What's a good way for me to sell SINGLES off my site?

[DeveryHarper]

Lately I have been throwing ideas around my head on how I can go about selling my songs as singles on my web site.
What is the best way to do this? PayPal? Are there other options than PayPal? Other options that don't cost money (like receiving Credit Cards)?

I have my songs as singles on other sites (emusic, napster, itunes, etc.), but I want people to be able to go through me directly if they so desire.

Any suggestions?

[nfrhtp]

Snocap.com? (http://www.snocap.com/)

[indistr]

According to this article, that would be the worst possible decision. Unless you want to sign up for a service that is about to go bankrupt.

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/14297

[nfrhtp]

and the best possible decision would be...

[indistr]

Of course, I'm going to tell you INDISTR. Sign up and put the embeddable player on your website, which will lead them directly to your profile page for purchase. And to top it off, you'll get paid within 10 seconds of your fans purchasing your music.

www.indistr.com

[DeveryHarper]

I really prefer a more direct (prospective buyer/me) way instead of involving a third party. I really feel that people sometimes lose their interest when they have to sign up for something, give their personal info, credit card, email, etc.
I just want to create the easiest way for my potential customers to purchase my music. I also want them to have choices (singles/album)!

[Anaon]

What did you chose at the end?

I just subscribed to Indistr to see how it works...

[Johnny-Boy]

People are cautious with credit cards, but I think most people trust PayPal. Probably your best bet.

Best, John http://schicksville.com/Music/Piano%20Smiley.gif

[matt5409]

see here (http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1940341) for another topic i just posted in. not drumming up business for my trade but i would recommend getting a pro on the case

[Poker99]

www.soundloud.com

[Will Chen]

What is the best way to do this? PayPal? Are there other options than PayPal? Other options that don't cost money (like receiving Credit Cards)?

It is not free to accept credit card payments. You would have to pay a third party to clear the payments for you. Paypal would be your best bet if you have a website which experiences a good deal of traffic.

[ezurick]

Lately I have been throwing ideas around my head on how I can go about selling my songs as singles on my web site.
What is the best way to do this? PayPal? Are there other options than PayPal? Other options that don't cost money (like receiving Credit Cards)?

I have my songs as singles on other sites (emusic, napster, itunes, etc.), but I want people to be able to go through me directly if they so desire.

Any suggestions?

Nothing is free my friend... Paypal (business account) is prolly your best and most easiest way to control sales. Most of the services folks listed here aren't very honest and I'd run from them. They take a percentage... more than you would be willing to give... if they are low, then their customer base is low. Of course, the easiest way to receive cyber money is credit card... but you are already aware of those fees. Other similar service like paypal are trying to move into the capital gains and market share... I'd be careful with them...

I am going over all this because there are no alternatives... either pay the credit card fees or use the simple and secure way like Paypal... Sorry, it is a dog-eat-dog world out there and everybody wants a piece of the pie!

Lastly, if you chose another course that paypal, be sure you understand their terms and what their customer base is, along with their history...

[jimosity]

Since I sell my own music online AND run a website that sells local artists music online; I purchased this (http://www.idevspot.com/PayDownloadPal.php) software that allows me to have streaming samples so people can get a brief clip and then purchase the real song without exposing the real songs file location on the server - and keeping the number of downloads they are able to do to a set number.

It's worked out pretty well, although the software is not for the faint of heart if you have no web experience. You need to know your stuff to get it to work right. I still have issues sometimes, but usually, it's great to set and forget. It automatically takes care of downloads, money goes into my Paypal account and the buyer gets their file(s) and I don't have to worry about them knowing the true location of the files so they can grab the rest for free.

But, selling online in general is very easy - Paypal has a nice button generator on their site to let you create "Buy Now" or "Add To Cart" buttons and then you can determine how the product gets delivered.

[Jichino]

I would just stick with paypal since it is the most popular for now. Also, check with your hosting company to see if there is any integrated shopping cart software that allows electronic transactions.

[jimosity]

I would just stick with paypal since it is the most popular for now. Also, check with your hosting company to see if there is any integrated shopping cart software that allows electronic transactions.

If you were referring to my suggestion, it uses Paypal to process all payments.
the software I mentioned only creates a secure method and automatic delivery of the music (or files of any kind) without any interaction from you.

[litmus.berlin]

this is great, I use it:

the 1-2-3 music store by www.easybe.com (http://easybe.com)

admittedly, a friend of mine runs this, but it's good. paypal for payments, streaming clips of songs, user-friendly back-end interface, relatively easy to customize the templates so that they fit into your site look and feel

see it in action here:

www.litmus.de (http://www.litmus.de)

really, highly recommended. it won't make people come to your site, but it'll let them buy once they get there.

[lambcast]

Nothing is free my friend... Paypal (business account) is prolly your best and most easiest way to control sales. Most of the services folks listed here aren't very honest and I'd run from them. They take a percentage...

Ouch.

I think there are some good ones around :)

[zuzz]

Paypal takes a cut of the sale too.

[farhaj]

@zuzz you said it right paypal too takes commisions out of that but seeing credit cards thery are also not different than that. quite the same.