VILARCORP
  • Drum Kits
  • Loops
  • FL Studio
  • Music Production
  • Buying Guides
No Result
View All Result
VILARCORP
  • Drum Kits
  • Loops
  • FL Studio
  • Music Production
  • Buying Guides
No Result
View All Result
VILARCORP
No Result
View All Result

10 Best Music Distribution Platforms

Alfredo Vilar by Alfredo Vilar
December 13, 2022
in Music Production
0
Best Music Distribution Platforms

You have recorded your album or your latest EP and now you want to distribute it online?

The profusion of music that is released every day is likely to make you invisible.

You need to give yourself all the means to be discovered to be streamed and accessible to your audience.

Music distribution platforms have the advantage of saving you time and making you accessible on all streaming platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, Youtube Music and many others.

The only problem? There are now more than a dozen platforms to aggregate and promote your music on the internet.

How to choose among this profusion of choices? I will try to help you to choose by making a comparison of the different solutions allowing you to broadcast your music online.

Let’s go for the comparison!

Our selection of the best music aggregators

TuneCore RouteNote DistroKid
READ REVIEW READ REVIEW READ REVIEW

Detailed comparison of the best music distribution platforms

1. TuneCore

TuneCore Review

TuneCore is certainly one of the biggest music aggregators on the market today.

This service allows you to distribute your songs on more than 150 platforms.

It is a bit more expensive than other competing solutions but it is very well established on the market.

It is a safe bet that is particularly suited to artists who will generate a minimum number of listens.

With a strong history and a good establishment in the sector, TuneCore gives you access to partners and discounts on some promotional services.

The discounts are not exceptional but it is always a good point to underline.

Other positive points of the service: the interface is available in many languages and the delays to publish your music on the streaming platforms are rather short.

Pros
  • Simple interface and translated in your local language (rare enough to be underlined)
  • Short publication delays on streaming sites
  • Several partnerships with other music players
  • A solid and well established company
  • You keep all royalties on your streams
  • Well suited for established artists with a solid fanbase
Cons
  • The price : you have to renew your uploads every year
  • The customer support : it is not the fastest in the world. Everything works by email. You don’t have a hotline available

TuneCore’s pricing

TuneCore Review

TuneCore, unlike DistroKid, does offer a free plan, which is limited but free.

The Rising plan is priced at $14.99 per year, which is very competitive for what it offers.

My favorite plan is the Breackout Artist plan, as it offers all the features an artist could need for a reasonable price of $29.99 per year.

The Professional plan is definitely the best, priced at $49.99 per year and is focused on record labels.

GO TO TUNECORE

2. RouteNote

RouteNote

The RouteNote distribution platform has a slightly different positioning from the competition.

Indeed, it allows you to distribute your music for free via its Freemium offer.

In free mode, you are charged 15% of your sales while if you switch to premium mode, the royalties remain 100% in your pocket.

The other strong point of the platform is that it provides you with tools to promote your music.

The PUSH service allows you to create pages to promote your music to your audience.

You can also easily share revenue with other musicians and view streaming statistics of your tracks from the interface.

Pros
  • A formula to distribute your music for free
  • A user-friendly and easy-to-use interface
  • Advanced tools to promote your music
  • You get back 100% of the royalties when you have the Premium subscription
Cons
  • The free formula retains 15% of your income (at the same time, it must be paid)
  • Some users say that the publication delays are sometimes long
  • The platform is only available in English for the moment

RouteNote’s Pricing

RouteNote

  • Free : $0 but 15% retained on your royalties
  • Premium Package :
  • Upload of a single: $10 (for a single)
  • Upload of an EP (2 to 6 tracks) : $20
  • Upload of an album (7 to 18 tracks) : $30
  • Upload of a big album or double album (more than 18 tracks) : $45

GO TO ROUTENOTE

3. DistroKid

Distrokid

Founded in 2013 in the United States, DistroKid is one of the world’s leading music distribution companies.

The platform allows you to distribute your music on nearly 150 platforms.

The great strength of Distrokid is that it does not take commissions on sales made by artists.

Its price is also very accessible and the platform does not limit the number of uploads of tracks as part of your subscription.

It is however a very automated platform. The support is effective but only works in writing.

Moreover, some options and additional features are not free.

Pros
  • Affordable price
  • No limit on the number of songs you can add
  • Very fast publishing time on the platforms (among the fastest on the market)
  • Spotify partner company
  • When you stop your subscription, you don’t have to remove all your songs from Distrokid. You can use the Legacy feature to leave them online
  • Distrokid offers a feature that allows you to share your royalties with other collaborators
Cons
  • Many options are not free
  • The user interface is only in English

DistroKid’s pricing

Distrokids price what is the price for a subscription to the service3 packages are available depending on your needs:

  • Musician” package at $19.99/year
  • Musician Plus” package at $35.99/year
  • Label” package at $79.99/year

GO TO DISTROKID

4. Ditto Music

Ditto SmartLink

Ditto Music is a service a little less known than some competitors.

However, it works with internationally renowned artists such as Ed Sheeran.

Its subscription at an affordable rate allows you to keep 100% of your royalties on the listening of your tracks.

A 30-day trial is offered and gives you the opportunity to try the platform before committing yourself.

Like all music aggregators, Ditto Music provides you with a streaming dashboard of your tracks as well as promotional tools to communicate with your fanbase or share your revenues between artists.

The big plus of the platform is that it has offices in 15 countries.

In particular, there is a Ditto Music office in Paris.

Pros
  • A local presence
  • Reasonably priced subscription
  • A 30 day trial period is offered
  • You keep 100% royalties on your streams
  • Promotional tools offered
Cons
  • Platform only available in English

Ditto Music’s pricing

Ditto Music's pricing

Ditto Music is available in three packages:

  • Artist : 19 € per year
  • Professional : 29 € per year
  • Label : from 69 € per year

GO TO DITTO

5. Landr

Landr

Landr is a global platform for musicians and producers. Indeed, Landr is basically an online mastering service based on an algorithm.

Its positioning is therefore broader than the other platforms listed here.

You can finalize the production of your tracks with the tool and then distribute your music on over 150 streaming platforms.

Landr allows you to follow your streaming statistics and to orchestrate your promotional launch.

Pros
  • A 2-in-1 service allowing you to master and distribute your tracks
  • Additional tools to create music and collaborate: sample library, composition and production tools
  • A modern and pleasant user interface
  • Flexible pricing plans
Cons
  • Music distribution subscriptions include commissions on streaming (except for the unlimited package which is quite expensive)

Landr’s pricing

Landr

You can either subscribe to the whole Landr suite of tools (mastering, sample library and music distribution) or only to the distribution service.

For the distribution service, here are the formulas proposed:

A la carte (15% commission) :

  • 9€ to upload a single
  • 29€ to upload an album

Full (9% commission) / 20€ per year

  • 5€ to upload a single
  • 19€ to upload an album

Unlimited (0% commission) / 80€ per year

  • Unlimited upload without additional fees

GO TO LANDR

6. iMusician

iMusician

Like Landr, iMusician offers multiple features to its users.

You can distribute your music but also do mastering online.

The big advantage of this solution is that it allows you to have a quality support.

With nearly 400,000 registered artists and labels, it is a very popular platform on the market.

It commits to pay you your royalties as soon as you want unlike other platforms that require minimum thresholds to make payments.

Pros
  • Support in multiples languages
  • A 2 in 1 platform to distribute your music and master your tracks
  • No minimum threshold for royalty payments
  • Options to accelerate the release of your tracks on the platforms
  • A starter offer at a mini price to discover the service without breaking the bank
  • Broadcasting possible on more than 200 music streaming platforms
  • You don’t have to subscribe to use the service
Cons
  • Youtube monetization is offered as part of an additional subscription
  • Starter and Regular subscription packages include commissions on your streaming revenues
  • Overall, the pricing offer is a bit confusing and difficult to understand

iMusician’s pricing

iMusician's pricingiMusician’s packages are available under different formulas:

  • Starter : from 9€ for 30% commission and one broadcasting platform
  • Regular : from 19€ for 15% commission and +200 distribution platforms
  • Rockstar : from 39€ for 0% commission and +200 distribution platforms
  • Pro Unlimited : a complete offer at 499 € per year for labels and professionals

GO TO IMUSICIAN

7. CD Baby

CD Baby

CD Baby is one of the oldest music distributors on the market.

Like most of its competitors, it offers a service to distribute your music on about 150 platforms.

The platform leaves 100% of the royalties to the artists and offers promotional services in parallel to its basic mission.

It is a reliable platform that works on a flat fee basis rather than on an annual subscription basis.

Pros
  • A reliable and historic brand in the sector
  • A fixed price operation
  • All revenues are redistributed to the artists
  • Additional services such as physical album/vinyl distribution and promotional tools
Cons
  • The physical distribution is oriented on the Anglo-Saxon market

CD Baby’s pricing

CD Baby's pricing

2 formulas are proposed: the standard formula and the pro formula.

  • To release a single : 9.95$ for the standard version and 29.95$ for the pro version
  • To release an album : 29.95$ for the standard version and 69$ for the pro version

GO TO CD BABY

8. Spinnup

Spinnup

Spinnup is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group that offers a music distribution service for the major streaming platforms.

The platform gives all its revenues to the artists and even offers a service to connect with labels to get your music discovered.

I think it’s a great concept to go beyond simple distribution.

In terms of business model, Spinnup has a similar operation to TuneCore.

You don’t pay royalties on your streams, but you have to pay every year for your singles or albums releases.

Pros
  • A partner company of one of the biggest labels in the world (Universal)
  • A talent search service available allowing you to be exposed to major labels
  • 100% of the royalties paid to the artists
  • Additional services and partnerships to take advantage of great deals
Cons
  • You have to pay every year for the singles, EPs or albums you upload to the platform

Spinnup’s pricing

Spinnup's pricing

  • Publication of a single (1 to 2 tracks) : 9,99 € per year
  • EP release (3 to 6 tracks): €19.99 per year
  • Album release (7 to 25 tracks) : 39,99 € per year

GO TO SPINNUP

9. Wiseband

WisebandWiseband is a fairly well known and established music distributor in the sector.

Just like other platforms, the service offers several features:

  • A music distribution service on platforms
  • Services for bands (personalization of pages on streaming platforms, goodies production, website production, inventory management)
  • Promotional tools such as the generation of pages for pre-orders or promotion on a launch
Pros
  • Many services for artists
  • A coverage of the main streaming platforms
  • A free offer to discover the service
Cons
  • Commissions are charged on sales

Wiseband’s pricing

Wiseband's pricing3 formulas are currently available on the service:

  • Free: 0 € per month to distribute a first single
  • Artist : 4,99 € per month and 9% of commissions to distribute an artist
  • Premium : 39 € per month and 15% of commissions to distribute as many artists as you want

GO TO WISEBAND

More PostsLike This

13 Tips for New Music Producers

13 Tips for New Music Producers

March 30, 2023
Best Phonk Samples to Download for Free 1

Best Phonk Samples to Download for Free

January 17, 2023

10. Awal

AWAL

Awal is an interesting platform because it mixes distribution and music promotion.

You have the possibility to be distributed on the main music listening sites but also to take advantage of the services of a more traditional music label that will promote you on the networks, get you advertising syncs, etc.

The only problem with the platform is that you have to contact them to get in.

This implies that you have to meet their selection criteria.

But as they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained! Do not hesitate to contact them, you never know!

GO TO AWAL

Other platforms to follow

Other music aggregators exist on the market and are worth a look:

  • Symphonic
  • Inouïe
  • Stem
  • MusicDistribution

Feel free to browse their offers to compare them.

How does a digital distributor work?

The role of the distributor is multiple:

  • They provides you with a centralized platform for uploading and managing your music
  • They takes care of deploying the information to all the partner streaming platforms for you
  • They offers you a statistical tool to follow your listening
  • They provides you with tools to promote your music and generate more listenings

In exchange for these services, the platforms take a percentage of your royalties or charge you for the addition of tracks on a one-time basis or as a subscription.

What are the criteria to consider when choosing your music distributor?

Several elements must be taken into account to choose the distributor that best suits your needs:

  • The pricing of the distributor: as we have seen, each distributor offers its own pricing formula. Globally, if you are an artist already known who will stream a lot, it is rather recommended to choose a distributor who does not take any commission on your streams. On the other hand, if you are not yet well known, choose a cheap or free platform that will take its commission on your streams
  • The publication delay: if you want to orchestrate launches or release parties of your EPs/albums, ideally choose a distributor that offers short publication delays. In this respect, Distrokid and TuneCore are very interesting
  • Paying options: be careful with the paying options of distributors. Some may attract you with an affordable monthly subscription but make up for it with paying options in parallel. Analyze well your needs and the proposed offers to make your calculations
  • The proposed streaming platforms: most aggregators work with the main music platforms (Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, Youtube Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, etc.). Nevertheless, check if the distributor you want to choose works with the platforms you are interested in
  • Customer support: many platforms are based in the US and only offer customer support by email. Often, these companies are not very responsive and not very accessible. If you are not comfortable with English or if you want responsive customer support, choose non-english speaking platforms that emphasize the quality of their customer support
  • Payment rules: also be aware of the rules regarding the payment of your royalties. Some distributors pay you when you want while others require you to reach certain thresholds before releasing a payment
  • Geographical areas offered: many distributors are located abroad. They therefore offer services and partnerships that are more often of interest in the USA than in Europe. Check carefully if the services sold concern your territory
  • Services: you play in a band? Make sure that your distributor offers a royalty split. This is a very practical little extra that will save you a lot of headaches later on!
  • Contractual aspects: before committing yourself, find out about the conditions for closing an account with a distributor. Will my music stay online? Will I receive a balance at the end of my subscription? Anticipate these issues so you won’t be surprised at the end of a contract

Our tips for distributing your music on streaming platforms

The platforms where you should be present

Today, only a few platforms are really massively used.

We can mention Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, Youtube Music and Amazon Music.

Make sure you are distributed on these platforms to get the maximum number of listens.

Work on your metadata to be more visible in the search engines of streaming platforms

Metadata is the information attached to your tracks, albums or artist files.

Think to fill in carefully each information to offer rich information to the platforms.

It’s a guarantee to gain visibility and not to have any problem on the publication of your tracks in the future.

Sign up for Spotify for Artists

Spotify for Artists is a free service from Spotify that gives you access to several features.

With this platform, you’ll be able to customize your artist page, share your concert dates and much more.

Don’t forget to sign up to improve your image with your audience!

FAQs about music distribution platforms

Can I distribute our music for free?

Although some distributors present themselves as free solutions, there is no real 100% free solution to distribute your music.

Either you will pay commissions on your streams, or you will pay per upload of tracks or you will pay twice.

If you want to distribute your music totally free, you will have to register manually to the different distribution sites you are interested in.

This is certainly free but also very time consuming.

Will the music distributor promote your music?

No. The role of the distributor is only to deploy your music on the platforms.

In this sense, it differs from the label that will try to make you known to an audience.

Some services such as Awal or Spinnup offer promotion but it is globally quite rare among distributors.

Conclusion

This comparison of the best music distributors is coming to an end.

I hope it will help you to see more clearly and to make an informed choice according to your needs and your career as an artist.

If you have not decided on one, we recommend you ➜ TuneCore.


TuneCore Review

Get PREMIUM
Previous Post

RouteNote Review: Is this the best free platform to distribute your music online?

Next Post

BeatStars Review: The Best Marketplace to Buy & Sell Beats?

Alfredo Vilar

Alfredo Vilar

Founder of VILARCORP. Easygoing beatmaker and avid sample pack collector.

Related Posts

13 Tips for New Music Producers
Music Production

13 Tips for New Music Producers

Aspiring music producers often have a difficult time breaking into the industry. The competition is fierce and the learning curve...

by Alfredo Vilar
March 30, 2023
Best Phonk Samples to Download for Free 2
Music Production

Best Phonk Samples to Download for Free

If you're looking to create original and unique music, one of the best ways to do so is to incorporate...

by Alfredo Vilar
January 17, 2023
What is Phonk
Music Production

What is Phonk Music?

Phonk is a music genre of hip hop music that originated in the 1990s in Memphis, Tennessee. The style is...

by Alfredo Vilar
January 15, 2023
BeatStars Review
Music Production

BeatStars Review: The Best Marketplace to Buy & Sell Beats?

Whether you're a composer, an experienced beatmaker or a new rapper, chances are you've already heard of BeatStars. For more...

December 30, 2022
RouteNote Review: Is this the best free platform to distribute your music online? 3
Music Production

RouteNote Review: Is this the best free platform to distribute your music online?

Musicians need to be everywhere in order to expand their reach and make a living. That's what digital music distribution...

December 13, 2022
DistroKid Review
Music Production

Distrokid Review: the best online music distributor?

A lot is asked of artists. Entrepreneurs, resourceful, multi-taskers... they have to be everywhere to make a living and be...

December 13, 2022
Next Post
BeatStars Review

BeatStars Review: The Best Marketplace to Buy & Sell Beats?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

13 Tips for New Music Producers

13 Tips for New Music Producers

March 30, 2023
ROLLY Free Loop Kit by VILARCORP

ROLLY Free Loop Kit

How To Update Logic Pro X

How To Update Logic Pro X

January 30, 2023
How To Send a Logic Pro X Project

How To Send a Logic Pro X Project

January 30, 2023
How To Download an Older Versions of Logic Pro X

How To Download an Older Versions of Logic Pro X

January 30, 2023
Can Macbook Air M1 Run Logic Pro X

Can a Macbook Air M1 Run Logic Pro X?

January 30, 2023
dreams

Disclaimer

In VILARCORP we are part of the Amazon affiliate program, this means that when you make a purchase through our links, we may generate a commission, at no additional cost.

GET PREMIUM

Get PREMIUM - All Sample Packs

  • Contact
  • Terms
  • Cookies
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 VILARCORP

No Result
View All Result
  • Drum Kits
  • Loops
  • FL Studio
  • Music Production
  • Buying Guides

© 2021 VILARCORP