If you have a website or blog about music, using affiliate marketing can be a great way to boost your earnings.
There are a lot of great affiliate programs in this niche if you just know where to look.
To make it easy for you, I have put together a list of the 12 best music affiliate programs – there are relevant programs no matter what your specific angle and niche is.
All of them are, of course, 100% free to join and you can easily get started today.
Can you make money with music affiliate programs?
Before getting to the list of some awesome music affiliate programs – you can just scroll ahead if you are impatient:-), let’s first look at what the potential even is for the music niche online.
Obviously, music is a very broad niche and there are many specific angles you can focus on and each of them could potentially be enough to generate a full-time income.
But let’s look at a few examples on Google Trends to see how big the interest is to search for music-related topics online as it is always good to have a bit of data and not solely rely on gut feeling when it comes to online business.
Below you can see the trends for a quite specific term “online guitar lessons”.
Google Trends for “online guitar lessons”.
Even for such a specific term, there is quite a lot of online interest year-round.
The graph above shows the worldwide interest as this is what is important for many websites as you do not have to limit yourself to an audience in just one country.
Let’s try another term. Below you can see the trends for “buy music online”.
Another example of Google Trends within the music niche.
Obviously this also has a lot of interest year-round.
What I am trying to illustrate here is that music definitely is a niche with a lot of opportunities online. And there are hundreds (if not thousands) of angles you can take and audiences you can target.
Of course, when a niche has a lot of potentials, there will usually also be a lot of competition. So let’s look into your chances of actually ranking in the search engines in this niche before getting to the affiliate programs you can join.
Niche competition insights
When it comes to monetizing your website, you, first of all, need traffic to be able to make any money.
There are many ways to get this but, in general, you either need to learn paid traffic or get free traffic.
Either way you need to create quality content, and the advantage of this is that can also bring a lot of traffic through the search engines which is my favorite traffic source.
So I just want to go over a few examples of the competition in the music niche and give you a few ideas about how to approach this and what potential keywords/content to go for to hopefully give you some inspiration.
I have used my favorite keyword research tool Jaaxy (because it is also affordable) to look for some words that might be possible to write content for and have a good chance to rank for as well.
Below I have searched for “online guitar lessons”.
A few ideas for potential keywords.
What you mainly need to look at here is the AVG which is the average monthly searches (should preferably be above 80), the QSR which is the quoted search results/the competition (should preferably be below 100 for newer sites), and then KQI which is the quality index so that should preferably be green.
The main term is too competitive – especially if you have a newer site.
But the great thing, if you have a good keyword tool, is that it will also give you other suggestions. Above I can spot a few good ideas that have great stats to rank for and that it would be possible to create really great content about.
And these are just a few examples of the suggestions that came up.
So even though “online guitar lessons” itself might not be a good word for you to try to rank for right away, you could focus on free lessons, lessons for kids, or lessons for beginners and have a good chance of ranking.
Let’s try one more example – this time I searched for “buy guitars online”.
More keyword examples.
Again the main keyword might be too difficult to rank for. Not so much because of the stats you can see above but the search results will likely be full of ads which is something to look for as well.
But it still gave some good ideas.
It would, for example, be possible to write a good article about how/where to buy guitars online. And then I also spotted that there actually is a bit of volume for a country-specific search for Malaysia as well.
This is very interesting and could be worth looking into for searches in other countries as well as this would make it possible to create some very specific and relevant articles.
The examples above are just after doing a few minutes of research and there are literally thousands of words and specific music-related topics you could do the same with.
Quickly you would be able to have a very long list of relevant content you could create in the music niche so it definitely is a niche with potential.
The next thing is then to be able to monetize your traffic – among others with some great affiliate programs.
12 best music affiliate programs
Music is definitely a niche with a lot of potentials and there are a lot of great affiliate programs you can join.
No matter what your specific angle is, you will be able to find relevant programs you can join. I have tried to include many different angles below to give you some inspiration about great ways to monetize your music related website or blog.
The list is not in a prioritized order as the best affiliate program for you will depend on your specific angle, topic, and audience.
So go over them and choose the ones that fit you the best.
Option 1 – SamAsh.com
Products:
SamAsh.com has both physical stores and a big online store. But, of course, you can only earn by referring to the online store. But it has a huge selection of instruments so if you want to promote any, it can be a great affiliate program to join.
They have drums, percussion, guitars, bass, keyboards, microphones, DJ equipment, recording equipment, books, and a lot more. So the selection is very good and can be relevant for many different sub-niches. Just be aware that this program is only relevant if your audience is in the US.
Commission:
Up to 10%
How to join:
You can read more about joining the SamAsh.com affiliate program on their affiliate website.
Option 2 – Virtual Sheet Music
Products:
Virtual Sheet Music is specialized in Classical Sheet Music Downloads®, Traditional and Jazz Sheet Music sheet downloads and you can also find MIDI and MP3 files to download here.
All their digital sheet music products are instantly printable or downloadable, which means you will get instant commissions when people buy. They also offer a Sheet Music Membership you can promote and any member you refer to this will become your referred customer for life and you will keep getting commissions.
Commission:
30%
Lifetime cookie
How to join:
You can read more about the program and how to join on the Virtual Sheet Music affiliate page.
Option 3 – Singorama
Products:
If your audience wants to learn how to sing, Singorama might be a music affiliate program worth considering. It offers several digital products that teaches people to sing.
As it mainly digital products, the commissions are quite high and you will also earn from potential upsells to people after they join. So just make sure you truly support the upsells as well before starting to promote.
Commission:
70% on downloadable products
40% on shipped products
How to join:
The Singorama affiliate program is offered through ClickBank but you can also read more about it on the Singorama website.
Option 4 – Musician’s Friend
Products:
Musician’s Friend has more than 40,000 products on their website you can earn commissions by promoting. Examples are guitars, bass guitars, ukuleles, banjos, drums, DJ gear, and much more.
Just be aware that it is only relevant to audiences in the US. The commission is a bit low but if you have a lot of traffic it can be worth applying for their affiliate program because of the many products the website has.
Commission:
4%
14 days cookie time
How to join:
You can read more on Musician’s Friend’s website and see how to apply there.
Option 5 – JamPlay
Products:
JamPlay is a platform for online guitar lessons and they have subscribers from more than 220 countries so you can promote it worldwide.
It offers online classes for both acoustic guitars and electric guitars and for 20 different genres. There are classes both for complete beginners and all the way up to more advanced.
Commission:
$40 per sale
120 days cookie time
How to join:
You can read all the details and join on JamPlay’s affiliate page.
Option 6 – iTunes affiliate program
Products:
I do not think iTunes need much of an introduction – but did you know iTunes has an affiliate program so you can earn commission by referring people to it?
You can earn commissions by linking to Apple Music and iTunes content like music, movies, books, and more. You can also place partner links to songs, albums, artists, and more on your website, app, or emails.
Commission:
Movies, TV, and Books: 7%
iTunes Music: 2.5%
100% commission on the first month of a user’s subscription to Apple Music
24 hours cookie time
How to join:
You can read all the details about the program and how to join on iTunes’ affiliate website.
Option 7 – Rocket Piano
Products:
If you are in the piano niche, it can be great to be able to earn commissions by referring people to a place where they can learn to play piano.
If you join Rocket Piano’s affiliate program, you can earn commissions on both download editions and hard copy editions. And especially the download editions give very high commissions so it can be a great way to earn as an affiliate.
Commission:
75% for download editions
25% for hard copy editions
90 days cookie time
How to join:
Rocket Piano has a dedicated affiliate website where you can learn more.
Option 8 – Guitar Center
Products:
Despite the name, Guitar Center does not only offer guitars. You can earn commissions by promoting several products. According to the site itself, it is the world’s largest retailer of guitars, amplifiers, drums, keyboards, recording, live sound, DJ, and lighting equipment, with more than 300 stores across the U.S.
So it is a well-known brand which can make it easier to promote its products. Just be aware that it is only relevant for US audiences.
Commission:
Up to 8%
14 days cookie time
How to join:
You can visit Guitar Center’s affiliate website to read all the details and apply to join.
Option 9 – MasterClass
Products:
MasterClass is a different but very interesting music affiliate program. It is a platform that offers online masterclasses by some of the most famous people in the world within their craft.
Within the music industry, examples of classes you can earn commissions by promoting are, Timbaland who teaches producing and beatmaking, Itzhak Perlman teaches violin, Carlos Santana teaches the art and soul of guitar, Armin Van Buuren teaches dance music, Christina Aguilera teaches singing, and more.
Commission:
25%
30 days cookie time
How to join:
The MasterClass affiliate program is offered through the ShareASale affiliate network.
Option 10 – Woodwind & Brasswind
Products:
Woodwind & Brasswind offers more than 65,000 musical products. They carry a full range of woodwind instruments such as saxophones, clarinets, flutes, oboes and bassoons plus woodwind accessories like saxophone reeds, clarinet reeds, ligatures, mouthpieces and more.
You can earn commissions on all sales the people you refer to their website makes and they also ship internationally so you can promote it in many countries.
Commission:
6%
How to join:
You can join the Woodwind & Brasswind affiliate program through the CJ affiliate network.
Option 11 – Piano For All
Products:
Piano For All offers online piano lessons and you can join their affiliate program and earn commissions by promoting this to your followers.
They offer both download versions and DVD versions and the course includes ebooks, videos, and audio lessons. A great thing is that it can be bought anywhere in the world so you can promote worldwide.
Commission:
60%
90 days cookie time
How to join:
You can check out all the details on the PianoForAll affiliate page.
Option 12 – Audimute
Products:
Audimute is another different affiliate program you can join if you have a music website or blog. It offers top-quality sound absorption and soundproofing solutions which can be quite necessary for musicians so they can practice without getting complaints from their neighbors all the time:-)
The average order value is over $200 so even though the commission percentage is not the highest it can still be a way to make some nice extra money.
Commission:
Up to 5%
60 days cookie time
How to join:
Audimute offers its affiliate program through the network ShareASale.
Final thoughts
If you have a music related website or blog there are plenty of ways to monetize your traffic through affiliate marketing.
I hope this article has helped you get some good ideas about angles you can use to generate traffic and some great ideas for music affiliate programs you can join to grow your affiliate business.
If you have any comments, questions, or know any affiliate programs you think deserves a spot on the list above, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.
Option 5: Jamplay is, in my opinion, a lousy affiliate program. The Jamplay affiliate manager didn’t even know 301 redirects were allowed. He suspended my account but reinstated it once I challenged him about their own terms of service.
Now, they are delaying affiliate payments due to ‘tracking issues’. Although I feel Jamplay offers a great membership for guitar lessons, I do not recommend their affiliate program.
Thanks for sharing your experiences about this.