Opportunities For Independent Music Artists On Digital Platforms
Hello all! Today we are going to discuss a topic for musicians - The opportunities on digital platforms for independent music artists. This blog post is going to give some useful information to music artists about selling their music online and growing as a brand on the internet.
Let's have a look at the platforms where musicians can sell their music independently and grow in the Music Industry without having to face the bullying of Record Labels and Music Companies.
So, here we go.
Selling Beats :
Hip Hop singers are usually in search of the ready-made beats they can use for their songs. And selling these beats online is one big gig in the Music Industry.
Own Website - This is the most recommended way of selling your beats. But it takes a lot of effort for all technical work and website management. But once your website starts getting the traffic, it can take you to the top charts! Also, every penny earned will be yours and your team's (If any).
Online Beats Selling Platforms - Some platforms help artists selling their beats online. They act as mediators between musicians and listeners. These platforms work on either a Commission basis or a subscription basis. You can sign up on these websites, upload, and start selling your beats in minutes. Beatstarts, Airbit, Soundee are some best websites providing beat selling platforms.
Online Music Stores :
There are multiple options for selling songs online. Same as beats selling, we have music stores and our website. Also, we have Digital Distribution Websites that help us distribute our music to popular music stores. All of them work on a commission basis or a subscription basis. Let's have a look at them.
Digital Distributors -
CDBaby
Songtradr
Tunecore
Ditto
Landr
Record Union
Distrokid
Routenote
Online Music Stores -
iTunes
Spotify
Google Play
Amazon Music
Deezer
Beatport
Shazam
ReverbNation
Bandcamp
Bandzoogle
YouTube :
There is one most valuable platform that any musician should never miss. And that remains without fail, YouTube!
Everyone reading this and willing to make a career in music as an independent music artist MUST have their own YouTube channel. YouTube, being the most popular search engine after Google, has tremendous traffic coming every day. So there hides an opportunity for artists to showcase their talent on YouTube. Artists can utilize this platform to sell their music, earn from YouTube Partner Program, or to share knowledge with the world. Let's go step-by-step.
Selling Music On YouTube -
Upload Tracks With Audio Signatures - Create your music track and insert an audio signature to it. That means your name or business name or any tagline, etc. Such a signature will prevent any misuse or piracy of your track, and you can showcase your work quality by putting it out publicly.
Link To Purchase - You can put a URL to your webpage in the video description. So the interested would go and buy your music.
Manual Transaction/Deal - You can give your contact details in the video description so that people can call or write to you to buy your music. You both can mutually decide some way of the transaction and get the deal closed.
Monetization (YouTube Partner Program) -
Eligibility - Once your YouTube channel reaches 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours watch time, you can apply for monetization. An approval from YouTube lets you show advertisements on your videos and earn some dollars :)
YouTube Terms & Policies - YouTube is very strict about their rules. So it is mandatory to study their policies even before starting your YouTube Channel. (No exception for already running channels)
Channel Growth - Try and grow your YouTube channel with the methods of the channel and video optimization and SEO. More the traffic on your channel, the better the chances of your earning.
Affiliate Marketing -
For musicians, Affiliate Marketing is a way of earning some extra pocket money. You recommend some of their products or services, and they will pay you a commission after a sale from your link. This model is suitable for every person in this world who wants to earn some extra money other than the usual earnings.
Sign Up - There are many Affiliate Marketing Programs out there on the web. Based on the commission, you can select one and sign up for their Affiliate Marketing Program.
Find Related Products & Services - There are ample of products and services that relate to your niche. Just spend some extra time to find them out and put their links in your video description. The only thing to be taken care of is, products or services you are promoting should be related to your video content. You can review that product or service, or you can put a link of such a product that you have used in your setup, or for work. For example, if you are showing how to create a rhythm loop in some software, then you can try to put the keyboard or speakers that you are using as an Affiliate Product.
Vlogging -
You can share your knowledge and experience with the world, through a Video Blog, AKA Vlog. Creating and uploading educational videos, training sessions, informative videos will increase your credibility and portray you as an expert in your niche. That is very much important for your brand building. And that precisely helps increase your music sale!
Music Teaching :
Giving knowledge to the needy is such a delightful act. They say that sharing knowledge and teaching others enriches you! And one more nice thing about teaching is that it can help you earn some more pennies, with your other gigs.
One-To-One Teaching - In today's tech-savvy world, teaching from the comfort of your place is so easy. You can use video calling applications like WhatsApp, Skype, Google Meet, JioMeet, Zoom, etc. Charging per session or monthly are usual practices.
Webinars - You can go for One-To-Many method for teaching more than one student at a time. This method will reduce the learning cost for participants and also will make you some extra Vitamin M!
Video Courses - You can create videos of your teaching sessions and upload them on the web. Your website is always a better choice to provide a video course. But you can also use platforms like Teachable to create your Hub. Using services like Udemy will help you get a ready audience due to the already built popularity of the platform. Teachable and Udemy will cost you some amount as a subscription or a commission.
So, these were the methods you can follow and step in to grow in the Music Industry as an Independent Music Artist. On this note, we will sum up this article wishing you all a great success in the beautiful path of music.
- Team ShubhaSurPedia
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