3. The Main Point Do you want to record music and sell it? Then you need to spend more time selling your music than making it.
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5. Not interested in the cash? You can stop reading if you don't care about making money from the music you record. Just clear the rights with all the contributors, put your music on the web as a free download, and enjoy making music .
22. How do you get from a few copies to 1K, 10K, or 100K units sold?
23. You need to create artist and product demand .
24. There's no formula for how to generate this demand. Especially if you're on a budget.
25. Even with a boatload of money creating demand is not a trivial task.
26. The important part is to realize that generating this demand is just as critical as your musical talent when it comes to how many units you will sell.
27. Don't depend on word of mouth alone to generate demand. It's not nearly enough.
28. The Bottom Line You need to become a sales guy or gal if you want to actually sell your own music.
39. As a single individual, it's not realistic that you'll be able to do all of these well.
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41. Option: Get Signed The only reason to sign with a record label is because you don't want the headache of all these jobs and/or you want to be famous. Run from this option if your ego will let you.
42. Option: Pay For It Find other people who can do the jobs you can't and pay them boatloads of money for third-party services. I don't recommend this unless you're a trust-fund kid or a street pharmacist.
43. Option: Partner Find other like-minded people and figure out ways to barter and trade on a project basis. Don't rush to start a company with someone. Focus on the project at hand and let partners come and go. The good ones will stick around.
44. Option: Learn It The internet and local communities are full of fantastic information. Build an expertise in multiple job areas and you will reduce your overall risk and dependency for cash. You still can't do it all, so partner for the rest. This is your best move.
45. After all of this you may think that this doesn't have much to do with music at all.