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Your track is mixed and you\u2019re excited to distribute your new music<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n But you may have some additional work ahead before your song is ready for global music distribution.<\/p>\n A rocket needs a launchpad.\u00a0Cereal needs a box.\u00a0And your music needs a few extras in order to reach the ears of listeners around the world<\/p>\n Before you think about music distribution, you should be proud of your songs and recordings. There\u2019s too much great music out there to waste your precious time promoting lacklustre tracks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prioritize quality in both the composition and production. If you lose objectivity (don\u2019t we all?), seek the guidance of musicians, engineers, producers, or aficionados you respect.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a member of ReverbNation, check the list of new music promo Opportunities<\/a> every month to receive feedback from producers such as Tucker Martine and Mathew Dear.<\/em><\/p>\n Invest in your music by taking the time to get it right, while also acknowledging there\u2019s no such thing as \u201cperfection.\u201d If you can\u2019t achieve great results on your own, hire the right collaborators.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course \u201cquality\u201d is somewhat subjective, but your music will go a lot further if it sounds professional \u2014\u00a0from recording, to mixing, to mastering.<\/p>\n Speaking of quality, music mastering<\/a> is important!\u00a0<\/p>\n Mastering can add clarity and punch to your mix, but it also readies the track to sit alongside other songs on digital music platforms by adjusting the overall volume to industry standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once your music is mastered, you\u2019ll want:<\/strong><\/p>\n Track titles? You need \u2018em! But hopefully this isn\u2019t too hard. You\u2019ve probably ALREADY named the songs by the time they\u2019re mastered.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before you officially commit to song titles though, be sure the name is unique and avoids possible confusion with other artists. For instance, you probably don\u2019t want to name every song on an album \u201cUntitled Number 1\u201d or \u201cThis is a Cardi B Song.\u201d<\/p>\n As for titling a collection of songs, your EP or full-length album needs a name too!<\/p>\n The album name CAN be the same as one of the songs on the album, in which case that song would also be referred to as the \u201ctitle track.\u201d But it doesn\u2019t have to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019re releasing a single, the track and the \u201crelease\u201d will have the same title.\u00a0<\/p>\n This may sound obvious, but a unique, memorable, and consistent artist name is crucial.\u00a0<\/p>\n It should be unique so your music does not get confused with other artists.\u00a0<\/p>\n It should be memorable so listeners\u2026 remember you.\u00a0<\/p>\n And it should be consistent across the metadata and the cover artwork. You don\u2019t want it to appear on Spotify as \u201cMizz Artist Name\u201d if the cover artwork says \u201cMs. Artist & the No Names.\u201d Both should agree.<\/p>\n Your artist name should also be consistent from release to release. Otherwise your music will be spread out across multiple artist profiles, which is confusing for listeners and more work for you to manage. You may also be squandering any algorithmic traction you\u2019ve established for your music under a different artist name. <\/p>\n What about Features<\/strong>? To add a \u201cfeaturing\u201d credit to individual tracks, see the details in the next section!<\/p>\n Do you have featured guests on the track? Is it a remix by a talented producer? Are you working with another artist who should get equal billing in the artist name?\u00a0<\/p>\n Be sure to have those discussions with your collaborators about if and how they\u2019d like to be credited. If they do want public credit included in the metadata for the release, be sure to format the collaborators\u2019 names correctly. (More on that below).<\/p>\n You can credit the following kinds of contributors for your track:<\/strong><\/p>\n Keep in mind that while collabs can be great for reaching other artists\u2019 audience, not every musician you work with will automatically want to appear in your discography (and vice versa).<\/p>\n Now, if they do want a contributor credit, here are\u2026 <\/p>\n Speaking of cover art, you\u2019ll need an image for every release you sign up for music distribution.<\/p>\n The cover artwork for your album or single often creates the first impression someone has of your music on a streaming platform, even before they hear the songs. Don\u2019t look amateur.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you already have design skills, you probably know your way around Photoshop<\/a>. Lack confidence in Photoshop? Canva<\/a> is an easy tool that can deliver great results. Got a vision for your artwork but zero design skills? Image-generation tools like Midjourney<\/a> or Dall-E<\/a> can be a huge help. <\/p>\n Your cover design should reflect your music\u2019s mood and genre in a compelling way. It CAN contain text, but doesn\u2019t need to.\u00a0If it DOES contain text, it\u2019s recommended that the text match the artist name and album title exactly.\u00a0<\/p>\n As far as visual content, your cover art can be a photo of you, an abstract painting, an AI-generated daydream, or any other approach. But it should follow DSP cover-art guidelines<\/a> and be unique to your release. You don\u2019t want to use the same cover art for multiple albums or singles.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Although many people will only view the image as a thumbnail or on their smartphones, it\u2019s always recommended to upload the highest-resolution image file possible when you distribute your music, because a lot of listening happens on smart TVs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Your cover artwork should be:<\/strong><\/p>\n Also, be aware that certain platforms (such as Spotify) prioritize looping vertical video above static cover artwork. Which is why we recommend you create a Spotify Canvas<\/a> for every track prior to release.\u00a0<\/p>\n Metadata<\/a> is just a fancy word for \u201cadditional information about your music.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s all the OTHER stuff that gets delivered along with the track. And in fact, we\u2019ve already mentioned a few key points of metadata above.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not all DSPs request or display metadata in the same way, so just be sure to provide your distributor with as much accurate info as they allow during the music distribution signup process. <\/p>\n If you are given the opportunity to provide additional info in a separate process \u2014\u00a0for instance, via Spotify for Artist\u2019s direct pitching tool \u2014\u00a0do it! It may seem like a small thing, but robust metadata can mean the difference between obscurity and discovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n IMPORTANT: A lot of artists are inclined to list trendy genres and sounds-like artists, thinking it will bring their music more attention. But accuracy is far more important than trendiness.\u00a0<\/p>\n Recommendation engines are designed to deliver the right music to the right people. The more that listeners engage, the more widely the platform will share your music.\u00a0<\/p>\n Don\u2019t try to game the system by gaining the wrong kind of early attention; it will be counterproductive. The algorithms will have \u201cproof\u201d that people don\u2019t like your music. When in fact, all that happened was you gave inaccurate metadata that caused the track to be shared to the wrong audience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Don\u2019t fret about these too much. They\u2019re both provided by most distributors if you don\u2019t have a UPC and ISRCs assigned already.<\/p>\n The UPC is a product identifier <\/a>for the overall album\/release.\u00a0It\u2019s like the barcode on a box of cereal that gets scanned at the grocery store.<\/p>\n ISRCs are track-level identifiers<\/a>. Sound-recording codes.\u00a0<\/p>\n UPCs and ISRCs help music platforms keep track of what\u2019s being listened to, and who to pay for that activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n IMPORTANT: If you release a song as a single, and then later include that same recording in an album, be sure to keep the ISRC the same. That\u2019s what will tally stream counts together so all the plays the single already garnered get associated with the same track on the album. You can do this as long as it\u2019s the same recording (not a drastically different mix, version, or edit).\u00a0<\/p>\n This is simple. And also not that simple.<\/p>\n When do you want the song to appear for listeners? Simple! Provide that date.\u00a0Your music distributor will tell the streaming platform, and the platforms will do their best to publish the music on that day. <\/p>\n However, the part that needs some additional consideration is\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026 will your desired release date give you enough time to plan promotion?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2026 to take advantage of related opportunities such as Spotify\u2019s playlist pitching feature (which requires delivery of the track more than a week in advance of its release)?<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2026 and are you giving yourself enough wiggle room for second-guessing and your own human error during the distribution process?\u00a0<\/p>\n You might not think that last one is common, but I can tell you after 18 years experience in music distribution, musicians change their minds about things last-minute all the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n When you set your release date, make sure to strike a balance between excitement, patience, and realism.\u00a0<\/p>\n No matter which distributor you choose, you\u2019ll need the first nine things on this list.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then it\u2019s time to make a decision about which service is best for your music distribution, royalty collection, and promotion.\u00a0<\/p>\n There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and different artists will favor one distributor over another for different reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some things to consider when comparing music distributors:<\/strong><\/p>\n1. Good Production & Songwriting<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. High-Quality, Mastered Audio\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. Song titles and album name<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. Artist name<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The different types of artist name:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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5. Your Collaborators\u2019 Names<\/h3>\n
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Three things to understand about featured artists:<\/h4>\n
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6. Cover art and associated visuals<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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7. Accurate Music Metadata<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Metadata can fall into three main categories:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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8. UPC and ISRC codes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
9. Release date<\/strong><\/h3>\n
10. The best distribution for your music<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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