How to Sell Music Online

Selling music online is a great way to get your creations out to the world. Many musicians and music makers sell their work, find new audiences, and advertise music services through the web as a way to build their careers or fund passion projects. 

If you’re interested in how to make money with music, navigating online sales and knowing how to market yourself can be challenging. Read on for a guide on how to make money with music online, whether you’re a beginner or a pro.

Understanding your options for selling music online 

Online music selling has become a prominent market for music makers. Typically, most music fans buy, sell, and share music through the web, whereas in the past customers might have opted for physical purchases, like in-store copies of records and vinyl. A shift to digital retailing and releases means many buyers now make their purchases through streaming platforms or other places online.

The best methods for making money with your music depend on the type of music you make and your target audience. If you’re a DJ, vocalist, or part of a band, you may be selling mixes, songs, merchandise, or tickets for live bookings and performances.

There are also options to sell music online for those who are not performers but still work within music. This might be the case if your area is music production, development, composition, or instrumentation. You may be a songwriter, instrumentalist, composer, work in mixing and mastering, or be a producer selling instrumentals or sample packs.

Thinking about where you sit as a music creator can give you an idea of what type of creations you can sell. Other things to consider are the type of music you make and whether this is more mainstream or more niche. This can impact where you find your audience and what you’re likely to earn.

5 methods of making money from music online

Depending on what you create, there are a few different ways to sell your musical expertise. Here’s a breakdown of the various ways you can sell online, from digital sales to online courses, and the pros and cons of each.

1. Digital music sales

This includes selling digital forms of your music via downloads or paywalled access. These could be: 

• MP3s

• Albums

• Recorded video performances

Pros of digital music sales

Digital music sales go directly to listeners and avoid third-party fees from other retailers or streaming companies. They’re often easy to upload independently. This might be particularly attractive if you are a creator without label or external support and ideal for first time music sellers.

Cons of digital music sales

The main issue with digital music sales is the challenge of producing returns on your investment. As many music fans prefer to access songs through streaming companies and similar places online, you may have to work harder to build audience or customer loyalty to encourage this type of sale. 

Those opting for digital sales may have to sell high volumes of copies to make a profit. You may also have the challenge of avoiding piracy and file sharing for purchased copies of your work. 

Learn how to sell digital content on Squarespace

2. Physical music sales

This is selling music online in its physical form. You’ll need to have a plan to produce and ship your items in this scenario. This covers things like:

• Physical CDs

• Cassettes

• Vinyl records and LPs

Many buyers enjoy owning physical forms of music for their aesthetic quality and their ability to accompany music tech they already have, like a vinyl player or hi-fi system.

Pros of physical music sales

Physical music forms often command a higher value than digital music, which means you can potentially bring in greater profits. They can also build excitement if sold as collectable items or limited runs, which, if sought after, can increase in value over time.

Cons of physical music sales

There are often high production costs and long lead times associated with producing physical forms of music, which may be challenging to fund upfront. You may also have to manage quality control or shipping issues, which can be costly and time-consuming.

3. Music courses, teaching, and learning materials

This involves selling music lessons, online courses, educational materials or skills-building exercises for other musicians to improve their practice. For example, singers and instrumentalists may offer work as vocal coaches or provide instrument lessons. They may also provide learning materials like sheet music, lesson books, and original compositions for others to play.

There are also new forms of music learning materials emerging in the digital era. Many music producers and beatmakers may sell beat packs, sets of custom sounds that other producers can use when making their own compositions.

Pros of courses, teaching, and learning materials

These types of sales can often be very lucrative thanks to their attached value. Since you’re marketing your skills and experience, you can often earn more the more experience you have. Many creators in this field offer retainer models or ongoing subscriptions for lessons if needed, which can help bring in longer-term income. Downloadable learning materials or beat packs can be a source of passive income.

Cons of courses, teaching, and learning materials

Course development and teaching often involves a high amount of contact time with customers and preparation time, which can be time-consuming. 

4. Spenden 

Creators can encourage fans and followers to support their work by asking for donations or tips. You can do this through third-party platforms, a link in bio tool, or embed the option onto a website through a donation block for crowdfunding.

Pros of donations

Donations are good for community-building. Supporters can feel like they’re part of your work and career growth when sharing funds in this way. Donation amounts are also often customizable, so it can be more accessible for more people to support you with this method.

Cons of donations

Donations may not be a sustainable business model long-term, as they rely on the goodwill of your customer. It may be difficult to make a profit if using this as your sole form of income. As such, this type of income may be best effective in conjunction with other forms of sales, or pursued only in the short term as an income boost while you’re building your audience.

5. Streaming and third party sales

Many creators sell both physical and digital forms of music through third-party companies. These are some of the most popular ways to retail music due to the accessibility of these platforms and their general popularity. 

Third parties that retail digital music include:

• Music-focused platforms such as Soundcloud and Bandcamp

• Streaming companies like Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, and Amazon Music

• YouTube via music video monetization

Third parties that retail physical music include:

• Shopping marketplaces, such as eBay and Amazon

• Online record stores and music shops

• Music-focused platforms such as Discogs

Pros of streaming and third party sales

Buyer familiarity with certain third-party sites means you can often get greater reach and revenue than you would when selling independently. Additionally, certain third parties provide added options for marketing your music, such as being added to prominent playlists on their streaming services.

Cons of streaming and third party sales

Third-party sales often incur fees and revenue splits that can lower your earnings. Platforms for digital music sales in particular, such as streaming companies, are sometimes criticized by artists for their split of music revenue and returns. 

Other ways to make money from your music career 

There are more ways to earn income as a musician outside of selling your music. Here are some examples:

• Selling merchandise, branded clothing, or accessories

• Access to fan sites, member sites, paid fan clubs, or exclusive content

• Touring and performing at live shows

• Brand partnerships and activations

How to price your music

Pricing music can be difficult, as there’s no one-size-fits-all way to price creative work. It’s helpful to think about the production costs involved in what you’re selling, as well as the time investment needed to produce them.

You might consider things such as studio time, instrument fees, and labor costs as they pertain to your output or products, then add some amount that allows you to earn a profit on top of that. It also may be useful to set a desired hourly or daily rate for the time investment taken to create your music. This can help to ensure you’re meeting your goal income and avoid underpaying yourself.

Lies unseren Leitfaden zur Preisgestaltung deiner Produkte

How to promote your music online

Promoting your music is an important way to boost sales, gain an audience, and advertise to potential customers when selling music online.

Set up a website to share your music and connect with fans

There are many benefits in establishing a website for your music, both from a marketing and branding perspective and to host online sales. It’s useful for musicians to have a website as a central place for fans and listeners to engage with your music activity.

The following can help you increase your digital presence through your site:

• Linking social media and other platforms

• Hosting ticket sales

• Selling merch

• Starting a blog to share updates or music previews

• Building a mailing list with updates on your music

Other things to consider when setting up a website

It’s important to make sure your website is clear about who you are, the type of music you make, and what fans can find on your site. The following additions can help advertise your music effectively and give visitors a taste of your sound:

• Build audio blocks and embed music so fans can preview your sounds.

• Get a .music TLD for your website domain (e.g. squarespace.music as your URL).

• Use SoundCloud blocks to embed music into your website.

• Add YouTube embeds and links to similar media to show off live performances or visuals.

• Add downloadable music to your site in a store or behind a paywall.

You might also consider adding extra security to your site to protect your revenue. Music sellers often have the issue of avoiding piracy and file sharing when selling products online. Adding extra security such as download protection may be useful in ensuring only paid customers can access your music and to keep track of sales.

Read our full guide to starting a website

Legal support, copyright, and licensing

Before selling music online, always be aware of any legal or copyright issues that could affect sales. If you are a signed artist or musician, it’s advisable to consult with your label or seek legal advice prior to undertaking sales on your own. 

This may also be relevant if you’re an independent artist too. If you work with or sample other musicians in your music, you may need to consider licensing splits and revenue share from sales. Licensing legislation may vary depending on your location and agreements. Make sure you review any prior agreements or speak to a lawyer for guidance on best practices.