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How to choose the best music distribution for you?

Part and parcel of getting your music out there into the world is ensuring that you can be found in all the right stores. That’s where digital distribution comes in.

We say “right” because, not everybody will want full coverage in every store, and appropriateness of certain services or platforms will be down to your judgement but generally most artists will likely want to get their music onto many of the key online stores and streaming platforms like iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Shazam and so on.

There are a few ways of doing this.

Go Direct

Firstly, you could try to create a label or artist account with each of the platforms and distribute things completely by yourself – however you’ll struggle with platforms like iTunes or Spotify, and other larger stores, since they won’t want to deal directly with you of your label. 99% of the time they will work with distributors and aggregators instead.

That more or less counts this method out, unless you’re looking to get into a handful of small, quite specific stores only (or only wish to deal with somewhere like Bandcamp exclusively).

Distributor

Alternatively you could set up your own small label (a wise move, since many stores will want a label to exist for any releases).

Even if you’re a solo artist, releasing just your own work, a token label name and setup would be worthwhile. Once set up – you could approach a digital distribution company and sign a contract with them for a year or so, working with them to figure out the best distribution options for each release, and entrusting them to handle the setup and aggregation.

Digital Distribution Platform

The third option, which is probably going to be most popular is to sign up with an aggregator or digital distribution platform.

This will allow you to upload your own music, setup the relevant information and artwork and then have your music beamed out to all the stores of your choice (although this may be restricted by the platform and their current aggrements).

This third option is what companies like MusicDiffusion, Tunecore, CDBaby, Distrokid, and countless other companies offer – all with varying levels of price, service, features and so on.

Choose Very Carefully

The most important thing you can do before you jump in, is weigh up your options and choose your distribution platform very carefully. Since changing platform, or moving your releases elsewhere, is not as easy as you might imagine.

Making the wrong choice this early in the game could lead to a fair bit of regret down the line, when you realise the mistakes you’ve made.

So we’d like to cover a number of things we should think seriously about before choosing a distributor or aggregator of choice.

Profit Percentage Cut

This is essentially the amount of money you get back from the distributor after they have taken their commission fee from your sales profit.

Some distributors will give you 100% of the sales profit, some will only pass back 90%, some even less. Usually a 100% profit cut from the distributor means you’ll be charged in some other way, either from upload fees, or recurring fees. At MusicDiffusion, our members get 90% royalties, and we use to think that a 100% royalties reversed is a commercial lie. You can check MusicDiffusion pricing plans here.

Basic Fees

Distributors can charge you fees in a number of ways. Some clear, some a little more hazy.

There could be a sign-up fee. This is a flat fee for joining with them.

You may also be charged a “label registration” fee, in order to set up your label with stores that require it. This often takes the form of a custom label name more than anything else.

On top of that (or alternatively) you could be charged monthly or yearly fees to use the service.

And if none of the above apply, you will likely be charged to upload your release. Commonly there is a set of 2 or 3 options for uploading releases. A single, an EP or an album. Each will have an associated fee, and amount of tracks, or length of tracks will determine which type of release you’re dealing with.

Some distributors opt for a per-track fee instead. This is the case for MusicDiffusion which propose 3 plans: free upload to Spotify, 2.99€ by track to deliver to all major stores and platforms. And we also have an unlimited plan to distribute how much artists and releases you want for only 15 €/Year. If you stop the subscription, your catalog stay online ! You can check MusicDiffusion pricing plans here.

Other Fees

Many distribution platforms make their money via extra costs incurred, when you want to do something beyond the basic distribution setup. This can involve numerous things.

Anything from extra stores (beyond a core offering) to iTunes pre-orders, Youtube monetisation, Shazam registration, digital booklets, extra detailed reports, or UPC codes.

Again, it’s about making sure you know exactly what fees are involved, and what you’re getting. If you’re not sure, there’s no harm in checking the FAQs or emailing sales to make sure.

MusicDiffusion has all options included into our plans, Youtube, Shazam, ISRC Codes, future stores or whatever you need. You can check MusicDiffusion pricing plans here.

What Stores Do You Want?

Many digital distributors offer the same core selection of stores, but be aware if you’re looking for one store or platform in particular (Beatport, Junodownload or perhaps a location or genre-specific store) you may need to make sure your distributor covers it.

Most distributors offer a list of stores, but be aware that due to the changing landscape of the digital music industry these lists will go out of date and can change regularly.

Again the best way to be 100% sure, is to get in touch with them and ask. It’s most likely that they will be able to send you their most up to date stores list too.

Payment

How you get paid by the distributor may affect your choice of which to go with. Generally most seem to pay into Paypal or a bank account, but the regularity of these payments and the threshold at which these payments happens varies.

Some will pay you right away, some will pay you weekly or monthly, and some may only pay you when you request it.

Thresholds can vary from zero, right up to needing a $50 profit or more before you can get paid. At MusicDiffusion payment are done under one month after request, with a threshold up at €50 (but this threshold may be downgraded by demand on your account).

Level of Support

This may not be so much of an issue if you’re aware of what you’re getting yourself in for, but even for the experts, it’s handy to have responsive support staff.

Generally all platforms offer email support, often with response rates of around a day or two.

Article taken from Howtoselfrelease.com. Read the full article here.

Distribute and sell your music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Beatport, Facebook, YouTube and much more with MusicDiffusion®

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MusicDiffusion introduces the first Social Network dedicated to the music industry

 

MusicDiffusion is proud to present you the first Social Network for the Music Industry.
Connect and share with the MusicDiffusion community including thousands of Music Producers, Managers, Label Owners, Singers, Rappers, Beatmakers…

 

With years, music has become a team process. Any today success in music doesn’t include many artists and talents in its process.

You know that a good singer is nothing without a good beat or instrumental and an artist is nothing without a good promotion, management and network.

That’s the idea of MusicDiffusion Network. With this new tool for musicians from MusicDiffusion, you can connect instantly to thousands of musicians and music lovers like you, share your demos and receive feedbacks, find collaborators, sell or buy instruments, share and find tutorials and many more with the first social network dedicated to music!

Click here to read more and connect to the first Social Network for musicians: The MusicDiffusion Network! It’s free!

 

Distribute and sell your music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Beatport, Facebook, YouTube and much more with MusicDiffusion®

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How to get your music lyrics into music stores with MusicDiffusion?

 

When a listener can read along with the lyrics, he’s less likely to skip around from song to song, artist to artist.
Listeners slow down.
And they form a deeper connection with the music.
With the transition from CDs to streaming, what we’ve gained in convenience we’ve lost in immersion. Lyrics, artwork, and CD booklets have taken a back seat to digital menus and skip buttons.
MusicDiffusion’s goal is to help our artists form stronger bonds with their listeners. One step toward this, is to help our artists get their lyrics into streaming apps.

Since we have create MusicDiffusion, we’re proud to make lyrics distribution available  — for free —  to all our artists and music labels, as Youtube Monetization or Shazam…
To get your lyrics into stores, sign into MusicDiffusion and when you’re uploading a new song, you can add lyrics to it, as well as any old songs you’ve previously distributed with MusicDiffusion.
Once you submit your lyrics, it takes 2–3 days for them to show up in stores. iTunes & Apple Music to start.
Thanks for reading and please enjoy MusicDiffusion!

 


Distribute and sell your music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Beatport, Facebook, YouTube and much more with MusicDiffusion®

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Compare MusicDiffusion with TuneCore vs. CD Baby vs. Distrokid (Update)

 

What is the best Digital Music Distribution in 2018 ?
We thought it would be interesting to compare our service MusicDiffusion vs. TuneCore vs. CD Baby vs. Distrokid.

Take a look by yourself on our last comparison including our new “Platinum” offer:

 

Compare MusicDiffusion vs. TuneCore vs. CD Baby vs. Distrokid (2018 Update)

 

Distribute and sell your music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Beatport, Facebook, YouTube and much more with MusicDiffusion®

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Earn money with the MusicDiffusion Affiliation Program

Are you a website owner or a blog publisher? Earn now easy money with our MusicDiffusion Affiliation Program by promoting links to MusicDiffusion services.

Get up to 20% commission for the sales made by visitors you sent to us, for lifetime !

 

Exemple: You place one of our creative banner on your website or blog, and if one of your visitor become a MusicDiffusion Platinum Member at 15,99€ / Year (+ 20€ setup fee), you will earn up more than 7€ for the first year and more than 3€ next years, this for lifetime !You will earn money on each sales and each services provided by MusicDiffusion ! Join now our Affiliation Program, and make good money from your website !

 

What is MusicDiffusion ?

MusicDiffusion is the best Digital Music Distributor! We provide the best services for independent musicians, artists and music labels at the best prices! Our members can easily upload and sell their music to all the majors music digital platforms over the world (including Apple Music, Spotify, iTunes, Shazam Deezer, Beatport and more…) and be paid 90% of their royalties! Click here to read more about MusicDiffusion.

 

 

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Unlimited music distribution with the new MusicDiffusion Platinum Plan

 

First at all: Thank you!

 

You are more than ever to use our Music Distribution platform which we believe is the best deal of the Market! Our Standard Plan has always been until today at 2,99€ by track uploaded to all major stores and with no hidden costs (ISRC codes, Youtube Monetization, Shazam etc. are totally free with MusicDiffusion)

 

Today we proudly introduce our MusicDiffusion Platinum Plan for Professionals!

 

As our Standard Plan, Professionals and Music Labels can now create UNLIMITED RELEASES with NO LIMIT for only 15,99€ / YEAR!

All extra services like ISRC codes, Youtube Monetization and so are still free and you still keep 90% of your royalties.

You can also transfert your previous catalog to MusicDiffusion for free, just contact us here!

 

 

Compare MusicDiffusion vs. TuneCore, CD Baby and Distrokid:

 

Compare MusicDiffusion vs. TuneCore vs. CD Baby vs. Distrokid (2018 Update)

 

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Distribute now your music in Asia (China, Japan, Thailand and more…) with MusicDiffusion

 

We are pleased to announce 5 new digital music services – NetEase Cloud Music, Xiami Music and Tencent key music streaming services. This activation will allow MusicDiffusion Artists to distribute audio content in the huge chinese market. All these services combined accounted for the great majority of the Mainland Chinese domestic music streaming market!

 

 

NetEase Cloud Music  (http://music.163.com/) is the fastest growing music service in China with more than 400 million users. More than 30% of all music consumed on this service is international music.

 

 

Xiami Music (http://www.xiami.com/) (the “Alibaba Service”) is a music streaming service operated by Alibaba group. Was launched in Mainland China in 2008 and was purchased by Alibaba in 2013. At the end of May 2014, Xiami claimed 30 million users for a database of more than 6 million songs. Xiami’s development model is at first sight similar to that of its competitors, combining free listening content and paid download. In 2016 the Alibaba Service represented approximately 4% of the Mainland Chinese domestic music streaming market.

 

 

Tencent is a Chinese company whose subsidiaries provide Internet products and services throughout the country. Tencent Music’s three services hold an estimated 76% market share of music streaming services in China:

 

  • QQMusic (https://y.qq.com): With ten-year successful experience of bringing the best service to Chinese music lovers, has millions of legal songs with high quality. You can find the hottest songs from all over the world in QQ Music. As of 2018, the service is set to reach over 700 million users with an estimated 120 million subscribers.

  • KuGou (http://www.kugou.com): A music streaming and download service that was launched in 2004. Currently the largest streaming service in China with a market share of 28%. It has more than 800 million users.

  • Kuwo (http://www.kuwo.cn): The fourth largest music streaming service in China.

 

This channels are now activated directly on your MusicDiffusion distribution dashboard, please contact us for further information by clicking here.

 


Distribute and sell your music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Beatport, Facebook, YouTube and much more with MusicDiffusion®

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Facebook & Instagram monetization for MusicDiffusion members

We are happy to announce to MusicDiffusion artists that Facebook and Instagram finally allowing musicians to monetize their music!

We work now to offer as soon as possible the opportunity for all MusicDiffusion artists to get access to this new monetization directly on their dashboard as we do it already for Youtube Content ID!

As soon as we got signed this new deal with Facebook, you will get you informed by our Newsletter, and you will be able to monetize your songs on Facebook for free. You surely already know we don’t apply supplement for each new store or platform added to our service, making our artists sure that their songs will always be available on all digital stores !

“Over a decade ago, Facebook launched its platform as one that would end up changing not only the world of social media, but the world at large. As it evolved, the newsfeed eventually became a key part of most independent artists’ marketing mix as an almost unavoidable method of engaging with fans” said Content Manager Kevin Cornell, in the company’s blog post. “Of course between promoting streams, downloads, merch sales and tickets, Facebook has always given artists of any genre the opportunity to not only build a fanbase, but also make money with their music.”

 

 

Facebook Introduces ‘Lip Sync Live’ Streaming Functon, Will Begin Allowing Users to Share Videos With Music

With Facebook Monetization, Facebook and Instagram users will also be able to search for and find artists’ music through Audio Library features, and use it to create and share personal moments on the Facebook and Instagram platforms.

 

Distribute and sell your music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Beatport, Facebook, YouTube and much more with MusicDiffusion®

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Music Distribution: 7 Common Mistakes Musicians Make

Distribution is the best way to get heard. But how do you do it right?

Music distribution is misunderstood. There’s way too much confusion about what it means, how it works and how to do it well.

It’s changed a ton since digital distribution took over.

So it’s time to clear up some of the confusion once and for all…

Here’s 7 common misconceptions about music distribution you need to forget.

1. Physical Distribution is Dead

Many people will tell you that physical is dead and digital is the future. And they’re right… sort of…

Streaming and digital downloads are the most popular way to access music. But that doesn’t mean NO ONE buys vinyl, cassettes, CDs or other physical formats anymore.

In fact, physical sales still account for 39% of recording industry revenue. And waiting around for enough streaming royalties to roll in might take awhile if you’re an independent artist.

My point is, if someone wants to buy your physical release give them the option! Revenue from physical releases can add up much faster than streams.

Don’t believe the hype about the death of physical. Physical revenues are gonna be around for awhile. Diversify your releases, tap into the right audience, and get paid for your music digitally and physically.

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2. MP3s Are All I Need

MP3s are great. Their small file sizes and ‘streamability’ are huge assets when it comes to digital platforms.

But if you’re serious about distributing your music right you NEED high quality WAV masters. In fact, most of the major platforms—like Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music—require or encourage high-quality WAV files for all submissions.

Audio Format checklist for distribution:

  • 16 bit (sample size)
  • 44.1 kHz (sample rate)
  • 1411 kbps (bit rate) stereo WAV files

Starting with HD 24-bit WAV mastering gives you exactly what you need to upload to every major platform.

3. My music isn’t good enough for distribution

Believe it or not, Distribution can actually be part of your creative process. Distribution doesn’t just mean getting onto platforms like Spotify or iTunes.

Running your own DIY SoundCloud page, or uploading your tunes to YouTube, is distribution too. Your DIY distribution channels are useful tools for perfecting your tracks before distributing with the majors.

Share early and get feedback. If you sit in your studio stressing about whether your tracks are good enough to share or not, your music will never matter… ‘Cause no one will hear it.

Be transparent about demos and sketches of tracks you’re working on. Use the input you get from peers and listeners. So when you do move into bigger distribution channels you’ll be coming correct.

4. Distribution means sitting back and letting the money roll in

When it comes to distribution ‘set it and forget it’ is as far from the truth as it gets.

Always remember: Your music distribution is only as good as your music promotion.

That means staying engaged with your fans and audience as much as possible. The best way to do it is to make distribution PART of your promotion.

Build hype around your projects. Keep your audience up to date about what you’re working on and be transparent with your process.

“When it comes to distribution ‘set it and forget it’ is as far from the truth as it gets.”

So that when you do upload to the big distro platforms, your streaming links will be extra juicy for your audience. If your promotion is smart then your distributed music will actually get listened to.

5. Distribution and publishing are the same thing

In music, distribution and publishing are 2 very different concepts.

Music Distribution gets your music into the ears of all those music enthusiasts and potential fans out there. It’s how your music goes from your studio to the rest of the world. That means things like streaming platforms, physical releases and album downloads.

Music Publishing is how you get paid for all those places your music is being played—usually in the form of royalties.

Publishing also covers placements and syncs. Placements and syncs are when your music is used commercially like advertisements, video games or movies.

Check out our Publishing Administration to learn more. Knowing the difference is important!

6. Distribution Platforms make my music Findable

Distribution platforms make your music available. But they DON’T make your music findable. That part is up to you.

Each platform has their own unique tagging system. Research the tagging systems on the platforms you’ll be using the most. Proper tagging will make your music findable within each platform.

Tags will vary depending on the platform. But some important tags to keep in mind are:

  • Year
  • Genre(s)
  • Collaborators, co-producers or co-writers
  • Record Label
  • Release Date
  • Album title

Hint: Artist name and track title won’t cut it anymore…

7. Distribution Platforms will automatically promote my music

There’s other ways to make your music findable faster too. Playlisting has become a key way to get your music heard.

Spotify playlists are especially useful for promoting your own material. Make a playlist of stuff you’re inspired by, put your own music in it, and share it through your social media channels.

This will increase your streams and make your music more visible on the platform. Collaborating with other artists on a playlist is also a superb way to gain visibility.

Tastemakers often search playlists to find the next best sound. When that super-aficionado comes looking, your music needs to be there.

Building your own voice as an influencer through playlists will pique the interest of potential fans and give enthusiasts a better understanding of where your music comes from. It’s a win-win.

Streaming platforms can be distribution channels AND promotional tools. So get involved and make your music findable.

Distribute and Contribute

Distribution means getting your music out there. But it’s not a one-size-fits-all process.

Successful distribution is the sum of all the other work you do—like finding your best possible sound, promoting your music, and building your visibility.

The future of smart distribution is a willingness to adapt to a changing industry. But with the right perspective, keeping your music ahead of the curve is possible.

 

Read this article from Rory Seydel on LandR

 

Distribute and sell your music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Beatport, Facebook, YouTube and much more with MusicDiffusion®

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Ex-Zimbalam users can now migrate to MusicDiffusion!

Exclusive offer from MusicDiffusion to Ex-Zimbalam users & artists

 

If you are an user of MusicDiffusion, you know that we are care about musicians, from beginners to Superstars!

 

So we was really upset to know that Zimbalam, one of our competitors which just merged with Tunecore, changed the rules to their longtime users and artists. All of them that have paid once to release their tracks with Zimbalam, for lifetime, have been contacted to distribute now their music on TuneCore, with an annual fee for each single and album they have already paid on Zimbalam!

 

That’s why we would like to propose to Ex-Zimbalam users to join MusicDiffusion. Create an account and contact us here to transfert, for free, all your catalog from Zimbalam to MusicDiffusion and earn 90% of your royalties!

 

Zimbalam merged with TuneCore

 

Distribute and sell your music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Beatport, Facebook, YouTube and much more with MusicDiffusion®

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