If you’re working on your next album, you’re probably thinking about how you’re going to promote and sell your new music. When it comes to selling your music online, there are countless options available to musicians. 

From selling direct to your fans, to online stores like iTunes and Amazon, getting your music up for sale is relatively simple. The real key is to have a strategy for where your music goes up for sale, and when. 

This comprehensive guide details all of the options for selling your music online. This includes which platforms you should focus on, how to maximize your revenues, and some promotional ideas to help drive more sales.

There are several options out there for selling music directly to your fans. There are also many distributors that can make your music available for sale through online retailers. 

Here are the best options for selling your music online, and when you should use these tools during the promotion of your album. 

Your own website 

If you don’t have your own website already, there are many reasons why you should. Most importantly, a website gives you a little slice of the internet that you own and control. Regardless of which social media platforms come and go, your fans will always be able to find your music on your website. 

"If you own the data, the money will always follow." - Derek Webb (Artist/NoiseTrade Founder) 

By selling music directly through your website, you will also make more money. But more than that, you will own the data and the emails you collect with the sales on your website. This is crucial for the long-term success of your career. 

You can then use that data (who your fans are, where they’re from) and use the emails to keep those fans informed on new music, merch, shows, and crowdfunding campaigns.  

Upsides 

• No commission on sales 
• Collect valuable fan data and email addresses 
• Sales reported to SoundScan 
• Fans can shop for other merch at same time 

Downsides 

• Some fans might always choose to purchase through their preferred online retailer 

 

 

Bandcamp is a free service where you can upload and sell your music directly to your fans, and they take a modest cut of sales (15%). More importantly, you can collect the data and valuable email addresses when selling through Bandcamp. 

But besides offering a platform to sell your music, there’s also an emphasis on music discovery with Bandcamp. They actively recommend music to fans through their fan accounts, blog, app, and the Bandcamp Weekly podcast.

Upsides 

• Collect valuable fan data and email address 
• Sales reported to SoundScan 
• Fans can shop for other merch at same time 
• Emphasis on music discovery 

Downsides 

• Takes 15% of sales 
• Some fans might always choose to purchase through their preferred online retailer 

 

“As much as it feels good to get sales reports from iTunes and Amazon… you don’t get valuable email addresses from fans who purchase through these stores.” 

No doubt the most popular option for musicians to sell their music online is through digital retailers like iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play. There are countless other online stores around the world, but the reality is that the majority of music sales happen through these big three stores. 

There are many digital distribution services out there to get your music into these stores. Some take a cut of your sales, while others charge an annual flat fee to keep your music available in digital stores. Which is best for you?

The main benefit to having your music available in these stores is that many music fans will only buy new music from a store they trust, where they already have a credit card on file and they know the platform is compatible with their music library. 

But as much as it feels good to get sales reports from iTunes and Amazon, there are drawbacks. First of all, you’ll make less money by selling through these retailers, as they do take a cut of your sales (iTunes takes 30%). Most importantly, you don’t get valuable email addresses from fans who purchase through these stores. 

If a fan buys your music from iTunes, they’re considered a customer of iTunes. That means iTunes gets their data and email address. They can then follow up by marketing and promoting other items to that fan, and you can’t. 

This means that the “interaction” with that fan starts and ends with the digital download purchase, which, in the short term, helps your career with the money from that sale. But in the long term, you won’t be able to stay in touch with that fan to let them know about new music, upcoming shows, new merch, etc. 

Upsides 

• Most music fans already shop for music in these stores 
• Sales reported to SoundScan 

Downsides 

• Take up to 30% of sales 
• You don’t get access to customer emails 
• Fans can’t shop for other types of merch 

SoundCloud has a large community of users and curators on the platform, so including your music here can be a good way for your music to gain newfound visibility. Although not a sales platform, Pro users can add a Buy Link to tracks to direct fans to purchase through your preferred platform. 

Before you even go into the studio to record your album, you should be thinking about involving your fans in the process. This is where PledgeMusic comes in. 

There are several platforms for musicians to run crowdfunding campaigns. While PledgeMusic does take 15% of the money raised, no other platform offers their hands-on approach and focus on fan engagement. 

PledgeMusic will help you fully engage your fans throughout the entire process of writing, recording, and releasing your album, all the while helping you raise money to cover your costs and pay for the marketing and promotion of your new music. They also boast a success rate of 90%, with most artists on platform raising 140% of their target! 

Now a PledgeMusic company, NoiseTrade offers musicians the opportunity to give their music away in exchange for an email address and a zip code. Again, this data is arguably more important than the sale itself. But fans can also leave a tip when downloading the music, which helps add some revenues to the equation. 

There’s also a huge music discovery element to NoiseTrade. They send a daily newsletter to over 1.5 million fans looking to discover new artists, so it can be a great resource to build up your mailing list and gain new fans.

 

Need help placing your music online? Pink Couch Music Studios is here to help! Give us a call at 972-489-1667 to set up your first artist development consultation.

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