The internet has revolutionised the music industry and how music is sold and distributed online. We are all aware of the issues facing illegal music downloads and the heavy impact it has on bands to generate payment for their music. But we are talking about the best ways for you to sell your music and generate publicity for your band.

With the increase in internet usage throughout the world and the easy availability of internet based tools and software, you can now record a professional sounding record in a home based studio or promote yourself through Sites such as MySpace, MyBandMate, YouTube and similar sites. There are a number of key avenues to pursue for bands and musicians when it comes to selling music online and these sites are providing free resources and tools to showcase your music.

If you are a budding musician or band and are looking for ways to sell your music online then below are some proven tips to get you started. They are free and will generate a lot of exposure in promoting your music.

Forums are a great way to promote your music and ultimately drive potential fans to your site and music. You need to find forums that are not only specific to music but also to your genre of music. For example, if you are a Christian rock band, there is no use trying to promote your music in a reggae forum. Promote your music to your target audience. You never know who is reading your forum posts and the whole game is about getting your name and music out there in a number of forums.

Free music networks such as MySpace and YouTube allow you to upload and share your music. MyBandMate is an example of a site that allows you to target your specific audience by promoting your music in various ways via online forums, chat, article postings, music and video uploads, classifieds and much more. Remember, it is a numbers game so the more sites you get onto the more exposure your music will get. Take advantage of these free music networks and you may just get discovered in a big way!

Chat rooms can be useful in spreading the word around about your music. Once again you need to choose the right chat rooms otherwise you will just be wasting your time. These chat forums can be a great way to network.

Blogs have been all the rage of the last few years and they have a powerful presence in ranking highly in the search engines. A well written blog that provides the reader with valuable and informative content can keep that reader returning on a regular basis. In your blog you can have links for fans to buy your music or CDs online.

Classifieds are often under utilised by musicians. Most people think that classifieds are only there to post jobs, sell instruments or look for new band members. However, you can generate a lot of traffic and eventually sales by posting your music for sale in the appropriate category.

Have you heard of Squidoo? If not then this is a great marketing tool that’s free and allows you to create a page about your music or band. You can then use their powerful marketing tools to achieve a high ranking in the search engines.

Having your own website is not essential but it’s definitely worthwhile. A simple one or two page site can cost you less than $100 a year so the cost is not too high. Many webhosts such as GoDaddy allow you to register a domain name, sign up for a years hosting and use their easy to use software to create your own website without any technical or previous website knowledge. If you don’t have your own site then MySpace and MybandMate are definitely two free music networks that allow you to create your own profiles and mini sites with all the required features to promote your music. If you are a musician and are not using these free music networks then you better ask yourself why not! You can’t sell your music if you aren’t willing to put in some time promoting your music.

Many bands are using Google Adwords to promote their music. This has proven to be successful for many bands but it can also be quite costly. These small ads are not only displayed in the Google search results but also on sites with related content for your topic. Remember to carefully select your keywords to bid on and learn more about how much you should be paying per click.

Another great way to generate free publicity is to type up a brief news release and submit it to be launched all across the internet for free in one of the many free press release sites. Often these news releases will achieve high rankings on the search pages. Be sure to use the keywords in your title, summary and content.

Other key points to note are that you need to build a relationship with your fans. This can be done via these music networks or your own newsletter. By building your list you can promote and sell your music to people who you know are interested in your style of music. You can also send out samples of new songs.

Musicians need to be aware that the majority of their income will come from the money they make from their gigs and selling merchandise at these gigs. This is why you will want to have a box of CDs with you to sell at the end of your gig. You need to target potential customers while they are pumped about your music. This is when you want to sell your CDs.

Ultimately, to sell your music you need to firstly promote your music via the various avenues as outlined above. You could have the next best hit single or a top selling CD but if no one knows about you or your band then you will never sell your music. It is such a competitive market and you should use all of the free tools out there on the internet to showcase your music to the world. Everyone who has a computer is a potential customer and therefore you have a global market!