Why hello.fan + store.fan is our pick
- Give live lessons by video, priced per minute anywhere from 50 to 5,000 credits.
- Fans who heart you get an alert when you come online, which suits a Q&A hour after a release.
- Sell sample packs, sheet music and stems as downloads with instant delivery on store.fan.
- Pro on store.fan adds hosted course videos for a full lesson series.
- Link a store.fan shop on a paid plan and keep up to 70% of what fans pay for lessons and calls.
How can musicians make money from fans online?
A musician's audience tends to want two things: time with you and something to take home. Instead of waiting on streams to add up, you can charge for both directly.
- Live time on hello.fan: lessons, feedback on a song a fan plays for you, a chat after a release, or a quick voice call with a supporter.
- Things to keep on store.fan: sample packs, sheet music, chord charts, stems, presets and courses.
The two link together. When your store.fan shop is on a paid plan and links to your hello.fan page, you keep 70% of what fans pay on hello.fan instead of 60%. That's a reason to run both even if one is your main income.
Full disclosure: we make both platforms. If you only need one, start with the side your fans ask for most. Overviews: hello.fan for creators and store.fan.
How do live music lessons work on hello.fan?
Students video call you 1:1 and pay per started 15 seconds, only while you're both connected. You set the per-minute price, so a 20-minute technique check and a full hour are both billed for the time actually used.
For regular students, weekly sessions repeat at the same time every week, and booked sessions inside your working hours are paid up front. Working hours also switch you online and offline automatically, so your own practice time stays uninterrupted.
Teaching students abroad? Calls have live translated subtitles in 30 languages, and chat translates itself, so you can explain a rhythm or a fingering even without a shared first language.
Between lessons, a student with a quick question can send an Icebreaker, a one-line hello for 10 credits, and get one reply from you. It keeps small questions from turning into a full call.
Nothing is recorded, and phone numbers stay private. If a student wants something to replay later, that's what a store.fan course is for. Read more on hello.fan for creators.
What should musicians sell on store.fan?
Your store.fan page lives at store.fan/yourname, with unlimited links to your music next to the products you sell. Digital files are delivered instantly after purchase. Start with one pack or one piece, then grow the catalog from what fans ask for.
- Sample packs, stems and presets as digital downloads.
- Sheet music, tabs and chord charts as PDFs.
- Courses for a complete method; Pro adds hosted course videos.
- Memberships for supporters who want new material regularly.
- Physical or made-to-order items, such as signed merch.
Payments go to your own Stripe account, so store.fan never holds your money. The store.fan apps on the App Store and Google Play send instant sale alerts, which is a nice thing to see on release day.
See digital downloads and store examples.
Which store.fan plan makes sense for a musician?
Start on Free Plus at $0 a month. You get every Starter feature, and store.fan keeps 30% of each sale, so there's nothing to pay until you sell.
Once sales are steady, Starter costs $24 a month at the launch price (regular $29), with a 0% platform fee and a 14-day free trial. Pro is $49 a month at the launch price (regular $99) and adds:
- Hosted course videos for a full lesson series.
- Flash campaigns and discount codes for a release week.
- AI email marketing to reach past buyers.
- Your own affiliate program, so other musicians can promote your packs.
Either paid plan also counts on hello.fan: link your shop, and your share of call earnings goes from 60% to 70%. Compare them on store.fan pricing, or see the best platform to sell digital products.
How to get started
- Open hello.fan for lessons. Create your creator page, set a per-minute video price for lessons and choose the hours you teach.
- Stock your store.fan shop. Add a sample pack, sheet music or a course to a free store.fan page.
- Link and share. Link the shop to hello.fan, choose a paid plan to keep 70% on calls, and share one link in your bio.
When does something else fit better?
Fits better when Better if you want a marketplace to find students for you and are happy to teach on its terms.
What it misses You usually can't sell your own sample packs and sheet music from a shop you control next to the lessons.
Fits better when Better when supporters want to back your work with a tip and need nothing in return.
What it misses They're built around support, not live 1:1 lessons billed by the minute.
Fits better when Better for reaching buyers who browse a big catalog of sounds and don't know you yet.
What it misses Your packs sit next to everyone else's, and there's no live lesson or call with the buyer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I teach an instrument over a video call on hello.fan?
Yes. Students video call you 1:1 and pay per started 15 seconds, only while you're both connected. You set the per-minute price, and regular students can take weekly sessions at the same time every week.
Can I sell sheet music and sample packs on store.fan?
Yes. Sheet music, tabs, sample packs, stems and presets can all be sold as digital downloads, which store.fan delivers instantly after purchase. Payments go to your own Stripe account.
Are hello.fan lessons recorded?
No. Nothing is recorded on hello.fan. If you want a lesson that students can replay, sell it as a course on store.fan instead; the Pro plan adds hosted course videos.
How do fans know when I'm free to talk?
Choose working hours, and hello.fan puts you online and offline at those times automatically. Fans who heart you are alerted when you come online, which is handy right after a release or a show.
Published by Premiums Only LLC, the company behind hello.fan and store.fan. We recommend our own platforms — and say when another kind of tool fits you better. How we write.