A few years ago it was very hard to sell promote music online, especially without the support of a label. Thankfully it is far easier now to circulate and promote music without the need of a label. There are many independent artists, singer/songwriters and bands selling their music online, but how do you choose the right way for you?

iTunes is the biggest name of them all and it is surprisingly easy to sell your promote musicwith them. Unfortunately, due to the high level of interest, artists cannot communicate directly with Apple and instead need to be working in partnership with an established distributor who can handle the negotiation for you. This article will not discuss finding a distributor, but there are many resources available online if you are interested in distributing through iTunes.

One of the other big players is Bandcamp. Bandcamp allows you to set up a webpage where you can allow listeners to download your music free of charge or purchase it. One immediate advantage Bandcamp has over iTunes for artists is that artists can deal with them directly. Artists control the design of their page and get a better cut of their sales than they would do with iTunes.

Another website which provides a similar service to Bandcamp is ReverbNation. Artists have the option to build a profile page and are then able to showcase their music to the community.

Tunecore are another company which offer a distribution service. They will distribute your music to iTunes and eMusic and do not make any claims on your material either. All do is pay a fixed fee dependent on what you are releasing (an album or single).

The Internet has allowed the music industry to grow and has given independent artists more freedom to showcase their music and release material themselves without needing a record label behind them. Of course a label will always be able to market your music and have an influence far quicker than an artist working solo, but at the same time they can take a huge percentage of your sales that it may be more cost-effective for you to put the extra work in and reap the rewards. It may take a long time and a lot of hard but it means you have full control of your music and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you did it your way.