How to Sell Your Music Online

Are you ready to take your dedication to your music to the next level? Beyond just writing songs, performing live, and selling CDs at your shows, there needs to be digital versions as well. This is the next step in your career. This is how you can get your music where your fans and future fans can easily access it. Online radio stations and apps, like Spotify and iTunes, have become some of the best places for fans to hear the music they want. This means that these are the places you need to be! That sounds easy enough, but is it? In reality, you can’t do this alone. You need to bring in help!

Wouldn’t you love to quit your day job and do music full time? This is possible! More than just possible, it is actually quite simple once you bring in a distribution company. If you have a company like this, they’ll get your music online for you. These services handle the licensing and distribution of your music and also pay you money when your fans stream your music online.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the music industry has your best interest in mind. You need to be not only a musician, but also a savvy business person. You don’t want to just know how to sell your music online, you want to know how to sell music online successfully! Each distribution company is different, so be sure to do a little homework before picking one. If they want the rights to your songs or they’re taking all of your revenue, beware. You worked hard for this, so don’t sign away what you have created to a selfish and shady company.

Once your chosen distribution company gets your music streaming on Spotify, it is time to begin actually selling it so you can make money. This is also known in the industry as "royalties". You will simply create an account and download the app to start sharing your music, creating playlists, and following other artists. This is your dream! Fans can choose either a free, ad-supported tier or a premium subscription to stream a massive catalogue of music, including your own. You make your royalties from these paid streams, and exactly how much will be based on how frequently your music gets played. Each stream earns you more! The more people who play your songs, the closer you are to making music your full-time job.