Most bands sit on a hard drive full of things people would pay for: instrumentals, stems, live recordings, demo versions, raw video. The money isn't in making more content. It's in knowing what you already have and putting each piece where it can earn.

Start with an inventory

Open a spreadsheet and list everything the band owns outright. One row per asset, with columns for what it is, who owns it, whether it's been released, and where the files live.

Audio - Album masters and the instrumental mixes (ask your mixer for them if you don't have them) - Stems, if you own them and your mixer will print them - Demos, alternate takes, pre-production recordings - Soundboard or multitrack live recordings

Video and visual - Music videos, including the takes that didn't make the final cut - Rehearsal, studio and tour footage - Live sets filmed by someone you can get permission from - Album art, layouts, logo files, unused design sketches

The ownership column matters. If a label, producer or videographer holds rights in a piece, you need their sign-off before you sell or license it. Check your agreements first.

Sell direct, in tiers

Once you know what you have, sort it by who would want it.

  • Everyone: the album, on streaming and on your direct store.
  • Committed fans: deluxe digital bundles with demos and instrumentals, a live recording from a specific show, high-resolution art or a lyric booklet. Bandcamp handles this well because you can sell albums, single tracks and bundles side by side.
  • The core few: a membership on Patreon or a similar platform with early access, studio diaries, playthroughs and video calls. Price it for the people who already buy every pressing, not for casual listeners.

A rule that keeps this honest: never put something behind a paywall that your fans used to get for free. Add new things to the paid tier instead.

License what you own

Heavy music gets used in games, trailers, sports content, extreme-sport edits and online video. Instrumentals and stems are what music supervisors and editors usually need, so having them ready is half the job.

Ways in: - Sync agencies that pitch your catalog to film, TV, ads and games in exchange for a share of fees. - Production music libraries that license tracks to video creators and broadcasters. - Direct outreach to indie game studios and video creators whose work fits your sound.

Read the terms before you sign anything. Know whether the deal is exclusive or non-exclusive, how long it runs, what territory it covers, and whether you're licensing the track or selling it outright. Some libraries buy the rights to a recording entirely, which means you can never pitch that track anywhere else. Register your songs with a performing rights organization so you're paid when licensed music is broadcast.

Run it like a system

A catalog only earns if someone keeps it moving.

  • Content calendar. Map out what gets released when: a live track one month, a playthrough the next, a demo bundle around the album anniversary. Release the existing archive steadily instead of all at once.
  • Pricing. Look at what comparable bands charge for similar bundles and price close to that. Bundle digital with physical (a shirt plus the deluxe download) to raise the average order.
  • Distribution. Use one distributor for streaming and keep your direct store as the main place you send people.
  • Review quarterly. Check what sold, what got licensed, what nobody touched. Drop the dead tiers and push the ones that move.

None of this needs a new recording session. It needs a list and a schedule.

This week, build the spreadsheet and ask your mixer for the instrumentals and stems of your last record.