Sell Your Music Online–It Makes Cents
If you are an independent artist selling your music has never been easier or as profitable as it can be now. If you think that most “signed” artists make a killing on CD sales alone, you’re wrong. After you subtract all the costs to make the CD, market it, distribute it yada yada yada an artist might walk away with 1 dollar for every CD sold. Might is the key word. The label acts as a bank and if they front you 250,000 to record and get your music out there guess what, you aren’t getting paid until they recoup their investment. Enter Online Distribution.
Imagine No up front costs. The ability to connect with a worldwide audience. 50/50 royalty split on downloads! Actually making a little more money for your art. You can see why online distribution is so appealing. Anyone can upload their music to the Web using sites like Audiolunchbox and CDbaby. There are sites now that will even get your music on iTunes such as YouLicense. The upside is indeed appealing for independent musicians. You don’t even have to stock CDs. You simply encode your tune to the MP3 format (using any one of several free software programs), post it to an online music site, and wait for the royalties to pour in from listener downloads. It’s actually pretty easy and there is nothing really stopping Artists from doing so right now. No manager or label needed.
The downside of selling your music online, however, can be pretty daunting. For starters, people need to be able to find you online. You have to stand out from hundreds of thousands of releases. In addition, the pay-per-download scene is in its infancy, so most artists still rely on CD sales. And it’s not uncommon to generate thousands of free “sample” downloads and only sell a handful of CDs. When it comes to your online presence, DON’T mess around. You don’t have to spend a fotune but be prepared to invest some time and finances into this. Hire a web consultant like whoisalejandro that can optimize your web page and get it in front of more people.
While teaming with an online label offers the chance for wide exposure, getting your music heard ultimately depends on your ability to market it. If you can get links to your place in cyberspace, promote its existence, and get a buzz going, then you have a chance. Internet music sites have leveled the playing field somewhat, but it’s still up to you to get into the game.
for more info contact CJ at:
info@cjalvarado.com
