Wednesday 4 February 2015

Digital Distribution

Ah, the joys of the modern age. I have to admit I am a fan of the digital age. I spend around 12 hours a day stuck at my desk and I do play music for the majority of that time. So it’s far simpler for me to log onto Spotify and stream a load of music, or to play a couple of digital albums. Making a couple of clicks is far more convenient than actually moving the 10 foot to my cd player every hour…. Yeah, I’ve gotten lazy.

But I think it is important for a band or label to have a digital presence these days, even if it’s just on Bandcamp or You Tube. People want access to your music without waiting 2 or 3 weeks for a cd to wing its way half way across the world. 

So that’s where my new digital distribution service comes in.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve just started and have yet to gain any fans, you can now begin your career battling with the big boys on Amazon, iTunes and Spotify. And at zero cost.

I’ve spent a stupid amount of time doing research on the multitude of companies out there offering to get your music onto 100’s of platforms. But in reality, you only need to have your music available via a select few. In 2013, iTunes had 63% of the market share of download sales and Amazon had 22%. So those 2 companies had 85% of the entire market.

Things are now changing, as the streaming sites, such as Spotify, have caused a slowdown in actual sales, but you get the general idea that a few select companies dominate the market.

But the downfall of this is how the money from sales is actually distributed. Generally, the bigger companies take around 30% of the sale. The company you then use to get your music onto these platforms takes anything from 15% to 30% and that’s after they charge you a fee. Sometimes that fee is a one-off, and sometimes you are paying $50 a year (£33) + commission.  Plus the fact they take 2 or 3 months to pay you. The rewards are not instant, in the way that Bandcamp do things.

If you’re looking to make a lot of money from this, you might have to think again. One of my invoices is from iTunes in Russia and for the streaming of one track, I made an almighty $0.00054921. Which if I had 1000 plays of the track, I’d make an impressive $0.55 – which is about 36p in the UK. Take away Paypal fees and my expense of actually having the album distributed, and I’m not buying my dream home by the coast any time soon.

The alternatives are to pay a larger fee and you can then keep 100% of your royalties. But if you’re taking that option, just read the small print as some companies only pay once you’ve achieved $100 in sales and some keep the money if you’ve not achieved that total within a certain time frame. The industry has no set rules, so tread carefully.

So who is my new digital service aimed at?

It’s aimed at bands who are looking to increase their presence on the internet. If you’re looking to make as much money as possible, my advice is to do the work yourself and pay for a service that gives you 100% of your royalties. This normally averages out at about the £50 mark for registering an album.

For everyone else, I do the grunt work and you don’t have to pay me a thing upfront.

If you’re just looking for a basic service, here’s your best option:

Free Service:
Your music will be available to buy through the likes of iTunes, Amazon etc… as well as streaming on Spotify (and you also have the option of having your release on our Bandcamp page)

You’ll receive 65% of the royalties and we don’t charge you a penny for our services

If you’re looking for something a bit more substantial, there is also the small fee option.

Small Fee Option:
You get the same digital distribution option as above, but we will also add one of your songs to YouTube. We’ll also promote your song via Social Media, as well as via free compilations etc…

The fees start at just £5, plus you keep a larger slice of the royalties.
You’ll receive 75% of the royalties

It all depends on what you’re looking for, be it reviews, interviews, tracks on covermount cds etc…
We can also help with cover versions and the payment of royalties etc…

These terms apply to a single, an EP or a standard album. For example, if you have a 100 track, 6 hour compilation, that’s too much work as a standard album can take a couple of hours to upload for distribution.

For all packages, you keep all the rights to your music.

For bands in the UK, we can also offer discounted cd duplication: 50 cds in slim cases with a 2 page booklet for £60
Which obviously isn’t digital, but a physical release is still important in this digital age

Once we receive your music, it is normally uploaded within 24 hours and can be available to buy and stream, via some sites, within a few hours. Others can take up to 2 weeks to have your music available online.


If you have any questions about the service, please feel free to contact me at steve@sixsixsixmusic.com

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