Best place to post music?

[des]

I've been trying to decide where I should start posting my music. I have several songs at electro-music.com which is ok but even though more will still get posted there, I'm looking for an actual music site. I don't have any label affiliations yet...maybe in the future that will happen. I used to post on my website but it is woefully outdated and is nothing more then a place holder (I'm going to rework it soon). And if things do pickup I don't think its the best way to distribute my material. I see a lot of people using Bandcamp...it looks like you can join as an artist for free and give music away for free or paid-for. How does Bandcamp get paid? I didn't see anything about that. Also I see a lot of people use Soundcloud...but I've also heard that they've initiated changes that are less-friendly to artists... Is it possible to sell thru them as well?

I'm sure there are more options out there - iTunes, CDBaby, etc., but they look to be more distribution only as compared to being a community like the other two.

~ Dave

[aoVI]

Soundcloud still works fine, just getting more like facebook and less an independent music site. I think it could be harder to build a reliable fanbase from scratch using Soundcloud than it once was, but it's still easy to direct people there to hear your work. I don't think you can sell through Soundcloud, but they have a "buy" button that will take anyone directly to your bandcamp, itunes, or whatever.

Bandcamp is great for a straight-forward means of selling or distributing your work. Nice clean layout. They make money off a percentage of sales, but only collect after you hit certain dollar amounts. Something like not taking any money from your first five or six sales, then subtracting from your seventh--I forget what the numbers are exactly but it is in the ToS. Easily linked to a verified Paypal. They also offer ways of gather email lists (follows, etc.) so you can let your fans know when things are released.

I 'd recommend doing both certainly.

[Cloud Hunter]

I too recommend Bandcamp. They also have a 'pro' option I believe, that costs a monthly fee and offers more control over your music profile. If you're like me, and want to be the sole source of your music, then use Bandcamp.

I also have a profile on iCompositions. Despite the i- prefix, you don't have to be a MAC enthusiast to use it. There's a fairly good community there and my tracks have racked up quite a few listens.

[des]

Thanks for the info...guess I'll be looking into Bandcamp and Soundcloud . Just need to settle on an 'artist ' name...

[aoVI]

I like Delta T. If you know which special character is a triangle, that would be a neat way to write it.

[aoVI]

Update: Not sure if you are interested, but I am OCD so I had to look it up.

http://alt-code.blogspot.com/

Alt Codes 127 Δ

How:

You can do that by holding ALT key and inputting code of the character you want on the NumPad at the same time.  Example: Hold ALT key and press (while holding ALT) next buttons on the NumPad of your keyboard (but enable Num Lock first) 1 then 6 then 9. You have inputted character '©'.  

[des]

lol, thanks aoVI! I started using Delta T as a user name quite a few years ago...I had made a pre-release CD and called it 'A Change In Time'. I wanted some sort of logo and came up with a pyramid with a 'T' on the side if it...pretty cheesy looking actually...drawing and graphics are certainly not one of my strong suits... . So I started using 'Delta T' as a user name. I haven't found anyone using that name yet other then a Mc Delta T... Maybe I should...

[Thought Experiment]

Delta T is pretty cool, I'd stick with it. Plus it'll be easier to keep whatever following you have at electro-music.com. As far as selling your music goes, from a completely practical point of view, Bandcamp is definitely the way to go - it's easy to set up and maintain. However, be prepared to give away a lot of stuff for free...We've had this debate many times on this forum but the sad fact is that, generally speaking, people have got out of the habit of paying for music. There is still a small number of people with principles who understand how much time and effort we invest in making our music (i.e. usually other musicians ;) ), but it's a dwindling minority - in my opinion, of course

I made the mistake of thinking that since I had a respectable following on Soundcloud, following years of giving my stuff away I'd earned the right to start charging for it. With the benefit of hindsight, I now believe that was the wrong thing to do. What I now think I should have done is treat it as a new start, and tried to build up a following on Bandcamp by giving stuff away for a while. All I can do now is make my future releases 'pay-what-you-like', at least for the foreseeable future....

[des]

Thanks for your comments TE. Actually at electro-music my user name is DES and the music was posted under that name or Dave Sneed. There really isn't enough to worry about loosing followers. In fact when you do streaming performance you list your user name as well as the stage name.

Guess its time to start getting some more material recorded....

[des]

Ok so I was looking thru Soundcloud and found another artist using Delta T, so I won't be using that name... I guess I could go with 'A Change In Time' or just my name....Hmmm harder then making the music....

[Ian Haygreen]

Not come across iCompositions before. Will have to check it out.

[GaryG]

Ok so I was looking thru Soundcloud and found another artist using Delta T, so I won't be using that name... I guess I could go with 'A Change In Time' or just my name....Hmmm harder then making the music....

Daft isn't it? I kept flipping between between using an artists name I liked or my real name (thought it sounded less pretentious, more serious... :D) Plumped for the artist name as it was fairly innocuous, could be used for various projects without sounding too locked in to a genre etc...)

[des]

That's a benefit to using an artist name...I 'think' that's the direction I'm going to go but for now I'm just going to work on some music. I'm sure the right name will reveal itself when its time.