Whether or not you buy into all the hype regarding the Internet and its potential to revolutionize the music industry, there is no doubt that digital sales are a growing market. Indeed, many see digital sales as the proverbial 'wave of the future' and predict the eventual end of CD as the format of choice for music delivery. Until a few years ago, however, getting your music on services like iTunes, Rhapsody, eMusic, etc. was damn near impossible unless you had the benefit of being signed to a decent sized label. Tunecore is a company that aims to change that, however. I will preface this by saying that I do not work for Tunecore, nor was this write-up solicited by Tunecore in any way. I am simply a musician running a small label who has used their services and found them extremely useful. Basically, the way it works is that you start an account, upload your artwork and songs, select which of the many services you wish to sell your music on, and then pay a one time fee per release, in addition to a yearly maintenance fee. Obviously the cost depends on the number of services you select, but for an average album, we're talking about $25. In 4-6 weeks, your songs will be propagated to the various services you selected and you're in business! The best part about this company is that they take none of your royalty income from the various services. The yearly fee is it. 100% of the royalties go to you. This provides a great way for musicians to get their music out there without the need for a label or the significant upfront costs of pressing a CD. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the great customer support. Despite evidence that the company is growing quickly, any time I have emailed them with a problem, I've received a response extremely quickly... often the same day I emailed them. It's true that digital distribution is not going to save the struggling music industry by itself, but it has, to an extent, democratized things and made it possible for even hobbiest musicians to get their music into the hands (and ears) of consumers in a way that hasn't been possible before.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Selling Your Music Online
Whether or not you buy into all the hype regarding the Internet and its potential to revolutionize the music industry, there is no doubt that digital sales are a growing market. Indeed, many see digital sales as the proverbial 'wave of the future' and predict the eventual end of CD as the format of choice for music delivery. Until a few years ago, however, getting your music on services like iTunes, Rhapsody, eMusic, etc. was damn near impossible unless you had the benefit of being signed to a decent sized label. Tunecore is a company that aims to change that, however. I will preface this by saying that I do not work for Tunecore, nor was this write-up solicited by Tunecore in any way. I am simply a musician running a small label who has used their services and found them extremely useful. Basically, the way it works is that you start an account, upload your artwork and songs, select which of the many services you wish to sell your music on, and then pay a one time fee per release, in addition to a yearly maintenance fee. Obviously the cost depends on the number of services you select, but for an average album, we're talking about $25. In 4-6 weeks, your songs will be propagated to the various services you selected and you're in business! The best part about this company is that they take none of your royalty income from the various services. The yearly fee is it. 100% of the royalties go to you. This provides a great way for musicians to get their music out there without the need for a label or the significant upfront costs of pressing a CD. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the great customer support. Despite evidence that the company is growing quickly, any time I have emailed them with a problem, I've received a response extremely quickly... often the same day I emailed them. It's true that digital distribution is not going to save the struggling music industry by itself, but it has, to an extent, democratized things and made it possible for even hobbiest musicians to get their music into the hands (and ears) of consumers in a way that hasn't been possible before.
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