How to Create your Own Audio Samples – Complete Tutorial

Making Money Selling Loops

Once you have a library built up did you know you could make money selling those samples and loops? It’s an over-saturated market, however, there are plenty of producers looking for that one sound that is nothing like the redundant others.

First, you need to get organized. The best way to do this is to create 1 folder for loops. Inside that folder create subfolders based on the BPM(Beats Per Minute) of the loop. Not a bad idea to create a folder for one hits that are not tempo sensitive.

I generated an industrial synth and decided to render it complete. Meaning at 80bpm I rendered
A short stab, sustained note, short arpeggiated, and long arpeggiated. I  did each of those on every single note. Here is a walkthrough of how it is organized and how I labeled my files.

You want to name the pack something that indicates it’s purpose. I have created PsySamples.

  1. Labeled Sounds.
  2. Created a .txt file listing the contents.
  3. Created a sample track.
  4. Create cover art.
  5. Make a .zip file of my sample pack.

Now I am ready to unleash it to the world.

I have chosen the option of selling “royalty free” sample packs. Meaning I charge a one time fee for the pack and its content. The buyer can use them however they want without paying royalties. There are websites out there that will give you an exclusive or non-exclusive licensing deal to host your packs and some offer royalties under certain terms of usage. I chose a quick, cheap, easy way to D.I.Y.

Free Website. There are so many out there. They offer easy to use templates so you don’t even need to know how to code. Just drag and drop.

Then head on over to PayPal and register your free account so you can receive payments.

And last you need a site that will sell digital downloads. A lot of these kinds of websites will want you to pay a fee and then charge you monthly. However, if you are trying to do this on a budget there are websites that take a percentage of your sale. So if you sell nothing, you pay nothing. The best one I have found is My Minto.

The percentage scale looks like this:

  • If you sell less than $25 per month / no charge
  • If you sell more than $25 per month / 2.5% transaction fee
  • Included: Free Store Widget & Free Mobile Store

All you do is copy the “Buy now” code they provide and paste it into your website. When someone selects it, the website gets payment, payment drops into your PayPal, and the buyer gets a link to their digital download. Simple as that.

Conclusion

By reading this tutorial you now have the ability to :

  • Create your own sound sample.
  • Convert it and import it into your DAW.
  • Manipulate and mix the sound.
  • Render and export a quality audio “one hit” or “seamless loop”.
  • Create a loop library.
  • Create and package a sample pack.
  • Build a website, create a storefront, and accept payments to sell your sample pack.

While the examples I have given are not the only ones that exist I encourage you to explore and find the best option that suits you and also come back and share any good finds in the comment section below.