Monetization 101
In the context of music and other forms of digital media, monetization is the process of converting copy written works, performances, mindshare and other intellectual properties into money. There are a lot of media outlets that can help bands and musicians to sell music, but many of them are underperformers, meaning that they don’t pay enough to merit the work that goes into joining the service and going through the red tape. They may have benefits other than increased revenue, such as building mindshare through increased marketing and branding opportunities. Quick assessments should be made to determine the value of any particular media platform in terms of the benefit versus the effort.
YouTube is an emerging form of monetization that artists can use to promote themselves and make money. Super-fans may pick up an interest in more casual aspects of artists’ lives. Posting interesting content such as time in the studio, interviews, stories from the road, humorous situations, etc. can draw in fans, resulting in greater numbers of views and increased likelihood of your band’s materials being disseminated through your fan base. Be sure to create playlists of similar content so that fans can listen to groups of content without needing to click on a link or search through content. Building your YouTube channel will help you to reach a bigger audience and help you to monetize your music through advertisements. It often takes a while to build up enough views for YouTube allow you to monetize your content, so start early and keep at it. YouTube is launching a new service called YouTube Red which offers music on an ad-free basis. It appears that content creators will automatically be incorporated into this service.
By Jack Johnston MA TESOL, MBA, MSML