Some of the most used forms of distribution nowadays are online music stores, I will be focussing on two main stores that work similarly but the amount of money the band makes varies between them. The two stores that I will be focussing on are Itunes Music Store and Bandcamp.
Pros of Itunes Music Store:
- Widely used online store – Users are familiar with its layout, therefore, it makes the buying process simpler.
- As it is an integrated feature within the Itunes program and therefore Ipods/Iphones/Ipads, it can be instantly stored on these devices when it has been bought.
- In comparison to streaming services, you can make more money per sale.
- It allows users to support artists directly.
Pros of BandCamp:
- Bandcamp is a privately owned company that specialises in hosting independent artists and using as a platform to promote such artists.
- It only takes a 15% cut of each sale in comparison to Itunes’ 30%.
- You can set the prices to whatever you like and even allow people to pay what they want for the product.
- Gives the buyer options based on file type, including MP3, Flac and WAV file types.
Cons of Online Music Stores:
- Online music stores take a cut of the money made from each purchase and can range from 10%-50%.
- There are more hoops to jump through if you want to upload to these platforms – including going through an Aggregator (Itunes) to get your music on the platform, which can cost a lot of money.
- In comparison to streaming services, it is not based on the user. With Spotify, the user is paying for a whole library of music to listen to, whereas buying music is more expensive and not giving them as much content.
- Stores such as Itunes don’t allow you to play music you have bought from their store on non-apple devices.
I think for Dead Rooster I am going to be uploading their music to just Bandcamp as it is the best of the two options. It will allow them to sell their music in a digital form without losing a lot of their profits or having to pay an aggregator to get the music put up onto Itunes.
http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/selling-your-music-through-itunes-3598963/
http://www.therealmusician.com/bandcamp.html
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/4/10/1428667990141/GUARDIAN_Musicians_2015_09_FB_(2).png?w=1920&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=890d2de699d4fb0f0da17aac4ae16bbd