With all the new technologies and opportunities to sell products on the internet in modern times, many musicians are starting to want to sell their music, not through music labels and CD stores, but online through music dealers. Musicians who sell their work on the internet don't have to go through all the record label and contract deals. They offer their work directly to the fans. For those of you ready to take on an entrepreneurial opportunity like this, here are some ways to help you succeed and sell your music online.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Preparing to Sell
Step 1. Check the audio quality
If you've never distributed music before, make sure your debut is as good as the music you produce. Keep the following in mind before you want to upload your music:
- Audio quality. Of course you want your music to sound good, right? If you recorded it professionally in the studio, chances are the sound is already good. However, whether you do it or not, you better play it and hear the sound. Try playing it on devices your fans are likely to use, such as computers, mp3 players, car stereo systems, etc.
- Audio source. Mp3 files are suitable for playing on mp3 players, but not suitable for distribution because of the compressed format. Make sure you upload music in high quality and noise-free sound, for example in WAV or FLAC format. You can also set it if you want to improve the quality.
Step 2. Provide any appropriate information for your music
Your songs need things like meta data, song titles, albums, and associated artist details in your music files. Without these things, people will not be able to recognize your music.
Step 3. Use good artwork
The artwork on an album is an important part of your and your brand's marketing, and will help listeners remember who you are more easily, making your work easily recognizable. Currently, online store standards (such as ADED. US Music Distribution, iTunes, and Apple Music) require that artwork for album covers be prepared at 3,000 x 3,000 pixels, with an exact resolution of 300 dpi/ppi.
Also, it's time to properly advertise your work
Step 4. Manage the logistics
Make sure you take care of copyright, ask permission when singing other people's songs, and set a release date.
- There are special processes set up for the licensing and copyright process on music. Be careful and consider all these things before marketing your music to people, as some popular music can be stolen. Copyrights that are infringed can be very difficult to manage.
- If you want to make money singing other people's songs, you cannot do so without obtaining the written permission of the intellectual property owner. Make sure you do this before you upload the song, or be prepared to face legal threats.
- Think about when you want to release your work, and once you've chosen a date, you can start marketing and promoting it in various places, such as on social networking pages, blogs, local and online cultural sites, etc.
Part 2 of 3: Cooperating with Online Sellers
Step 1. Find a retail music seller
Certain places offer free parking prizes for song buyers. The best known service is iTunes, but with a little research, budding musicians can find smaller online music sellers, such as ADED. US Music Distribution, SongCast, Getonic, Tunecore, CD Baby and many more.
- Many of these sellers offer different terms, benefits, and advantages. Make sure you check everything before deciding which salesperson you want to use to market your music.
- Make sure you are qualified to work with them. You may not be able to sign up for a music service in India, if the service is only accessible in the US.
Step 2. Sign a digital music sales contract with the seller
Many large digital music sellers, such as iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and Google Play, do not directly deal with independent artists.
So in order for you to sell music on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Google Play, etc., you'll need to sign a digital music marketing contract with a digital music company, which specializes in marketing music by indie artists. These companies are called aggregators. In addition, there are music marketing companies that work directly with various digital music retail stores
Step 3. Read your music sales contract
Most online sites offer interesting things, but make sure you read all the details in an agreement to be absolutely sure you agree to its terms.
- Pay attention to things like collecting royalties, which will dictate how much money the company will pay if you sell your work successfully. For example, a site like CD Baby will charge a $4 commission for every CD record sold, and 9% on every digital music sold.
- Sometimes, there are premium and free versions of the service, and the two have different prices. ADED. US Music Distribution offers 12 distribution credits, although most music distributors will market a project for a fee. CD Baby has a premium service, as described above, in addition to a free service, which deducts 15% of revenue from downloading your work. If you're not making a lot of money, you're better off taking advantage of a free account.
Part 3 of 3: Marketing Yourself
Step 1. Create your own site and market yourself
If you want to sell your music through an intermediary service like CD Baby or iTunes, you won't need a site to publish your music, but for your brand. If your work is of high quality and people like it, they'll want to find out who the artist is, and they'll quickly lose heart if they don't find anything about the artist, and land in empty Google search results.
- You can start creating a site with a simple blog-type page, such as WordPress or Blogger. However, if you want to make your site a money-making site, a self-hosted site with customizable themes and plugins is the best choice.
- The world of site design is both a business and a huge work of art, and there is a lot to learn about creating a website in this world: search engine optimization (SEO), site layout, HTML and CSS, etc. It will take you some time to build a serious, money-making site if you do it yourself, and even longer if you don't have a good background knowledge.
- There are a few things you can do to make a good site: prepare a beautiful and eye-catching logo; upload sharp images showing your music or concerts; don't add unnecessary details.
Step 2. Publish your music
Most of us have heard that "0% publication is bad publication". This slogan usually applies in the music world, as news usually attracts sales. Think of the best ways to promote your music business so you can sell more songs online.
- Dominate the online world with viral videos. Even if your music is available online, it's not necessarily enough to get people to buy your music. Marketing quality, attention-grabbing movie clips on YouTube or elsewhere (such as MySpace) will help.
- Do marketing through social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest. A lot of music is shared on social networking sites, and most of the features are free for everyone to use, although some advanced options (such as "boosting posts" on Facebook) will cost money.
- Take advantage of local events. When online marketing isn't enough, playing or participating in local events can make you more recognizable to the public. Some musicians who are successful in marketing their work find the combination of online sales and live events a great way to market themselves. The point here is so that people can see your band performing at local events, and then easily buy your work online.
Step 3. Keep in touch with connections and expand your reach
Everyone knows that connection is important in this world. Leverage your network of friends, family and acquaintances to help promote or market your music and brand.
- Try marketing in local media. Most medium and large cities have various cultural publications devoted to cataloging various music, art, food, etc. local products. Contact these local media outlets or send an email and offer an interview with one of the reporters. Try asking them to publish your work, either in print or online (you'll probably have no trouble doing this).
- Contact parties on the internet who run publishing services. Their reach is usually wider than that of a local newspaper, and they can introduce your music to people around the world. Depending on your skill level or popularity, you may be accepted by large or small publications.
- Contact local businesses. Bars and nightclubs are traditional venues for performances, but have you ever considered a bookstore? Restaurant? There are many ways to market your presence within a community, and expanding your reach is one way. Think about the type of place you live in, the community around you, what they like, then market yourself and meet these people.
- Market your work to friends and family members. Give away free CDs, invites to concerts or performances, offer to play at your friends' birthdays, or do other things to get more fans.
Tips
- You may want to invest capital. Chances are, at first, you'll need a little money to market your music business. Without a conventional contract from a record label, budding musicians have to pay all the associated costs out of their own pocket. Consider taking out a loan for your music business.
- If you want to make music on the side, a loan may not be the right thing for you, especially if you've never toured or had another job.
- If you want to make music and sell your work full-time, then a loan can be useful for buying new instruments, paying for recording fees, touring, etc. Just make sure you don't dig the hole too deep.
