Some of the largest online distributors that are selling music online are reaching turnovers of an excess of 50 million dollars annually, and run number of Internet stores and websites, where you would definitely want your music listed. Even though they would take a cut from the sales, more often than not, their fees are extremely reasonable and with their help, you could reach your fans faster than you would ever be able to do on your own. Some of the largest net lables charge a one-time fee only, while others charge an annual fee and a separate fee for listing a track or album, but might let you keep 100% of the earnings. Regardless of the model that they use, the distributors would take care of the online promotion of your work, set a separate page for you or your band, list your songs or albums on the major stores such as iTunes, eMusic, and Rhapsody, and take care of the payment as well.
However, selling music online is not restricted to contacting the large music distributors and there is a lot that you could do on your own. Setting up your own website and offering paid downloads from there is something that could cost you as little as a few hundred pounds. You still need to build traffic though, which takes time and persistence, but definitely pays off in the long run. Create a page for your band on the Web 2.0 sites, which are visited by the younger crowd, upload your videos to the video sharing sites, send promo tracks to the online radio stations, and use podcasts to have your music heard. Use the large online communities such as Verb, MySpace, Soundclick, TheSixtyOne, and the like to build your audience and take up as many gigs as you can handle. Whether you are a bedroom musician or a professional, looking for new and better opportunities to reach for the stars, selling music online is yet another method that you could employ to get your music heard. Stay focused, keep working hard, and use all the help that you can get and you might become the next singing sensation.