@AdrianV

Hi

I am in agreement with @SP.

If you are determined to go down this route and 'make a living' out of it, then there is a lot 'stuff' you need to know about:

For Copyright, Licensing, Promotion etc you should be talking to a professional adviser with experience in this area - this will of course have a cost to doing this..

With respect to the 'tools' you use, be aware of limitations.

For example, loop based compositions may be subject to both Commercial licencing fees and Copyright limitations, additionally they are often frowned upon by 'pro distributors'. The loops, included in Music Maker program and its Editions, are for personal use only. For commercial use, you need the appropriate licence. You never have absolute Copyright on the loops used, only the composition itself providing it is 'an original work', however you may be subject to copyright claims from other users who have used the same loops.

Ideally, our creations need to be 'original works', ie written/composed and played by you.

Reworking other published music requires express permission for the Copyright owners - just because it is on the Internet does not mean it is Copyright free.

Using Music Maker compositions made using the VSTi instruments have no restrictions for commercial use, except for one - you cannot use the midi samples that are loaded onto the timeline when you drag an instrument onto a track.

HTH

John EB
Forum Moderator

Right,

So, I forgot to mention that I have commercial rights / commercial license for the soundpools that I am using.

Even so, what you guys are saying is that, for example, is that, in my situation, it would not be a wise decision to use services such as Distrokid, Dittomusic, etc, because I will waste my money, correct?

By the way, on top of those costs, I will also have to pay taxes in my country, so, I am thinking if my business model is profitable or not.

Thank you so much, guys, I appreciate your feedback!

@AdrianV Some distribution services might refuse to release music made with loops or often used samples. You can try to use the loops only as an inspiration and recreate them in your own style with virtual instruments. By doing this, you can usually get around these problems.

If you're in for the long game, like releasing one new song every week or every two weeks consistently(!) in the same style/genre over multiple(!) years you might be able to create a decent following of listeners who can generate you a nice amount of streaming income.

I would guess, that nearly all artists are not able to achieve this and quit early. It's hard to be consistent and motivated for three years without getting anything in return, but it might work out after that. It's like the YouTube grind, that prefers channels which release content regularly (and burns out the creators in the long run).

But this still might not be enough as your only income but certainly can be a very nice bonus. In case you get a viral hit, it's also important, that you already have additional songs released, so the people can listen to something else from you, or else this chance might be wasted. The more songs the better.

Hi, all,

Thank you very much for your kind and quick replies, I really appreciate it!

So, to sum things up:

1. Making money from music is a long term game, it is not easy to make it as your main income stream

2. Selling music online is hard, and it takes a long time to be profitable

3. Even if you have commercial rights for the software and loops/samples, your music can still be refused, because too many artists are using the same samples

4. I don’t have a problem with releasing music on a regular basis, as long as that will lead me to a nice outcome in less than a year, let’s say. However, you are saying that this is very unlikely…

5. Distributing your music on many platforms can yeald no results, unless you also promote your music, correct? Also, promoting music can mean a separate cost in and of itself, also with no guarantees…

So, short term is a very risky game, you can approach this as a side gig and hobby and be patient for many years, until it can bear fruit, correct?