The easiest way to begin publishing your own music is to start online. There are a number of services that allow you to charge money for your music online. Among the most popular is SNOCAP, a service that will distribute your songs online for a fee. Amazon.com offers a service that allows a musician to list his tracks for sale for free on the Amazon.com website. In addition, you can use Paypal to set up a store to sell your music; however, the advantage to using online distribution services is that they usually have copyright protection included in the contract. If your music is not properly copyrighted, you risk having your music used in a publication you don't support, and if your work is public domain, you have little legal recourse against the music thieves. Companies such as ASCAP offer copyright services for a fee if you do not want to work with a distribution company that copyrights your work for you.
There are many CD duplication companies and distribution services available online for competitive prices. One such distribution company is CD Baby, a popular service with independent musicians who want to distribute a self-recorded album. CD Baby's distribution packages make your album available digitally and by CD to an extensive list of music distribution sites, which then offer your music for purchase. CD Baby's basic package for album distribution is $35, but they offer upgraded services for an addition fee that can greatly enhance your distribution efforts, including the use of a hand-held credit card processing device for sales on the road.
CD duplication companies such as CD Print Express offer CD and label printing packages you can use to print your own CDs, if you decide that you would rather not work with a distribution company. However, as with digital download distribution, it is advised that you copyright your CD legally if you distribute it yourself.
To print your CDs at home, all you need is a printer, a CD burner and a set of CD labels. Computer hardware such as Lightscribe CD Burning drives can print images right on your CDs. Though Lightscribe-printed CDs look more professional, it is much cheaper to buy sticky labels for the CD. You can use any color printer on a high-quality setting to print labels for your jewel case as well. Check your document program, usually OpenOffice, Microsoft Word or Photoshop, for templates matching the CD labels you buy. A product number is often included in your document software's template menu that matches standard label paper for computer printing.