The Musician’s MP3 Download Pennies Don’t Add Up by Pat Boardman
When I read the monthly reports on my online music sales, I see that the downloads have yielded amounts in fractions of a penny, about one and a half cents each song, for a total of a dollar forty-seven in three years. I decided to go it alone and start my own MP3 download site. It may take over a year to spot any trends, since I’m raising my rankings in the search engines via SEO. There’s a lot of research, long hours at the keyboard, and writing skills required, but those lucky enough to have a budget can hire someone to do the promotion for them.
The micro-payments earned from streaming MP3s don’t begin to pay for the expenses needed to get there. A struggling songwriter has to pay for recording, setup fees, and equipment – everything from start to finish. Then the artist’s album is dumped into a pool of a quarter of a million people doing the same thing. Percentages are taken off for each service, and they are usually reasonable slices because the number of transactions is so high. An SEO project on artist pages in a network like CD Baby is extremely time-consuming and frustrating because few directories will process sub-folders. If there’s any budget left at this stage, some traffic can be generated by using a direct placement on one or more of the search engines. Campaigns need to be analyzed frequently to adjust key phrases and geographic targets. In my experience with optimizing however, I did manage to get a modest number of directory listings for URLs belonging to music download pages on sites like MP3 Tunes, eMusic, and even Walmart.
The aforementioned sites are options for members of CD Baby, founded by the affable Derek Silvers as an online record store for unsigned independent bands and artists. The music is distributed on download sites and MP3 streaming services but searchers who are ready to take a song and pay for it have to find the artist purely by accident, since most Indie acts are totally unknown. Customers who listen to songs also have to be ready to make a purchase.
The odds on all these events happening at the same time are too astronomical for the musicians to start ordering their yachts in anticipation of floods of download money, so live appearances are still the main income; a fan base needs to be established first-hand before the loyal buyers do searches online. CDs can be sold live, and band sites can serve as the place for fans to stay updated on the latest activities of the performers. Personal sites have good potential if enough traffic is generated, providing the visitor takes the time to make a purchase. Logically, it’s less frustrating for buyers to avoid filling out applications for a membership in a download site and give out personal information. The set-up requires so much navigation away from the artist’s song that they must fight off notices and enticements from advertisers to find the way back to where they started. The online store can sell these ads for a hefty profit at the expense of the musicians who didn’t get a sale during the twenty minute period of reading instructions and making decisions, and many potential customers hesitate to set up a membership, so they leave the site in search of easier alternatives.
When designing my personal site I took into account the frustrating process of providing credit information, paying fees, reading terms of service, and being bombarded with offers of wonderful gifts from advertisers. The customer would have a better and faster experience with a straight download through PayPal. People want to have time to navigate to other sites, so a focus must be put on fast sales. One main principle of sales is to make it easy for the prospective customer to buy your product. When transactions take too long, the buy has time to turn around and leave. I discovered a piece of software that eliminated most of the problems, so I installed it on my site. Now my guests can hear timed clips of each song and download their favorites from this java script application, the Website MP3 Music Player which has a built-in shopping cart and a link to PayPal. The software must have been new, because I ran into many problems after putting it on the site. The problems were fixed in quick succession by the support team who corrected every kink promptly, so they get full points for response. The best points about the software are convenience and low price. It can be sent over the web for re-use and the 2007 price was less than seventy dollars.
I remains to be seen if my experiment yields any profit; expenses for such a venture include the cost of a custom website, hosting on a Unix or Linux server, membership in CD Baby (where you can put a link to your site), an investment in time to perform SEO, and any advertising costs that seem to be worthwhile. The Music Player feature is desirable not only for its functionality, but for its appearance as a sleek-looking plaything that tempts guests to hit the button and see what happens next.
Pat Boardman is a Canadian songwriter and author and a member artist on CD Baby. He played as a traveling folksinger for ten years and writes songs in the Blues and Acoustic Rock genres also. In 2006 he completed his first novel, The Golden Blues, which is published in the form of an eBook with his music on his website Rock Music Records where visitors can listen to samples of his music and download MP3 tracks.
Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/The-Musician-s-MP3-Download-Pennies-Don-t-Add-Up/147509
Alt./Grrl/Power Pop – Total Rock Guitar by Troy Stetina
|
|
Animal Pak Get protein with a sparing energy boost and enhanced endurance. Universal Nutrition Carbo Plus is an all natural, cholesterol free high energy drink. Designed for serious athletes, Carbo Plus fuels your body with the freshest carbs available…. |
|
|
BSN Syntha-6 Protein Powder Syntha-6 is the ultra-premium dietary supplement with an excellent taste which is an all day protein (it is not an after workouts supplement and for better results you should take it throughout the day and before sleeping). It is a multi-functional protein powder (a.m. to p.m.) which contains diverse complete proteins (six). This is a high quality protein powder which enables you to increase your … |
|
|
Universal Nutrition Animal Cuts Ephedra Free … |
|
|
Roundup 5705010 Extended Control Weed & Grass Killer Plus Weed Preventer, 32-Ounce Concentrate $31.34 Extended Control Round Up 4 Months of Protection Extended Control Round-Up Concentrate now adds long staying power. Extended Round-Up will kill grass and weeds and prevent them up to 4 months. Includes a free measuring cup. Concentrate: Mix 1 gallon for every 6 ounces; Treats up to 1200 square feet per bottle NEW formula starts working fast, you see results fast Ideal for in and around your drivew… |
|
|
Monster Cable MP AV 800 PowerCenter with Surge Protection $49.99 Harmful power surges and voltage spikes can travel up AC power and coax connections and damage your components. Lightning, automatic garage doors, power tools, refrigerators and fluorescent lights all cause power surges and voltage spikes that can travel up AC power lines and coax cables to damage the sensitive electronic circuitry of your connected audio video components. Ordinary surge protector… |
|
|
Shure PG48-XLR Cardioid Dynamic Vocal Microphone with XLR-to-XLR Cable $36.77 An excellent performance microphone for spoken word applications. Includes a 15 ft (4.57m) XLR to 1/4” Cable, Microphone Clip, 5/8” to 3/8” Thread Adapter, and a Storage Bag. Tailored frequency response is smooth and extended. Cardioid polar pattern picks up the most sound from in front of the microphone and some sound from the sides. Less susceptible to feedback in high volume settings. Dynami… |
|
|
Numark DJ I/O Multi Channel USB 2.0 DJ Audio Interface $199.00 A compact, portable audio interface expressly designed for DJs, mobile music producers and other musicians who work with computers, the Numark DJ I/O connects easily with a standard USB cable to the computer and supplies extremely high-quality, 24-bit audio to output systems. With the DJ I/O, you can use your favorite DJ software and take full advantage of cueing and monitoring. Compact and rugge… |
|
|
Sof Sole Fit Series High Sole (Mens 11-12) $31.25 The Sof Sole Fit Series Low Arch Insoles have a 3.3 cm arch height and 55 durometer EVA, which provides optimal arch height and density levels to complement the natural foot motion of feet with high arches. These particular insoles feature an anatomical nylon plate and a CK mesh top cover. This plate offers torsional stability while maintaining flexibility and range of motion. The nylon plate’s du… |
|
|
Sof Sole Fit Series Low Sole (Mens 11-12) $31.94 The Sof Sole Fit Series Low Arch Insoles have a 2.8 cm arch height and 65 durometer EVA, which provides optimal height and density levels to encourage natural biomechanics for end-users with flat feet. These particular insoles feature an anatomical nylon plate and a CK mesh top cover. This plate offers torsional stability while maintaining flexibility and range of motion. The nylon plate’s durabil… |
|
|
Spenco(r) PolySorb(r) Total Support Premium Insole $34.99 Advanced arch support and deep heel cupping for a Total Support System. The unique and patent pending 3-POD Cushioning System absorbs shock and helps prevent over-pronation – the leading cause of many common injuries such as plantar fasciitis…. |
Here are some more site I found on how to become a songwriter
BBC - Music - Review of Paul Simon - Songwriter
Richez (Songwriter) (@DaRealRichez) on Twitter
A Topical Song Writer - Exhibitions - myLOC.gov (Library of Congress)
Singer-Songwriter James Harker Releases New Single & Music Video
Singer-Songwriter Billy Preston Dies - Billy Preston : People.com
Tim Finn : songwriter musician
