For musicians to make a living from the sale of their work the landscape has shifted seismically over the past couple of decades. It was once the case that a record deal was the only effective way an artist could market their music to the public and A&R folk had almost god-like status amongst unsigned musicians and their management. Things are very different now. Anyone can record professional sounding tracks at their desktop using free software and release it on a variety of platforms such as YouTube, Bandcamp and Soundcloud. This comes with pros and cons. The ability to release music and grow a following online is fantastic, however the sheer number of people now uploading their creations makes the market place so crowded it can be difficult for talent to emerge from the noise. On top of this, it takes a lot of streams to make even a very modest income from the digital stores so this post looks at some alternative ways that committed, talented musicians can generate online income from their work and provides direct links to the relevant pages for each service.
One important point: I am not an accountant or a lawyer so please seek professional advice regarding any taxes you may need to pay related to the sales of your music and read agreements carefully.
Sell cover versions on Spotify, Apple music and other digital stores
Cover versions are a fantastic way to grow your audience by reinterpreting something potential listeners are already familiar with and are therefore more likely to listen to. The problem use to be that getting licenses to record other peoples' songs was complex and sometimes expensive but this is no longer the case. A company called Distrokid will handle all of the licensing to make your unique cover version for only $12 per year. They also distribute your music to a growing number of digital stores such as Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play and Amazon to name just a few. Here's a cover version I released of Gershwin's classic 'Summertime'.
Sell loops & samples
Producers are constantly looking out for high quality loops and samples for their own music. This has long been a lucrative sales stream for dedicated sound design labels and now individual musicians can access this market directly. One of the best marketplaces to sell your own original loops is sonoiz.com. Their free tier lets you sell both loop packs an individual loops and samples and they give you all the information and tools you need to get started. Just remember: the licences for the soft synths and samplers people use to create their own music may forbid you to use them to create sampling products. This is particularly the case when the underlying sounds themselves use samples (which is very common) so do be careful. Your own audio recordings of musically original loops played on hardware instruments should always be fine but seek advice if you are not sure!
Sell instrumental beats for rap artists
Rap artists are prolific creators and are always seeking instrumentals (beats) as backing tracks. This is a huge growth area and composers/producers can sell to a massive audience at airbit.com. They have a free tier that gives you the basic tools to start selling your work and start earning as well as paid tiers that offer more tools and resources for marketing your beats to prospective customers.
Create music & sound effects for independent games
Another huge growth area is the independent game market. These developers are constantly looking for assets to use in their games including music and sound effects. Two of the biggest marketplaces for these resources are linked to the game engines that are used by the developers. These are Unity and Unreal Engine. It's probably a good idea to have a look at these marketplaces and see what type of audio is in demand. High quality, well produced resources are always sought after!