Ableton Forum

I would like to create a compilation (mixed cd) of 15 songs and sell this through iTunes.

Of course the respective artists should be compensated and i will need to make a profit as well!

Any ideas on how to get started?

many thanks
Andy

You'll need an aggregator to get on iTunes, but that's easy enough. I personally like CDBaby.com, but Tunecore and reverb nation are other popular options. Other than that, it's as simple as uploading your songs to them and they handle the rest.

the cd will be mixed by myself... can i still use an aggregator?

Sure, as long as you have all the artists permission.

would you know roughly how much the artists will be asking?

can i pay them a royalty based on the number of sales of the compilation?

Unless the artists are well known I doubt there is a lot of money to be made. Nobody is making money off music sales anymore.

what should my monthly sales be expected to be?

I am not looking to make millions but is a decent monthly income possible?

Sounds like you should just find out.

A good bit of logic could help you out with his, though. Do you have a fan base? Are you advertising the album?

i believe there is an audience for this compilation and i know some channels i can distribute it through.

I do believe some people will purchase a mixed-cd if they are fans of this particular genre and it's reasonably priced.

it's an investment of my time though and i would be looking to make at least $1,000 per month to consider this as worthwhile..

I don’t think there is any way of predicting that. How much PR are you going to do? How well known are the artists? And not to be a hater, but no, I don't think a "decent" income is possible just off music sales unless the music is in the top 10 of a popular chart and even then it won't be long lasting. All the money is in live performance now.

Given that you sound like you know almost nothing about what you are doing, I would say it's probably unlikely that you will make any money. Not trying to be a smart ass or discouraging, but it takes a bit of experience to put together all of the pieces needed to actually make money with an album these days.

Why not try a smaller EP or something first to test the waters and get a bit more experience in the process?

neodjandre wrote:i believe there is an audience for this compilation and i know some channels i can distribute it through.

I do believe some people will purchase a mixed-cd if they are fans of this particular genre and it's reasonably priced.

it's an investment of my time though and i would be looking to make at least $1,000 per month to consider this as worthwhile..

You want to be making 1000 Dollars a month as a nobody with one mix CD of other peoples tracks?! Lay that pipe down my friend
And even if, as if the world needs another non-creative hack and his get rich quick scheme
Ibiza Dance Classics 234 - The Nobody Edition...

Tarekith wrote:Not trying to be a smart ass or discouraging, but it takes a bit of experience to put together all of the pieces needed to actually make music with an album these days.

Freudian truth slip.

TomViolenz wrote:

neodjandre wrote:i believe there is an audience for this compilation and i know some channels i can distribute it through.

I do believe some people will purchase a mixed-cd if they are fans of this particular genre and it's reasonably priced.

it's an investment of my time though and i would be looking to make at least $1,000 per month to consider this as worthwhile..

You want to be making 1000 Dollars a month as a nobody with one mix CD of other peoples tracks?! Lay that pipe down my friend
And even if, as if the world needs another non-creative hack and his get rich quick scheme
Ibiza Dance Classics 234 - The Nobody Edition...

That’s the harshest version of what some of us have already said.

But for those of us who have poured our blood, sweat, and tears into a release or know somebody else who has only to receive a $10 check from Apple after a couple months...if that, yeah, it does seem a little offensive to expect $1,000 a month for…, well, anything. And anything less than that wouldn’t be worth the effort? Ugh. Some harsh realities ahead.

I have to admit, his post made me actually angry