Right now, there’s probably no more important question for an aspiring young artist to ask than “How do you sell music on iTunes?”

That’s not to understate the value of a good album or EP, but the market numbers for the past few years have been rather hard to deny.  Traditional album sales continue to decline, and iTunes sales are picking up most of the slack.

iTunes, in fact, accounts for nearly two-thirds of all online music sales.  Their next-nearest competitor, Amazon, only has around one-fifth of the market.  And with Beyonce recently breaking sales records with her surprise iTunes album last month, it’s hard to deny that iTunes may be “it” for music distribution, at least at the moment.

So, how do you sell music on iTunes?  Keep in mind what makes it different from traditional outlets!

Using iTunes To Boost Your Music Career

1 – Promote those singles.

One of the keys to iTunes’ success is its ability to inspire impulse buys.  When most tracks are only 99c, it’s a lot easier to talk people into a download.  That makes a steady flow of singles one of your best ways to get onto peoples’ iPhones.

2 – Get people talking!

Encourage your more devoted fans to use social media services to share when they buy or are listening to your music.  Since anyone can share a link into your iTunes selections, virtually any fan could gain you new listeners around the world.

3 – Try for iTunes Radio.

It’s not a sure thing, but if you follow the guidelines here, you might be able to get iTunes to promote a streaming radio station with your music through iTunes Radio.  Inclusion is solely at Apple’s discretion, but if you get in, you’ve got a world of new streaming listeners to hook in, and the radio is great for inspiring those impulse buys.

4 –  Get professionally-created listings.

There’s an art to good iTunes self-promotion.  For more effective listings, please consider contacting Songcast Music for affordable online music submission, profile creation, and daily iTunes sales monitoring!