How to sell music online and make money with WordPress
Do you want to create your own online store to sell your music?
You can sell your songs on music marketplaces, but with your own website you won’t have to pay commissions or affiliate fees.
You will have all the space you want to promote your group or yourself as an artist, sell products and announce your upcoming concerts.
In this step-by-step guide, we’ll show you the easiest way to sell music online. We’ll be using WordPress because it’s free, easy to set up, and gives you full control over your website. Let’s get started.
What you need to start selling music online
To follow this tutorial, you will need to have a WordPress site. If you don’t have one, it’s very easy to create one. Here are the essentials you will need:
- Domain Name: You’ll need to purchase a domain name to serve as your website URL, such as www.myband.com. Your fans can enter this URL into their browser’s address bar to visit your store. You can think of this as online real estate, and they typically cost between $2 and $20 per year, but it depends on how valuable the name you choose is.
- Hosting Plan: To connect your website to the internet, you’ll need a server. You can rent server space by purchasing a hosting plan from companies like Bluehost, SiteGround, and WPEngine. Hosting plans cost between $5 and $20 per month, but keep in mind that we don’t recommend choosing cheap web hosting plans from unreliable companies due to security concerns.
- SSL Certificate: Encrypts data as it is transferred to and from your website. Without SSL encryption, Google and other browsers will flag your site as “not secure.” You can get free SSL certificates or purchase them for anywhere from $3 to hundreds of dollars per year.
While this seems like a big investment, we’ve got you covered here. You can get started with your online store for as little as $2.75 per month with Bluehost .
Bluehost is the best web hosting and is officially recommended by estonia phone number library WordPress.org. When you sign up with Bluehost, you will get a hosting plan along with a free domain name and SSL certificate for the first year.
Once you have the basics down,
you can install WordPress top 10 wordpress plugins to make your site mobile-friendly within your Bluehost dashboard and set up your website.
First, you’ll want to select a theme that’s unique to your music. We have a list of recommended WordPress themes for bands and musicians .
You can then customize the theme by changing the content and images. An easy way to do this is to use a page builder like Beaver Builder , Divi , or Elementor .
For more information on this, we have a detailed guide for you: How to Customize a WordPress Website .
Now you are ready to list your songs fanto data or albums and start making money.
How to Sell Music Online on WordPress
When you sell music, you want it to be easy to add to your music as you release new songs or albums. It also needs to be incredibly easy for customers to buy it. Ideally, you want to:
- Create a music catalog
- Integrate payment options
- Deliver the download file instantly
We’ll show you how to handle all 3 steps using ONE tool and that’s WPForms .
WPForms is hands down the best form builder for WordPress. It’s the easiest way to sell your music online and we’ll show you how in just a minute.
Before that, here’s what you can expect from this tool:
- Over 1,200 form templates designed to suit any purpose
- Ready-made template for listing and selling music
- Visual drag and drop form builder for easy customizations
- Automated emails for you and your customers
- Integrated payment options at the touch of a button
- Smart logic to change form fields based on a person’s response
- Integrated anti-spam protection
WPForms is also backed by a trusted team. That means if you run into any issues, the team is available 24/7 to help you resolve your problems.
Now let’s dive into the tutorial on cataloging your music and selling it to your fans.
Step 1: Install and Activate WPForms
To get started, sign up for a WPForms account . There is a lite version of WPForms that allows you to create basic forms for free. If you want paid integrations, then you will want to purchase the premium version.
It comes with a 100% risk-free money back guarantee so you can try the form builder without any stress.
Once you’ve signed up, inside your WPForms account, you’ll see a license key and a downloadable plugin file in your account.
You will need to upload the WPForms plugin to your WordPress site and install and activate it. If you have never done this before, don’t worry. You can follow our quick guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Open the WPForms » Settings page to activate your license.
Enter your license key and press the “Verify Key” button. You can now list your songs or albums online.
Step 2: Create a music catalog form
We’ll show you how to create an online form that allows customers to view the items you have for sale, enter their details, and pay instantly.
To do this, go to the WPForms » Add New page in your WordPress dashboard.
Here you can add a name for the form and select a template. We’ll be using the Content Download Form template , designed for digital downloads
Once you choose a template, the form builder will open so you can customize it to your style. You’ll see a preview of your online order form with an editing toolbar on the left.
The first thing you’ll want to do here is add the ‘Checkbox Items’ and ‘Total ‘ fields to the form. Simply select them from the left menu and drag and drop them into the form preview.