Selling my music online, any tips ?

[putte]

You need to get on a label. If you are good enough, though, you will.

thats what people tell me since 9 years .. and i´m still not good enough ..


putte

[VitaminD]

anyone by chance have a list of online music labels categorized into their genres/popularity?

[shamann]

anyone by chance have a list of online music labels categorized into their genres/popularity?

Try here.



Cheers,
Steve

[VitaminD]

anyone by chance have a list of online music labels categorized into their genres/popularity?

Try here.



Cheers,
Steve

thats the polar opposite for what I was asking

[visa tapani]

You need to get on a label. If you are good enough, though, you will.

thats what people tell me since 9 years .. and i´m still not good enough ..


putte

Whoa, you have been struggling with these issues since you were 9 years old?

I would not use the word respected - bankers need the respect factor. According to my experience marketing certainly has nothing to do with respect - that is a complete illusion based on skilled branding. Addmittedly makes approaching potential customers a tad easier, but it is not crucial by any means.

I feel we are using the word 'respected' in dissimilar fashion. What I meant with a respected label is basically a label with a solid fan base. Getting on a respected label, in this sense, is a jackpot, as you will automatically get notable exposure even if the label never makes any other marketing moves than announce your signing on their website. This is because a large group of people stay tuned to what's going up with the label.

A good example of a highly respected and visible label is the legendary Warp Records. The whole IDM-community watches every artist they sign and every record they release, and a mass of people buy their records blindly trusting that their high quality-standards do not fail. Note: they are able to hold high quality-standards because almost every IDM-artist would like to be on Warp, that is, because Warp is a highly respected label in the eyes of listeners and artists alike.

Oh, and terveisiä Jyväskylästä.

[shamann]

thats the polar opposite for what I was asking

Very true, but about as useful as anything else. I'm not sure that any weblabels are doing stellar business yet, and if they were, who would know? Things like Billboard require disclosure, which is difficult to manage with a scattered indy industry.

A google on netlabels brings up many indeces of labels, usually free for download mp3 labels, often sorted by genre. Neutral info is all there is really.

Maybe scan through college radio charts to see if you find any weblabels that pop-up regularly, but the music biz is still fairly bricks and mortar, even the indy esoterica, so it's unlikely to see any dominant trends.

Cheers,
Steve

[Red_Force]

There is a wealth of people living out of the most peculiar and imaginative music.

Oh really ? Well maybe in the UK, but not here. I know a band around me that is on a MAJOR french label, the one that's used to sold a lot. They've got a deal as good as you can hope for a first record. Do they make a full living out of it ? Nope. They've sold less single than we sell plugins here. I.E. NOT ALOT.

Same with another hyped indus/elctro/urban band called DDamage. They're on Planet Mu, they're touring worldwide, they did covers from edgy press and had excellent review everywhere. They're FAR from making a living out of it.

Now let me tell you something : when I do comic book I get paid for the ar enought to live while I do it and that's exactly my target point for doing music Considering this is wordlwide market, I don't see in what it's impossible. I just thing those mega site are doing it in the wrong way. Communication is the essence, as well as selection. That's why I think they shouldn't charge more than %10 for the work they do.

I have some ideas on how to promote myself online - actually if anyone is interested I can develop more on this. But a shop is needed !

[thenumber23]

In terms of giving options to people, consider http://www.lightningcd.com . It seems pretty good - basically you give them your album and cover art, then customers order your CD from Lightning CD.

People buy your CD, but instead of having it shipped to them, the customer downloads the music and the software burns the CD on their burner exactly as the artist has in mind. Then it prints the artwork on their printer. End result, they have a real CD of your music without any shipping involved.

You keep at least 1/2 the selling price, and it's a non-exclusive deal. I signed up and 4 of my albums are there now.

-Brian

[thenumber23]

Oh yeah, if anyone is interested in signing to a label, check out this link:

http://www.racerrecords.com/SampleContract.html

It's a sample copy of an actual record contract.

If ever you've wanted to sign to a label thinking of that as the holy grail of "making it," then read this and you'll probably never want to go near a record company with a 1000 foot pole.

Basically, unless you can directly replace Brittany Spears, you won't ever see a dime from a record company that you signed with. Most likely you'd owe them money, and all your future creative endevors will be squashed. They own you, kind of like legal slavery.

I have other links which explain this in more detail.

-Brian

[shamann]

I have other links which explain this in more detail.

This old Steve Albini rant is both informative and good for a laugh.

Cheers,
Steve

[MfLI]

I feel we are using the word 'respected' in dissimilar fashion. What I meant with a respected label is basically a label with a solid fan base.

You´re right. My english... Anyway, perhaps I wanted to point out, that I wouldn´t loose all hope even if not yet that well known. Addmittedly it takes a whole lot of effort ie. activity - it´s plain hard and harder work to break the ice.

I remember guys at mp3.com making a fair heap of greens as total niche indies - Astral Projection and Madame Mercury to name a couple, but they were a really... really active bunch of operators.

Cheers,
Mika

[atomic_(no)afro]

don't forget MagnaTune

Because of its creative commons license, Magnatune would be my second choice of distribution if going solo doesn't work out. Check it out, it's pretty sweet for both consumers and musicians

ATA

[MfLI]

I have other links which explain this in more detail.

This old Steve Albini rant is both informative and good for a laugh.

Cheers,
Steve

Wow. Now, that´s a good story

[VitaminD]

I remember guys at mp3.com making a fair heap of greens as total niche indies - Astral Projection and Madame Mercury to name a couple, but they were a really... really active bunch of operators.

uhmm.. Astral Projection are far from indie.. AAMOF they are considered one of (if not) THE "godfathers" of psytrance music.. so they already had a large fan base for a long time before they even built their website at mp3c

take a look at their recordings list.. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Astral_Projection


never heard of Madame Mercury though..

[MfLI]

I remember guys at mp3.com making a fair heap of greens as total niche indies - Astral Projection and Madame Mercury to name a couple, but they were a really... really active bunch of operators.

uhmm.. Astral Projection are far from indie.. AAMOF they are considered one of (if not) THE "godfathers" of psytrance music.. so they already had a large fan base for a long time before they even built their website at mp3c

take a look at their recordings list.. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Astral_Projection


never heard of Madame Mercury though..

Hmm... Ok... I got the impression that during that time they were still indie ie. nonsigned, promoting themselves - a very active one as such as I said above.

Madame Mercury (was) is a DJ-Producer from LA area in the US.

And then a guy from Sweden who was totally niche with ambient/lounge (I even forgot his name) was most well off at least according to mp3 stats - his account was up to over 200.000 USD at the end part of activity via mp3.com... So... There must be a way.

A very important point about my comments in this thread tho: If one thinks there is a methodological way to become a Britney BIG star, one is imo totally lost. That kinda of success may come with time - but it´s 80% luck and 20% total devotion. No... 99%/1%

My argument is about a good living relative to other usual jobs rather than becoming a really big name.

Cya,
Mika