Take a trip with me. There’s a young punk rocker in the UK who needs something new. So he does as Spotify advises and reviews bands in a similar style to Flogging Molly. Wow! Who are these American boys? He quickly adds the new artist to his entire playlist and posts about them on his FB wall. We now cross the Atlantic to France and walk into a salon where a group of young aspiring artists are in need of inspiration. They prefer to use Rhapsody for their music searches. Like our friend from the UK, they decide it’s time for a new punk rock. Low and lo and behold they find the same new band! Suddenly, this label-less indie punk rock band is gaining a following across the Atlantic. Pretty fantastic, huh? This is not a fairy tale. Is named digital music distribution.
Each music distributor has several specific similarities and differences. This article lists these traits so you can get to the heart of the matter and find which company is best for your band.
Points in common:
All distributors will ensure that your music is sold through the largest digital retailers. These are iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon MP3, Rhapsody and MySpace. Also, these music retailers are going to take their cut first before you see any dough. For example, iTunes makes approximately 30¢ for every $1.00 of a song sold. This means the dealer will charge 70¢. Your opinion depends on what your dealer cuts off the top. I discuss this below.
Here’s something I think is a hoot! Derek Sivers’ marketing team at CD Baby have cleverly claimed that his single/album will sell out on iTunes “in as little as 48 hours!*”. The asterisk says: “Once your content has been approved by our distribution team and finalized by you, we’ll send your music to iTunes within 2 business days.” The funny thing is that iTunes publishes your music within 48 hours of delivery, regardless of the distributor. Again, this is something you will receive with every distributor. It’s just that Sivers saw an opportunity to make a big fuss about something that other dealers have ignored until now! Good marketing if you ask me.
Another common trait between these sites and extremely important to you is the tracking of sales. This service gives you detailed reports on how much you earn and where. These statements will be a critical part of your marketing attack, letting you know where your efforts are paying off. My advice: put more muscle in the areas that work and don’t worry about the areas that don’t.
All the dealers I have researched also give you some very cool marketing/promotional strategies for free. This includes how to find your perfect fan, create a marketing campaign, use social media more effectively, and promote your next single/album release.
Differences:
The critical differences can be categorized as follows: additional benefits, pricing, and customer service.
Distributors have additional benefits that make them unique. For example, CD Baby will create and distribute physical CDs for you, allowing you to set your selling price. TuneCore will collect and deliver all of your publishing royalties from around the world. Ditto Music will set you up with your own label. Review these benefits because they could ultimately tip the scales toward one distributor over another.
When it comes to pricing, almost all of them charge a setup fee for albums, singles, and ringtones. Some companies give you and the band 100% of the net sales, as is the case with TuneCore. If this is the case, you usually have to pay an annual fee for each album, single or ringtone that is distributed. This means that if you release an album, you pay that distributor a fixed amount per year for each year that you distribute it. Other dealers charge a one-time setup fee and then take a percentage of your sales without charging an annuity. Before choosing which service to use, definitely run some numbers based on past sales of your music. This will give you an idea of which service will put the most $$$ in your pocket.
Nothing can replace great customer service. You don’t have hours to spend on the phone trying to fix a problem. An awesome support that will jump into any chaotic situation is a lifesaver because chaos will inevitably ensue.
