For many artists, the dream of having a successful mixtape will remain that, just a dream. Why? Because most artists sadly don’t understand how to promote a mixtape online and sell it. Learning how to sell a mixtape is a matter of learning marketing and sales strategies, as well as having a properly developed plan. Many rappers try to find free ways to promote music online, however in order to have a successful release, you will need some startup capital to invest in your project. Let’s take a look at some of the factors that you will need to consider in your budget before starting the mixtape promotion.
How to make a mixtape CD
Assuming you are releasing a fully original mixtape AND have prepared a written action plan, the following should be considered when funding your project:
Beat leases and / or exclusive Beat prices
Recording costs
Graphic design fees
CD duplication / replication costs
Music videos
Miscellaneous advertising costs
Beat leases, exclusive beats
If you don’t create your own beats, you will need to allocate an amount of money to purchase beat leases or exclusive rights to the beats. Whether you buy beats online or offline, it’s completely up to you.
Let’s use these numbers for example:
You buy 10 leases online at $ 50 per contract with a distribution limit of 2,500 units.
Cost: $ 500
Buy 3 exclusive rhythms for sale for $ 250 per instrument with unlimited distribution rights.
Cost: $ 750
Recording
Your recording costs will vary depending on the recording engineer you choose, as well as the location of the studio. If you are a DIY musician capable of recording your own vocals, you will save a lot here. Otherwise, consider the following realistic figures:
Recording rate: $ 50 / hour with a minimum reservation of 2 hours.
Let’s say it takes you and the engineer 3 hours to record and mix 1 song.
For a 13-song mixtape, the cost would be 39 hours x $ 50 / hour.
Cost: $ 1950
Audio Mastering
Let’s say you use discmakers’ audio mastering services for your mixtape. The cost of 13 songs would be $ 599.
Total cost of recording: $ 2549
Graphic design
Continuing with our hypothetical scenario, we will assume that to get a professionally prepared front and back cover to promote the mixtape online. It will cost $ 200.
CD Duplication / Replication
For our purposes, we will use Discmakers CD duplication services, purchasing 500 copies of the complete mixtape for promotion. The total cost here will be approximately $ 480. These CDs will be used to sell at shows and other performance venues.
Music video
To help with online mixtape promotion, we will create 1 promo music video to drive YouTube traffic to music.
Cost: $ 500
Miscellaneous Advertising
You’ll want to keep miscellaneous advertising costs to a minimum. For our purposes, we will conservatively dedicate $ 1,200 to our miscellaneous advertising efforts consisting of:
1 Flash Rotator banner in Datpiff
1 YouTube Promoted Video
1 Google AdWords campaign
1 Facebook ad campaign
Total investment estimate = $ 6179
How to finance your mixtape
So we have estimated that you will have to invest a little over $ 6,000 in your mixtape. The objective of this project is to sell the mixtape in presentations, shows and distribute the music through digital media for profit. Here are some ideas that can help you finance, promote, and sell your mixtape online.
Ask family, friends
Even if your pride tells you otherwise, ask your family and friends to help fund and assist you in your mixtape promotion efforts. Even if they only contributed $ 5, you are $ 5 closer to your goal.
Crowdingfunding
Crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular way to obtain monetary resources. Also known as crowdfunding, equity crowdfunding or hyper-financing, it describes the collective cooperation, care and trust of people who connect and pool their resources, usually through the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations.
Crowdfunding websites: Kickstarter, Crowd Tilt, AngelList, Crowd Funder, We Funder, Indie Go Go, Micro Ventures
Loans
Personal, bank, and small business loans can all be considered financing options for your mixtape. Make sure you clearly understand the terms of your loan agreement and are committed to repaying your loan in full with interest as needed. If your mixtape project is non-profit, you may consider seeking a grant.
Resources: Small Business Administration, Grants
Presale
You can pre-sell your mixtape before its actual release. This often works well if a bonus offer is included with the pre-order (i.e. merchandise, exclusive downloads, signed copies of the project, etc.).
Sell singles
You can sell individual tracks as you record them, using the money from the former to pay for subsequent recordings and / or other mixtape expenses.
Resources: Tunecore, Cdbaby
Sponsorships / Endorsements
If you’ve generated enough buzz before your mixtape release, you can get sponsors to pay for some of your mixtape expenses. Acquiring sponsorships will require in-depth relationship and network development, but if you can pull it off, it will be to your advantage.
Final thought
Promoting and selling a mixtape is similar to developing a new product for a company. It takes a calculated effort and adequate funding to promote your mixtape to the masses. Hopefully, this post has provided you with helpful tips for promoting your mixtape online.
Good luck!