There are lots of options for musicians and bands to host music online. You don’t need to upload your music to every platform out there, but it’s good to explore your options and pick a few websites that make the most sense for your needs as an artist.
For example, some websites focus primarily on selling tracks, while others are more about building a community and finding new fans. Some of them can seamlessly integrate with your own band website, which saves you time, helps you streamline your promotional and sales efforts, and allows you to keep all of your stats in one place.
So, what are the best websites for musicians to host music? We’d recommend starting with these four:
1. Bandzoogle
If there’s anywhere online where fans should be able to find all of your music, it’s on your own website. When you make a music website, you own that little slice of the Internet and have full control over it. Anyone looking for your music online will expect to find it on your website, so be sure to have a dedicated page to sell your music online.
Bandzoogle is one of the best website hosting options for your music. It’s made specifically for musicians, and you get to keep 100% of your music sales. You can also display and sell your music exactly how you want, whether it’s streaming, offering songs for free download, charging a fixed amount, or letting your fans name their own price.
Design a professional website in just a few clicks where you can sell music commission-free! Build your music website with Bandzoogle today.
2. Bandcamp
Bandcamp is a favorite among independent musicians. It’s free to upload and sell your music on the platform (minus fees), and they do a great job of encouraging music discovery among fans. Bandcamp has hundreds of thousands of artists and labels on the platform, enabling music sales to millions of fans worldwide.
If you have your music on Bandcamp and a website with Bandzoogle, you can add your Bandcamp music to your website in just a few clicks, eliminating the need to re-upload tracks, or use separate apps or widgets. The Bandcamp music player will automatically adjust to match your website’s theme, even if you make changes to your design.
3. SoundCloud
SoundCloud has a large, active user base among fans and artists alike. It’s a great website to host your music if you’re looking to build a community, especially if you like the idea of fans and fellow musicians leaving comments on your tracks.
As a creator on SoundCloud, you can both share and monetize your music. You also get access to detailed data on your plays, likes, comments, reposts, and downloads. And just like with Bandcamp, you can easily integrate your music on SoundCloud with your Bandzoogle website.
4. YouTube
YouTube is a massive driver of music discovery, so it can only help you to have your music available there. People searching for your music online will know that any tracks you’ve personally uploaded to your YouTube channel are the official, high-quality versions.
You can make it even easier on your fans by organizing your uploads into playlists. It’s a great way to seamlessly introduce them to more of your music that they may not have heard yet, while building up watch time and increasing your opportunities for monetization.
Bonus: Music Distribution
All of the websites listed above allow independent artists and bands to upload their music directly, but that’s not the case for streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. In order to get your releases onto those platforms, you’ll need to go through a digital distributor.
We recommend using CD Baby, which has partnered with over 150 streaming services and music retailers worldwide, and is a preferred distribution partner of Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. They take care of all the hard stuff for you, and make sure you get paid weekly, no matter where people are listening to your music.
We believe that these are the best websites to host your music online, but you don’t have to use them all. If you upload music to your own website, choose a platform that offers some music discovery, then get your music onto popular streaming platforms, that’s a great start to getting your music out there.
