Late US music giants made little money (5,4)
I believe the answer is:
petty cash
'late us music giants' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'little money' is the wordplay.
'little' becomes 'petty' (synonyms).
'money' becomes 'cash' (cash is a type of money).
'petty'+'cash'='PETTY CASH'
'made' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for petty cash that I've seen before include "Money kept in office for small payments - it's trivial" , "Money for expenditure on small items" , "ready for minor roles" , "till content)?" , "money kept for small expenses" .)