The Business of Music

This guide is full of resources and inspiration for starting your own business and tackles topics like business planning, market research, legal info., and online sales.

"ReverbNation.com is the leading online music-marketing platform used by over 1,935,000 artists — plus managers, record labels, and venues — to grow their reach, influence, and business across the internet. ReverbNation.com provides free and affordable solutions to individual artists and the music industry professionals that support them."

Online presence of the leading magazine for recording and sound professionals.

This blog provides tips in how to build a music career.

"Music4Games.Net delivers an invaluable spotlight on today’s emerging video game soundtrack industry and is the leading provider of game music infotainment for dedicated gamers, developers, publishers, producers, audio directors, composers..."

Also a performing rights organization, SESAC is a business designed to represent songwriters and publishers and their right to be compensated for having their music performed in public.

Provides legal and technical infrastructure to allow digital sharing.

From the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

ASCAP is a membership association comprised of more than 330,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers.

Collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed.

Primarily for music educators, this site also contains resources for students interested in the music business.

International organization that unites audio engineers, creative artists, scientists and students worldwide by promoting advances in audio and disseminating new knowledge and research.

Supports women working in professional audio and music production by highlighting their success and providing a place for them to connect, network, and share advice.

Encourages gender balance in film and entertainment industries by providing networking, professional development, and advocacy for above and below the line women and all genders who love making movies with them.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition. Accessed February 1, 2018.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition. Accessed February 1, 2018.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition. Accessed February 1, 2018.

From Career OneStop. Accessed February 1, 2018.

Bandcamp provides "fast, dependable streaming and downloads of your entire catalog, adorn your tracks with all the metadata they need to sail into iTunes," and assists with your branding and marketing of your music.

"Sonicbids is the leading platform for bands to get gigs and promoters to book a band online." As the developer described it, it's like ebay--an online marketplace eBay connects artists and bands of all kinds with music promoters. The site has a blog with marketing ideas.