Selling Music Online : Cutting Through the Static

Trakvan - selling music onlineAs a musician, the heart of the process lies in finding the notes, coaxing the tone and capturing the feeling –those days spent with no audience, hammering out the details, striving ceaselessly to serve the vision of the song. The strain of that process and its fruit – the music – deserves to be heard. Luckily, there are myriad methods available to help sell your music.

Before seeking out commercial distribution, artists should have an accurate view of where they stand professionally, what their market reach is and what their goals are. In today’s chaotic cultural world, playing out at the speed of sound, it is incredibly tough for an unknown act, even with proper use of the best distribution channels, to sell a lot of music. Many unsigned musicians have attained genuine commercial success by first organizing a comprehensive marketing plan that offers free downloads, free videos and strategic placement on music blogs and online radio. Taking advantage of these opportunities will pave the way for success when it comes time to sell music online.

Once the groundwork of promotion is done, there are low cost and highly effective services readily available. Online distribution services generally charge less than $40 to release an album to all major online retailers and streaming sites. The process is intuitive and requires very little by way of computer savvy. The artist simply uploads the tracks, album artwork, and copyright information, and the service takes care of the rest.

One thing to keep an eye on during this process is the fine print for certain retailers concerning the process for being “featured.” Many online music outlets have a process for screening newly distributed music, aimed at selecting the most exciting offerings for strategic placement on their sites. This process can delay the appearance of releases on the site, but can pay enormous dividends in promotion down the road.

Dedicated artists deserve an audience, and with the proper planning and utilization of all tools and outlets, it can be reached! It’s time to show the people what they’re missing!

Selling Music Online Means Going Beyond the Sales Mentality

sell your musicBecoming popular and successful in the music industry for music artists today is simultaneously easier and more difficult. A few well-practiced music labels sign only a few artists for big bucks, proceeding to do all the hard stuff like renting venues, scheduling engagements, releasing albums, and scheduling studio time. Foregoing the label management, artists can accomplish everything alone, getting their music out to the public in exchange for satisfying pay. In trade for the extra work, the artists can handle any of these tasks according to their own preferences, on their own time, and build incredible, worldwide fan bases to support their endeavors. There are numerous tools for self-made musicians; unique combinations of hard and digital music equipment can help artists achieve the desired sound. But how does it get promoted? On the Internet, a decent mp3 music store allows artists to share their music. Social media sites and band websites let artists share their schedules and connect with fans; tweeting and making friends are great ways to stay in touch with fans and other musicians.

An artist looking for success should make the music, post it on online music players and radios for free, make it available in online music stores such as an mp3 music store, and keep information readily available to possible fans; new online tools simply getting in touch and staying connected, both with the international public and fans near and far. Fans are free advertising engines. However, if an artist is only thinking, “I need to sell my music” for every website, then that artist is missing out on prime opportunities with current and future fans. People can go to several places and easily listen to or buy all kinds of music. Generating interest in a specific thing requires tantalizing extra content or useful features that contribute to a unique and memorable music experience.

Artists: Take the Power Back

mp3 music storeIf the number of daily headphone, earphone and earbud sightings is any indication, music is ubiquitous. Thanks to the increasing accessibility and portability of music, listeners can throw a soundtrack behind their every waking hour whether on a commute, at the office, in the gym or camped out in bed after a long day. Ten years ago this was good news for the record companies; in today’s interconnected world of personal productivity software and file distribution websites, it’s good news for the musicians themselves. Artists now have the power not only to create but more importantly to distribute their own art by selling music online.

Gone are the days of stopping by the music store to search for a title that may or may not even be in stock and choosing a format that may be compatible with only one of several listening devices. Now a music lover has only to visit a website to download an MP3 file that can be played on just about any device a person owns: PC, laptop, phone, car stereo, and the list goes on. Thus it’s of utmost importance for a musician to put his or her MP3 music online where it can be easily distributed. Fortunately for the musician there is no shortage of websites devoted to this very task. That’s one less thing an artist has to worry about.

As technology progresses artists will find themselves more in control of their musical enterprises. An important aspect of that is a simplification of their means of income. Where once the profits of an artist’s work were sliced and diced among lawyers, producers, agents, manufacturing and packaging costs, the Internet has streamlined that process into a simple transaction between the artist and consumer, handled by a virtual marketplace where MP3 files can be bought and sold. For a musician this is an advantageous time to be productive.

Get to Know Multiple Choices to Sell Your Music

Ten years ago the recording industry was engaged in all-out war with its customers, trying to keep control of a music industry that was evolving beyond the walls developed over a century of recording music audio. That war was lost before it even began.

Today you, the artist, have more choices for selling music than ever before. Do you want to sign with a label and let them distribute and sell your music? Signing with a label is hard, but for some artists that is the best, or at least most comfortable, way to go.

Trakvan- Music Player OnlineThere are other options. There are several services that will sell/distribute your music for you. Some of them collect royalties for you, and some charge a flat rate and let you keep the proceeds from your music sales. These services make sure your music makes it to the most popular online stores so customers can find your music. They take the some of the struggle and guesswork out of selling music.

Selling mp3’s and CD’s isn’t the only way to sell your music. Do you write your own music? Build relationships with other musicians and sell songs to them – but retain the rights and get royalties. Create intriguing videos to promote your music. Videos of live events can be very effective – and the local recognition gained while performing live helps, too.

Last, promote, promote, promote. To sell music, people must notice you. The internet is a vast jungle filled with noise. It’s easy to get lost in the clamor. Determine the social networks that are most effective for you and post regular updates. Small blurbs about the music, making videos, and future plans keep people interested in what you are doing. There are free and paid services that will post across multiple sites, minimizing the time required feed the social beast.

The Internet has made it much easier for independent artists to sell music. It hasn’t removed the need for hard work and self-promotion, but the tools it provides give artists a boost they have never had before.

Various Artists are taking benefits from Trakvan in selling their music and song albums online that helps them to increase their fan groups.http://www.trakvan.com/artist-gallery/

The Importance Of An Online Presence For New Music Artists

mp3 music online trakvan

Whether it’s a struggling garage band or a young adult with a guitar and a dream, getting noticed in the music business isn’t always easy. However, being able to stream music online has made the medium all the more accessible. Here are three ways that developing on online presence can help up-and-coming musicians get noticed.

An Air of Professionalism

The days of the battered demo tape are over. In today’s world, having a professional online presence is essential to attracting notice. Those who want to promote their band should have samples of their music uploaded, along with full contact information and videos of performances, if any. This will allow promoters and producers to see precisely what is being offered by the talent and contact them effortlessly for bookings.

A Following

If a musical act is already doing some modest sales, this can attract the attention of record labels. The ability to sell music online, even on a small scale, speaks volumes about the marketability of an act. If a band can show sales numbers to a record label, they definitely have more bargaining power when it comes time to sign a deal. Being able to boast sales numbers gives musicians a lever when promoters want to book them for gigs, as well.

Commitment and Longevity

A band that has been blogging, creating music, uploading and doing small gigs consistently for a while has more credibility than one that is more sporadic. Musicians can showcase their longevity and commitment to the art form while increasing their visibility, all by creating and maintaining a professional online presence. No record label wants to sign an artist that is going to bow out of the game after the first hit album, so showcasing commitment can go a lot way to allaying these potential concerns.

Musicians who want to get noticed and succeed in the industry need to have an online presence and following. Marketing, doing some small sales and showing commitment will all help to make the act attractive to potential record labels and concert promoters.