You need to be brave, persistent, and gregarious to successfully hawk your music on the streets. You’ll have to exude personality and charm, and be confident in yourself as a musician. Many musicians find that having a background in sales can help in understanding the motivations and desires of the targeted audience. But if you don’t that’s okay too. The following are some key tips on how to sell music on the streets:

It’s all about the packaging

Even if you’re recording in your basement, you need your CDs to look as if they were professionally pressed. Spend a little money and hire a graphic artist to provide a great, attractive cover design that reflects you and your music. Then send it to a professional copier to be printed.

Choose the right venue

Context is everything. Selling hip-hop CDs is more apt to be more effective outside a local college while punk tapes sell better outside of shows and skateparks. Pick a location with heavy foot traffic, preferably near other artistic types or working people.

Go for the deals

Impulse buyers who’re grabbing your CD from the street will expect to be given a bargain. Plus, you should think of this CD as the hook to get them interested in you as a desirable band to seek out. So how to sell music? At $5 each or $8 for two. Be sure you’ve included inside the CD packaging a link to your website or streaming site and a flyer for your next live performance.

Have openers ready

Have catchy and simple opening lines that’ll grab passerbys’ attention and pull them into hear your whole sales pitch. Such openers can be simple like “What’s your favorite music genre?”, or can force a choice, “Tupac or Biggie?” And then get ready for…

The sales pitch

When it comes to how to sell music on the streets, the sales pitch the gem at the center. Have at least three potential sales pitches ready to go. Be genuine, creative, and honest about who you are and what has propelled you to make music.

Successfully selling your music on the streets is key to promote your brand. Be sure to follow our SongCast blog for more helpful news and tips.