Free Music Distribution

Many artists hesitate in making the decision to sell their music online due to the many costs and fees that are often associated with getting your music to your fans. A lot of distribution companies have yearly fees in addition to taking a percentage of your revenue and royalties. Thankfully, due to the rise in the amount of internet and music companies that have been popping up over the last few years, there are a few little-known ways of getting your music distributed to your fans while you set your own price and maintain control at no cost. Knowing how to get free music distribution is a great tool for unsigned artists that are in the early part of their journey and want to test the waters. 

Find Free Plans At Major Distribution Companies

While the big music distribution companies like TuneCore and DistroKidd focus on their most popular plans that come at a recurring price, a few large companies have some hidden packages that cost $0 to sign up to. These types of plans are exclusive offers that allow you to get your music on major sites like Spotify and Amazon without ever having to enter a credit card on your account. In exchange for the freebies, companies will charge a slightly higher commission fee on your revenue, but you won't have to worry about being able to maintain your songs on popular sites due to a bill you may not be able to pay. Leading distribution site Level Music has a Free Distribution Offer on their site here! A smaller music distribution company by the name of RouteNote offers a very similar free plan to unsigned artists in need of a platform to sell their music on, including free access to iTunes and Spotify distribution. No matter who you choose, just be sure to read the fine print in any agreement you enter your music into.

Sell Your Music on Bandcamp

Bandcamp is a trusted resource that indie bands and musicians have been using for a long time now to release their latest songs and albums to their fanbases. Bandcamp accounts are free for artists to sign up and sell music on. They make their money by taking a 15% commission on music sales (similar to the distribution companies above) and 10% commission on merch sales of their artists and bands. Bandcamp uses Paypal to process the music and merch sales in a simple and easy manner that allows fans to download music files directly to add them to their own music libraries like iTunes and Google Play Music. The downfall of this method of selling is that your fans will only be able to download your songs to a limited amount of music libraries. Your downloaded track may be ignored by a fan who listens to the majority of their tunes on a platform like Spotify. On the plus side, many established artists don't really have an issue with using direct to fan platforms like Bandcamp since they have great music and a dedicated fanbase. Their fans WILL play their tracks, no matter where they have to go to hear them. 

Use Crowdfunding Platforms to Sell + Fund Your Career

Similar to selling your tracks directly to your fans on a site like Bandcamp, you can distribute your music directly to your fans with a crowdfunding site like Kickstarter or GofundMe. While crowdfunding sites have been a bit overused in the last couple of years, campaigns that actually add valuable giveaways and thank-you products are still an effective method of growing financial support for your music career. In exchange for a donation to your musical journey, you can give a CD, single or even a bundle of CDs to your fans and supporters. You could also add in merch like signed Tshirts and mugs for superfans that are really dedicated to your music. Similar to with Bandcamp, you won't get direct distribution to sites like Spotify and Deezer, but you'll have a more intimate connection with your fans using a more direct process like this. Artist Share, a crowdfunding platform specific to helping artists and musicians connect with their fans, is a great place to offer your musical works in exchange for support.