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Record and Release
Spotify and Streaming Services

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Distribution Services

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There are services available that will distribute your music. They will put your music onto all the streaming services - even ones you´ve never heard of. I use Ditto but there are plenty of others with good reputations. All of them will make your music available in all the main download stores, put your songs onto over 100 streaming platforms etc. In short, your music will be available in every country in the world.

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To investigate just visit a few of the different distributors and choose one. Here´s a couple to start you off.

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Ditto

This is the company I use. For €19 a year (I´m in Spain so I pay in Euros) I can release as many tracks as I want

and Ditto will put them in download stores such as iTunes (does that still exist?) and Amazon, put them on Spotify, Apple Music and all the international streaming channels. The downside is that streaming channels pay fractions of a penny per play so you are not going to get rich from streaming unless you are Ed Sheerhan. Spotify, for example, pays £1·88 per thousand streams. You are not going to be able to retire on the income from streaming. Nevertheless I get a huge thrill from seeing, on my quarterly stats, that my Peruvian fans are still listening as I get an average of 5 listens in Peru every quarter.  Click on the logo to go to Ditto.

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Distrokid

I haven´t used Distrokid but those that have speak highly of it. The same services as Ditto. It costs £20.99 for 12 months with unlimited tracks and you keep 100% of your vast income from the streaming services. Again, click on the logo to find out more.

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In conclusion:-

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You will need some sort of recording of your song/s so the choices are:-

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  1. Recording yourself in your Home Studio                  (Ideal if you have the expertise - not for beginners)

  2. Paying out for a Professional Recording Studio.    (Almost guaranteed a good result but not cheap)

  3. Recording yourself on your iPad or phone               (Not the best but it could be done)

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Once you have your recording as a WAV file you can either:-

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  1. Just have it made into CDs                                                      (For sales at gigs and presents to friends and family)

  2. Sell your CDs and digital downlioads at Bandcamp       (This doesn´t get you any streaming exposure)

  3. Get a distibutor to place your music on Spotify etc        (Gives you worldwide coverage but little income)

  4. A combination of 2 and 3                                                          (Decent income from sales and worldwide exposure)

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The Next Step

 

This just takes you as far as getting your music out there. The hard part is getting people to listen to your songs and that is a whole new, huge subject. Ed Sheerhan has the weight of a multi-national Record Company behind him and a massive fanbase. - you don´t. From now on it is a mixture of persistence, marketing and, above all, luck. The "Official" TisT Create Record Release Course covers all this (but can´t supply the luck!).  There is a condensed version at the TisT website.

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I posted a list of Local Radio contacts here which can be useful to get your music heard and you can always try your luck with the "BBC Introducing" scheme that puts your song in front of Producers of  BBC local radio programmes.  Click on the link, upload a song and try your luck. I´ve had a couple of plays by this method.

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That´s the end of this "Course" but if you have any questions or additions or suggestions please drop me a line

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