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By Myshjua Archibald
Selling your music online is one thing, but being a success online with your
music is about more than just selling downloads. The internet offers many opportunities
for you to be SEEN, HEARD, and PAID...
Today more than ever the internet is a valuable tool for artists and independent
labels to market and promote themselves. More and more artists have taken charge
of their careers and set themselves up online with fan pages, video channels,
and any number of websites that might provide a way to get their music heard.
Yet, very few are seeing any actual financial return for the time and money
they are investing. The key to making money online from your music is no longer
just for major labels and major marketing budgets.
See the Big Picture
Artists, musicians, and labels have to see
the full potential of the internet. Many view the web as one big shopping mall
but it is much more than that. For creators of intellectual/artistic content,
be it music, games, books, photos, etc. the world-wide web offers the chance
for multiple streams of revenue. Provided they join the right organizations
and connect the (META) dots properly artists stand to get paid in these three
ways before they make their first digital sale:
Publisher/Writer Performance Fees
Most independent artists write
and record their own material. If you belong to a performance rights organization
for songwriters and publishers (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, PRS,etc.) then licensing
fees are collected from radio, television, satellite and internet sites that
are playing your music. Internet radio stations that are properly licensed
usually have a badge or licensing information posted somewhere on their site.
Digital releases should be encoded with the proper ISRCand UPC numbers so that
writers and publishers get their money.
Artist/Producer/Musician Performance Fees
Producers, musicians,
and artists receive performance fees from all internet and satellite performances
of their songs. SoundExchange is the free organization that collects and distributes
these fees. In many countries around the world terrestrial radio and television
stations also pay performance fees of this sort. SoundExchange continues to
fight for this in the United States. Hopefully your digital distributor has
deals in place with some of the many online blogs, radio stations, and streaming
sites that pay these fees.
Advertising Revenue
Does your YouTube channel or artist website
attract a lot of regular visitors and viewers? If you are maintaining your
personal site and tracking visits with Google analytics you may qualify to
partner with Google's AdSense program. This allows Google to place advertisements
on your web pages and share some of the advertising revenue with you. YouTube
offers the same program (not surprising since they are owned by Google) for
popular video channels. Of course, you do not have to depend on these sites
alone. You can also sell your own advertising space directly to other small
companies looking for ways to promote their business.
The good news is that the same tools and systems that you are already using
to promote your music can put money in your pocket if you put a little more
effort into how you coordinate your promo plans. The better news is that by
doing so practically guarantees an increase in your actual sales due to your
increased social media and online presence!
As a distributor and promoter of digital music I am constantly
looking for the latest tools and techniques to help my clients. I attend conferences
and webinars, read books, and purchase tools and services that will expand
my knowledge of an ever-changing and evolving industry where 15 years of experience
is not enough anymore.
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