20 Pop Culture Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2023]

20 Pop Culture Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2023]

Interested in starting a pop culture business in 2023?

We put together 21 of the best pop culture businesses you can start in today.

For each business idea, we’ll show you real-world examples of other pop culture businesses to help you see what it really takes.

Here's the full list:

1. Become a music band manager ($480K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$40,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$5,000
Skills

Charles Driebe from Atlanta started Blind Ambition Management about 23 years ago, a music band manager.

  • Revenue: $40,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 5
  • Location: Atlanta

Case Study

In 1990, I was about 8 years out of law school and practicing ‘regular’ law when I decided to combine my legal training with my lifelong passion for music. I began to shift into entertainment law by educating myself about it. I already knew a lot of musicians and soon developed a base of clients.

Almost all the work attorneys do for music clients is transactional (mostly contract-related), and that’s the kind of work I was doing. It felt good to help my clients protect their intellectual property (like copyrights). However, I found that an artist’s attorney often only had intermittent contact with them (like negotiating a recording contract) and they often didn’t interact with them for long stretches of time.

I wanted to be more involved in all aspects of the artist’s career and I began managing artists in 1996. That actually involved longer hours (and a pay cut, since I was now working on a commission basis instead of being paid an hourly fee), but I found it to be more satisfying work. And being an attorney gave me an advantage over other managers who weren’t attorneys.

how-i-transitioned-from-a-career-in-law-to-starting-a-40k-month-business-managing-music-artists

2. Design a wearable for musicians ($3.36M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$280,000/month
Skills
Business model

Florian Simmendinger from Hong Kong started Soundbrenner ago, a wearable for musicians.

  • Revenue: $280,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 17
  • Location: Hong Kong

Case Study

In 2014 I just graduated from university in a rural area in South Germany. I decided to move to Berlin to get a job in consulting. However, my real dream was to start my own business one day, but it seemed wrong to do so right out of university. It felt like this sort of stuff only happens in movies. However, once I was in Berlin, I met hundreds of entrepreneurs and realized there is no reason to wait. Once I met my co-founder Julian Vogels, I canceled my job search and we decided to start Soundbrenner!

One important thing to understand about marketing is that it is extremely specific to your product category and audience - so there are no silver bullets that work for everyone.

We got the idea for our first product, the vibrating metronome, from a classical violinist called Vinh-Nghi Tiet. We were all three musicians and passionate about great design. We felt there is a lot of potential in music equipment for instrument players because the existing big companies in the space still release products that look like they are from the 90s.

how-we-designed-a-230k-month-wearable-for-musicians

3. Become a music blogger ($12K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$996 — $160,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$50
Time To Revenue
270 days
Skills
Business model

DJ Tobander from Stuttgart started DJ Tobander about 8 years ago, a music blogger.

  • Revenue: $996/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Stuttgart

Case Study

In 2018 I already did blogging for about 10 years. I have sold a couple of copies of my “How-To-Guides” but nothing memorable. This was kind of frustrating as this was the kind of stuff other DJs told me they want to learn. Unfortunately, it seemed no one actually wanted to pay for it.

This seemed kind of strange because all the business books and info product gurus out there all were telling to ASK your customers what they want. In my case, everybody told me they wanted to become better at djing and play more gigs. But nobody actually wanted to pay for products like this.

So one day I noticed that I always get a lot of questions about my DJ sets at special occasions like weddings or birthdays: what kind of music I was playing, what my starting song as if I have any secret weapons when there’s nobody dancing and so on. So I just made a small collection of my playlists from that year and also looked out for other public DJ sets that I liked on blogs or websites. I then put my favorite sets into a pdf made it look nice and sent it to my mailing list.

how-i-started-created-niche-infoproducts-for-djs-that-now-generate-1k-month

4. Start a fashion accessories business ($72K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$1,985 — $40,480,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$466
Skills
Business model

Jen Fox from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA started Foxly Handmade over 6 years ago, a fashion accessories business.

  • Revenue: $6,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Case Study

I have been sewing and creating as a hobby and as a business since 2009, but my line of handmade bags under the name FOXLY Handmade began in earnest in 2016.

At the time, I worked full time as an interior designer at a commercial architecture firm, but I had an itch to have full creative control over a project from start to finish. I began making leather and canvas totes, block printed pouches, and all styles of bags. I developed the patterns myself, sourced materials, cut, stitched, marketed, and I developed a loyal following by carting those bags all over town to local shows (sometimes on a bike with a trailer attached to the back!).

Until I burned out. I was exhausted by the range of inventory that I was trying to keep up and weighed down financially by all of the supplies and materials I had to keep on hand to produce it. It was a pace I wasn't able to sustain, and all of my time was spent creating, and I had no brain power left to actually SELL. So I had to make a change.

how-i-started-a-3-5k-month-handmade-bag-company

5. Start a music lessons business ($420K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$35,000 — $70,000/month
Skills

Brooke Schrager from Chicago, IL started Lessons By Brooke & Company over 7 years ago, a music lessons business.

  • Revenue: $35,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Chicago, IL

Case Study

I have always been very musical and played piano, oboe, and sang throughout my childhood. I fell in love with music education as a freshman in high school and was very inspired to follow this as a career path due to my incredible choir director and voice teacher. I completed my Bachelors in K-12 Music Education with an emphasis on Vocal Performance from Elmhurst College in 2014 and taught private piano and voice lessons throughout my college career.

Although I always thought I wanted to teach in a public school setting, after being in the classroom for a little over a year, I knew it was not the right fit for me. I was making about $30,000/year and although I had great benefits and a pension, I knew that I could continue to be successful elsewhere. When I first began offering private lessons and was quickly able to gain 10 students with a waitlist of 20 more, I knew I was onto something. Clearly, there was and still is a need for in-home private lessons in our area.

Good intentions, honesty, and communication will take you further than anything.

how-i-started-a-20k-month-private-music-lessons-business

6. Become a costume designer

Examples of a successful costume designer:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a costume designer:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a costume designer ➜

article

7. Start a musical festival promoter business

Examples of a successful musical festival promoter business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a musical festival promoter business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a musical festival promoter business ➜

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8. Start a t-shirt customization kiosk

Examples of a successful t-shirt customization kiosk:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a t-shirt customization kiosk:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a t-shirt customization kiosk ➜

article

9. Start an online studio business

How Much Can You Make?
$160,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful online studio business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a online studio business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an online studio business ➜

Case Study
  • Graham Cochrane is the founder of the Recording Revolution. The company was founded in the midst of the Great Recession in 2009.

  • The Recording Revolution offers instruction, training, recording, mixing, and tried-and-true strategies for creating music that is cut out for radio.

  • Since 2009, this online community has trained over 350,000 songwriters and musicians to produce songs suitable for radio from their homes or bedrooms.

  • Additionally, he is also the author and host of the show named The Graham Cochrane Show. On his show, he shares his tips and tricks for building and running a successful online business.

article

Read the full story on cnbc.com ➜

10. Become a theme song creator

Examples of a successful theme song creator:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a theme song creator:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a theme song creator ➜

article

11. Become a song writer

Examples of a successful song writer:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a song writer:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a song writer ➜

article

12. Start a costume rental business

Examples of a successful costume rental business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a costume rental business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a costume rental business ➜

article

13. Start an online custom tailoring business

Examples of a successful online custom tailoring business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a online custom tailoring business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an online custom tailoring business ➜

article

14. Start a music classes business

Examples of a successful music classes business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a music classes business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a music classes business ➜

article

15. Start a musical instrument sales business

Examples of a successful musical instrument sales business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a musical instrument sales business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a musical instrument sales business ➜

article

16. Become a fashion influencer

How Much Can You Make?
$4,000 — $380,536/month
Skills

Examples of a successful fashion influencer:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a fashion influencer:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a fashion influencer ➜

Case Study

My name is Brock McGoff, and I run The Modest Man (TMM), a digital media brand dedicated to helping guys dress better and feel more confident, with an emphasis on the man of modest height.

In a given month, TMM generates $10-15k revenue from advertising brand partnerships, digital products (an e-book) and affiliate programs. Since there isn’t any inventory or “cost of goods” profit margins are very high.

starting-a-men-s-style-publication-reaching-a-million-people-per-month

17. Start a tech youtube channel

Examples of a successful tech youtube channel:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a tech youtube channel:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a tech youtube channel ➜

article

18. Start a video game streaming channel

Examples of a successful video game streaming channel:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a video game streaming channel:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a video game streaming channel ➜

article

19. Become a fashion influencer

How Much Can You Make?
$4,000 — $380,536/month
Skills

Examples of a successful fashion influencer:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a fashion influencer:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a fashion influencer ➜

Case Study

My name is Brock McGoff, and I run The Modest Man (TMM), a digital media brand dedicated to helping guys dress better and feel more confident, with an emphasis on the man of modest height.

In a given month, TMM generates $10-15k revenue from advertising brand partnerships, digital products (an e-book) and affiliate programs. Since there isn’t any inventory or “cost of goods” profit margins are very high.

starting-a-men-s-style-publication-reaching-a-million-people-per-month

20. Become a beauty blogger

How Much Can You Make?
$8,000 — $380,536/month
Skills

Examples of a successful beauty blogger:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a beauty blogger:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a beauty blogger ➜

Case Study

My name is Delilah Orpi and I blog about curly hair and clean beauty at The Holistic Enchilada. I help people with naturally curly and wavy hair transition to wearing their natural texture.

My website currently averages $7,000 a month in revenue, though some months can be a lot higher or lower.

how-i-make-84k-year-as-a-beauty-blogger

21. Start a sports youtube channel

How Much Can You Make?
$4,500,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful sports youtube channel:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a sports youtube channel:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a sports youtube channel ➜

Case Study

Some of the BIGGEST accomplishments of MrBeast:

  • Raised $20 million to plant 20 million trees
  • Donated over 100 cars including Lamborghini
  • Gave away a private island
  • Gave away 1 million dollars in one video and did many more of such crazy stuff

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Read the full story on bloggerspassion.com ➜

Pat Walls,  Founder of Starter Story
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I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.

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