How to get started: This is the first step to sell music online

You’re an independent artist and would looooove to sell music online but don’t know where to start?  Well, it’s actually not that hard and you don’t even need a lot of money to do it either, so here we go: This is what you need to sell music online.

What you need is an online distributor who will get your music on iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster and all the other major online music stores. Below are listed 4 websites that will do all this for you. Make your pick and get started!

Choose your distributor:

• CDBaby is the best choice to sell music online

Upload and sell singles or full albums on iTunes, Amazon MP3, Rhapsody, Napster, eMusic and more. No annual fees, 35$ per album, 9$ per single. These prices include CD and download sales on CDBaby.com and worldwide digital and physical distribution. CD-Baby gets 9% of your net income and 4$ per physical CD sold (see pricing details).

Example artist page: El Puente on CDBaby

• Tunecore is also a good choice to sell music online

Tunecore sells through iTunes, Amazon MP3, eMusic, Thumbplay, Napster and  AmyStreet. They also provide physical on demand distribution through Amazon. Prices are 9.99$ per single or ringtone, 47.99$ per album, you keep 100% of your royalties.

No artist pages

• Songcast

SongCast delivers music to iTunes US and other international iTunes Stores, Rhapsody, Amazon MP3, Emusic, Napster & MediaNet. They ask for a monthly fee of $5.99 plus onetime setup fee of $19.99 per album or $9.99 per single. This includes a free UPC Barcode for every release (the other services charge extra for the code).

Example artist page: Simonne Lee on Songcast

• ReverbNation 

Sell your music on iTunes, Amazon, etc. and keep 100% of the royalties. Use the free Reverb Store to sell T-shirts, CDs, downloads, hats and ringtones directly to fans on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and your home page or blog.. 34.95$ per year for the ‘Essential’ package, 59.95$ for the ‘Pro’ package.

Example artist page: Bantu on ReverbNation

You’d rather sell independently? Then chose this route to sell music online

• Bandcamp is the way to sell independent music online

Bandcamp does not distribute your music but rather makes it possible to sell it form your own personalized site . Instead of ads for Sexy Singles Chat, your fans see your design, your music, your URL. You retain all ownership rights and Bandcamp just hangs out in the background handling the tech stuff. They offer your tracks in mp3, AAC, FLAC, Ogg…all the formats your fans demand. Choose between giving away your music, setting a price, letting folks name their price – it’s up to you.

Example artist page: Kiko King on Bandcamp

Promotion:

Now, that your music is for sale online, you still need to let people know about it, otherwise there will be nobody to buy it, right? Here are the three things you will need:

• A Facebook fan page

If you don’t have a FB page yet (and I’m not talking about your personal profile here) , go and read ’10 Facebook Fan Page Tips for Creative Entrepreneurs‘ immediately!

• A SoundCloud account

SoundCloud lets you move music fast & easy. The platform takes the daily hassle out of receiving, sending & distributing music for artists, record labels & other music professionals.

But here is the most important part: All your public tracks come with the coolest audio player widget on the web. It’s customizable in a matter of seconds and completely flexible to what info you need to show around your tracks. It even lets you link to iTunes, Bandcamp or other any place people can buy your music. This widget can be posted all around the web: your website, blog, Facebook profile or page, you name it!

Example artist page: Braintheft on Soundcloud

• The SoundCloud app on Facebook

The SoundCloud app allows you to put tracks that are on SoundCloud.com right in your Facebook profile and page, complete with timed comments, a crisp waveform display and all.

Example: Braintheft fan page

Ready to rock! Then get started to sell your music online

Upload your music to the distributor of your choice and to SoundCloud, link the player widget back to where you sell your music (i.e. ITunes) and then hook up the SoundCloud app on Facebook to let your friends and fans know they can finally buy your music online!

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Post any questions in the comments section!

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Creative Web Biz - the art of creating an online business

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Charles Lewis aka  Chuck is a christian rapper (poeticprophet.com) and SEO consultant (PopLabs).

He combined the two by rapping about SEO methods for marketing and optimizing a website for search engines.

So if you are in the process of setting up a website for your art biz listen to the above video.

Wanna hear more?

Check out more videos by the SEO Rapper

Creative Web Biz - the art of creating an online business