SELLING MUSIC ON THE INTERNET: HOW DO YOU SUCCEED IN TODAY'S MUSIC INDUSTRY?



Well, Selling music on the internet IS today's music industry!


UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!

What did I tell you?

The new music industry moves FAST!  Soon after I put these pages together, I found out about some OTHER tremendous resources for the selling music on the internet.  Let's get right into them:

BANDCAMP:

This is a music hosting site with arguably the best reviews and reputation on the English-Speaking internet.  Fact.

[note: Right up front, let me inform you that I'm NOT doing any "affiliation" or "monetization" with Bandcamp.  It's just not my thing as far as this is concerned for now.  If and when something does get set up, I'll inform you.  That's the law, by the way. :) ]

So, back to Bandcamp: They do it all, and I mean ALL.  Every feature they offer really is best-in-class.  Let's take a look:

Here's a link to their "testimonial" page: -- HUNDREDS of rave reviews on all the different elements of their platform, including their personal service.  If you don't have time to go there and check, here are some I've excerpted at random:

From musicians:

"Subject: Thank you -- Bandcamp is fantastic:

"It's easier, faster, more reliable, less obnoxious, less restrictive, and just all around better than that "other place" where everyone used to put music. Thank you for making the world a better place.

~ "Larry"

"Bandcamp is the best thing that's happened to music in the last 5 years. I find myself using Bandcamp almost exclusively as my website these days. Being able to set my own prices, and not those chosen by a corporate hive-mind, is great. The staff is helpful and responsive, and getting paid immediately via PayPal is soooo much better than waiting months for a check savagely slashed by 30%. It's always encouraging to see the Cha-Ching emails roll in, especially with how many people pay more than I ask for! Bandcamp has made it so much easier to make a living off of music, and I can't wait to see what new features lie in wait!"

~ "danny B"

From a customer:

"You see, I spend a lot of money on music and I worry a lot about where that money goes. When I buy an album digitally on Amazon, how much of my money goes to Amazon, how much to the label, and how much actually reaches the artist? I always wonder. A few times I've simply thrown up my hands in frustration and decided that it's impossible to know which mode of purchase will most greatly benefit the artist, which is why I've settled on Amazon -- it's the most straightforward and seamless for me, the consumer.

"That said, Bandcamp blows Amazon out of the water. Hands down. No clunky downloader, no frustrating searches for the right artist, album, or song. Your artist page design is wonderful in its simplicity, and I completely agree with your philosophy about how important it is to allow customers to hear music before they buy it.

"I cannot think of any way that I could have a simpler or more satisfying experience as a customer. And most important is your transparency about the cut you take. I think the cut is a perfectly reasonable amount for the service you provide. It's not just reasonable, it's a great deal for the artist selling music on the internet.

"All this to say, I am overwhelmingly excited about what you guys are doing and I thank you for it. I will spread the word about Bandcamp and seek opportunities to support the site as a customer. Congratulations on the recent Billboard chart achievements; I'm sure they won't be the last ones."

~ Andrew Smith


Whoa!  Overwhelmingly convincing, hm?  Yes, I'd say.

Guess which portal I will be using?  Yep.

Ok, so much for Bandcamp.  Now, here is another resource which I've just started with and have already found quite useful.  [Again - no "monetization" here.  Just passing on a good thing]


LEAH MCHENRY -- Here's one of her introductory music marketing videos:

Here's a playlist of her music marketing videos on YouTube:

She also has a very extensive online course, which costs about $500, and an ebook for $38, which contains the essential concepts and steps of putting out your work on the internet.

Guess which product I got?  Well, the book is really GOOD, in my opinion.  Its' value is that it does help you 'focus', stay on track and not make big, time-wasting mistakes.

Her credibility is established by her presence - YouTube Stats, Facebook likes, etc.  She's the source that turned me on to BANDCAMP -- And here's ONE of the pages on her Bandcamp site:

Seems that she does "walk the walk".

My recommendation is: get the book first.  Go through it and do the checklist, the actions she directs.  See how that works for you.  If you have the wherewithal and need the completeness, you'll probably 'graduate' to the full course.

Either way, I have no misgivings about recommending her material.

SO -- That's it for now.  Who knows what's happening tomorrow?

Whatever it is, it's gonna be interesting!  I'll do my best to stay on top of it.

Good luck!


"We now resume our regularly scheduled programming."

In researching the field for an overview, I came across a VERY amazing statistic: 70% of all the money made in the music industry goes to the TOP ONE PERCENT of all artists!!

WHAT? TOP ONE PERCENT??  -- Yes!

From an article in DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS:

"...the research is based on anonymised data and insight from record labels (majors and indies), distributors, digital music services (big ones) and artist managers. The research took more than 2 months to do and went through numerous external validation stages to ensure the data is robust."

Well -- even taking any error and inaccuracy into account, that's still a pretty LOPSIDED picture!  Makes you disheartened?

Fine - Let's be a bit disheartened for a moment.  OK - NOW -- What to do about this? -- PLENTY!!

SELLING MUSIC ON THE INTERNET -
A "COTTAGE INDUSTRY"

Here's how it works: The internet is a "TWO-EDGED sword".  TONS of attention, money and traffic flow up to the "top", BUT just as readily - ANYONE can access some POWERFUL channels of distribution from the very BOTTOM, and generally for FREE, or amazingly low cost!

Having done so - you can enjoy the benefit of being on massive networks, populated by audiences and users who have instant access to your product, and can and WILL purchase your music and support you - {IF you know what to do and how to do it!}

So, there's hope:  Read this article about TEN FULL-TIME MUSICIANS, also from DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS.  Note that, for about half of these musicians, selling their music on the internet is a significant part of their "business model"

Interesting?  Thought you'd like it.  So, let's get into SPECIFIC recommendations and links to online music distribution services, including CD BABY, TAXI, LICENSE QUOTE, GOOGLE ARTIST'S HUB and others.


"SELLING MUSIC ON THE INTERNET" - PAGE TWO:

"SELLING MUSIC ON THE INTERNET" - PAGE THREE:






And the accolades continue: David Grisman [above] uses "The Original" Cowling System:

Hand 

Strengthening Exercises for Musicians -


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And still more [actual and unsolicited] rave reviews for "The Original" Cowling System:

-----------------

FROM A VIOLINIST:

"The Cowling System © is a set of 12 exercises designed to increase the flexibility and strength of the hand, wrist, and fingers.

"I bought the course in 1978 and have found them to be invaluable.

"I've kept them all these years and still use them to warm up with before playing."

~ Richard Barton posted on VIOLINIST.COM

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FROM A BASS PLAYER:

?"My fingers actually DO what my brain tells them to do, WITHOUT getting confused."

~ Anthony Jerome Smith, 35-year veteran bass player.

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FROM A PIANIST:

"In 1976, my teacher gave me his copy of all the exercises, whereupon I made xeroxed pages to put in a binder.

"My teacher was amazed at my progress that in a year I could play, for example, the prelude #17 of Chopin!

~ "RPN58" (from a pianists' discussion board in England, 2006)

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FROM A GUITARIST:

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"Through the use of the COWLING SYSTEM ©, I went from "amateur" to an "A" level in music in a very short number of years.

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~ Don Wills Guitarist, Great Britain

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FROM A VIOLINIST:

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~ "THE VIOLINIST" Magazine, December, 1924


I'd love to see YOUR testimonial on this list! If you really do "THE ORIGINAL" COWLING SYSTEM © of Hand Strengthening Exercises", you CAN master and truly enjoy your music!


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