A little article on my blog with another video from Bob Owsinki that explains what you will need to submit your music to Pandora radio for airplay.  We all know that Pandora radio streaming isn't going to get you rich, but it WILL get your music heard.
 
This is part 1 of a blog series on making money with your music, which is focusing on realistic goals and a road map to get you there.  Hope this helps
http://www.homerecordingwizard.com/make-money-music-pt-1-submitting-music-pandora/ 
 
 

I was just reading David Byrne's book in which he says that the total amount he earned from one of his hit songs (doesn't say which) from Spotify over a number of years (doesn't say how many) was $490. Pretty depressing stuff, no matter how you fill in the blanks. I'm guessing the record company got way more than that though...another reason to release stuff yourself these days....

Thanks for listening that one time to my song. It seems the link can not find the page it is looking for though. I just thought I read it for some reason.
 
Oh, you have /%C%A or something like that on the end of the link, so that is what is doing it. Take that off, and the link then finds the web-page.
 
Look at it more in depth later, not that I am really into that, but who knows, certainly I don't know right now, may never know, may be just trying to be funny perhaps, maybe not.
 
 

Weird, not sure why the link didn't work, but should be fixed now, thanks Spacealf.
 
Sharke - It's true that Pandora is not much of a money maker on royalties, as you may of read. There are big debates over that right now.  I have several songs that get play on internet radio and at the end of every quarter, the royalties would barely pay for a weeks worth of coffee.  But Pandora is just one of several avenues for people.
 
People want their music heard.  I mean heck, we post them to our friends on the Cakewalk songs forums all the time. So regardless of money, I think there are a lot of people who would still enjoy having their songs heard over the public airwaves.
 
One positive to having your music heard on Pandora or elsewhere, is it attracts interest.  Attracting interest in your music is really the first step to monetizing your musical ventures.  Most of us will never "hit the big time", but it's very doable to make a side income with music, assuming you can produce good quality recordings.  Lot's of people would be happy to bring in "coffee money" on a quarterly basis.  Granted, it will take you 25 years to pay off the Manley pre-amp you bought, but heck, it's something.
 
As far as "self release", I agree it seems like the ideal situation.  But like anything else, you need some way to attract people to your music.  Unless by some grace of god you get a viral YouTube video with your music in it.  

Releasing stuff yourself is now possible financially for nearly everyone with a minimum wage day job. But releasing stuff has never been the way to make money. Selling stuff has. The record companies generally put a lot of resources into promoting the big money makers. They also put the millions of music star wannabees through a fine sieve, and that act of keeping a lot of talent out provided a real service to the chosen few that they pushed ahead. It is not too hard to believe in riches if you are one of a couple of hundred musicians playing on broadcast radio. Expecting to be discovered by large numbers of independent listeners who have access to hundreds of thousands of internet releases is like buying a really expensive lottery ticket. And selling CD's out of your trunk at small venue performances is not likely to get you into the millionaire's club.
 
Super riches in the music business depends on the support of an industrial grade public relations operation, not just a performer's talent or star appeal. As the recording industry fades away, the wealthy star system is likely to sputter along with it. Even live performance is probably suffering from the replacement of the rock star by the DJ. Yes, many musicians will be able to get their stuff out there using the new distribution system who would have never had a listen under the old system, but that does not mean we will see many of them become big money makers. Technology makes all things possible, but not all outcomes are equally probable in today's modern world of the future.

Again on the subject of that David Byrne book, "How Music Works," apart from being a fantastic read overall there's a great chapter on the state of the music business today which goes in detail into the various licensing deals and distribution models available to today's musicians.  It has a breakdown of the pro's and cons of each one and some real world examples (including breakdowns of the money involved in some of his own projects). It really is an eye opener, both depressing and optimistic at the same time. It's well worth a read if you're thinking about how to get your music out there. 

Here is a follow-up article to my blog post on making money with your music -  "How to submit your music to Pandora". A lot of people wrote me and complained that Pandora is not a big money maker. (Citing examples from famous songwriters complainang about Royalties)  That statement by itself may be true, but there are other facts to take in to consideration when you get your music played on public airwaves.   I believe that giving away something for free, or very cheap to attract customers is a valid business practice.  Most business men/women would agree.
 
Anyways, here is a follow-up post on the subject, complete with a video and a 7 day free pass to Lynda.Com!  (7 day pass at the bottom, under video – highly recommended!) 
http://www.homerecordingwizard.com/advantage-giving-away-music-free/  
 
The original post in this thread was my first article in a series I am putting together on "making money with music".  I am going to give very practical ideas and offer a road map on how to do it.  These will be things I have done myself and continue to do, so I know they work.  The first idea in this series is the only one that involves a Lynda.com video, only because it fit and offered quick and easy instructions, better than I could provide.  
 
I can't offer blog instructions or ideas how to become a rock star or sell a song to Celine Dion, because I have never done it and would be talking out of my bum if I tried to offer advice on it.  What I can offer is, I can tell you how I have made a side income from music ventures and offer the same ideas and paths I took to do it.  The only thing left on the readers plate, besides having motivation is to create music that people want to hear and have good production value.
 
I welcome any discussion on the matter.  

Great info!
 
The times, they are a changing.
 
I think  internet music is leading to a place of specialization by necessity. Many of the free music down load sites are becoming almost useless to the average person simply looking for good music because people upload to the wrong categories. Uploading to the wrong categories goofs with the searches of potential listeners and that hurts everyone. Probably the best example is Soundcloud. On any given day you need to sort through hundreds of tracks to find one you might consider listening to more than once. One time I tried to use soundcloud as background easy listening music and every few songs I would get something that sounded like heavy metal or dance music...the result of music uploaded into the wrong categories. That site apparently has a poor system in place to make the music relevant to the category.
 
It's all about focus on the internet and having the right tags...something like Pandora at least lets you listen to tracks that are actually something you wanted to hear.
 
 
Specialization,focus, marketing smarts and  good music  put you in the game,  to stay in the game all of those things are ongoing. It's never a thing where you do it once and draw a paycheck the rest of your life.
 
One of the best things I've seen for the small time musician is something like CD baby...get a good album recorded, put out a shingle and see if you get any bites.Pandora could be helpful to market that music. A few here have done that. Still probably not getting rich, but they have put their material out there and focused it into the hands of those who might buy it.  Getting involved with record companies and their marketing budgets means they want you out there, and I don't mean a coffee house a few times a week.There's a lot of talent out there, but it takes a special person to go on stage in  a venue 3000 miles  from home with the flu and it's raining at your outdoor event, because you signed to be there.
 
Why would I listen to or buy something from someone I never heard before? If I went to a site and look specifically for, say, classic rock and your name comes up and I clicked your track and I like it a lot, so I listen to another track and like that too...I might venture to pay .99 a song and I might follow you. If I signed up for your email newsletter I might be a future buyer, but human nature being what it is I would never stop looking for more classic rock...not many are satisfied with one artist..the competition never ends. Once you jump on that boat you work hard for every small gain. Wanna hear the bad news :)
 
Thanks for the article!