The workweek is truly a never-ending slog inThe Sims 1. Without weekends or personal time off, being a part of the regular rat race takes up a lot of a Sim’s time. For some Sims, it might even be better to escape the traditional career ladder altogether and start something of their own – like becoming a musician around town.

For the musician Sim who wants a little more structure, there’s also the option of joining the Musician career path which was introduced in The Sims: Livin’ Large. Either way, The Sims: Legacy Edition gives your Sims plenty of ways to pursue music professionally.

A pop-up window in The Sims explaining that Johnny Zest isn’t famous enough for a music video.

Making Money With Music In The Fame Career

Sims who embark on the Fame career path have the option of specialising in music. Fame is treated as its job in The Sims: Superstar, where your Simworks gigs for fame and fortunearound Studio Town.

Super successful Sims have the chance of winning The Twang; a prestigious music award. It can come in Bronze, Silver, or Gold.

A pop-up in The Sims showing Lana answering a question about fame.

Sims on the Fame career path canearn money from gigs and tipsaround Studio Town. A good number of those gigs rely on your Sim being at least a little musically capable. For example, your Sim might choose torecord jinglesorperform at karaoketo help cement themselves as a household name.

Using the Fame items in Studio Town is useful to add depth to the storytelling parts of your gameplay because you canchoose what genreof music your Sim performs. You cando karaoke or shoot videosfor a few different genres, includingDance, Country, and more.

An overview of the music opportunities in Studio Town in The Sims.

Sims withhigher star power earn more moneyper gig. At first, your Sim canonly earn tips from karaokeand open mic stages. Once they’re on the road to fame, they earn50 Simoleons per job. Five-star celebrities at the top of their game earn 1,000 Simoleons per job.

Fame in The Sims is a little tricky to keep up with, so wehave a full guideon it.

Johnny Zest singing karaoke outside of his house in The Sims to a cheering crowd.

Musical Items In Studio Town

As your Sim gets more famous, they’llunlock more itemsthey can use to make money with around Studio Town. Some of the music-focussed items they can use are:

If you want your Sim to make money from music, you shouldfocus on doing these jobsspecifically. Even before their future stardom is recognised, they canearn tips from doing karaoke, so don’t feel like they already have to be famous to make the magic happen.

A pop-up in The Sims saying that Johnny Zest is too depressed to play guitar.

Sims have toreach certain fame levelsto be able to use some items. If your Sim doesn’t have enough star power, they’ll get rejected whenever they attempt to use them. The karaoke stage, on the other hand, isperfect for newbiesand nobodies.

If you’re confused about anything in Studio Town,look out for Lana. She’s a local talent agent who can answer any questions you might have. You can generally find her on most lots in the area.

Johnny Zest finding a job on the computer in The Sims 1 in his house.

When it comes to recording studios, a Sim has a couple of different options depending on how famous they are.Less famous Simscan expect to find moresuccess recording jinglesfor adverts, while Sims withmore star power can record their albumat Midlock Multiplex.

Music videos are also a must for the divas of Studio Town.Four-star celebrities can film music videosat the aptly named Music for the Eyes. If the video is a success, then yourSim will be rewarded with Simoleons and fame. You can record Rock, Pop, or Dance videos.

Johnny Zest in The Sims 1 playing guitar at home to Bonehilda.

When you’re heading to Studio Town,use the guitar toggleat the top of the map to filter it. This indicates whichlots have music opportunitieson them.

How To Perform Music For Tips

Sims in the Fame career can get tips forperforming music in Studio Town. This usually happens while using thekaraoke stage, which can be found on the following lots:

Be careful to make sure you’re using the karaoke stage andnot the open mic stage. They look similar, but you can only use the Entertain interaction on the open mic stage, which doesn’t seem to involve singing at all.

Itcan take a while for tips to starttrickling in. Some things you can do to try and improve your chances of getting a good income from performing are:

Sometimes, if aSim’s mood is too low they’ll refuse to performat all. This can seriously hamper their chances of making it big with music, so attempt to avoid this happening by making sure your Sims are happy before heading to Studio Town.

As well as making sure their mood is good, you should also make sure theirCreativity skill is highto improve their chances of success and to earn as many tips as possible. Thankfully, they’llincrease their Creativity as they performanyway.

If your Sim haslow Creativity, they’ll be heckledby the other Sims around them, which in turn decreases the relationship they have with each other.

Given how hard it is toactually build relationships, it’s best to try and avoid this if possible byrehearsing in privatebefore the big show. You also want to keep your famous friends happy if you’re hoping to become a superstar, so try not to get on people’s bad side by caterwauling at them.

Joining The Musician Career

If having a regular, steady income is more your Sim’s style, then they canjoin the Musician careertrack using either the daily newspaper or a computer. It has ten levels to it, ranging from being a Subway Musician up to (inexplicably) a Celebrity Activist.

Which careers are available willchange randomly each day, so it might take a while for the Musician career to cycle around. In the meantime,consider taking on another jobor get your Sim to flex their Creativity skill by selling paintings on the easel.

At the start of their career, a Sim in the Musician career path willearn 90 Simoleons a day. It’s not a lot, but it isn’t terrible considering they work five hours a day, leaving some time for them to practice their instrument and hone their skills.

Musician Sims need tobuild a few skillsthroughout their career, but for the first five levels, they can justfocus on improving their Creativityand making family friends. Later on in their career, they’ll also need to build Mechanical, Body, Charisma, and Logic.

Sims who max out the Musician career can expect toearn 1,400 Simoleons a day. It makes it a pretty lucrative career if they can stick it out. It can be a bit of a slow burn until you get to the top, though.

Which Musical Instruments Can Sims Play?

The Sims: Legacy Edition offers all of the items from the game’s first generation of DLC, including aguitar, keyboard, and several pianos. You can find them in Buy Mode under the Creativity section of Miscellaneous. Their names and prices are:

Item name

580

3,500

4,481

5,399

Bachmeier Grand Piano

6,199

If singing is more your Sim’s style, then you can buyThe Genius Loci Karaoke Stage for 4,413 Simoleonsinstead. It’s in the Other section of Miscellaneous. However, you can save your Simoleons by just using them on community lots instead.

Sims build the Creativity skill while playing instruments, so it’s pretty useful to have some kicking around for your future celebrity.

If you’re good enough, then they’re also a great way ofentertaining guests at partiesbut be ready to be booed if your skills are a little lacklustre.