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SELLING YOUR MUSIC ONLINE A GUIDE (Draft. We are still adding to this page. If you have ideas, don't hesitate to send them. We put this page up to stimulate discussion.) According to many industry insiders and record label executives, the advent of peer-to peer and other new digital technologies has been the equivalent of an apocalypse. We've all heard the tales of woe ... profits are down, new artists cannot break into a declining industry, recording contracts are not being offered, CD sales are slumping, and so on. The big corporate labels, often referred to in the music business as "The Majors" have indeed fallen on hard times since the halcyon days of album oriented radio. In general, however, their hardship has come as a result of the inability to adapt to new technology and the new conditions of Internet-driven music sales. Emerging recording artists, by contrast, are finding that the new digital age holds distinct advantages. These advantages start with the recording process. Thanks to new technology artists can now record their music easier than ever before. For those just starting out we recommend reading our Guide to Home Recording. For those artists who have already completed their recordings, you can reach a wider audience than ever before thanks to the Internet. Artists, not record companies, can control the way their music is distributed and promoted. They can also sell downloads of their music directly from their websites, from online music stores that cater to individual artists, or, if the artist is signed to an indie label, via a digital distributor. Each of these options potentially yields a higher margin of profit per song than working with a record company ever did. The biggest difference between working with a Major and selling music online independently is the amount of promotional money behind the artist. The Majors have the financial resources to promote the artist, distribute the music, and get radio airplay. Most artists do not have the deep pockets that are necessary to market their music in a traditional fashion. The categories below list three ways that an independent artist can use the Internet today to get his or her music career off the ground. Please note that these categories are not exhaustive. Readers should also note that the lines between these categories of sites are fluid. For example, some sites that are listed under "music communities" also have the capacity to sell either individual downloads or entire CDs. The categories below have been created in an effort to bring some understanding to the constantly changing nature of the music business on the Internet. Readers referring to the list below should remember that in many cases online downloads of music can be made from anywhere in the world. We have separated these sites into loose geographical categories whenever it has been possible. Some of these services offer music downloads for sale only in the currency of the country under which they are listed. Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement of these services by the UWW. MUSIC COMMUNITIES • ONLINE MUSIC STORES • DIGITAL DISTRIBUTORS GETTING ON iTUNES • ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Music communities allow participating bands to create a basic profile page where they can post music, photographs, and band information. Generally there is no fee for creating a profile and posting up to 3 songs. Some sites charge a fee to post more than three songs. Communities have several advantages for artists and should be thought of as supplements to the stand-alone web site. First, community web pages do not stand-alone. They are part of a larger group of artists who are members of that site. This has advantages in that artists can establish contacts with other bands on the site. Information for artists is often available for all aspects of the music business via community blogs that are on hosting sites. These blogs are also essential for getting feedback about songwriting, marketing, equipment, and other kinds of music-related subjects. Second, communities also combine fan or listener features with artist profiles. Fans can create their own playlists, radio stations, and blogs. Here they can exchange information on which bands are hot and so on. This enhances the "word of mouth" factor. A third advantage to these sites is that they often have online radio stations to play the music on the site. This gets your music the exposure it needs to be "discovered" so to speak. Talent scouts and A&R (artist and repertoire) researchers also listen to these radio stations so if your music is playing the chances are greater that you will get noticed. The fourth advantage to music communities is the e-commerce angle. Hosting sites offer ready-made templates for artists to sell their music. Anyone who has tried to sell music via their own artist web site knows that it can be complicated to set-up the capacity to take credit cards. Hosting sites have this all taken care of already, saving the artist the hassle of handling the business end. Finally, it is worth noting that music communities typically appeal to artists and listeners around the world. You are just as likely to hear artists from the UK, Japan, and Brazil as you are to hear the newest bands from the U.S. Here are some sites that fall into this category:
96 Decibels There are some similarities, but also some big differences, between online music stores and music communities. Whereas communities exist primarily to support the independent music scene, with some e-commerce features thrown in, online music stores exist primarily to sell music downloads and CDs. The vast majority of the artists featured are indie acts. These though are typically thrown in with firmly established names in the music industry. Online music stores also operate similarly to music communities in that artists selling on the site have their own profile pages. These profile pages are, however, shorter than those available on music community sites. An online music store is not the place where you would post demo versions of your songs for peer review. Most importantly, online music stores act as the point of sale for independent artists. This means that the store will sell an artist's music directly on their website. Songs hosted on these sites are sold individually and the artist gets a percentage of the profit from the sale. Exactly what this percentage is varies from distributor to distributor so check the terms of the contracts you will have to sign. The existence of a contract between the store and the artist is a big difference between these sites and music community sites. Stores require artists to sign contracts in order to distribute their music. These contracts set out the terms under which an artists' music will be sold. Artists are advised to read through these contracts carefully. The WFF has also located a very informative article on OMD contracts. Artists should read this as well. Note: Readers will note here that the large online retailers like iTunes and Yahoo! Music Unlimited have not been included here. The reason they have been left out is because in most cases they are not as indie-friendly as are these smaller organizations. This subject is covered in more detail below in the section entitled Getting on iTunes. The WFF has also created a page dedicated to helping people understand how digital music is sold via stores and subscription services. This page can be found here: Digital Music Links. North America The United Kingdom France Bands and artists who have been fortunate enough to land a recording deal with an independent label have a third marketing and sales option open to them that is not open to unsigned bands. This option is working with a digital distributor. Indie labels are typically cash-strapped. They therefore use digital distributors for marketing their artists. After forming a collaborative relationship with a digital distributor, that distributor will list and market the artists submitted by the label. Digital distributors market and sell the music submitted to them via either their own music store or through large online music stores like iTunes and Yahoo! Music Unlimited. The most important thing to note here is that the business relationship is between the label and the distributor. The artist may or may not be involved in the distribution and marketing of his or her music. It is the responsibility of the artist to investigate and clarify the agreement between the label and distributor in order to know what their profit will be. In addition to selling songs and CDs from indie artists, digital distributors also provide all-important marketing and promotional services. North America
In Grooves France Germany and Austria Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg China and Asia Nowadays getting your music played on Apple's iTunes is the holy grail of the online music industry. For those artists that have been discovered by iTunes personnel surfing the web, congratulations. For most artists though there are two methods for getting your music on iTunes. Getting on iTunes: Method Number One Some artists, especially those who have established a track record of some commercial success, will find that the easiest way to get on iTunes is to fill out the iTunes application. After completing the application, a representative of iTunes will listen to the music and decide if it should be carried on the site. Because iTunes is the world's largest digital music seller it is more selective than many of the smaller distributors we list above. If your music is accepted by iTunes for inclusion in their catalog they will notify you and tell you how to go about getting your music on the site and establishing a link to your website. Getting on iTunes: Method Number Two The other way to get your music on iTunes is to go through a small digital distributor. Small distributors are just like iTunes, but without the size and visibility. Scouts for the big digital music distributors like iTunes and Yahoo! Music Unlimited regularly search the smaller distributors for artists to include on their services. In general, the process works like this. Smaller distributors place music online for their listeners. The popularity of tunes placed on a distributor rises or falls based on the number of people who listen to the songs and who buy copies of them. Scouts from the major online retailers then choose content from the smaller distributors to include on their sites. Once an artist's song has been chosen for i-Tunes that artist will be required to sign a contract with i-Tunes for the terms of their music's usage and the amount the artist will be paid for each song downloaded. Small distributors also actively contact iTunes to promote their artists, which is yet another way that digital distributors work to get your music out there. How all of the negotiations work is difficult to say since it is all part of the confidential business relationship between the two companies. Promoting and Selling Your Music Online MUSIC COMMUNITIES • ONLINE MUSIC STORES • DIGITAL DISTRIBUTORS GETTING ON iTUNES • ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |