What's the better indie online sales vehicle?

[Chinagraf]

Hi all, I was at a friend's gig on Monday night and they asked about selling some tracks they plan to record online. I had no idea where to start. I know you need to go through an Itunes provider, but who is a good one, and who are most indie bands mainly using?
Thanks.

[tunetown]

http://www.tunecore.com/

[Ben M]

Andy try

cdbaby.com - puts you on itunes and others.

www.bandcamp.com - looks like fun and people can choose the quality of recording they want to purchase (which I like)

There are many aggregators available.

couple of ideas. :)

[electricsound]

Bandcamp comes recommended. It is also great for including download codes with cassette/vinyl releases..

[vanderlae]

http://www.musicadium.com/promotions/22 ... music-wave

Could look into these guys also

[Text_Edifice]

Andy,

depends on a couple of things

1) do they want the tracks in 'establlished' retailers such as iTMS?

2) do they have physical distribution in place?

3) are they realistically expecting to sell high volume?

If they just want to be able to distribute tracks online in an 'album' style format then Bandcamp is a great way to go - they host the files, let you set your own price, build a dedicated retail 'site' and provide a neat little widget you can embed anywhere. Essentially this lets the band set themselves up as their own store.

If they have (or want) physical distro then whoever handles this (MGM for example) will probably also like to take on digital distribution as well - this makes things easy but means there's another finger in the pot after Apple (and in some cases the digital aggregate) take their cut. Most small indie labels are set up for digital these days so this might also be an option.

For totally independent musicians the best option is probably a fee for service aggregate such as Tunecore or Musicadium. Basically the artist pays a fee (can be one of or ongoing) the aggregate to process your music and act as an intermediary for the digital retailers (who can't physically deal with individual artsists).

Of the two I'd suggest Musicadium might be a better option for Australian bands - Tunecore has some 'bigger' names but Musicadium offer a similar service, slightly cheaper, and are based in Aus with an understanding of the local industry. Both services require a Paypal account and Musicadium requires bands to have accumulated $20 minimum sales balance before they'll pay out. There are a lot of other options out there - just google digital distribution - but I'd probably give CDBaby a miss as there are better options nowadays.

As another option I seem to remember someone on the board actually having qualified for distribution through iTunes as a label?

Hope that's helpful.

Drop me a PM if you want to discuss further.

[Chinagraf]

Hey thanks for all the info guys. They are just a bunch of mates who want to be able to say at gigs that "this next track is available on Itunes" when they play some songs. Just want to do online distro, no physical. Not hoping to move a million units, just give fans some access if they want it (as they've been asking if they can buy tracks) and maybe cover the cost of recording in a really perfect world. Not interested in looking for label deals whatsoever, just a good outlet. Something along the Tunecore/CD Baby model is probably good for them.
Thanks again.

[Kurt]

Why not have the tracks available for download on their web site with a paypal powered "donate if you like it" button?

[Chinagraf]

Hi Kurt, they're young and hip and want people to be able to download a single at a gig while it's playing, using their iphones. They're part of the i-genration maaan. I also think they want something with better reach and less hassle than doing their own website.