The Internet has opened many doors for musicians in recent years. It wasn’t that long ago that the only way a musician could “make it” was by getting noticed by a record label and signing their life away. Fortunately, that’s not the case today.
From YouTube to SoundCloud to Spotify, the options for musicians to get out there and start building their brand feel limitless. But with that choice can come a lot of uncertainty about what the best way to sell music online.
Building Your Audience
The harsh reality of making music is, if no one knows you are there, no one will listen to your music. Artists may not be reliant on getting noticed by a record label anymore, but they do have to get seen by someone. Luckily, there are many ways to get noticed.
Be a YouTube Musician
One of the most popular ways to get noticed is YouTube. Getting on YouTube and releasing cover songs, mashups, and of course, original material can grow your brand in ways a pre-YouTube artist could only have dreamed of.
As you build your fanbase, YouTube also serves as an excellent platform for interacting with those fans. “Behind the scenes” tour videos, vlogs, interviews. Making your fans feel part of your journey is a surefire way to make them feel invested in your success.
Showcase Your Depth on SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an excellent platform for putting music out without the pressure of an official release. That is why many established musicians use the platform to put out demos and experimental tracks.
For an up and coming artist or band, SoundCloud can serve as a proving ground to get feedback from your growing fanbase and find your voice as an artist.
Where to Sell Your Music Online for Free
SoundCloud may be suitable for releasing free music, but monetizing that music requires a premium account. For most new artists, money is not especially abundant when taking those early steps into the industry. Luckily it doesn’t need to be, as there are many ways to sell music online for free.
With the plethora of digital music stores and streaming services out there, the opportunities to sell your music have never been greater.
Some of the more recent popular websites to sell your music is through Shutterstock or Artlist.io.
Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, AudioJungle
The list could go on. These services will sell or stream your music and pay you a percentage of the money made in the form of royalties
It is possible to submit your music to many of these stores yourself, and in many cases, for free. However, it can be a bit daunting trying to manage your presence on a dozen different outlets at once. Fortunately, there are a growing number of music distribution platforms that will distribute your music for free. Of course, most of them will take a cut of your sales, but they won’t charge you any upfront fees.
One of the more exciting music distribution platforms around right now is Amuse, who will distribute your music to all the major players in the digital music game for free, and let you keep 100% of your royalties
Quality Music Deserves Quality Audio
Talent and ability will always shine through in the music. But there is a lot of talent and ability out there, and anything you can do to set yourself apart from the crowd will help, and that can include making sure you have the best sounding audio possible.
There aren’t many ways to improve your audio quality without spending money, but you can make vast improvements for minimal cost when you’re first getting started.
Microphones
Professional recording studios will have an array of microphones to choose from, but unless you have a lot of money to burn, you will have to be more frugal.
If you only buy one microphone, aim for a budget condenser mic. These are very versatile and can be found for as little as $20. Condenser mics produce a vastly superior sound to any built-in computer microphone. You will likely need an audio interface or preamp, though.
Software
Having the right tools for the job includes software. Unfortunately, the software can get pretty pricey. For a free option, Audacity is a good starting point. You’ll likely outgrow that before long, however.
We did a rundown comparison of two of the most popular DAW music software platforms in our article Fruity Loops vs. Ableton.
A reliable budget option is Ableton Live 10 Intro, which provides many of the features of a studio-grade DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) at a very affordable price.