How To Get Music Onto The Itunes Music Store

Ever wondered if it was possible to get your own music listed on Itunes without signing a major record deal? Well now you're in luck thanks to a company called "Tunecore."

Tunecore allows artists to sell their songs, albums, and music videos on Itunes(As well as other online stores and services such as rhapsody and Napster) without taking any of their royalties. (I.E. Without taking any of the money from the sale of a song, album or music video. Yes you read that right, the artist will receive 100% of the earnings paid by itunes for selling their music. Tunecore will not take a commission.

While Tunecore does not take a commission on your music they must make their money somehow. They do this by charging a small fee per song that you upload. The pricing works like this:

$0.99 per song (One Time Charge)

$0.99 per store per album (One Time Charge)

$19.98 per album for maintenance and storage (Per Year)

This might seem a little confusing so let me give you an example:

Lets say you have a 5 song album that you want listed on both the Itunes Music Store and Rhapsody:

• Tunecore would charge you a one time fee of $4.95 for all 5 songs (at $0.99 each.)

• They would also charge you $1.98 to have the album listed on both Itunes and Rhapsody. ($0.99 per store per album)

• Tunecore would also charge you 19.98 per year for album maintenance and storage on Itunes.

• The total for the first year is $26.91 to have your album listed on Itunes and Rhapsody

Considering they take no commission on the sale of your music, the pricing is very generous. An artist only has to sell a couple of albums a year to break even.

Tunecore boasts some impressive numbers about the amount of money people are making through the service. For instance in the last week Tunecore users have earned $143,844 through the sale of albums on Itunes.

Now that we have all of the financial stuff out of the way, let me explain the process someone would have to go through to get their music listed on Tunecore.

1. Make a free, no obligation account.

2. Upload an album to Tunecore. Simple enter your album and band's name, choose the genre of music, and then pick what stores you would like your music listed in. (Only $0.99 per store)

3. Next add or manage the tracks on the album, as well as any notes you want to include in the description of the album.

4. Upload your album cover art in the .jpeg, .gif, or .png formats. (600x600 pixel image)

5. Check out and pay for your album, refer above for pricing.

6. See the my account page and see how many songs and albums you've sold. You can withdraw the cash and get paid whenever you want. It takes 45 days for Itunes and other stores/services to send the information about how many albums you have sold.

7. Your album is live in the stores you choose within 6-8 weeks.

Overall Tunecore seems to be a great deal. Pretty much anyone can create a track and then get it listed on itunes. They allow albums up to 74 minutes in length which means you have a lot of flexibility as far as your content. Tunecore even allows you to upload music videos to Itunes if you want. The possibilities are endless, and this may be the answer for many aspiring artists trying to sell their music.