The music industry is heavily driven by streaming, but direct-to-fan sales are where most artists earn the lion’s share of their revenues. So are websites for musicians a profitable venture in 2022?
The following piece was developed in conjunction with Bandzoogle, a company dedicated to growing the pie for artists of all stripes — and proudly partnering with DMN.
Music website platform Bandzoogle says artists earned over $9.9 million in commission-free revenue using the platform’s direct-to-fan sales tools last year. Bandzoogle features a robust creativity suite tailored towards musicians’ needs, including the ability to create a professional electronic press kit on the fly.
“Musicians continued to show resilience in the face of uncertain times throughout the last year,” says Stacey Bedford, CEO of Bandzoogle. “With online sales of music and merch, so many indie artists keep creating these mutually rewarding connections to their fans.”
Bandzoogle Revenue Breakdown 2021 – What Are Fans Buying?
Musicians using the Bandzoogle platform sold over $6.4 million in music merchandise. That includes apparel, CDs, and vinyl sales. Digital music also brought in significant revenue for musicians, with $637,500 in commission-free sales in 2021. Ticket sales on the platform totaled $831,250 in 2021.
“Seeing musicians sell t-shirts, albums, digital files, and more in massive numbers, all commission-free, is heart-warming, and suggests that fans are seeking to support their favorite artists more than ever,” Bedford continues. Here’s the full breakdown of revenue generated for musicians using Bandzoogle to create their websites for merch, ticket sales, and more.
- $6.4 million in music merch (apparel, albums)
- $877,000 digital merch sales
- $831,250 ticket sales
- $545,000 fan subscriptions
- $497,200 tip jar donations
Direct-to-fan sales successes are easy to find on the platform, too. Adam Ezra Group generated over $200,000 in revenue for 2021 from their Bandzoogle website for musicians. That revenue figure is a combination of ticket sales, donations during live streams, and merch sales for the artist.
“As an underground indie band, connection with our fans is everything,” says Adam Ezra. “Whether it’s selling merch, playing non-traditional shows, live streaming, our membership program, or the creation of special events, we like to do everything in our own unique way.”
“Bandzoogle continues to prove that they are a partner committed to empowering us on our own terms, helping us follow through on every crazy idea we come up with and never taking a cut. Without a doubt, they have helped change my trajectory as an artist.”
Bandzoogle’s built-in fan subscription feature served as another significant source of revenue for indie artists. Artists generated $545,000 in revenue using the feature in 2021 on the platform.
Bandzoogle has helped build websites for musicians for over 19 years. It currently powers more than 60,000 websites, custom-tailored to help artists in any genre earn income from their music and live performances. The platform has helped artists sell more than $89 million in music and merch since its inception – all commission free.
Bandzoogle Website for Musicians – Features
- Powerful design options for a visually stunning online presence
- A commission-free store to sell music, merch, and tickets
- Built-in mailing list tool for engaging with fans
- Detailed fan data
- Integration with social networks for promotion
- Integration for music management (Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Dropbox, Airbit)
- Manage gigs with integrations for GigSalad and Bandsintown
- Integration for live streams (YouTube, Vimeo, Crowdcast, Twitch)
- Accept commission-free payments (Stripe, PayPal)
Bandzoogle plans start at $8.29/month including a free custom domain name. With music streaming services paying artists less than a half a penny per stream, direct-to-fan sales have become an even more important tool in reaching fans who love your music.
Having an online presence that includes upcoming shows, a place to buy tickets, leave a tip, and even buy a t-shirt means you don’t have to be on tour to make sales. Your fans can come to you online at their convenience. Building a website for musicians shouldn’t require a full-time commitment, either. Bandzoogle handles all the backend integrations while you can focus on making music for your fans.