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While many musicians would probably prefer to focus on writing, recording, and performing, independent artists often have to be their own managers, too. That means handling the many nitty-gritty details that go into getting music from their hard drive to listeners’ headphones.
One of the early challenges is distribution. While there are plenty of platforms that allow artists to directly upload music, to reach a broader audience, independent artists need a distributor to get their music heard on major platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and others.
Here’s what artists need to know about getting their music on Spotify, the most widely used music streaming service, as well as other major platforms.
How to Get Your Music on Spotify
Since Spotify does not allow artists to upload music directly, independent musicians have to use a distributor. One of the most trusted options is DistroKid; artists can upload music to the platform, which distributes it to Spotify within days.
Since this year, Spotify has supported high-resolution audio, meaning musicians can upload their audio in FLAC. It’s a lossless compression format that better preserves a song’s audio fidelity compared to MP3, which is considered a “lossy” format.
One of the appeals of using DistroKid to distribute music is that artists keep 100% of their profits — while Spotify takes a cut, DistroKid does not, allowing artists to generate more revenue from their streams. Users also get an unlimited number of uploads through DistroKid, and you can set your release date in advance for maximum reach.
Artists can also take advantage of Spotify tools that help broaden their reach and engage fans. DistroKid lets users create a Spotify Canvas, a short, looping video that shows while the track is playing. Verification is another helpful tool to bolster an artist’s presence, and DistroKid automatically verifies artists when they use the platform.
Users can also pitch upcoming releases to Spotify for consideration on playlists, including Release Radar, Spotify’s weekly curated roundup of new releases.
In addition to Spotify, DistroKid can help artists get distributed on Apple Music, TikTok, Pandora, Amazon, Tidal, Deezer, and other platforms. Artists can select which platforms they want to upload to through DistroKid.
How to Get Paid
It’s no secret that how profits are split has led to some fractious relationships within bands, which is why it’s a good idea to set profit-sharing in advance. Bands can use DistroKid to set splits in advance, sharing profits between collaborators, producers, bandmates, and more.
Artists can access payments for their music through Distrokid.com/bank, and they are typically paid about three months after release.
And since merch is a big part of how artists make money, you can also get set up through DistroKid Direct, which allows you to sell t-shirts, totes, and more to fans around the world.
While being an independent artist comes with plenty of challenges, distribution doesn’t need to be one of them as long as you have the right tools.
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