Consider these 5 places when deciding where to sell your music online:
Your Band’s Website
There’s no better place to sell your music than on your own web site, simply because you’ll have a higher profit margin and keep traffic on your site longer.
CDBaby.com
CDBaby is one of the most popular methods for indie artists to release their work to the public. The site offers CD sales or digital releases. Basically, you pay them a one-time set up fee to get your CD for sale on their site, and they keep a small portion of the CD sales. The profit is paid out to you on a weekly basis, depending on what payment level you choose to have check sent. Sign up here to sell your CD. CDBaby’s digital distribution has no set-up fees, and you’re paid 91% of the download sales. They distribute your music through iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, MSN Music, MP3tunes, AOL’s MusicNet, Yahoo MusicMatch and more. Sign up here to sell your digital downloads.
iTunes
Apple’s iTunes is a fiercely strong resource for independent artists looking to sell their music digitally. If you don’t sign up for iTunes through larger distributors, such as CDBaby, sign up for them independently by filling out their online application.
Lulu.com
Lulu.com is an awesome site that gives you a free storefront and allows you to sell CDs or digital downloads at no upfront cost to you. Lulu.com is a print-on-demand publisher, meaning you don’t have to send them any CDs, and you don’t pay for production up-front. You just provide them with the audio files, CD art and cover art. When someone places an order online for the CD they print one copy and send it out. They keep the production cost and a small % of the markup, and you set your own profits. There are two drawbacks: 1. The site primarily focuses on POD book publishing, so not many people are there looking to buy CDs, and 2. Discs are burned, not pressed. While it may not be your top choice for a new release, keep this site in mind for distributing older releases. You can keep your music available indefinitely with no further cost to you. And if you decide to offer your downloads for free, the site will host them for you, and they won’t charge you a dime. Find out more about selling CDs with Lulu.com.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com is another great resource for selling your indie music online. You can use the site to sell CDs or digital downloads. The only drawback is that the site’s viewers aren’t really a targeted audience, so if they’re not specifically looking for your music, they’re not as likely to find it. Sign up for Amazon.com Advantage to start selling your music.
