Digital music distribution is the process of uploading your digital tracks to online music stores. It’s a great way to make your music available worldwide and make some extra money, but there are a lot of important details you should know before you start. This article will give you everything you need to know about how digital music distribution works so that you get the most benefit from it!
Should my band self-distribute music?
As an artist, you have a lot of options when it comes to distributing your music. Let’s take a look at some benefits and disadvantages of each option:
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Self-distribution
Self-distribution means that you take on all responsibilities related to getting your music out into the world. This includes everything from setting up distribution platforms like iTunes or Spotify, to getting press coverage, organizing live shows and managing social media accounts. In short: You become the label! There are no middlemen involved here—all profits go straight back into your pocket as opposed to being split between multiple parties (like it would be if you signed with an actual label).
This option also gives artists complete creative control over their work—they can put whatever they want out there without having anyone else sign off on it first—but this also means taking on more responsibility for running things like social media accounts than other musicians would need in order to succeed under different circumstances.”
Digital distribution is defined in two ways:
Digital Distribution is defined in two ways:
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Selling your music to digital music services like iTunes, Spotify and Google Play. These services are owned by third party companies who pay for the rights to sell music on their platforms. The artist gets paid after the service takes a percentage of sales (usually around 30% or less).
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Broadcasting your songs using a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network like SoundCloud or Bandcamp. This type of streaming allows people to listen to your music for free, with no fees going back to you.
How does digital music distribution work?
Digital music distribution is the process of getting your music into the hands of fans, retailers and other outlets. It includes a number of different services, including digital sales and marketing, so it’s important to understand what you need from a digital distributor before you sign up with one.
The first step in digital distribution is uploading your music files (such as MP3s) to platforms like iTunes or Spotify. Then it’s a matter of setting proper metadata tags on those files so they can be easily found when people search for them online — this includes things like artist name, album title and track number. Finally (and most importantly), artists must market themselves by promoting their albums on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter; posting about upcoming tours; offering pre-sale codes for ticket buyers who want early access to tickets; etc., all while keeping an eye out for new opportunities like partnerships with other companies who offer related services such as merchandise sales or web design/hosting packages
The pros and cons of self-distribution:
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You keep more of your money.
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You control the way your music is marketed and promoted to fans.
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New technologies allow you to take advantage of social media platforms, websites and blogs, and other internet outlets to promote your music directly to fans without a middle man like iTunes or Spotify (and therefore keep more of the profits). This can help create a more personal relationship with fans by building trust in an environment where there are no gatekeepers or filters around what gets heard by consumers. This also makes it possible for artists to release singles before albums come out which can be beneficial if one single becomes very popular but doesn’t make sense on an album format since it wouldn’t fit in with other songs released at the same time — it could even become so successful that it could overshadow future releases from other artists who might not have been able to get their foot in through traditional channels because they didn’t want their work associated with less prestigious labels or marketing campaigns that don’t align with what they’re trying create as an artist! And finally…
What about digital distribution companies?
When you’re considering digital distribution, there are a number of different companies to choose from. Each offers their own fee structure and features, so it’s important for artists to consider which company is right for them.
Artists should look at the following:
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The service fee structure – what does each company charge? Some have variable rates based on success, others have flat rates or percentages of revenue outlined in their contracts.
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Features offered – what tools do they offer? Does it integrate with other platforms (e.g., Spotify)? Are there reporting tools? What about marketing support?
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Advantages of working with one versus another
Advantages of using a digital distributor for your band’s music include:
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You can get your music in the right places. Your music will be on all of the platforms where it belongs, and not just on a few platforms where it doesn’t belong.
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You can get your music into the right stores. With large retail outlets like iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play, or Spotify being able to access hundreds of thousands of potential customers at once for free or a very small cost (sometimes even for free), digital distributors are able to help artists maximize their exposure by distributing their music to these outlets as well as others like Pandora and Tidal that may not be available through streaming services such as Apple Music or Spotify.
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You can get your music in the right formats. Digital distribution companies often provide additional services such as artist promotion, playlist placement and other promotional tools that will help increase sales and exposure while also making sure everything is up-to-date with current trends such as podcasts, streaming radio stations etcetera so that listeners are getting only high quality content without having any issues trying out new tracks from various genres because they don’t know what genre they’ll like until after listening!
Conclusion
As we’ve seen, there are many ways artists can make money with digital music distribution. The best thing for you to do is experiment with all of these different options and see which ones work best for your music. After all, it’s your job as an artist to find out what will help you get your songs heard by as many people as possible!
https://peeksound.com/4-tips-on-choosing-a-music-distribution-company/