skitch_84
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What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
I'll be completing some video game soundtracks over the next few months and would like to sell the soundtracks digitally online. In other words, I want to sell the full soundtracks to the games that I've already completed and are released. I don't mean selling my tracks as assets to be used in games that are in production. I've already set up my PayPal business account, but I'm shopping around for a distributor. I'm leaning toward CDBaby, but I'm curious what many of you are using. Any success or horror stories to share about any of the main services? Any recommendations, with reasons why you are recommending them, would be really appreciated. Thanks a lot! (Forum moderators: I wasn't really sure where to post this. Please move this to the appropriate forum if it doesn't belong here - "Techniques", maybe?)
post edited by skitch_84 - 2015/02/02 09:32:11
Chris Porter www.cportermusic.comListen to my original work on Soundcloud and YouTubeGet my original soundtracks on Bandcamp Sonar Platinum "2017.04", Windows 10 64-bit, ASUS Z170-A, i7 6700K (4.0GHz), 32GB DDR4 RAM, 250GB SSD 850 EVO (OS/Sonar/Plugins), 1TB SSD 850 EVO (Sample Libraries), 3TB WD Black HDD (projects/audio), Noctua NH-D14 Cooling Unit, PreSonus AudioBox USB Interface, M-AUDIO Oxygen49
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dwardzala
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 07:14:29
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I haven't sold any music, but I have helped video producer buddy of mine buy some music for film. We used youLicence which can be found here. This site allows you to set your terms and prices. It allows you to set prices for the whole piece or a 30 second clip (like something that might be used in a commercial). Don't know about the selling end, but the buying end was easy to navigate.
DaveMain Studio- Core i5 @2.67GHz, 16Gb Ram, (2) 500Gb HDs, (1) 360 Gb HD MotU Ultralite AVB, Axiom 49 Midi Controller, Akai MPD18 Midi Controller Win10 x64 Home Sonar 2017.06 Platinum (and X3e, X2c, X1d) Mobile Studio - Sager NP8677 (i7-6700HQ @2.67MHz, 16G Ram, 250G SSD, 1T HD) M-Box Mini v. 2 Win 10 x64 Home Sonar 2016.10 Platinum Check out my original music: https://soundcloud.com/d-wardzala/sets/d-wardzala-original-music
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dwardzala
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 08:58:40
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.
post edited by dwardzala - 2015/02/02 09:45:23
DaveMain Studio- Core i5 @2.67GHz, 16Gb Ram, (2) 500Gb HDs, (1) 360 Gb HD MotU Ultralite AVB, Axiom 49 Midi Controller, Akai MPD18 Midi Controller Win10 x64 Home Sonar 2017.06 Platinum (and X3e, X2c, X1d) Mobile Studio - Sager NP8677 (i7-6700HQ @2.67MHz, 16G Ram, 250G SSD, 1T HD) M-Box Mini v. 2 Win 10 x64 Home Sonar 2016.10 Platinum Check out my original music: https://soundcloud.com/d-wardzala/sets/d-wardzala-original-music
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skitch_84
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 09:12:47
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dwardzala
OK - I have replied to this post twice - is someone removing my reply?
I have it set up to receive instant email notifications if someone replies to this, but this is the first time I've gotten a notification saying that you've posted. Hmmm. Strange. Anyway, feel free to post again if you don't mind.
Chris Porter www.cportermusic.comListen to my original work on Soundcloud and YouTubeGet my original soundtracks on Bandcamp Sonar Platinum "2017.04", Windows 10 64-bit, ASUS Z170-A, i7 6700K (4.0GHz), 32GB DDR4 RAM, 250GB SSD 850 EVO (OS/Sonar/Plugins), 1TB SSD 850 EVO (Sample Libraries), 3TB WD Black HDD (projects/audio), Noctua NH-D14 Cooling Unit, PreSonus AudioBox USB Interface, M-AUDIO Oxygen49
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dwardzala
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 09:25:05
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I have helped a video producer buddy of mine purchase music for video projects. We have used YouLicence.
The site will let artists set their own prices and terms and allow them price out the whole piece or a 30 second clip (like might be used in a commercial.)
The purchase side was very easy to navigate, but I can't really speak for the sales side of it.
DaveMain Studio- Core i5 @2.67GHz, 16Gb Ram, (2) 500Gb HDs, (1) 360 Gb HD MotU Ultralite AVB, Axiom 49 Midi Controller, Akai MPD18 Midi Controller Win10 x64 Home Sonar 2017.06 Platinum (and X3e, X2c, X1d) Mobile Studio - Sager NP8677 (i7-6700HQ @2.67MHz, 16G Ram, 250G SSD, 1T HD) M-Box Mini v. 2 Win 10 x64 Home Sonar 2016.10 Platinum Check out my original music: https://soundcloud.com/d-wardzala/sets/d-wardzala-original-music
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skitch_84
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 09:30:18
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dwardzala
I have helped a video producer buddy of mine purchase music for video projects. We have used YouLicence.
The site will let artists set their own prices and terms and allow them price out the whole piece or a 30 second clip (like might be used in a commercial.)
The purchase side was very easy to navigate, but I can't really speak for the sales side of it.
Thanks for the tip, but I'm actually talking more about selling the completed soundtracks to games that I've already written the scores for. Just as you could go pick up the soundtrack to a movie that you liked, I want to sell my completed soundtracks to games I've worked on :)
Chris Porter www.cportermusic.comListen to my original work on Soundcloud and YouTubeGet my original soundtracks on Bandcamp Sonar Platinum "2017.04", Windows 10 64-bit, ASUS Z170-A, i7 6700K (4.0GHz), 32GB DDR4 RAM, 250GB SSD 850 EVO (OS/Sonar/Plugins), 1TB SSD 850 EVO (Sample Libraries), 3TB WD Black HDD (projects/audio), Noctua NH-D14 Cooling Unit, PreSonus AudioBox USB Interface, M-AUDIO Oxygen49
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skitch_84
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 09:33:10
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I edited the original post for clarification. I asked this same question on a Facebook page and someone misunderstood what I was asking as well. Sorry for the lack of clarification.
Chris Porter www.cportermusic.comListen to my original work on Soundcloud and YouTubeGet my original soundtracks on Bandcamp Sonar Platinum "2017.04", Windows 10 64-bit, ASUS Z170-A, i7 6700K (4.0GHz), 32GB DDR4 RAM, 250GB SSD 850 EVO (OS/Sonar/Plugins), 1TB SSD 850 EVO (Sample Libraries), 3TB WD Black HDD (projects/audio), Noctua NH-D14 Cooling Unit, PreSonus AudioBox USB Interface, M-AUDIO Oxygen49
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Karyn
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 09:38:41
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dwardzala
OK - I have replied to this post twice - is someone removing my reply?
The spam filter caught the link in your post. I've restored it and given the filter a damn good thrashing.
Mekashi Futo. Get 10% off all Waves plugins.Current DAW. i7-950, Gigabyte EX58-UD5, 12Gb RAM, 1Tb SSD, 2x2Tb HDD, nVidia GTX 260, Antec 1000W psu, Win7 64bit, Studio 192, Digimax FS, KRK RP8G2, Sonar Platinum
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Cactus Music
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 09:43:15
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The Songs forum would be best to ask this question.
I hate to say that "selling" any form of audio is pretty tough unless your already connected to the right people. The new generation has become used to free. iTunes might be the leader these days. Artists who don't tour, don't sell.
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Karyn
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 09:44:27
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skitch_84
(Forum moderators: I wasn't really sure where to post this. Please move this to the appropriate forum if it doesn't belong here - "Techniques", maybe?)
Techniques is a good catch-all for "How do I?" type posts that are not Sonar specific. It's not just mixing techniques, or production techniques. Marketing and distribution techniques are very important to learn. I'm leaving it here for now though, unless you specifically want it moved.
Mekashi Futo. Get 10% off all Waves plugins.Current DAW. i7-950, Gigabyte EX58-UD5, 12Gb RAM, 1Tb SSD, 2x2Tb HDD, nVidia GTX 260, Antec 1000W psu, Win7 64bit, Studio 192, Digimax FS, KRK RP8G2, Sonar Platinum
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dwardzala
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 09:44:36
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Karyn
dwardzala
OK - I have replied to this post twice - is someone removing my reply?
The spam filter caught the link in your post.
I've restored it and given the filter a damn good thrashing.
Thanks!
DaveMain Studio- Core i5 @2.67GHz, 16Gb Ram, (2) 500Gb HDs, (1) 360 Gb HD MotU Ultralite AVB, Axiom 49 Midi Controller, Akai MPD18 Midi Controller Win10 x64 Home Sonar 2017.06 Platinum (and X3e, X2c, X1d) Mobile Studio - Sager NP8677 (i7-6700HQ @2.67MHz, 16G Ram, 250G SSD, 1T HD) M-Box Mini v. 2 Win 10 x64 Home Sonar 2016.10 Platinum Check out my original music: https://soundcloud.com/d-wardzala/sets/d-wardzala-original-music
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gunboatdiplomacy
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 12:03:51
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i've started using DistroKid. it's great for the price but you have to realize it's a yearly fee. you get the global iTunes store and the global google store and global amazon store. then you get Spotify and Beats and a couple other retailers. I found that simply using bandcamp was not good for most people (even for my free tracks). your avg consumer will buy from the main digital retailers and they probably felt unsure of using bandcamp. this definitely goes for people overseas.
I use BC and SoundCloud to reach out to musicians, but for regular consumers it pays to go with the big retailers. I've only been selling for a few weeks, but I've had tweets and other messages via instagram that people have bought it. so if I can sell 10 albums a year, it pays for itself. and that's a pretty low bar to clear. I paid for the second tier since it generates industry retail codes and I can submit under two band names. I believe other services like CDBaby are just as good, but right now competition is really fierce and each service has their loyalists that trash the daylights out of rival services on social media. so just take the criticisms with a grain of salt.
good luck!
j
if you want, you can search for my tracks under PAPA NO ONGAKU
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jamesg1213
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 12:22:39
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Edit: ignore, I mis-read the original post.
post edited by jamesg1213 - 2015/02/02 13:10:30
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...wicked
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/02 13:18:10
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Most folk will tell you that it comes down to two aggregators: CDBaby and Tunecore. Both do digital submissions to all the usual suspects (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.) and both also do physical CD releases. One is a low-entry but annual fee (Tunecore), and one is more upfront but no annual fee (CDBaby). Tunecore takes less of a cut but that annual fee will catch up to you if you do low volume.
You can google them both with a "vs" or "review" or "shootout" and you'll get several articles that break it down in detail. I think CDBaby is having a special right now that makes entry to their program a little cheaper, it's what I went with after evaluating them both this time around.
=========== The Fog People =========== Intel i7-4790 16GB RAM ASUS Z97 Roland OctaCapture Win10/64 SONAR Platinum 64-bit billions VSTs, some of which work
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gunboatdiplomacy
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/03 12:02:37
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...wicked
Most folk will tell you that it comes down to two aggregators: CDBaby and Tunecore. Both do digital submissions to all the usual suspects (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.) and both also do physical CD releases. One is a low-entry but annual fee (Tunecore), and one is more upfront but no annual fee (CDBaby). Tunecore takes less of a cut but that annual fee will catch up to you if you do low volume.
CDBaby does 89/album if you want industry codes generated? What happens if you stop paying the annual fee for Tunecore? do they remove your music from distribution (like Distrokid)? i think the reason i went with DistroKid was that it did unlimited releases per year and no cut of your music. and i had a lot of music backed up so i'll probably do 3 releases in the next 12 months. it all comes down to how much you intend to sell. i don't have reports in yet, but the more you sell, the better the subscription model becomes. but if you're not expecting to sell or promote, then the annual fee is really not worth it. and CDBaby does "get paid every week"...how do they determine that if the major retailers only report sales once every 30-60 days?
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Guitarhacker
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/03 12:53:07
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If you are attempting to get the music to fans... CD baby and other sites work fine.
If you are attempting to get the music to industry professionals who can place the music in film, TV, and games, then you need to search and find libraries and publishers that handle that specific type of music. There are "tip sheets" available to let you know when someone is looking for a specific style of music. Find them and get signed up for their email listings reports. You never know what's coming out next week......
Taxi.com is one company that comes to mind that exists simply to put writers and industry producers together. They screen everything and unless it meets their opinion for quality and being on target to that listing, it doesn't get sent to the company requesting the music.
If you do a google search you will find dozens of companies who work in a very similar manner. Fees to submit are as varied as the companies requesting songs for listings. All depends on what you want to do and how you want to go about doing it.
I have used several of the listing companies through the years and have music signed into many libraries, some of which are the top libraries with excellent reputations. Getting cuts..... well that's another story altogether. Getting music into games is not ( as far as I understand it) a very easy thing because the game companies tend to go back to the same person who composed the music for their earlier games unless they are taking a new game in a totally different direction.
Good luck.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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SongCraft
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Re: What service(s) do you use to sell your music?
2015/02/03 14:39:23
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gunboatdiplomacy
...wicked
Most folk will tell you that it comes down to two aggregators: CDBaby and Tunecore. Both do digital submissions to all the usual suspects (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.) and both also do physical CD releases. One is a low-entry but annual fee (Tunecore), and one is more upfront but no annual fee (CDBaby). Tunecore takes less of a cut but that annual fee will catch up to you if you do low volume.
CDBaby does 89/album if you want industry codes generated? What happens if you stop paying the annual fee for Tunecore? do they remove your music from distribution (like Distrokid)? i think the reason i went with DistroKid was that it did unlimited releases per year and no cut of your music. and i had a lot of music backed up so i'll probably do 3 releases in the next 12 months. it all comes down to how much you intend to sell. i don't have reports in yet, but the more you sell, the better the subscription model becomes. but if you're not expecting to sell or promote, then the annual fee is really not worth it. and CDBaby does "get paid every week"...how do they determine that if the major retailers only report sales once every 30-60 days?
gunboatdiplomacy
What happens if you stop paying the annual fee for Tunecore? do they remove your music from distribution
Yes, for example: TuneCore most definitely does remove content. Maybe they have changed this policy last time I checked. That said, I strongly suggest to everyone, read all the fine details of the distribution deal before making a commitment. Got any more questions? Send an Email to the distributor. . Hi Chris, You will find a wealth of information (listing/links) in the Song forum sticky-thread listed in the top section of that forum titled: Artists-Music Producers! Recommended Resources (see post #1) Wish you great success!
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