Sell your music on digital retailers!

This is sort of just going over the basics, but they are important, I will list them in bullet point form so you can just double check them

-Are you happy with your artist/band name?
-Are your tracks named how you would like?
-Do you want a specific release date?
-Is the sound quality of the tracks as high as you can make them?

These sound like very basic things, such as band names, but when you release your music, you have to be sure about everything you are doing, because generally it's not too easy to get things removed, or it takes a long time. Especially for solo artists, make sure everything is how you would like it.

I mention this because I accidentally made the mistake of thinking I was happy with a song, when in reality I wasn't, I just don't want you to have to go through the same thing and lose anything because of it.

I have used two online distributors, and they are really the only ones you should ever need, each one appeals to a different need. Pick the one that suits you best.

Bandcamp - For most indie artists, this is the best place to start, and is also one of the most popular ways.

CdBaby - Don't let the name fool you, they do digital distribution as well as Cd's. If you've already have a small fan base (And are willing to spend a little money), start here.

Once you pick the one that seems to fit you, scroll down to the appropriate section!

bandcamp (scroll down for link) is among the most popular sites for indie music, and the best place for a musician to start.

The main thing that's great bout bandcamp is that it costs no money to put your songs up. Instead of paying for your songs to be posted, they take a small portion of your sales (15%). This is ultimately recommend this over CdBaby for indies, because you have to pay to get songs up on CdBaby. The only drawbacks with bandcamp is, the only way to pay for songs (and receive payment) is through paypal, which may be a drawback for people without bank accounts. One helpful thing is also the user interface. The site seems like it was made by people who really knew what user-friendly really meant.

CdBaby (scroll down for link) is good if you already have a small fan base. The reason for this is, unlike bandcamp, not only does your song get put onto the CdBaby website, it also goes to many of the main digital retailers (you can pick and choose if you want also). This can give you an upper hand if you have fans that are more accustomed to iTunes and the like. It gives them a familiar place to buy it from. Even though, you pay money to use CdBaby, they still take a small portion (9%), this is less than bandcamp since you do have to pay the original fee to get your music onto the retailers. Also, all the steps you have to go through to get music through may seems like a lot, but it gives them all the necessary info.

For CD people: As noted by the name of the site, they also sell CD's. If your a small band or solo artist and already have some CD's, you can send your CD's for them to sell through online (for all the people that prefer physical to digital).

Just a brief overview of each distributor

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bandcamp:

Pros:
-Free to put music on
-Let fans decide price
-Easy to use interface

Cons:
-Little to no advertising other than what is done for yourself
-Only available on their own site
-Portion of money taken from sales (15%)

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Cdbaby

Pros:
-Choice of online retailers
-Broad audience
-Can sell physical CD's

Cons:
-Cost to put songs up
-Portion of money taken from sales (9%)
-User interface not as simple to understand as bandcamp