Depends how much you sell - I think I figued out the magic number for tunecore vs cdbaby is 172 annual downloads but always do the math for yourself.  They are both making the majority of their sales through iTunes as far as our stuff goes.  Tunecore is a straight fee and CD Baby is a %.  I heard Bandcamp is good and I'm sure Amazon is as well but identifying and stopping download re-sellers on Amazon seems to be brutal.  Anyone has more info around Amazon (and the associates program) that would be interesting.

Try Bandcamp.

We use it for free downloads but the paid downloads seem a right deal as well, so check it out. Also emusic looks good.

Howdy, gang - 

I have some high-quality recordings that I would like to try and sell as digital downloads online. 

I've done my time and paid my dues doing it the "old fashioned way": pressing everything from cassettes and vinyl to CDs, etc. Not to mention, I've given away much more music than I've ever sold.

Now, I want to try selling the tunes individually the digital way.

Please send me your advice on how to go about doing this. 

I know there are many routes that can be taken: bandcamp, tunecore, emusic, iTunes, reverbnation, etc.

What is the best way?

What is the easiest way?

What is the best way for low overhead?

What are red flags to look out for?

What are places to avoid?

I am not a money-hungry merchandiser, I just want to try my hand at making some legitimate digital sales.

thanks, 

KK

Dont't forget the mighty Sound Explosion! Their album on Music Maniac is one of the best of the Garage Revival era! Also try to track down their 7" singles.

British bands from the mid eighties revival - The Stingrays, The Vibes, The Tallboys, The Cannibals, The Milkshakes, The Bugs, Ug and the Cavemen, The Prisoners, The Purple Things.

Pick up "Children of Nuggets" on Rhino. That will be a good introduction.

And there was a whole pile of Canadian bands from that era as well;

The Gruesomes, 10 Commandments, The Worst, Dundrells, Deja Voodoo, Frankenstein 5, Smugglers, Vindicators,The Fiends, Cryptics, UIC and lots more that i can't think of at the moment...

Club Dog and Alice in Wonderland (run by the Dr) were also good clubs, but generaly had more psych bands than garage (Magic Mushroom Band, Treatment, Ozric Tentacles, etc)

Rip off Records!! Look em up and their catalog is a good reference. Also the drags were pretty great.

The Kills are a pretty cool example of a good band using programmed drums. Check out their live videos, etc.

See also Big Black.

For the past decade I've used an old video game soundtracker called ModPlug Tracker (now known as OpenMPT; http://www.modplug.com). It's usually used for electronic music, but I've always found it very useful for layering and looping any kinds of sounds. I used to compose entire pieces of music on it, but nowadays I just use it for drums. It's a super old program, but it feels almost vintage now. And it's kind of funny to make rock 'n' roll using software for video game music.

Cool.  You know, the turn that things have taken might actually make programmed drums a pretty good idea; any suggestions for good, pretty easy to use, and/or cheap/free programs(I'm willing to go two out of three, since you know, you can get it good, you can get it cheap, or you can get it fast, but you usually have to pick two)?

That's what I do, too. Getting a drummer requires finding one (obviously), getting to know his/her style, finding time for rehearsal, etc. It's so much easier for a solo artist to just find another way, and sometimes that means sacrificing an organic sound for a slightly more mechanical one. I'm currently planning an album in which all the drums will be sampled from drum solos I've collected. Not quite sure how that's going to turn out just yet.

Audio Kings of the third world said:

We gave up on drummers and i now program the drums. I find practice is much easier and lower volume. We can add layers of sound to every song. I was looking for a long time to find someone to just play hi hat and snare like Willie Nelsons guy. He does things with just 2 pieces that put most drummers to shame.

We gave up on drummers and i now program the drums. I find practice is much easier and lower volume. We can add layers of sound to every song. I was looking for a long time to find someone to just play hi hat and snare like Willie Nelsons guy. He does things with just 2 pieces that put most drummers to shame.

never heard of DM BOB at al but sounds cool, will check it out - there's also a track by Jamey Johnson which is pretty down home... I only just checked him out so can't vouch for everything, it's got slick production which ain't my bag but the attitude's fair enough...

I've played it and it's killer...whole album is ass kicking countrified rock. love it

Don't know about the podcast you're talkin' about, but I know that's the title of the new album of DM BOB & The DEFICITS

http://www.amazon.co.uk/They-Call-Me-Country/dp/B004R9CQMK

Heard song called They Call Me Country on a podcast. Does anybody know if it was from Garage Punk? Came at end of show. Looking for who the band was. Thanks.

Howie's right.

Howie Pyro said:

no, i am...

I have a bunch of different amps, all different sizes. But the one I am really proud of: I just scored a good-condition 67 Fender Super Reverb from a music shop right down the street. I paid $400 cash plus about $200 worth of some other vintage stuff, so I feel like I scored the deal of a lifetime. I've wanted a Super since I was a kid. I never expected to get one, let alone one like that for such a rediculous price.

Peavey also makes some great little tube amps. I have a tweed Delta Blues (30 watts, 15' speaker, tremelo & reverb). That thing is pretty awesome. If you search Craigslist, there is always one of those Peavey Classics on there. 

There's also this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fivHgX9XImg&feature=youtu.be

The new Korg SV-1, it's marketed as an Electric piano, however it has a really great vox sound, which you can see in the middle of this you tube demo.(around 2:39) However, it's freaking expensive. (2K). Maybe, just maybe they'd put out a cheaper, stripped down version without all the bells & whistles?? Korg, are you listening??

Rikki is playing with The Mission Creeps from AZ. We started Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with her, but she lives too far from us, (we're in LA & she's down in Riverside). We are a new band & needed a lot of rehearsal to develop songs. The Mission Creeps are already established, so it was easier for her to jump right in with them. We did do one gig with Rikki, and are still friends. In fact we will be playing together (Mission Creeps & Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) @ Spike's in Rosemead CA in July. We now have Tony DeHerrera from The Vaquetones on drums. I'm not sure what the other Bandits are doing. We did a gig with the new lineup recently. I guess they broke up for personal reasons.

Rikki Styxx is married to drummer Dusty Watson (ex-Lita Ford, Kind Diamond, Agent Orange, Dick Dale, etc.).  He's a friend of mine on Facebook.  He posted something about Rikki being in another band semi-recently.

Murder City Nights #6 is available now! Balls-out, in-your-face garage, punk and trashy rock 'n roll from Los Angeles. SET LIST: Beef Boloney - Fear Love You More Dead - Joykiller Never Quite My Enemy - Fitz of Depression Creole Baby - The Hitchhikers Piece Of Ass - Nashville Pussy Shockwaves - Zeke Robber of Life - Backyard Babies Roky - Sonny Vincent & His Rat Race Choir Chinese Rock - The Ramones Mindless few - Chron Gen Pirate Love - Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers Street Where Nobody Lives - Pagans What's My Name - The Clash The Chesterfield Kings - Are You Gonna Be There ? Not a Goddamn Thing - Lazy Cowgirls Mean Evil Child - Raunch Hands I Can't Stop Thinking About It - The Dirtbombs Ne'er do well - Lords Of Altamont Crazy Girl - Black Lips Let Yourself Go - Reigning Sound Rocker - Nick Curran and the Lowlifes R & R Nurse - The Von Bondies

Mellow Yellow - Donovan (?)

Cocomo - Beach Boys

Cumbersome - 7 Mary Three

Eyes without Face - Billy Idol

Karma Chamelion - Culture Club

Everybody Dance Now - C & C Music Factory

Love in an Elevator - Aerosmith

Summer of 69 - Bryan Adamss

Horse with no name - America

Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel

In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins