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I encounter a lot of composers that really really struggle with the concept of sharing music through a distributor. They don’t like the idea that they are losing control of how their music is presented and they don’t like the idea of sharing in the profits with another company. And to their mind, it’s just easier to keep everything on their website, keep everything in one place, and keep all of the money.
And although that sounds logical and reasonable, the reality is that no one is going to find your website unless you show it to them. And so by refusing to distribute your music on other websites you are leaving a lot of money on the table.
It’s about casting as wide a net as you can. Yes, it sucks to only get 50% of the sale price when you’re used to getting 100. But, chances are this isn’t taking away sales from your own website. Most of the music retailers come with their own costumer base built in. So chances are, these are people who would never have found you otherwise. And who knows, maybe next time they come straight to your website first.
The irony is, having your music on all other sites actually gives a boost to your own website, because it exposes your music to more people and it gives the search engines and the algorithms more material that points back to you.
And that’s kind of the name of the game right now. You need to have your home base, but then you need to get your music out to as many places as you can. And sure your individual strategy might be different depending on the kind of music you write, but as a general rule it never hurts to have other people promoting your music for you.
CALL TO ACTION
Garrett Breeze
Garrett Breeze, host of Selling Sheet Music, is a Nashville-based composer best known for his catalog of more than 1,500 choral arrangements of popular music, including more than 1,000 written for competitive show choir.
Visit garrettbreeze.com for more information or to book Garrett for a commission or other event.