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sell music online as music producer

How to Make Money Selling Music Online: A Handy-Dandy Guide to Get You Started

12 min read

An ecommerce platform makes selling and distributing your music online easier. You can build your own viral vinyl treasure trove from scratch to instantly sync and sell across your website, social media, marketplaces, and more. We can show you how!

For you, music is the food of love. You create, share, listen, and dance to it when and wherever you can. You go ga-ga over the latest tech and have your eye on Matthew Effects “The Astronomer” V2 Reverb Pedal. Or this one!

When a song you love isn’t stuck in your head, your next track, riff, or measure is kicking around in there instead. You’ve got more gear than Iron Man, with the talent and the gigs to match, and a drive to produce your own stuff. The thing is: how do you turn this “food of love” into an all-you-can-eat buffet for the masses clamoring for something new, something exciting? The right ecommerce platform could be the ticket you’ve been waiting to punch because it literally puts everything you need in one place for you and for your future customers.

You know it’s time to take that next big leap. You could be new to selling your music, or maybe you are familiar with the distribution of music but you want to see what the next level looks like. Whether you’re the next Bowie or Jacob Collier, we’ve put together a few pointers so you can see if an ecommerce platform is what you need to start selling and distributing your greatest hits online.

How to sell online
Tips from e-commerce experts for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.
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Putting the Band Together

When we’re talking about how to sell music online, we also need to remember how to keep it simple. You have plenty on your plate already: booking and performing gigs, working on new tracks and concepts, testing and learning new tech, breaking in instruments, producing merch, and we could keep going but since you’re probably taking a break from your hustle to read this… let’s avoid the panic attack, shall we? The point is, managing your unique store and marketing yourself should not tip the balance you’re already maintaining as an artist.

If you rely on gear for your home studio, you know that every part plays a vital role. If you are working with a band, you know that everyone brings their own talents and voice to the table. Bringing everything together is not just an essential part of building your sound but building your connection with your audience. There is a sea of options available to you as an artist, so when it comes to putting the band together, take your time finding that perfect match.

Take to the Stage

The right venue can make all the difference. You’ve already delegated yourself with tons of work, and we’re not even including the creative and recording process when we say that! But this is where an ecommerce platform can take the hassle out of that hustle, so you can get back to focusing on the music. But how do they work? We touched on it a bit up above, but there’s got to be more to it than that. Well, there is!

An ideal ecommerce platform would seamlessly integrate with your existing website, or a business page on your social network, your blog, or marketplaces and mobile apps. That way you don’t have to keep jumping back and forth between everything. Your storefronts can be synced and managed from one control panel, and you can even control how they look so your storefront reflects your musical personality. A platform means easily organized products and the ability to accept and track payments from your fans.

You know when you go to shows, and you’re jamming out to the set, but the singer takes a break between songs for a shout out to the booth—or table—in the back? You know the one, with all the band’s info and merch. Think about an e-commerce platform like a digital version of that! It’s your merch table laden with inventory, a way for fans to follow you, and more.

Don’t Break the Bank

Worry about breaking sound barriers, not your account. Gear, gigs, and recording all take time and money, and while it’s worth every minute and every penny, don’t go smashing that piggy bank just yet when it comes to effectively getting your store online. Marketing and distribution are a whole unique animal these days, but it’s not unmanageable or unattainable. Ecommerce platforms offer different strokes for different folks, but we’re personally proud of how accessible we have made ours.

“Free” should never be a gimmick or even a discount. It’s not about being a budget option, it’s about everyone getting a shot at putting themselves out there and seeing what they got. Personally, we’re free as a natural consequence of our values, the chief among them: you deserve that chance to get started. No matter what platform you choose, you should feel confident and empowered, not over-burdened with subscription fees right from the jump. We had to have our start as well, and you should have the same courtesy. Try and look for platforms that not only promote you but give you the wiggle room to explore what you can bring to the table.

Marketing

Marketing your music is a must. Gone are the days of stapling fliers to hapless trees or pinning gig announcements to coffee shop cork boards, but the nostalgia remains the same. It just looks a bit different these days. Marketing covers a wide spectrum across a digital landscape, perfect for when you want to sell music online, including selling your music on Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, iTunes. And that’s just the start! A platform is great for launching ads on Google and Facebook, pinning your music on Pinterest, snapping (and selling) your tracks on Snapchat, even monkeying around with Mail Chimp, one of the ultimate email marketing tools available to small business owners.

Needless to say, the possibilities are endless, but they don’t have to be overwhelming. There are plenty of apps to consolidate these services, but e-commerce platforms often find that sweet spot between marketing and sales, so you don’t have to click all over the place just to keep saying the same thing repeatedly. That’s where we’re proud of our dashboard because we put everything exactly where it needs to be for you, giving you the tools you need to sell music online successfully.

Your Biggest Fans!

An e-commerce platform puts another fan base at your disposal, like our Ecwid team! We know the creative process is a solo gig, we definitely dig “the process.” We also know the platform, the tools, and a thing or two about some solid next steps when it comes to getting your store out there. Maybe you’re new to working with our platform or maybe you’re an old hat curious about ways to expand your musical monarchy, that’s where our team can help!

Speaking of fans! A platform lets you customize your prices for new releases, specials, and merch. It also means you can streamline your checkout process so your customers can get back to jamming out to your latest licks. You can update your inventory in a snap, so your adoring public always knows about the latest and greatest you’re up to. You already know how important a customer experience is; that’s why you work so hard to produce some of the best music they’ve heard all week. Your store and your checkout process should reflect that! And that’s where a platform comes in handy. You get to customize their entire experience in your store before your music customizes their entire mood for the rest of the day.

One More Song!

Our biggest passion is seeing just what folks do with their storefronts. The products they produce, the look and feel of their setups, the dreams they are fulfilling every day by being their own boss and putting their customers first. Your music is important to you; it’s as essential as breathing, as natural as your heartbeat. So, while we do have a bit of a preference for what we do and have to offer, you should investigate as many platforms as possible to find the perfect fit.

Your art is not just a talent, it’s a compulsion, a pure, A-grade necessity. When it comes to your music, you’re driven to share a story with the world every day, and that drive manifests in several ways. The music is muttering on your lips when you think no one can hear you in line at the store, it’s in your fingertips when you rap them against your knees or—let’s be real—any available surface. Even when you’re not in the booth, you’re in the booth. Because if music is the food of love, that means you’re always in the kitchen. Spices are notes, flavor profiles are measures, and your song is the main course. So, by all means: play on, but don’t forget to ring the dinner bell if you want everyone to eat.

If you like the cut of our jib—or our tune—head over to Ecwid-101 to learn more about our own rock band. We’ve got a team ready to help you turn your store up to 11!

Do you want to learn more about selling music online?

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About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.

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