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How to Sell Your Music on Google

If you have marketing and computer savvy, then selling your music online through Google is not very difficult. In October 2009, Google started the Google Music Search program, joining forces with two online music services, Lala and iLike. Songs that you list on Lala and iLike will appear as free audio streams on Google search result pages, allowing you to reach potential customers. You can also sell your music through AdWords, one of Google's advertising programs.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer with high-speed Internet access
  • Google email address
  • Google AdWords account
  • Streaming MP3s
  • iLike account
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Instructions

    • 1

      Take some or all of your streamable MP3 files and set up a website (or use a third party site) where people can buy and/or download your music. Google does not host MP3s, so you will need a website that you can direct people to via advertisements on Google. If you don't have your own website, there are retailers like CDBaby.com that act as third-party retailers (the way Amazon.com does) for indie music artists.

    • 2

      Open an AdWords account (see Resources). To sign up for AdWords, you'll need a Google email (Gmail) address, which you can get for free at Gmail.com. Google's AdWords advertising program lets you advertise on Google.com and across Google's entire advertising network. Ads for your music will show up in Google searches when searchers enter certain keywords. When people click on your ads, they will be directed to your website or other location, where they can buy your music.

    • 3

      Use Google AdWords to place ads for your music in Google search results. For example, if your music style is death metal, AdWords will place ads for your music in Google search results for 'death metal' and other terms related to the topic. Your ad will appear at the top of the search results, or it will be highlighted on the right-hand side of the page next to the results.

    • 4

      Post your music on the music sites Lala and iLike, because Google has partnerships with those services to include music streams in search results. For instance, if someone searches Google for the Sly & the Family Stone song "Everyday People," then a stream of the song appears at the top of the search results page. Getting plugged in with Lala and iLike means your music is more likely to be picked up during Google searches and streamed by potential buyers.

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