Best Platforms for Selling Music Production Services

One of the main income sources available to musicians is producing music for others. Music production services could include mixing, mastering, recording, composition, beat making, and arranging. As a freelancer, it could be difficult to find demand for your services and that is where online platforms come in.

There are a number of online platforms that can help you find demand for music production services. Some are built specifically for music services and others are less focused but still useful for musicians. Some of the top platforms include SoundBetter, Fiverr, and Upwork. In this article we will take a close look at those and several others.

1. SoundBetter

Overview: SoundBetter is a specialized platform dedicated to music professionals, connecting artists with producers, mixers, and session musicians.

Pros:

• Targeted Audience: The platform attracts serious musicians specifically looking for production services.
• Showcase Features: SoundBetter allows you to create detailed profiles, showcasing your skills and past work.
• Built for Musicians: SoundBetter only serves music service providers and therefore, its features are geared specifically toward the needs of the music niche

Cons:

• Commission Structure: SoundBetter takes a cut from the seller’s revenue on every transaction
• Poor Search Capabilities: Buyer search and filter capabilities are very limited, leaving most of your discover-ability up to the platform search algorithm.
• Low Fees: SoundBetter has low fees in comparison to other freelance websites

SoundBetter is great for serious producers wanting to connect with musicians. Since the platform is built specifically for the music niche, unlike other more general freelance websites on this list, it has many features that are very helpful for selling music services. You can include high-quality samples and display credits from productions you have been a part of to enhance your profile’s attractiveness. You can also easily sell pre-recorded music with a variety of licensing options and sell consultations to those who are just looking for professional feedback on their music.

2. Fiverr

Pros:

• High Traffic: Fiverr attracts about 50 Million visitors per month according to SimilarWeb (as of September 2024)
• Easy Setup: The platform is straightforward to navigate, allowing you to quickly set up and start selling.
• Tiered Packages: You can create multiple service packages at different price points, catering to various budgets.
• Good User Experience: Fiverr.com provides a fantastic user experience for buyers and sellers

Overview: Fiverr is one of the most popular freelance marketplaces where you can offer your music production services. With a user-friendly interface and a broad audience, it’s an excellent place to start.

Cons:

• High Competition: With so many sellers, standing out can be challenging, especially in popular categories.
• High Commission Fees: Fiverr takes a commission from the buyers and sellers on every transaction. Combined fees can be over 20% of the cost of the transaction.

Fiverr is one of the dominant platforms in the freelancer space. With Fiverr you get a high traffic platform but also high competition. There is likely also a lot of low cost competition for your niche. You get an extremely good website with fantastic user experience for the buyers and sellers. But you also pay high commissions as a seller and a buyer.

3. Upwork

Overview: Upwork is another freelance platform that caters to a wide array of professionals, not just musicians. It allows you to bid on jobs that match your skills as well as list your own freelancer profile for buyers to find.

Pros:

• High Traffic: Upwork attracts about 42.4 Million visitors per month according to SimilarWeb (as of September 2024)
• Long-term Relationships: Upwork encourages building ongoing relationships with clients, which can result in repeat business.

Cons:

• Bidding Wars: You often have to compete with many freelancers, which can make it difficult to win projects.
• Service Fees: Upwork charges a 10% commission to the seller on all transactions (as of September 2024).
• Job Proposal Process: Buyers can seek out freelancer profiles but they usually use the job post feature and collect proposals from freelancers. Searching job postings and filling out these proposals is time consuming and a big con compared to other platforms where this is not a part of the process.
• Slower to Start: The Upwork culture heavily favors freelancers with work history on the platform

Upwork can be a solid choice for those willing to invest time in bidding and building a reputation. Fees are not as bad as other platforms and the site has very good web traffic. But, in several ways, the user experience is not as well suited for music services as other platforms.

4. AirGigs

Overview: AirGigs focuses on connecting musicians with freelancers offering production services, from mixing and mastering to composing and arranging.

Pros:

• Music-Centric: The platform is tailored specifically for music services.
• User-Friendly: Both clients and sellers find the interface intuitive and straightforward.

Cons:

• Low Traffic: AirGigs has less than 1% of the web traffic as competitors at only 116,000 monthly visitors according to SimilarWeb (as of September 2024).
• Limited Portfolio Options: The platform doesn’t offer extensive features for showcasing your work.

While the user base may be smaller, the quality of buyers on the platform can be high and it could be easier to stand out on this platform vs more popular ones with more sellers.

5. Bark

Overview: Bark is a marketplace for services, including music services, where service providers pay to contact leads and handle payment outside of the platform.

Pros:

• Direct Client Inquiries: You receive inquiries from potential clients, streamlining the process of finding work.
• Custom Pricing: You have the flexibility to set your own rates and services.
• No Transaction Cost: This platform does not take a percentage of what you charge your client.

Cons:

• Lead Costs: You may need to pay for leads, which can affect your overall earnings.
• Variable Response Rates: Not every lead you purchase leads to a successful job, which can be frustrating.
• Not Music Focused: Offers little or no features dedicated specifically for music services

Bark can be a good choice for producers who want to receive direct leads. However, it’s crucial to have strong sales ability to convert leads into clients.

6. Contra

Overview: Contra is a freelance marketplace that does not take any commission from sellers. Instead they take a flat fee from buyers.

Pros:

• No Commissions: Contra does not take a commission on projects, allowing you to keep more of your earnings.
• Collaboration Focus: It fosters long-term partnerships and creative collaborations.
• Serious Buyers: Since buyers pay a commission to contact you, they are likely more serious than buyers on other platforms that are fee to use for buyers

Cons:

• Smaller Community: The user base is not as large as other platforms, which may limit job opportunities.
• Profile Building: It may require more effort to create a compelling portfolio and gain visibility.

Contra charges no fees to the seller and a low flat fee to buyers. Contra charges $19 to buyers to start a project with a freelancer and $19/mo for ongoing projects (as of September 2024). Since most other sites do not charge anything to buyers, there maybe be fewer buyers on Contra but those who do contact you are likely to be better clients.

7. Freelancer.com

Overview: Freelancer.com is a global freelancing platform where you can bid on various projects, including music production tasks. It is a less popular version of Upwork with only 10% of the web traffic of Upwork.com.

Pros:

• Extensive Job Listings: A large pool of projects offers numerous opportunities for freelancers.
• High Traffic: Upwork attracts about 6 Million visitors per month according to SimilarWeb (as of September 2024)

Cons:

• High Competition: The sheer number of freelancers can make it difficult to secure jobs.
• Variable Project Quality: Not all projects are high-quality or worth your time.
• Commissions: Freelancer.com charges a 10% commission to sellers and 3% to buyers (as of September 2024)

Freelancer.com can be a mixed bag; while it offers many opportunities, the competitive nature means you’ll need to put extra effort into your bids to stand out. On the other hand, it is one of the higher traffic freelancer websites.

8. Guru.com

Overview: Guru.com is less popular version of Upwork with only 1-2% of the traffic that Upwork.com gets.

Pros:

• Flexible Payment Options: Offers various payment structures, including milestones, which can be beneficial for larger projects.
• Long-Term Projects: Focus on building ongoing relationships with clients.

Cons:

• High Competition: Similar to other freelance platforms, competition can be tough.
• Commissions: Guru.com charges a 9% commission to sellers (as of September 2024)

Guru.com may not be the best platform for music services, but that could also mean that there is less competition for the music related jobs on the site.

Music Producer Platform Cost Comparison Table

The cost structured outlined in this table were recorded on September 29, 2024. Numbers given here are correct but the overall cost structures of each of these platforms are often very nuanced and require a far more detail to explain thoroughly. This table serves only to give you a crude idea.

Platform	Cost
Contra	$19 buyer flat fee to buyer; no fee for seller
Bark	sellers pay flat fees to contact leads
Soundbetter	7% taken from the seller
Guru	9% taken from the seller
Upwork	10% taken from the seller
Freelancer.com	10% taken from the seller; 3% taken from the buyer
Airgigs	10%-15% taken from the seller
Fiverr	20% taken from the seller, 5% taken from the buyer

Traffic Comparison Table

Data in this table was collected from SimilarWeb.com on September 29th, 2024.

Platform	Monthly Website Visits
Fiverr.com	50,100,000
Upwork	42,440,000
Freelancer.com	5,984,000
Bark	3,878,000
Guru.com	853,400
Contra	800,000
Soundbetter.com	550,000
Airgigs	116,422

Conclusion

The two dominant players in freelance platforms for music producers are Fiverr and SoundBetter. Fiverr is 100 times more popular but has far higher fees and is not music focused. Soundbetter has far less traffic but it is the dominant music focused freelance platform. Because of the music focus, SoundBetter has amazing features that are specific to the music services niche and the buyers on the website are all music service buyers. It is hard to know how much of the traffic on Fiverr is composed of music service buyers. And when you consider that, SoundBetter and Fiverr may actually have comparable traffic from website visitors looking for music related services.