesday, July 30, at Valhalla Tahoe; Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Red Dog Saloon; and Sunday, Aug. 3, at The Club at ArrowCreek. Raul Midón will perform Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Valhalla Tahoe; Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Reno Jazz Orchestra; and Sunday, Aug. 24, at The Club at ArrowCreek.
“The model starts with a private residential club, and the money comes from there,” Goodman said. “We have donors who come to a private show at the club at ArrowCreek. It’s a free show, so they don’t have to donate, but we give them a lot of good reasons to, and that’s the underlying substrate that allows us to make a guarantee that covers two shows. … There are plenty of private communities that bring musicians to play for their membership or for their community, but we haven’t found another one in America that then turns around and produces a show in the public. That second show is, by definition, not going to make a lot of money—until we do a great job of establishing the For the Song brand to mean naturally touring, critically acclaimed artists you probably haven’t heard, but they’ll blow you away.”
Goodman said the organization is still losing money, but For the Song has left many music fans and musicians happy.
“We have a number of people who really respond to that, but it’s got to be bigger to be as successful as we want to be,” Goodman said. “We know we’re going to lose money every time we bring an artist. That’s the intent. We spend $4,000 on average for hospitality, production and lodging. Sometimes there’s a shortfall to the guarantee we make between the private show and the public show, and we don’t make enough to cover the guarantee we’ve made.”
While For the Song’s private shows for members (and their guests) at The Club at ArrowCreek are fairly straightforward, Goodman has more freedom to get creative with the public shows.
“What I really care for with scheduling the public show is, No. 1, maximize money for the artist, and No. 2, (schedule) an iconic venue, if possible,” he said. “We’ve done the Piper’s Opera House, the Nevada Museum of Art, Brewery Arts Center in Carson City, and Nashville Social Club. We do the Reno Public Market sometimes, which is a weird audience but a wonderful stage. We’re looking to do more.”
“The goal is to get a second private club in Reno to do this with us, so we can do 20 shows a year, not 10. Once we prove that, we want to export this model throughout the Mountain West.”
For the Song founder ford goodman
Goodman hopes to build a community around For the Song.
“I think in some ways, we’re building a new audience for artists, and they love that, too,” he said. “Somewhere between 30% and 40% of the people who either live in ArrowCreek, or members of the club at ArrowCreek and their guests who come to see a show there, don’t go pay for live music very often. They’re being exposed to how wonderful and great live music can be, so I think we’re creating some music fans among them, too.”
All of the donations from ArrowCreek residents go straight to the artists.
“We never take a fee for anything,” Goodman said. “… Every penny we get from a venue for a show goes to the artist, and that’s going to be our philosophy forever. That patronage is required, or we’re going to lose this music. … (There’s) about $160,000 we’ve raised from families, a family office, and fans of what we’re doing, and that supports that $4,000 per visit that we have to spend. The goal is to get a second private club in Reno to do this with us, so we can do 20 shows a year, not 10. Once we prove that, we want to export this model throughout the Mountain West—Albuquerque, Spokane, Colorado Springs. They all have private residential communities of some sort.”
San Francisco musician John Elliott performed with For the Song late last year. He’d previously met Ford Goodman at a house show in San Francisco.
“He was really nice afterward, and then had me up for a house show when they lived in Sonoma that he hosted, and I just got to know him,” Elliott said during a phone interview. “I think he’s a really, really great person. … He appreciates lyrics, appreciates music, and also is very generous at heart in that he recognizes how the music business has cratered in many ways.”
Elliott talked about the infuriating lack of fair treatment for musicians.
“Musicians serve at the pleasure of the court, like the court jester—but there was this weird little window there, which happened to be when I was a teenager, with MTV,” he said. “The record business found this way in the middle of the 20th century to make money, and some people got paid very well. … It’s really interesting to look at the guys who are older than me, who were making CDs in the ’90s independently, when CD Baby was actually this very viable entity, and making really good money. They could pay rent and pay groceries. That’s what we want.”
Performing original music for members of a golf club doesn’t sound like the most comfortable environment for a musician, yet Elliott said he loves these shows.
“It’s really beautiful,” he said. “(Live performances are) really where my heart is. Coldplay does private corporate events. This is the deal. This is just one minuscule thread in the income tapestry that we all have to try to weave that somehow adds up to a mountain of 1099s at the end of the year that hopefully balances out, and you break even.”
Elliott said he’s appreciative of what Goodman is doing for musicians.
“In this era of wealth inequality and repulsive wealth on the high end, in almost every facet of American life, we are dependent on private philanthropy to somehow trickle down,” Elliott said. “You see GoFundMe (campaigns) for health care, so I think there’s really a place for that in the music industry. … It’s a very dire situation, but as far as the arts are concerned, it’s always nice to see people like Ford and groups coming together to find ways to support.”
Walt Wilkins and the Ramble will perform at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 30, at Valhalla Tahoe, 1 Valhalla Road, in South Lake Tahoe; 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 2 at the Red Dog Saloon, 76 N. C St., in Virginia City; and 6 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 3, at The Club at ArrowCreek, 2905 Arrowcreek Parkway, in Reno.
Raul Midón will perform 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Valhalla Tahoe; 6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Reno Jazz Orchestra, 2590 Orovada St., in Reno; and 6 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 24 at The Club at ArrowCreek.
For tickets and more information on the Valhalla shows, visit valhallatahoe.com/events. For tickets and more information on the other shows, or to learn more about For the Song, visit www.forthesong.com.
Edited on July 28 to clarify a quote.