Seeking Advice: Registering as a Sole Trader for My Online DJ Presence While on ESA Benefits
Hi everyone,
I hope you're all doing well! I wanted to share a bit about my current situation and ask for some advice.
I've been growing my online DJ presence, sharing mixes and engaging with a small but steadily growing audience. I'm starting to think about monetising this, potentially through platforms like Patreon, live-streaming tips, or selling merchandise. With that in mind, I’m considering registering as a sole trader to formalise things.
However, there’s an important factor I need to consider: I currently receive ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) - soon to be forced on Universal Credit (boo, hiss). I’m aware that there’s a limit to how much I can earn before it affects my benefit. I’ve read that exceeding the earnings threshold could reduce or even stop my ESA payments. I fully understand and respect that, but it’s something I need to weigh carefully before making any decisions.
What I’m unsure about is whether registering as a sole trader makes sense at this stage, especially if my earnings are unpredictable and start out quite low. On the other hand, if things go really well and I begin earning more, I want to ensure I’m set up properly to handle the financial and legal aspects.
I’d love to hear from anyone with experience balancing self-employment and benefits, or anyone who’s been in a similar situation. Specifically:
- Is it worth registering as a sole trader now if my income is not consistent yet?
- How do you manage the transition from benefits to self-employment income without losing financial stability?
- Are there resources or organisations you’d recommend for guidance on this?
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. I appreciate any insights or advice you can share.
TIA.
Comments
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Because of the lack of traction, I guess no one else is in my situation.
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Heya @PalsyP sorry to see your discussion has no replies, unfortunately you had posted during xmas, so many people will have been busy with xmas things and we were working on a skeleton crew.
It's great to hear your fanbase is growing, I found Twitch really good for livestreaming, but I'm sure you already know that haha. Patreon is often a good route for some additional income if you can make subscribing worthwhile, so early, exclusive sets etc would be good.It sounds like you're taking all things into account, so just remember that you'll need to keep records of earnings, so it can often be good practice to have any donations etc go into a specific, separate paypal (or similar) account as this will make tax season a load easier for you.
Hopefully some other community members will chime in now I've given the discussion a bit of a bump. 😉
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I had to tell Universal Credit about my work even before I earned anything, so I’d definitely check with ESA early. Better to keep them informed to avoid problems later.
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Advertising is not allowed on this forum.
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Who is advertising?
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The poster seems to have been despatched!
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have you thought of using distrokid, I know a few people who use it to stream there music, plus here's a community that streams each others tunes, it gets you heard to a wider audience and builds up algorithms, it's free all you have to do is stream the playlist, you play theirs, they play yours, everyone gets heard…
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscord.gg%2FeYVyXECw%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExSUNCNDR4WVVBSFRselczMQEeuJunc_Q-hLQOl-wkdHD5oUU0P31QGv5IUJmEzYoxn6OmtmaRSSMVZixrTQI_aem_MXR3B45uFCQv5UOMwDsDIQ&h=AT3yEBrauha_OFJy682YguHuoxMBOTN_ZzT9AldyGGFoESBOsuAqRN1QAgRZuvmOmArztc33jwKXD5e40prZH2RZhPwlOI6yhiVJW2l1E7DFAG5wt7-5rdHMYP_0rXA
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I think I messed the link up..lol try this one.
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Hi
I'm a musician and use Ditto to distribute my music. I was wondering about this some time ago. As a result, I contacted the DWP to enquire about it and was told that I could earn upto £183.50 a week WITHOUT losing any of my benefits.
From April 7th 2025, the amount I could earn went up to £195.50 a week But the work must be for less than 16 hours a week.
Hope this helps.
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HI, do you know if it’s the same for royalties, many thanks.
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Also is this on income related ESA support group, I can’t get a straight answer from any welfare benefit guidance and have had 3 different responses.
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Hello NeuroEve
Yes, I claim income related ESA and PIP. This was my original enquiry -
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hi Stickman thanks for the reply and the link. Can I ask how does this work with regards to classing yourself as self employed. Do you put your name or your music name as the business name on the permitted work form. How do you work out what your earnings would be after tax to declare your monthly earnings, my sister is an accountant so she would do his self assessment for him but I assumed he would just get a tax bill at the end of the tax year. It’s such a mine field and I am lost by it all.
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I was at a loss too, that's why I gave the DWP a call, I explained my situation and they didn't know either. It seems to be unknown territory. Ask as many question as you can.
As far as I'm aware as long as you don't earn more than £195 and work less than 16 hours a week, then you should be OK.
Do you make your own music? If yes, think about joining the PRS BEFORE you release any of your own work.
At the end of the day, I'm not an expert on this. But, as said, it's best to give the DWP a ring.
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hi thanks, contacted DWP and spoke to a lovely guy who was really helpful. Is for my son not myself I am his appointee. It’s filling the form out that I am struggling with now. Also I’m not sure what his average monthly royalty payments will be but they are looking at possibly £300 per month or less. I know he will have to put money aside for his tax bill and my sister is an accountant so said she will sort out his self assessment and help register him with HMRC. I think a covering letter with the PW1 form might be the way forward. Did you wait long to hear back after sending it off. Thanks again.
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I completed a PW1 form just as a precaution. In my case (I claim Work Related ESA, PIP and Housing Benefit). For you, it may be different. He should be OK with making £300 per month. But, I am not an expert.
Good Luck.
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