These Creatives Make Thousands of Dollars a Month With a 'User-Friendly' Side Hustle — and Don't Want to 'Be a Secret Anymore' David "DJ" Lee, Damien Horne and Kenny Carter got started with the platform in August 2021 and began earning by October.
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- Channing Moreland and Makenzie Stokel wanted to simplify an entertainment hassle.
- Learn how it's put more than $6 million in performers' pockets across the U.S.
It's the era of the side hustle, and if you've ever considered starting one to earn some extra cash outside of your 9-5, you're in good company. These days, more than one-third of U.S. adults have side hustles, and their supplemental gigs make an average of $891 a month, according to recent research from Bankrate. Of course, the most successful side hustlers see much higher earnings, especially when they start a business that brings in nearly as much as — or significantly more than — their full-time sources of income.
Channing Moreland and Makenzie Stokel, now 30, were inspired to start a business of their own when they met as random roommates during their freshman year at Belmont University.
Moreland and Stokel bonded over their passion for live music and desire to simplify the entertainment booking process: Their one-stop-solution EVA was born, and 10 years later, it's put more than $6 million in performers' pockets nationwide.
EVA has been a game-changer for local artists and gig workers, including members of the Nashville-based soul-folk band The Magi.
Image Credit: Aaron Sayre from the EVA team. Left to right: Kenny Carter, Damien Horne and David "DJ" Lee.
David "DJ" Lee, Damien Horne and Kenny Carter are the side-hustling trio behind The Magi. All three men had solo music careers before they co-wrote their first song, "Try," and realized their potential as a group. "Usually a band births a song, but the song actually birthed the band," Lee tells Entrepreneur.
The Magi had one semi-consistent gig in Nashville before Lee met his friend Sean Fallon, a manager in Nashville, for coffee and found out about EVA. Lee got home, navigated to the "very user-friendly" website and submitted The Magi for consideration. They were accepted onto the platform in August 2021 and booked their first gig that October.
Given pandemic constraints, The Magi's first job through EVA was for a company that needed a house band for a live virtual event. "They kind of wanted The Roots [from] Jimmy Fallon, just a really tiny band," Horne says. "A tiny Roots."
The Magi was happy to help, and a "slow burn" of bookings followed, though many corporate gigs they applied for went to Nashville music staples: country bands.
"The hard part for us is that most corporate events that come to Nashville looking for a band aren't looking for three Black guys that do [what we do]," Lee explains.
Still, The Magi has managed consistent success with EVA over the years, performing for virtual events, happy hours, after parties and on stages big and small. The Magi books one or two gigs a month through EVA, with typical earnings of $2,500-$3,000, though they can be higher or lower depending on the specific job.
EVA brings a lucrative opportunity to the table, but Lee, Horne and Carter have long worked musical side hustles to earn a living with their passion. " You find all these different pockets where you can use your gift and tools to do what you love to do as opposed to doing something else," Horne says, noting that music has been his primary income source for more than 20 years.
Lee says The Magi has become his "main hustle." It makes up about 80% of his income. The other 20% comes from virtual hosting, speaking engagements and stage and tour management. " I [wear] a lot of hats because I love spending money," he quips.
In addition to his work with The Magi, Carter runs a production business with a partner based out of Kansas City.
"We record people," Carter says. "Then I do the mixing and the mastering. It's a whole apparatus — so that's kind of my main side hustle." The Magi is also his primary source of income, though he's spearheading other ventures, musical and otherwise, including his clothing line Doodle Dad Merch.
"We're all three trying to grow our own individual hustles alongside The Magi," Lee adds, "though we would love for [The Magi] to be our No. 1 thing. I tell people this all the time, 'If there wasn't an EVA, I don't think we'd still be a band.'"
Carving out the time to perform, creating a sound that stands out and under-promising while over-delivering have helped The Magi find success in the competitive space, and all three members look forward to the band's continued growth.
"Every year, we ramp up," Horne says. "Our goal now is not to keep the Magi a secret. We don't want to be a secret anymore. The opportunities that come our way allow us to get in front of more people and see how far we can reach. We want to touch more lives. We want to bring our brand of light and encouragement and funky music to more people."
