- Oct 28, 2009
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Hey guys, since the production of my album is nigh, I was wondering what websites you guys know of to sell your stuff? Preferably not a site like iTunes that requires that song-code that costs a small fortune per song 
Selling mp3's online
- Thread starter coreysMonster
- Start date
Russtopher
Member
I like Bandcamp, quick and easy to upload to, you get immediate payment when someone purchases, and buyers get the choice of file format to purchase in.
I don't mind iTunes, I think I pay around $20/year per album on there. Having people be able to find albums when looking at other bands is a bonus for me, however I don't like having to wait to get royalties. Still, with so many people using iTunes almost exclusively, it makes sense to be there. I use Tunecore for iTunes distro BTW (along with Napster and Amazon MP3)
I don't mind iTunes, I think I pay around $20/year per album on there. Having people be able to find albums when looking at other bands is a bonus for me, however I don't like having to wait to get royalties. Still, with so many people using iTunes almost exclusively, it makes sense to be there. I use Tunecore for iTunes distro BTW (along with Napster and Amazon MP3)
We've used CD Baby for digital distro and have had no problems at all...I don't get what your beef is with iTunes...We just sent a CD to CD baby, and they did the rest. Flat 35 bucks per CD (We sell physical copies through there as well), no annual fee, no headaches. And, we get regular payments for our stuff (once a month I think). CD Baby gets placement on pretty much all the well known (and not so well known) mp3 sites, including Amazon (which also sells the physical copies sourced from CD Baby stock).
- Oct 28, 2009
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I was once told you need a UPC code of 50$ per song, but this seems to be a lie, as I am finding out atm.
I'm trying to remember, but for regular album placement into CD Baby's stock and digital distro, it was 35...I think it was an additional 15-20 to get a barcode from CD baby, but that isn't mandatory, although I'd recommend it (I believe placement of physical copies in Amazon by CDB requires a barcode). Also, the songs each get an SRC code when you register everything. I did all my registration prior to completing the album artwork, so I was able to take the CD baby generated barcode and incorporate it into my graphic design for the CD. So, no additional cost past the barcode generation was needed. Otherwise, I think there may be a fee for CD Baby to slap a barcode sticker on the CD and/or encode SRC's (if they do that).
On a sidenote, by having a physical CD available for sale on Amazon WITH a barcode, you can be granted placement into Pandora and possibly other music genome type sites.
On a sidenote, by having a physical CD available for sale on Amazon WITH a barcode, you can be granted placement into Pandora and possibly other music genome type sites.
smy1
Member
Tunecore. They will generate UPS, ISRC and Barcode for you. An album will run you something like 30-40 bucks, I just uploaded a single yesterday for 9.99 US$ ...
The thing I didn't like about CDBaby is
a) the immense shipping costs from Europe to the US (+ customs charges)
b) the fact that they do not accept 100 CDs but only small numbers like 15 or so
These reasons made me steer away from them pretty quickly.
The Tunecore accounting overview is absolutely awesome.
The thing I didn't like about CDBaby is
a) the immense shipping costs from Europe to the US (+ customs charges)
b) the fact that they do not accept 100 CDs but only small numbers like 15 or so
These reasons made me steer away from them pretty quickly.
The Tunecore accounting overview is absolutely awesome.
- Oct 28, 2009
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a fellow german, excellent.
that sounds like a really good one, I'll check those guys out.
IIRC, Tunecore has a yearly fee...CD Baby does not. That is why I went with CD Baby. But, I'm in the US, so the shipping costs are not that big a deal for me. Does Tunecore sell physical CD's? I didn't think they did, so the shipping argument would be moot (simply because Tunecore doesn't give you that option)...And, don't you have to pay a buck per store you submit to? We're in something like 30-40 mp3 stores, so that would be evern more costs?
If one is simply looking for digital distro, I think both are adequate, but I prefer a one time fee over a yearly one. I've spent roughly 110 for placement of our 2 albums on CDBaby and digital distro with ISRC and barcode. With Tunecore's fees, I'd be looking at over 200 if I figured right (and that's without knowing it was a 99 cents per store you submit to)...And, i'd have no ability to sell physical copies through their site. I've sent CDBaby CD's as needed (I've since stopped due to selling out both releases) and never advertised as selling CD's there...But, from the traffic the site gets on it's own, we've netted well into a couple thousand bucks selling on CDB through physical CD's alone.
EDIT
aaah, Tunecore doesn't take a cut...CDBaby does, I think 30 cents a song. So there would be a point where one service is better than the other...Obviously if you can rack up a LOT of downloads in a shorter amount of time (or consistent downloads on a long tmer basis), Tunecore would make sense...
If one is simply looking for digital distro, I think both are adequate, but I prefer a one time fee over a yearly one. I've spent roughly 110 for placement of our 2 albums on CDBaby and digital distro with ISRC and barcode. With Tunecore's fees, I'd be looking at over 200 if I figured right (and that's without knowing it was a 99 cents per store you submit to)...And, i'd have no ability to sell physical copies through their site. I've sent CDBaby CD's as needed (I've since stopped due to selling out both releases) and never advertised as selling CD's there...But, from the traffic the site gets on it's own, we've netted well into a couple thousand bucks selling on CDB through physical CD's alone.
EDIT
aaah, Tunecore doesn't take a cut...CDBaby does, I think 30 cents a song. So there would be a point where one service is better than the other...Obviously if you can rack up a LOT of downloads in a shorter amount of time (or consistent downloads on a long tmer basis), Tunecore would make sense...
Kazrog
Kazrog, Inc.
BandCamp > TuneCore > CDBaby.
Seriously, it's only worth selling music if it's lossless. Give away your mp3s for email addresses, sell FLACs. Or don't listen to me, make these decisions for yourself, either way BandCamp is your friend and asks nothing in return (yet.)
Seriously, it's only worth selling music if it's lossless. Give away your mp3s for email addresses, sell FLACs. Or don't listen to me, make these decisions for yourself, either way BandCamp is your friend and asks nothing in return (yet.)
mick thompson
AKA: Ross Canpolat! SM!
check the back pages of the sound-on-sound magazine - i was only looking at this last night in an old issue, there are a fair amount of companies doing it, some of them at a good price
Does Bandcamp get the traffic an established site like CdBaby does? Do they sell physical CD's on their site?
I know this thread is about digital distro only, but I'm curious...For us, IME, the physical CD sales that CD baby allows has proven to be a great benefit to us, without us doing a THING to promote it, we just ship CD's as needed.
Russtopher
Member
Bandcamp does not sell physical CDs on their site (last I checked, they would only provide a link to a site that did so I set up a PayPal link on my band's Dot Com) BUT for no startup cost, ability to set prices and sell within minutes of uploading the files, and giving the choice of download formats, I think it's great.
I can only speak from personal experience, but digital downloads probably outnumber hardcopy CDs 10:1 at this point for me. I think having your stuff there is a no-brainer since there's no start-up involved. HOWEVER I do feel that the lack of a social media aspect of the site is really holding it back from being a "big name" digital distro site.
I can only speak from personal experience, but digital downloads probably outnumber hardcopy CDs 10:1 at this point for me. I think having your stuff there is a no-brainer since there's no start-up involved. HOWEVER I do feel that the lack of a social media aspect of the site is really holding it back from being a "big name" digital distro site.
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I disagree. for average music listeners, mp3's have the highest compatability and the best sound quality for their size. Why in the world would you sell tunes as FLACs? There are too many people who wouldn't know how to get them on their mp3 players.
smy1
Member
+1
Kazrog: when I first sold music directly through my site via Payloadz.com, I put 192kbps up for sale. Out of over 500 bought albums only 2 (!!!) people asked for higher bitrate and would prefer to listen to 320kbps or FLACs.
I since went up to 320kbps and nobody ever asked for FLAC files anymore ...
Kazrog: when I first sold music directly through my site via Payloadz.com, I put 192kbps up for sale. Out of over 500 bought albums only 2 (!!!) people asked for higher bitrate and would prefer to listen to 320kbps or FLACs.
I since went up to 320kbps and nobody ever asked for FLAC files anymore ...
