Last Updated on August 19, 2022 by
In this digital era, having your album or songs available on online channels is huge. Music fans are using Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, etc. to download the albums or songs they adore. If your music is not there on the choice list then you are losing exposure and sales. According to a study, more than 40% of global music sector revenue is raised from digital channels. In the last decade streaming services have been increasing in popularity.
Every label and independent artist is aware of it. The issue is how to sell music online or make music available on these digital outlets. It is because stores hardly accept submissions directly from artists and labels. They depend on trusted companies’ networks to sift through and deliver most of the content to sell on their platform including music.
To get your music on Spotify, iTunes, or 100s of other streaming platforms you can take help from music distribution platforms. The traditional way of selling music CDs or vinyl at the appropriate record stores is declining. So, all the distributors that focused on CDs are also offering digital distribution as the demand has increased. Many new distributors entered the music landscape and concentrate only on digital music distribution.
There are music distributors that supply music to an extensive range of popular outlets and streaming services. You can get your music on Apple Music, Spotify, iTunes, Beatport, etc. Therefore digital music distributors are called ‘Aggregators’.
Types of aggregators
- Bulk aggregators serve individual artists and rarely labels. However, they offer the best market price – generally a flat yearly fee.
- Specialist aggregators serve independent labels and established independent artists. They charge a percentage as they are actively involved in marketing.
Every different music outlets prefer to affiliate with distributors for content delivery but each one differs in submission requirements. For example, the tracks, editing, formatting, and sales pitch submission for Spotify are different than iTunes requirements. Manually handling this process is time-consuming but the distributors have their patent system to automate the entire process.
How distributing platform works?
To sell your music on iTunes or Amazon or Tidal or 100s of digital outlets –
- First, sign up with a music distributing platform.
- Upload artwork [3000 x 3000 pixels in JPG/PNG format], audio [WAV format], and the release details.
- Set store price for selling the music.
- Choose the digital stores [100s of options] for a music release.
Now, wait for 48 to 72 hours to see your music go live. It depends on the services. To get your music on TikTok it takes 3 business days but for Apple Music or iTunes, it is generally 24 hours. The pricing on MusicDigi is simple. Upload unlimited songs and albums for $39.99 per year. There are no hidden costs or complicated pricing plans. From a single account manage other projects or artists. The UPC [Universal Product Code] and ISRC [International Standard Recording Code] for every release are free. Besides, 91% of payouts from music stores are deposited in your account directly. Withdraw it anytime via PayPal.
