Learn how to sell music downloads online with this complete guide. Visit https://www.payloadz.com to start selling your music and beats.

1. HOW TO SELL YOUR
MUSIC DOWNLOADS
ONLINE

2. Table of Contents
Table of Contents..................................................................................................................... 2
Intro............................................................................................................................................. 3
Prep Your Music....................................................................................................................... 3
Choose an Online Music Retailer or Music Aggregator...............................................4
Promote on Social Media and Your Own Band Website..............................................5
Consider Some Additional Tips...........................................................................................6

3. Intro
You and your band love making music. You’ve jammed together
for years in your friend’s garage and have had a dozen gigs in your
area. You’ve even written a handful of songs and recorded them.
Now you dream of being recognized by a record label and making
it big. Your band’s in agreement: You want to go to the next level
and start producing better quality recordings and selling downloads
online.
Prep Your Music
Look at your music. Is it original? If you’re singing or playing
cover songs—songs or music that you haven’t written yourself—
you can’t sell them online without the proper permissions. Services
are available to help you obtain the proper permissions and
licensing that allow you to sell your cover music, or you may go
through the detailed legal process yourself. Once you do achieve
the proper licensing, you need to report and pay royalties on the
cover music to the proper publishers.
If you’ve written and polished your own music, you’re on your
way without hassle of licensure and royalties. Rent studio time and
get a decent recording, unless you’re confident you have the
equipment to provide the quality you desire.
Is your recording in the right digital format? Prepping your music
for selling downloads online requires conversion to WAV files in
stereo with a 44.1 kHz sample rate and a 16-bit sample size. Those
are compatible with Windows, Macintosh and Linux systems and
are used for maximum audio quality. They can be edited and
manipulated easily using software. MP3 files have a “.wav”
extension.
Have an attractive graphic, such as a photo of your band or other
art, which is at least 1600 x 1600 in size and 72 DPI resolution to
represent your music in a visual way.
Now you need to find an online source to sell your music.

4. Choose an Online Music Retailer or Music Aggregator
While you may continue seeking acceptance by a record label, you
can begin making money selling your songs as downloads almost
immediately. Anyone can sell music online without a record label
or signing with an independent distribution service.
Some people have had success selling directly with large online
music retailers. They often require a long application and
evaluation process, however, that can take several weeks to months
that include difficult technical and legal requirements.
Three online music stores are the most well-known: ITunes has
sold billions of songs and has a catalog numbering in the millions.
EMusic is a top website for independent music with high-quality
control requirements. And Amazon MP3 was the first site to offer
DRM-free tracks from major labels.
Many large distributers won’t deal with individuals, and instead,
want people to go through a music aggregator or small distributor.
Aggregators can deliver audio content to retailers for large-scale
public download. For a monthly or annual membership fee or a set-
up fee or commission, music aggregators assist people in editing
digital music so it has the best sound quality possible and is
adapted into a retailer’s preferred format. Online stores publish
lists of distributors they’ve agreed to work with. You need to
research the various distributors if you are considering this route.
You can also sell your music files yourself online through your
own website or through a digital content selling platform like
PayLoadz.
PayLoadz is a distribution service that sells various types of digital
content and has a monthly maintenance fee plus small transaction
fees on sales. The beauty of PayLoadz is that its various marketing
platforms cause average sellers to see a 1,000 percent increase in
sales. The affiliate program lets sellers choose to promote their
music on other seller’s sites. Sellers also have the option of making
money by selling other people’s products on their sites.
PayLoadz simplifies the process of selling music online. PayLoadz
provides various levels of services, including secure payment
systems such as PayPal, Google Checkout and several other
payment options that make it easy for any customer pay for your
music. PayLoadz offers unlimited secure storage and reliable
secure delivery of your digital music as well.

5. Promote on Social Media and Your Own Band Website
To sell your music downloads effectively, you need an active, even
aggressive, online presence. People who love your work are
interested in what you have to say. Set up Facebook and MySpace
pages for your band. Upload a few songs to your MySpace Music
page, and set the music player to “autoplay,” so a song plays as
soon as the page uploads.
Start a Twitter account and a blog. Keep information current about
your band and any events where you’ll be performing. Talk up
other bands you love, and leave links to buy their music as well.
Leave intriguing bits about new song ideas or styles you’re
experimenting with. Make your sites attractive. Include photos and
videos whenever possible. There is no end to all the exposure your
band can generate if you handle these opportunities well.
A band website is essential. Make it lively, unique, fun and
attractive. This should be your go-to place for the band. HostBaby
can help you create your own website for a monthly fee. Or you
could use Wix, Yolasite or Weebly to create a free website. Set up
a sales page where you detail your music, prices and sample video
clips of live performances. Include info on the file format and size
for each song or album. Get the most from your online promotion
by listing major bands you sound like in your album description.
Add good quotes from reviews of your music or from your fans.
You need a PayPal account and a transaction vendor to process
your sales. Those give security to customers who buy your music.
If you’ve signed up with a distributor such as PayLoadz, it will
handle payment in a manner that online consumers are familiar
with and trust. PayLoadz also provides the HTML code to create
“Buy Now” buttons so that fans can easily pay for and download
your music.
Using a service like PayLoadz allows you to have a 24/7 hands-
off online storefront. Once you’ve uploaded your music to the site
and added the graphic image to represent your song or album, the
PayLoadz service handles everything for you. When a customer
makes a payment for your music, either on your website or on the
PayLoadz Store, PayLoadz immediately notifies you of the sale
and simultaneously sends customers secure download links that
they can use to download their purchases. Once customers have

6. used the download links, they become disabled—they cannot be
used to download additional copies of your music without further
payment. Customers and sellers are equally protected during the
process.
You can have links back to your music sales site on your email
signature line. Have business cards, bookmarks or small fliers with
the exact website address for your online music store. Give this to
everyone who expresses an interest in your work. Accept speaking
gigs on local radio and television stations and at community
centers and libraries to promote and demo your music. Be
available for all manner of opportunities to showcase your work.
Consider having music download cards available to pass out at all
your live events. Make it easy for your fans to find you and
purchase your music online.
Consider Some Additional Tips
TIP #1: Register with a performing arts society and a digital
licensor. Find a creative/performing arts lawyer in your area and
become acquainted with him. If you are ever offered that coveted
record label contract, you’ll need him to help you understand it. A
publisher is the only one who should be allowed to take away any
rights to your work, once you agree to those terms. Be sure none of
the websites you download attempt to take away any of your
rights.
TIP #2: Understand DRM, which stands for Digital Rights
Management. It’s the process by which sellers limit users’ ability
to share music with others who have not purchased it. There is
currently no DRM standard, so using DRM can possibly cause
problems on some computers.
TIP #3: Don’t limit your digital sales to your music files. As you
browse through the PayLoadz e-store, you’ll see that people are
selling many kinds of digital items. Promote your band with digital
posters offered for sale through PayLoadz. Get out your digital
camera and take some cool photos of your band members to add to
the collection of band-related memorabilia for your fans to
download.
TIP #4: Have some songs or parts of songs available as free
downloads. Why? Promotion! Giving away free downloads of
small digital promo items can increase traffic to your website or

7. your PayLoadz Store page. Promote free giveaways on your social
network sites. The word “FREE” can generate lots of traffic.
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