Making Money from your Music

NorioDS

Hey guys,

A bunch of you are really talented and could try selling your music here:
http://audiojungle.net/item/motivational-rock-jingle-pack/6505621

Check it out. This especially goes out to people who have entered challenges.

Step 1. Figure out what's in demand. Check out the "popular" section for that.
Step 2. Write and record.
Step 3. Upload and set your price.
Step 4. Rinse & repeat.

Step 4 is possibly the most important step. As with stock photography, one of your photos will make $100 a month while the rest make maybe $10 TOGETHER. So you really need to put out your numbers to get somewhere because you never really know beforehand what will sell.

This post serves 2 purposes: The other purpose is to ask:

Don't you think we should have a category for "Making Money from your Music"?

Now that we have the internet, we have millions of tiny businesses (like mine!) looking for music / audios online. Jingles, voiceovers, etc. Have a look at Fiverr.com. There's some opportunity out there to make an extra petrol tank of money. For some of you, maybe an entire extra salary.

Would it be worthwhile for us to share ideas here? Maybe we can join forces (by brainstorming) and start competing head-on with the Americans, Brits, Ozzies, etc who are currently dominating online.

doc-phil

Thanks for this Norio. This is pretty much exactly what I would be interested in getting into ?

The website itself must coin it... if you're an exclusive author your cut of the profits is determined by cumulative sales. I reckon a large proportion of authors probably fall in the $4500 or under cumulative sales, meaning you only get 50%.

But hey, 50% will be 50% more than I've ever earned before selling music, so it's still pretty sweet!

NorioDS

Here's a nifty marketing trick I've learned over the years...

Tell your buyers, in the description, that if they sign up for your newsletter (link to it), you'll send them a bonus track of their choice. Then when they sign up, you give them a choice of pre-recorded tracks that you don't sell anywhere but could if you wanted to. They get to pick their favourite.

Now... you have them on your list. IF you ever get to making $4,500+ in sales, you'll probably have built up a decent-sized list by then. Now you can do any NEW releases direct to your list. You could even offer a discounted price and STILL make more than with the site.

When you're using a site like this, always think of how you can build your list so you eventually don't need the site. This should be the START of your career but no need to limit yourself once you've gotten going ?

PS: You'll probably have to agree not to sell the tracks you sell with them anywhere else. Keep that in mind.

V8

Norio wrote This post serves 2 purposes: The other purpose is to ask:

Don't you think we should have a category for "Making Money from your Music"?

Now that we have the internet, we have millions of tiny businesses (like mine!) looking for music / audios online. Jingles, voiceovers, etc. Have a look at Fiverr.com. There's some opportunity out there to make an extra petrol tank of money. For some of you, maybe an entire extra salary.

Would it be worthwhile for us to share ideas here? Maybe we can join forces (by brainstorming) and start competing head-on with the Americans, Brits, Ozzies, etc who are currently dominating online.

A &*(^%ing brilliant idea Norio. :applause:

I'm reckoning some of the challenge entries (particularly hall of fame) could coin it.

You have my vote!

doc-phil

Norio wrote Here's a nifty marketing trick I've learned over the years...

Tell your buyers, in the description, that if they sign up for your newsletter (link to it), you'll send them a bonus track of their choice. Then when they sign up, you give them a choice of pre-recorded tracks that you don't sell anywhere but could if you wanted to. They get to pick their favourite.

Now... you have them on your list. IF you ever get to making $4,500+ in sales, you'll probably have built up a decent-sized list by then. Now you can do any NEW releases direct to your list. You could even offer a discounted price and STILL make more than with the site.

When you're using a site like this, always think of how you can build your list so you eventually don't need the site. This should be the START of your career but no need to limit yourself once you've gotten going ?

PS: You'll probably have to agree not to sell the tracks you sell with them anywhere else. Keep that in mind.

That sounds like a good scheme.

And yes, there are exclusive and non-exclusive authors. The latter is only entitled to a 30% cut.

If I manage to get going with this, I guess I should at least hit the ground running say with 3 individual tracks and a song pack of +- 3 songs.

Maybe one day I will be able to quit my day job ?

EDIT: Graham Cochrane of the Recording Revolution runs the Audio Income Project which is a 6 week course designed to teach you how to make money off your music and/or production skills. It's fairly pricey though, and it seems a bit weird to earn money from your music skills by teaching other people how to earn money off theirs.

http://www.audioincome.com/sp/24311-order

V8

doc-phil wrote EDIT: Graham Cochrane of the Recording Revolution runs the Audio Income Project which is a 6 week course designed to teach you how to make money off your music and/or production skills. It's fairly pricey though, and it seems a bit weird to earn money from your music skills by teaching other people how to earn money off theirs.

http://www.audioincome.com/sp/24311-order

1st lesson of making money from xyz....teach someone else how to make money from xyz. :?

deebee

Great idea, i can write lyrics, but cannot sing, but i can put chords to lyrics, so, if there is a cumulative way to do things towards a good end result - lekka

Stoffeltoo

I support it, cannot sing to save myself from the scaffold but I can play, any collaborations mmmm?

doc-phil

I made myself a profile on AudioJungle and have just submitted my first upload which is currently being reviewed before it's available for purchase. I hope it makes the cut!

NorioDS

Give us the link when/if they approve it. Well done for getting yourself out there!

doc-phil

Norio wrote Give us the link when/if they approve it. Well done for getting yourself out there!

My first item has been approved on AudioJungle. It took about a week, but there were no issues raised from the reviewers with regards the quality of the recording, so I'm quite pleased about that!

Here it is:

http://audiojungle.net/user/UnityGainStudios/portfolio

I've uploaded my second item which is currently pending approval, and I'm currently working on a logo pack which I hope to upload by the end of the week. Now I need to figure out how to promote my stuff and make some cash money!

AlanRatcliffe

Cool. Let us know when/if your tracks start selling. I'm interested to see if this is a viable option.

deebee

How different are these guys from say, cdbaby,com, and i-tunes, etc. 'Cos on these sites you upload, hope like hell that something is gonna happen other than all of the ''useless info'' that they send out on a daily basis. And, everything that they offer , COSTS, COSTS AND COSTS AGAIN. Soooooooo, how different are they???

doc-phil

deebee wrote How different are these guys from say, cdbaby,com, and i-tunes, etc. 'Cos on these sites you upload, hope like hell that something is gonna happen other than all of the ''useless info'' that they send out on a daily basis. And, everything that they offer , COSTS, COSTS AND COSTS AGAIN. Soooooooo, how different are they???

Well the Envato Marketplaces, and in particular Audio Jungle, don't follow the same business model as iTunes/CD Baby. This isn't a platform for bands/musicians to sell their EP or album, this is for royalty free 'stock' audio, mainly for use in marketing and/or video projects.

There are no costs involved apart from Envato taking a cut of your profits. I have not been spammed with e-mails, and only received one when I signed up, and one when my submission was approved for sale.

So to me it seems like it could be a great opportunity, it's just a matter of building a brand on the website and having enough material to cater for a range of musical requirements that your potential buyer may have.

I don't expect to sell the track I uploaded a million times, but with time and expanding my portfolio I may generate a few sales.

NorioDS

Nice stuff, doc-phil ? Hope you manage to sell some!

doc-phil

I just had my first sale ? ? $6.50 banked! Time to hand in my resignation at work ?

+-R65 may not be much, but wow the sense of achievement I feel right now is great.

eyesuc

doc-phil wrote I just had my first sale ? ? $6.50 banked! Time to hand in my resignation at work ?

+-R65 may not be much, but wow the sense of achievement I feel right now is great.

Epic! How big is your library at present?

doc-phil

eyesuc wrote
doc-phil wrote I just had my first sale ? ? $6.50 banked! Time to hand in my resignation at work ?

+-R65 may not be much, but wow the sense of achievement I feel right now is great.

Epic! How big is your library at present?

This was my first submission, so I feel quite lucky to have had a hit already. I have 2 more submissions pending approval, one full track under the 'corporate - motivational' category and another pack containing rock audio for 5 short logos.

NorioDS

High-five man! I'm so chuffed to hear you're already seeing a return ?

doc-phil

Just an update for anyone interested.

I ran out of time and steam with this after submitting 7 items (2 full length tracks and 5 logos/indents).

To-date I've sold 1 song and 2 logos, leaving me with a balance of $11.50. From the date I signed up to today has been about 3 months. This is clearly not a success story ? but it was an interesting experiment nonetheless. I would like to continue with this in future, possibly with a new account as my composition and mixing skills improve.

This is certainly a workable business model if you have the time and dedication to upload at least 5 items or more per week (seriously). The guys who seem to do well on this make dozens of submissions per month, and have well organised author dashboards. I have noticed that the top sellers may have many many items that are never even sold once, but then of course they have popular items that may have been sold 2000 times. You really do have to bulk trade to make income out of this.