Selling Independent MP3s Direct to Customer?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Friday October 27, 2006 @02:14AM from the another-nail-in-the-riaa's-coffin dept.

jetsetsc asks: "I am not a programmer but I am a musician. My band's recordings belong to the band, and we'd like to skip the middlemen — labels, iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, etc — and setup a way to sell MP3's cheaply, and directly to fans. I have searched quite a bit and found nothing that fits the bill. Snocap is sort of similar, but they are more about a central store with a MySpace tie in. We don't need a fancy search, or a complicated 'if you liked this try...' feature. I figure potential fans can find our webpage on their own, referred by Pandora, a music blog, internet radio, or even (gasp!) a print article. When they get there it'd be great if they could listen to samples, check off the songs they want, pay 39 cents (or however much) through PayPal, and get a secure non-transferable download just like iTunes. DRM not required. I can't believe in this day and age that a service or software package like this doesn't exist. Any ideas?"

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You're selling software by petard · 2006-10-27 02:26 · Score: 3, Interesting

Since you don't need any of the music-specific features, look for a package that helps you sell software. It's the same problem you're trying to solve and there are many options. This one was near the top of my google search results, and looks to meet your needs. There appeared to be numerous similar apps.

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Another idea - tip jar by richieb · 2006-10-27 02:52 · Score: 3, Interesting

Put your files on your website for free and set up a Paypal link for donations. If your fans like your music they will tip you. Forcing them to pay will only decrease your audience.

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...richie - It is a good day to code.