Other revenue streams ???

[Other revenue streams?]

I’m slowly but surely getting to the point where I can eek out a small living from my music/creativity…so far most of what I make is from back end royalty payments from tv placements, a little bit from radio royalties (in store stuff) – some indie film work (scoring/sound effects/foley) and the occasional RF library purchase and some upfront payments from libraries (those are far & few) – I occasionally help others with their stuff (ghost write/record) but those gigs are far & few – Am I missing anything? – I signed up for Sound Exchange but still not sure how or where I might get paid from that..I do indie rock/pop/folk (with & w/out vox) – some hip hop type instrumental stuff – I write and submit new material almost weekly – I’ve done Dj/radio stuff quite a few years ago but it’s been awhile..I don’t play live anymore and don’t see money in that for original music unless you’re looking to get signed (which i’m not) – any other ideas? (especially from any of you who are pulling this off full time) would be greatly appreciated..thanks…Jay

[Art Munson]

Last year I received two checks from Sound Exchange, totaling about $233 and one smaller check the year before.  I have no idea how they determine when to send them; the checks just show up in the mail, which is always a nice surprise.  I suspect that most of the money comes from having an album on Pandora.

If you have your music in album form, it might be worth having it on CD Baby.  They will then make it available on Amazon, iTunes, and lots of places that I never heard of before.  You never know when some of these seeds might land on fertile soil.  Also, if you want to submit to Pandora it has to be an album with a bar code that is available on Amazon.

You might also look into Bandcamp.  I’ve only made a few dollars there so far, but your music may have a broader appeal than mine does.

[Other revenue streams?]

Thanks Tim..I had a record on Spotify through Tunecore (Itunes etc.) last year but bailed on it because I decided to give away free downloads…I did the CD baby thing awhile back before Pandora..maybe I’ll look into that again –

 

thanks for reminding me..I need to update my mailing address with Sound Exchange as they won’t forward mail from my last apt for some reason…Jay

[Jay]

getting back to that Pandora thing..or being able to submit anyway

costs (cheapest way i’ve found)

$30.00 for Amazon music – a must to submit

approx $100.00 for a short run of 25 cds in eco packs w/barcode

so about $130.00 – if anyone knows a cheaper way please chime in..of course it could end up being $130.00 for 25 cds and no Pandora play…but if I always thought that way I wouldn’t be making any $ with my music 🙂

[Art Munson]

In my opinion, instead of putting it on Amazon yourself, it’s worth it to pay $19 more to have it on CD Baby and let them put it on Amazon.

With CD Baby, it’s a one-time fee and they distribute it to lots of places digitally and physically.  If I remember correctly, if you put it on Amazon yourself, you have to pay them every year.

Also, if Pandora doesn’t accept it and it’s only on Amazon, it will probably just sit there.  At least with CD Baby’s digital distribution there’s more of a chance that potential fan’s will discover it.

[Jay]

Thanks Tim..

[Author]

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