Getting your music on streaming platforms takes a few steps, which can seem miles away initially. If you are a self-releasing artist, this is something you will need to pay for and organize yourself. If you are a signed artist your label would most likely help you with this. In order to get your music on streaming services you’ll need to pick a digital distributor, of which there are many on the market.
Knowing which one is right for you comes down to features, costs, monetization structures, as well as some extra bells and promotional whistles. Below, we take a look at some of the top options available, and some of the steps that you will need to take to be organized and ready for your release on all major streaming platforms.
Getting Ready
Among some of the best-known options in digital distribution are: Distrokid, CD Baby, LANDR, United Masters, Symphonic, Record Union, Octiive, and many more. It also worth considering independent streaming and sales sites like Bandcamp and Soundcloud, which are also worth having your music on, offer different features, and have their own apps, platforms and streaming sites—and ways of monetizing your music. Some distribution services also offer sync placement opportunities, as well as features like YouTube Content Identification, as well as TikTok and Instagram integration.
To be ready for distribution, you should have all your music mastered, metadata and royalty split information (this should be set and registered with your PRO and those of any collaborators), as well as artwork in its proper format and aspect ratios primed for upload. Lyrics are sometimes also an added feature on varying streaming sites, so having them on hand to include in your upload is important. (Its also good to have radio edits and clean edits of songs for streaming services.)
Knowing things like the correct spelling of everyone’s name who worked on your record (and what they did) or song is important when it comes to time to list the credits.
Finally, your bank details will be needed so that they can pay you for your streams. Included with your digital distribution will be your royalty pay out and splits, so its a good thing to have already negotiated and worked this out in advance with your team—as well as knowing if the service should pay out to your personal account, a business account, or a shared band account—depending on the nature of your music act/artist accounting.
Most of the digital distribution services act in a similar way, with customizable add-ons being the bonus feature to some. (Bandcamp and Soundcloud are separate, and usually not included in these services, but they are instantaneous—as you’re doing the uploading and releasing yourself.)
Typically you would set up an account, where bank and contact information are linked along with any label info, if there is one. Then you would choose the type of release options you’d like (remember this varies by service.) If you are planning for a specific release date it would be good to set all of this up a month ahead of time. Knowing when you’d like your music to be live on a streaming service takes some time and coordination. In some cases many of the distribution services will also allow you to save the progress of your upload (say you want to upload the credits, royalty splits, and album art work ahead of receiving your final masters), and leaving some wiggle room to hit a target release date is an important step.
What Does Digital Distribution...Do?
In general most of the services offer lots of control and tools for artists/bands.
For example, on Distrokid you can choose which platforms your music is on, or opt out of specific platforms. They frequently add new platforms to their list, so you can opt in to be automatically added to any new platforms as they emerge. You can also update your releases after the fact to be on or off a platform as you need. Options like selecting a song can to be used on TikTok or YouTube can be major advantages, and some platforms offer licensing arrangements, and cover song licensing too.
Some services have gone the extra mile and also allow inclusion of music videos, promotional tools like animated teaser clips for sharing on social media, or even customizable social media posts to share and announce your upcoming release. Distrokid even offers an album art generator, for example. There really a lot of great features between each of the platforms, so do spend some time looking through each and see which best suits your needs and creative vision- as well as budget.
Time will vary between each streaming service, with regard to how soon you can expect to see it live on the various platforms. This varies because of both the distribution service, but also the streaming platform. In some cases the music may be live to stream in a matter of hours, and in other cases it could take a few days. Again, if you are using Bandcamp, you can schedule your release date, and with Soundcloud you can prep everything and keep the release private until you are ready to click the button and make it public. (Don't forget to post your streaming and sales links to your Soundcloud if you are using it!) Bandcamp can be instantaneous, and also allows direct release to fans, fan subscriptions, and integration of merchandise, and tour dates. (Note: Bandcamp also gives you the email addresses of fans who purchase your music, so you have better access to your fan base, as well as free download codes to give to super dedicated fans, part of a merchandise purchase, or to members of the press.)
Pros & Cons
There are a lot of pros and cons to having your music on streaming platforms, which will vary depending on your approach to releasing and promoting your music. The pros vary by site and by distribution/streaming service. Typically, artists don't make a lot of income from streaming services, but with some distribution services offering things like sync licensing, merchandise sales, gig and tour date announcements, music video distribution, and TikTok and other social media integration.
So, generally speaking, the pros are about making your music widely accessible to audiences around the globe in a variety of ways, as well as the ability to promote upcoming shows, and to find other revenue streams via sync placements. Some of the distribution platforms even offer innovative and fun promotional tools for artists to use when they have an upcoming release, making managing your catalogue and presence online a more complete and integrated service.
The drawbacks are a bit more nefarious, and maybe down to individual artistic goals and philosophies. If accessibility is your goal, for example, you might want your music on YouTube and Spotify—taking a blanket approach with exposure being the focus. If return on your investment is more of your approach, you may instead selectively add your music only to platforms that are paying the highest royalty rates, who respect artists—like Tidal, Apple, or Bandcamp—where your release is going to have a fan-centric model with direct to fan access, and higher return on investment when your supporters can purchase or stream your music, merchandise, or subscribe to future releases (via the Bandcamp subscription model), if you release often.
Simply put, you have to get your music out there, but being tactical about where and how is worth consideration. Is your fan base small but devoted? Or do you have a wide and scattered fan base who are casually involved with you as an artist, and prefer to support you live?
Finally, and perhaps a deeper concern: as the music streaming and tech landscape constantly evolve, there are concerns around things like music theft and or AI training/machine learning. Take for example the HitPiece debacle of 2022, where a former Spotify team member used their API to pull countless artists' catalogs into his new NFT platform, without their knowledge or consent. This was eventually rectified, by many artists on Twitter shouting cease and desist, which led to a website take down. While this is perhaps a lesser known, and less frequent instance, it is possible to have music pulled in such a way, once it is out there.
For now, being signed up to a PRO, and other royalty collection services like Audiam who help artists monetize their streams on certain platforms, are wise choices if you are going to start placing your music online—or not. While they aren’t anti-theft measures, they do cement your rights, and help you monitor your music’s presence online a little better. Additionally, making sure your music is copyrighted through services like COSYND, and staying well-informed of artists' rights and tech advances and trends can go a long way to keeping your intellectual property guarded, monetized, and accessible for years to come.