Hey guys!
The policy of Envato has changed, sales have gone.
What do you think you need to do to be successful in the market now for the average author?
Thanks!
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A few honest views on this topic:
The royalty free “market” is grounded on cheap music, so first and foremost you have to be sure that you write a tune which is able to spread boradly across ads on youtube and TV, maybe radio also. So quantity, in other words usability, is undoubtedly the focus when it comes to selling stock.
However, people around advise other authors who are asking for guidance, to upload the best you can, in other words quality stuff. I couldn’t disagree more. Quality might be subjective, but I would never ever upload music which I’d consider of true quality to a stock market. Personally, I believe it’s cutting myself short and undervalueing my efforts, time and talent.
I don’t know you, but many other authors do upload their best stuff to stock markets thinking they’ll “get into the business”. Truth is, Envato is not “the business”. Envato does not know about “the business” nor beeing a musician. They are solely a former startup business which lives from creatives supplying the market with their content.
I don’t care if you or others like to hear my opinion, but let me be clear that I wouldn’t write this if this wouldn’t come from experience. The royalty free market has it’s purpose, but many musicians think they’ll break into the industry by uploading their best stuff to Audiojungle, thus destroying the whole market by flooding it wit cheap music, undervalueing themselves and their music.
Don’t sell yourself cheap. Selling stock only is a one way road.
Cheers
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I have no idea. Two years ago I have written an article about potential path, but now everything has changed. Market is heavily oversaturated, full of price dumping and diversificated by subscription models. Unfortunately best quality music has huge problems with finding profitable number of clients in this market now. This problem concerns especially new authors.
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Boo-hoo-hoo
is all you can do
to make your dreams come true.
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came here to ask this same question—and I can agree with Myke with regards to selling stock online vs the actual “industry”. My film/tv placements pay incredibly well. I’ll add that I don’t know anyone working with envato personally so I can’t comment on how “involved” they are in any media markets.
The quality of my work has improved significantly (as has the gear I use now), so i’m looking to toss a few sound design pieces up here, but I’m curious as to how healthy the (sound design) market is on aj.
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And how we can get into real industry?
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This:
+1
Everything depends on the level to reach in terms of money or sale that will make you tell you that you have succeeded!
I took a look a little different from other reviews that advise to focus on quality from the start. If you start from the beginning in terms of musical production (mixing etc), you have to concentrate on the quantity, and the uniqueness of your work (So it could be compared as quality to me). So a correct composition, a little different from the rest, with a compromise between what is expected of the market and what you are able to do.
Why ?
The market is saturated, you have to deal with music made by composers who have 5, 10, 20 and more experience in music than you.
Comparing with them and their work is a waste of time and will destroy your productivity and motivation. (You can be inspired by them!)
Create an identity, not necessarily in style, but find a niche you like, and create things with that.
Copying tops sellers, or doing template track will never teach you anything.
The advantage of the quantity is that at every finished track you will have the feeling of having progressed, and gradually your portfollio will sound better and better, and you will be more and more accepted on Aj (by example) and you will sell more step by step. Your workflow will improve, you will feel more and more comfortable, and you can gradually start digging in the mix, or your ear will improve, understand what is wrong with a mix etc .
Each uploaded track give you one more chance to have a sale.
Sale will motivate you,
By being motivate you will increase your productivity, and the quality of your work.
Repeat the process, be patient, and ask yourself constantly how you can improve your work. (And Obviously, keep to make a lot of mistake 
)
You’re not here to produce the album of your life, so if today you concentrate on equalizing the quality of top sellers, you’ll probably spend 6 months pulling your hair trying to understand, and digging the mix with lots of plug-ins, and lots of tools that are expensive and require some experience to have a proper use just for only one track. And during these 6 months, you will have nothing to upload, nothing sold. And the market will continue to grow, and your perfect high quality music track will be lost in the abyss 
You have to be non-exclusive, upload from everywhere,
Make communication on You Tube, soundcloud etc.
I am not sucessfull at ll, I am not able to make a great living with stock and it’s hard, but today I can make money every month, which is increasing little by little. And allow me as a student to avoid to find a non sens-job and find a flat with my GF (as a student we have some financial help form University etc ) and without stock music this would have been really more complicated I stopped comparing myself, and I focused on my business, my strengths and my weaknesses.
I have my workflow, I still make a lot of mistakes, but I learned a lot more about myself and mixing, Hard work every day and making sure to forget that 90% of the composers in this market are more experienced and better than me
This strategy took me 1 year and half to starting to be efficient, and now I’m trying to go deeper, and looking for new opportunity or new market to keep to make grow my portfolio (Which is really small here because of lot of rejection :D) ! But the idea is still the same -> Hard working.
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Great advice, thanks a lot!
Actually, I think copying top sellers and making templates will help people learn the craft and routine of producing stock music, skills which so many of the “Why was my track rejected” posters clearly have never taken the time to acquire. Of course, one shouldn’t expect to sell many of these copies as the market is already insanely oversaturated with Fencidat mute guitar “corporate” tracks.
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Yes, I agree, I just wanted to say that it is not by the fact that simple copy that suddenly sales will come easily and that’s it. And I was also referring to the fact that as you said, the market is saturated with music that are only copies! So I think that to have a chance, you have to get out of this scheme as soon as possible and work on your strengths and not on those of others !
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I agree with your point here. But I would add copy what is being used in adverts right now, take inspiration from what is being used and getting placements right now as that will have more value than copying a track that got 2,000 sales on Audiojungle but was uploaded 4 years ago.
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me and a friend of mine have really benefit of uploading our best songs. we are bored to search the forums on how to break into the industry… and I guess its a matter of luck for everyone, some are luckier, some need to adress the keywords, and the most important the right buyer must find you at the right time!
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I think everything is as usual. Working more and better is better. Plus the factor of luck and chance. Make yourself known in all available ways. Try to communicate with customers, go to meet them. Patience. This is also very important.
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Graft bruh