I've always had a strange notion of selling my music. I felt it is never there, a point where I would be able to offer it for monetary value. Music is subjective in its own right, and what one person might consider worth buying, another might not. One might think something is worth nothing, and another might buy it in the thousands.
It's always interesting to see peoples approach to monetizing their music, whether on major websites such as iTunes, Google Play, etc or independently on Bandcamp, Loudr(Soundrop). I feel like as an independent artist the power of how much you charge is in your control but it also begs the difficulty question of what is the correct price? What does an artist feel his music is worth? And I think that question can never be answered, it always evolves and changes along the way. Only recently have I began to set prices on my music on Bandcamp, for several reasons as you might know. Although I haven't received a single sale on any of my singles except for Unmasked. And even that was heavily advertised everywhere, from my Facebook where I have over 380 friends, to my Twitter where have over 400 followers. Several music websites. I think the hardest part a musician will face is self promotion, it is very hard to get out there and get noticed. There are many way to go about this, collaboration with more popular artists, signing up for major websites such as iTunes.
I've never wanted to be part of a major Record Label because my music isn't something that fits the common genre. It is dare I say, a bit too unique for peoples tastes? I feel like it gets glossed over, or people might not fully understand what I am trying to portray through my music, somewhere along the line art gets lost in translation and I think I am experiencing that at this very moment. I'll try not to gloom over this too much, and try to make something more "commercial" if I dare say so myself? I want people to listen to my music, anywhere, even if they are not explicitly know that they are listening to me and think "Yep, that is Grandvision's music" just based off the style, the unique feel of the music.
Troisnyx
I think, where there is an audience for music, there is always going to be a fraction of that audience who would like to purchase it. Cinematic music does not initially start off by getting "sold" as much; rather, it starts off with a good place in a good trailer that fits the atmosphere that it's trying to convey. Once the trailer and the film are well-received, then and ONLY THEN comes the soundtrack, which, almost purely because of the film, people will buy it.
And I agree, the hardest part of being a musician is self-promotion. We are musicians. We are not businessmen, selling our wares. We are here to give a feel, something that has been severely lacking in the big music scene for years since it got heavily taken over by men in business suits. I think the more people have this in mind, the better it will be. But it is an attitude that needs changing, and needs to be started by a big group of us. Not everything has to be reduced to "how much does this cost?".
Grandvision
The trailer industry is quite sporadic at times, people that edit trailers up seek specific music for their trailers, and could be anything ranging from what they listen to on various sites or on royalty free stock music offers such as Audiojungle. They are seeking a track that just works with the vision they have in mind, so your track could be chosen, or not, you are fighting against a million other talented composers out there, the trick is being consistent and also professional with the compositions, that fit a certain niche. I always composed music from the heart, and didn't cater to any standard or way of thinking that music should SOUND this way, I always tried to go for my own sound, which is probably why my music isn't commercially viable, at least the tracks that I didn't have a "commercial approach" in mind. At Any Cost was commercial, strictly was composed to be commercialized, but it still wasn't on Audiojungle because it did not meet their standards for some reason, weird to me, but oh well, you live and you learn. I'd love to compose something more coherent to a trailer of something bigger than indie but then again I haven't even tried contacting Indie animators or film makers to offer music. It's a very weird business to get into, you need connections and to show yourself professionally that you can do it, and you can do something more that thousands of others are offering the very same thing. Style can be one of them, something that sticks to you, or you could be catering to the trend such as Electronic orchestral soundtracks with sweeping hybrid instruments and industrial feel. It's all about knowing your job section inside and out and having the right network of people, which can take years to develop and find.