Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is the greatest and cheapest tool out there for self-publishing any type of paper product you could think of. Of course, those paper products can be translated to digital formats as well but today we’re focusing on tangible items that could bring you money and your fans genuine value and joy. Read below the 7 products you can sell via Amazon KDP as a musician.
7. Your Autobiography
Just because Amazon KDP is a self-publishing tool for book authors it doesn’t mean you should derail from who you are and what you do: a musician selling music. If you have a decent fanbase, of at least 1000 highly engaging fans, it’s worth for you to consider publishing your musician autobiography. Your career path is so complex, relatable, and inspirational that you can either wait until you’re famous and hire a writer to write your story or you can do it yourself now. Your fans want to know how you started, how you failed, how you succeeded, and where you’re going. It’s their journey too. And having an actual book to touch and flip through that contains your story from A to Z is a big deal. It’s a permanent memory of you in their homes.
6. A Motivational Bullet Journal
Granted this will require you to pick up some basic designer skills or hire someone who can do it for you but selling a bullet journal containing lyrics or quotes from you is just as awesome as merch can get it. Bullet journals are a hot item and have been for years now. They are used for drawing, writing, taking notes, to-do lists, scrapbooking, sketching, and anything under the sun that is achievable with pen and paper. They are awesome and probably you have one yourself. Or know someone who does. So lay out the template for a bullet journal themed around your music and sell it! Your fans will be delighted and you’ll be in shock yourself to see how useful and valuable a journal like this can be.
5. An Exclusive Photobook
Amazon KDP thankfully offers colored ink and premium 100gsm paper too. That’s just unbelievably convenient for the following item: a photobook. As a musician, ideally, you want to include in that photobook only images that have never before been posted anywhere else so that fans are incentivized to actually buy it. You don’t want it to be a summary of your already known photos. You want it to be a much deeper, much more intimate, and personal look into your life. Take cues from Kim Kardashian’s Selfish book or the illustrated The Rihanna Book. PS: this is why you should invest in a high-quality DSLR and have it on hand every time you perform and go about your musician life.
4. A Lyric Book
Many musicians underestimate just how important the lyrics of their songs are to real fans. When you release new material, your fans immediately research the lyrics or have them natively played on their phone screens by the likes of MusixMatch, Spotify, or YouTube Music. What that means is that you have the opportunity to anticipate their need of knowing the definite lyrics and put them all in a lyric book. Paul McCartney’s THE LYRICS is a tremendous example of a genius lyric book. The singer, musician, producer added notes to the songs detailing stuff like who inspired the lyrics, what was the real meaning of the words, when the song was written, and for who. Sure you won’t have two volumes to fill in like McCartney just yet but if you can pull off a 300-page lyric book for your fans, it’s an almost guaranteed item to become a favorite with your audience.
3. A Coloring Book
Of yourself, duh! Hire a freelancer capable of creating images from your photos and you got yourself a coloring book to sell on your website and at your merch table when you tour! Male performers often forget how craftsy female listeners are and how much they generally favor DIY projects and glitter. Your male fans may not look twice towards your coloring book but your female fans surely will. Amazon KDP as a matter of fact became relevant thanks to coloring book authors and DIY projects released through their platform. Click play on the video above to see the Taylor Swift coloring book sold on Amazon.
2. A Dated Diary
A dated journal/diary also acts as a planner for everyday life. So it’s a double-use item that many Millenials and older fans will opt for. With so much to do and so little time, almost everyone needs help remembering their daily tasks. Planner and diaries have seen an incredible surge in sales since the pandemic hit as many office workers transitioned to remote working and people per general need more self-discipline. Keeping track of your must-dos or simply jotting down memories is an enormous must-have for many people and they would much rather buy a diary with your face on it than some unknown model or yet another cat. No hate for cats though. They’re terribly cute ❤
1. Your Own Book Of Answers
Don’t freak out now. Listen. With TikTok influencers and their followers always revering manifestations and the law of attraction, the 1999 Book Of Answers saw a shocking comeback in 2021. It’s basically a book acting like an 8-ball. You ask the Universe something then randomly stop at a page, and that’s your answer. If you’re still confused about how you can publish your own book of answers as a musician, here’s your solution: quote lyrics of your own songs. If you can extrapolate 5 meaningful sayings from one song of yours, then you’d need only 73 songs to fill up 365 answers with one answer per one day of the year. So your own book of answers will act as a spiritual guide in lyrics for your curious fans. And sincerely, even pessimists like some fun without admitting to it of course. As long as you put up a disclaimer that you are not responsible for the decisions taken as a result of the answers provided in your book, you should be legally safe from any lawsuits.
Blue Rhymez Entertainment ©2021
If you want to make the world a better place by helping 50 stellar indie artists arduously working 24/7 to give you authentic music, stream the playlist below.
Blue Rhymez Entertainment 