How To Monetise Your Music From Home

With independent artists making more music than ever before - here's a handy guide on how to monetise your music from home.

It might not be the main driving factor behind your creative process but it's only natural that you’re going to want to make money from your music at some stage, that's why we've laid out some key options in this blog. 

There are many ways that you can make money from your music but first of all, we’d suggest having a clear idea of what it is you want to achieve.

Are you making beats for commercial purposes like adverts or are you an emerging punk band looking to boost your online streams? There are different routes depending on your audience and approach. 

Luckily there are options out there that will benefit all kinds of artist. Before going any further - ensure that you’re making tracks to the best of your ability. It's unlikely anyone is going to want to listen to something that doesn't sound professional - get your sound honed before you start thinking about financial gains. 

First up we'd recommend taking a look at distribution sites - these come in many forms and what they essentially do is distribute the music for you. This saves a lot of leg work as you can basically pay a small fee and let these companies do all the hard work on your behalf. There are some brilliant cutting edge names out there that we'd recommend but we've listed some key companies just below.

Once you've prepared your release Ditto will be an important next step - essentially helping you launch it into the world and ensure it's available in all the right places. You have to do a bit of basic admin beforehand like:

• Enter your artist or band name and other contributors
• Select your genres
• Create or upload your artwork
• Choose your release date
• Decide where your music will be available
• Upload any licensing if required

Once you're up and running - you'll be able to access optional sales-boosting tools which all are used by major labels across the world. Before you know it you'll be collecting royalties and keeping 100% of what you've earned! It's that simple. All PMT customers to get 50% off at checkout by using the code PMTonline.

Check out the video below for more information:

Sentric is a music publishing company that proudly lay claim to offering the fairest publishing deal in the music industry. Once you've got your music ready to go - they'll ensure that you get the maximum amount of royalties you're entitled to - whether your tracks are performed live, synced or broadcast. There are countless perks to signing up for Sentric and we've just listed a few below.

• 28-day rolling contract
• Keep your copyright
• Maximise your royalties
• Global network of collection societies
• 100,000s of artists already using Sentric

Once you've signed up to Sentric you'll be part of a wider network of artists who trust this service - including names like Circa Waves and International Teachers Of Pop. You'll also have the constant support of an artist services team - on hand to help you get the most out of Sentric's platform.

Rochdale mobile phone shop worker Adnan Khan (Menace) ended up on Kanye West's album 'The Life Of Pablo' just by selling mixes through his own website. Obviously there's an element of right place, right time with this as well as talent. Also, that's not to say he's a millionaire now - having only been paid $200 for the sample originally.

How did this happen though? Well, American rapper Desiigner originally found the sample and purchased it for use on his track 'Panda' from Adnan before his label mate Kanye sampled his song Pt 2. This is a pretty crazy scenario - but even if your track didn't make it to a huge album from Kanye West - an initial fee of $200 for a beat or track is pretty nice for an emerging name.

Offering something unique and physical to a small and devoted audience can work really effectively. If you make a limited run of something you've put time and love into then this can be a really unique way of giving your audience something they'll get excited about. This is likely to also lead to social media posts, shares and ultimately more sales and investment as you as an artist.

It's a cliche but thinking outside of the box is a great way to monetise your music. Aussie psych band did exactly the opposite to making money and gave away the assets to their album 'Polygonowanaland' for free.

This stunt paid off in the long run as the album was pressed by hundreds of labels across the globe and the stunt generated an incredible amount of publicity and radio plays (which they still got royalties for).

Essentially there are loads of ways to start monetising your music - whether you want to sign up to a trusted and reliable distribution site or publishers like Ditto and Sentric or try going it alone and start selling your beats online or going down more DIY routes. There's very little to lose and perhaps everything to gain.

If you're looking for the right equipment to ensure your tracks are the best they can be, then look no further than PMT Online. Shop a full range of studio, recording and DJ equipment online or at your nearest store.