How to Sell Homemade CDs Online
Digital audio software makes it possible for any band or artist to record music independently at home and then burn it onto CDs, a task once reserved almost exclusively for record labels and studios. Once you complete your home music project, you can then profit from it by advertising and selling it to fans over the Internet. To ensure the greatest exposure and the greatest convenience to buyers, you will need to promote your sale item in an efficient way.
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Instructions
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Set up a website. For the most professional impression, purchase your own domain name and Web hosting through a provider such as GoDaddy, Yahoo! Small Business or iPage. For a free alternative, you can advertise your music for sale using a music-friendly social network like MySpace, PureVolume or Reverb Nation.
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Set up an online shopping cart. You will need to purchase and install shopping cart software, set up an account within the software and paste the provided source code onto your Web page. If you want to bypass the shopping cart option, you can set up an account with a merchant company like PayPal, Digital River or AlertPay, all of which offer free sign-up. You can also deal exclusively with checks and/or cash, but this may cost you some business, as it provides less convenience to customers.
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Post samples of your music for people to hear. Give people a reason to want your homemade CD by posting a couple of songs, or a few snippets of songs, for free. You can do this using a social network like those mentioned in Step 1, or upload them to your main website as MP3 files.
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Advertise. For you to sell CDs, people obviously need to know your CD exists. Become active in your selected music social networks by participating in message boards, perform your music live in local venues, network with other local musicians, volunteer to remix music for other artists (even major artists often advertise remix competitions for fans, which can greatly increase your exposure) and think of other ways to raise your public profile. Most important, always make potential buyers aware of your website address.
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Tips & Warnings
You can also sell your homemade CD commercially through sites like CD Baby, Amazon and CD Unsigned. Some of these sites will require you to pay extra to obtain a UPC code (bar code), a legal requirement for commercial music sales.
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