In the current digital era, recording artists and music producers are always on the lookout for effective ways to sell music online.
Today, there are more opportunities to sell music than at any other time in music history. Gone are the days of pressing master recordings and painstakingly distributing tapes and vinyl to record shops all over the country. In this article, we look at some effective ways to sell music online.
1. Sell on Your Website
The best way to sell music online is to sell it on your website. Doing this will require you to create an online store where fans can purchase your music directly from you. With so many different download and streaming sites available, a lot of genuine music fans prefer buying directly from the artists, knowing that streaming giants are not taking a significant cut from the price.
2. Sell on Online Music Stores
Apart from having your own website, you also need to consider other online music stores. These stores will help you reach a much bigger audience and make sure your music is going to be heard.
3. Create a Strategy to Sell Music
Before you start to sell music online, you need to make a music marketing strategy. Make sure the places where you choose to sell your music can be easily accessed by your fans.
It’s important to keep a timeline to keep yourselves on track and reach your goals with promoting and selling your music. You need to have a solid idea of the music you wish to sell first. Then figure out if you are going to release singles and when. List down the ways through which you can actively promote music, keeping the places where you will sell it in mind.
4. Engage Your Followers
Once you have a solid idea of the timeline you will follow to sell your music; you will want to start engaging your fans. Make sure your fans know you are releasing music soon and plan some promotion to coincide with producing, recording, and seeing your songs through completion.
Also, use some ideas featuring your new songs, such as teasers and video snippets to Instagram and Facebook. Reach out to your fans regularly with photos to document the entire process.
5. Set Up Pre-Orders
It’s a good idea to get your album up for presale in the weeks leading up to its release. This way, you can make another announcement to inform fans about the music. You can set up a simple pre-order on your website to boost revenue for your music.
Last Few Words
When you sell your music online, remember that it’s an ongoing process that takes time and effort. To make sure you use all opportunities wisely, make a spreadsheet or a list on a whiteboard to keep things on track.
Don’t overload your fans by begging them to purchase your music. Rather, work on unique angles and stagger your selling efforts. Take notes on what’s working and what you can do differently with your next release.
Eric Dalius is The Executive Chairman of MuzicSwipe, a music and content discovery platform designed to maximize artist discovery and optimize fan relationships. As the host of the weekly podcast “FULLSPEED,” Eric chats with pioneering entrepreneurs from diverse sectors. Through the “Eric Dalius Foundation,” he offers four scholarships to US students. Stay updated with Eric on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Entrepreneur.com.