What is digital distribution?
Digital distribution is the service that puts your track on the streaming platforms. You deliver a master and metadata to a distributor, who passes them on to Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and the rest, then pays your streaming revenue through to you.
What the distributor does
The platforms don't accept uploads directly from artists. The distributor is the approved intermediary: it checks your files are correct, delivers them to the stores, then collects the royalties.
It also handles the coordinated release date, pre-orders and your streaming statistics. Some offer editorial pitching on top, which puts your track in front of the playlist teams.
The codes: ISRC and UPC
The ISRC identifies one specific recording. Every track gets one, and it follows that recording for life, including if you change distributor. It's what makes your plays countable.
The UPC identifies a complete release: a single, an EP, an album. Distributors usually generate them for you, but you can supply your own if you already have them.
Pass these codes to your mastering engineer: they can be written into the metadata of the file you're delivered.
Lead times and metadata
Allow at least four weeks between delivering to the distributor and the release date. That isn't paperwork: it's what makes you eligible for the platforms' editorial pitching, which generally wants four weeks' notice.
Get the metadata right: exact spelling of the artist name, credits, writers, genre. A typo at this stage spreads to every platform and is hard to undo.
We prepare masters in the formats distributors expect, metadata and codes included. See mastering.
Common questions
Do I need a label to be on Spotify?
No. A distributor is enough, and plenty of artists put records out themselves. A label brings something else: money up front, a network, promotion.
Who keeps the rights to my music?
You do, with straightforward distribution. The distributor takes a commission or a subscription without acquiring your rights. Always read the term and the exit clause before you sign.
Tell us about your project.
We take on a limited number of projects each season. We read everything that comes in.