Turn Your Next Music Release Into $100 Sales (No Label Needed)

It has become apparent to me that every artist wants to know how to make more money with their music beyond relying on streaming services. The truth is, you know that you have to go direct-to-consumer, but it doesn't seem fun until you understand what I'm going to show you. So by the end of this, you will learn how to make your next release worth $100 or more to every fan.

Now, if you've been concerned in the past that you just can't succeed without depending on streaming services, I want to put those anxieties to rest. You can do this. You just need the right person to explain it to you.

For some of you watching, this is going to create a whole new world, and for others, it's going to tighten up what you've already been doing.

However, I just want you to understand that making your next release feel like fans should spend $100 by default will change your attitude about music creation, so you create from a place of offering the best value for the listener and receive the best return for yourself.

Story

When I was producing for independent artists in Atlanta, I would go to small performances to support the artists I produced for. Though the entry was free, you wanted to support them because they put so much hard work into creating the event and the album. Some offered products for sale and some didn't. However, I noticed that those who did offer products for sale not only made a nice chunk of change, but they created an experience that made it well worth the money paid. Emotionally, I got a feeling like "Man, I'm really supporting somebody who's on the come up," and I felt good about that. When they offered me something of great quality, including music, I felt I got my money's worth because of the product quality. The crazy thing is I still feel that way now. They figured out a way to create a product, build value around that product, and offer it to me at different levels so that I wouldn't feel left out even if I didn't get the most expensive thing. This is what I'm gonna show you today.

The $100 Fan Stack: Productize, Stack Value, Tier the Offer

Productize Your Music Release

Most artists are shooting for $100 per day on Spotify when in actuality they should be shooting for $100 per sale. Distributors like DistroKid do what's called commoditizing your music — meaning your music is just raw material that is used for the production of other goods and services, to be obtained at the market rate or the lowest price possible so the producer of other goods and services can get it and produce a new product for consumers like Spotify.

Though you can make money from Spotify, the real reason why the music industry is so difficult for you is because you're not building a music-based product from the commoditized music itself. This is the act of productization. If you look at collectors, concertgoers, general fanatics, and other people who use music for different use cases, you will find the products that you need to create to reach your $100 a day goal. Once you begin to take note of how they are using your music, then it's off to the races.

Now as a consultant, I used to look at the typical things just like you that music artists could sell as just physical music and clothing-based merchandise. However, it is important to look at the use cases of music itself and the purpose for buying it to find the keys to how you will make money in this business. So you thought you needed to create only these two items but really you just needed to productize your music.

• "50 fans x $100 = $5K launch"

• Show what 3 tiers could look like: $25 / $100 / $250

Stack the Value of your Music Release

Many artists think that after they've created their physical or digital album, fans will buy it. But the truth is it's still in its commoditized state. Currently, most artists think that if they create a physical album or merchandise, people will buy it. The truth is they're buying it to have some type of access, achievement, or acknowledgment.

The reason why you have this perception is because back in the day, all consumers had to buy the music if they wanted to listen, even if they only wanted one song. This is how mixtapes and bootlegging were birthed. Too much product was in the market and not enough value was being produced, so the market was bound to crash — and it did.

So you see, if you keep producing D2C albums with just the music, you will keep getting low sales because people don't want the same thing they could have gotten on Spotify for a monthly fee.

I had to study what music consumers and connoisseurs wanted, how they wanted it, and the use cases for wanting it.

So here's how you build value back into the music:

1. Create a tool (to use)

2. Give them identity (so they feel like they belong)

3. Create an emotional exchange (to bring them into your world)

4. 
   

I know this because these are the things that I crave when I'm buying direct-to-consumer. Right now you're probably thinking you need a bunch of fans to pull this off, right? Well, actually, you only need to satisfy those 3 needs, and you can keep selling all day long and twice on Sunday until your next project drops.

Offer Purchase Tiers for your music release

Currently in the direct-to-consumer movement, some artists want to remove themselves from Spotify altogether; however, they're only shooting themselves in the foot. Remember, there's too much music in the market to be consumed, and nobody wants to pay for every single album, so streaming is never going to go away. This is foolish thinking.

The real reason why you're having battles with the Spotify idea is because you don't know how to tier your products. Spotify is for browsers, while direct-to-consumer is for supporters and fans. Supporters will pay a different price from fans. Fans will pay a high premium. But you can't forget the foundation, which is Spotify. You have to sell to all three — if you sell to Spotify only, you'll be disgruntled; if you sell to supporters only, you'll wonder why your D2C sales are so low; if you sell to fans only, you'll get high kicks of dopamine and big sales every now and then but nothing consistent.

All you have to do is look at your favorite software or software tools out there that you want to buy, and you'll notice that it's always in tiers because everybody doesn't need everything. Everybody does not need your pro version. This is what happened pre-streaming era: the industry was selling everybody the pro version.

• Craft your product experience for the browsers = General Admission = Spotify

• Craft your product experience for the supporters = VIP

• Craft your product experience for the fanatics = Platinum Pass = Superfan

Doing this will cause you to take much more time with your music because you realize that these different groups of people want different things. But when you do this, you'll notice that your fans and the whole culture around you will appreciate you more because you've considered everyone. You've considered all of your customers who would purchase from you.Again, if you're thinking that you need a bunch of fans, you don't — you just need to build for each one of these customer bases, and then as you grow, they will buy.

Here’s what you can do!

Right now, you have a choice: You can keep guessing and hoping things will change… or you can take advantage of a system that's already working. The real question isn't "should you do this?"—it's "how much longer can you afford NOT to?" If you need help with understanding this method even more, join the Music Money Makers every Monday at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time as we talk about situations like this live. Also join our master classes every month as well.

Keep your head up!

Look, I get it, man — you've tried before, or at least you attempted it, and maybe it didn't work out. That's not because you lacked skills to do it; you completed a low-quality version of it. So congratulations. Even if you didn't have all of the resources, you still did it or attempted it, and that says a lot.

The problem is you were missing all of these core components altogether, and you weren't fully aware of the fans' use cases. 97% of the time, this is the problem. However, what these three steps give you is a way to build at your own pace with what you already have, because you're more ready than you think — you just needed clarity.

What’s it going to cost to keep doing it your way

The biggest cost of continuing without a proper direct-to-consumer strategy is leaving thousands of dollars on the table every month. Think about it - if just 50 true fans spent $100 each on your releases, that's $5,000 you're missing out on. Not to mention the emotional toll of feeling like you're constantly struggling to make streaming work, when there's a better way right in front of you.

At the End of the Day

Remember, back when we started this video, we talked about how most artists are stuck in the streaming mindset, making pennies per play. Now you understand that by transforming your music from a commodity into a valuable product, stacking value strategically, and offering tiered purchasing options, you can create releases that your true fans will gladly pay $100 or more for. This isn't just about making more money – it's about creating deeper connections with your audience and delivering real value that matches what they're truly seeking.