Your observe is blended and also you’re excited to distribute your new music.
But you might have some further work forward earlier than your music is prepared for international music distribution.
A rocket wants a launchpad. Cereal wants a field. And your music wants…
… these 10 issues with the intention to attain the ears of listeners around the globe:
1. Good Production & Songwriting
Before you consider music distribution, try to be happy with your songs and recordings. There’s an excessive amount of nice music on the market to waste your treasured time selling lacklustre tracks.
Prioritize high quality in each the composition and manufacturing. If you lose objectivity (don’t all of us?), search the steerage of musicians, engineers, producers, or aficionados you respect.
If you’re a member of ReverbNation, test the checklist of recent music promo Opportunities each month to obtain suggestions from producers comparable to Tucker Martine and Mathew Dear.
Invest in your music by taking the time to get it proper, whereas additionally acknowledging there’s no such factor as “perfection.” If you may’t obtain nice outcomes by yourself, rent the appropriate collaborators.
Of course “quality” is considerably subjective, however your music will go rather a lot additional if it sounds skilled — from recording, to mixing, to mastering.
2. High-Quality, Mastered Audio
Speaking of high quality, music mastering is necessary!
Mastering can add readability and punch to your combine, nevertheless it additionally readies the observe to sit down alongside different songs on digital music platforms by adjusting the general quantity to business requirements.
Once your music is mastered, you’ll need:
3. Song titles and album identify
Track titles? You want ‘em! But hopefully this isn’t too laborious. You’ve in all probability ALREADY named the songs by the point they’re mastered.
Before you formally decide to music titles although, make sure the identify is exclusive and avoids doable confusion with different artists. For occasion, you in all probability don’t wish to identify each music on an album “Untitled Number 1” or “This is a Cardi B Song.”
As for titling a set of songs, your EP or full-length album wants a reputation too!
The album identify CAN be the identical as one of many songs on the album, by which case that music would even be known as the “title track.” But it doesn’t must be.
If you’re releasing a single, the observe and the “release” can have the identical title.
4. Artist identify
This could sound apparent, however a singular, memorable, and constant artist identify is essential.
It must be distinctive so your music doesn’t get confused with different artists.
It must be memorable so listeners… keep in mind you.
And it must be constant throughout the metadata and the duvet paintings. You don’t need it to look on Spotify as “Mizz Artist Name” if the duvet paintings says “Ms. Artist & the No Names.” Both ought to agree.
Your artist identify also needs to be constant from launch to launch. Otherwise your music shall be unfold out throughout a number of artist profiles, which is complicated for listeners and extra work so that you can handle. You may be squandering any algorithmic traction you’ve established to your music underneath a special artist identify.
5. Your Collaborators’ Names
Do you will have featured visitors on the observe? Is it a remix by a proficient producer? Are you working with one other artist who ought to get equal billing within the artist identify?
Be positive to have these discussions together with your collaborators about if and the way they’d wish to be credited.
You can credit score the next sorts of contributors to your observe:
- Arranger
- Choir
- Conductor
- Engineer
- Ensemble
- Featuring
- Mixer
- Orchestra
- Performer
- Primary
- Producer
- Remixer
- Soloist
- Writer
Keep in thoughts that whereas collabs will be nice for reaching different artists’ viewers, not each musician you’re employed with will routinely wish to seem in your discography (and vice versa).
6. Cover artwork and related visuals
Speaking of canopy artwork, you’ll want a picture for each launch you join music distribution.
The cowl paintings to your album or single typically creates the primary impression somebody has of your music on a streaming platform, even earlier than they hear the songs. Don’t look beginner.
If you have already got design abilities, you in all probability know your manner round Photoshop. Lack confidence in Photoshop? Canva is a straightforward software that may ship nice outcomes. Got a imaginative and prescient to your paintings however zero design abilities? Image-generation instruments like Midjourney or Dall-E could be a enormous assist.
Your cowl design ought to mirror your music’s temper and style in a compelling manner. It CAN comprise textual content, however doesn’t must. If it DOES comprise textual content, it’s really helpful that the textual content match the artist identify and album title precisely.
As far as visible content material, your cowl artwork could be a picture of you, an summary portray, an AI-generated daydream, or another strategy. But it ought to comply with DSP cover-art tips and be distinctive to your launch. You don’t wish to use the identical cowl artwork for a number of albums or singles.
Although many individuals will solely view the picture as a thumbnail or on their smartphones, it’s at all times really helpful to add the highest-resolution picture file doable whenever you distribute your music, as a result of lots of listening occurs on sensible TVs.
Your cowl paintings must be:
- JPG or PNG format
- At least 3000×3000 pixels in dimension
- An ideal sq. (1:1 facet ratio)
Also, bear in mind that sure platforms (comparable to Spotify) prioritize looping vertical video above static cowl paintings. Which is why we suggest you create a Spotify Canvas for each observe previous to launch.
7. Accurate Music Metadata
Metadata is only a fancy phrase for “additional information about your music.”
It’s all of the OTHER stuff that will get delivered together with the observe. And in reality, we’ve already talked about a number of key factors of metadata above.
Metadata can fall into three essential classes:
- Descriptive — serving to individuals discover the precise music they’re trying to find:
- Artist identify
- Song title
- Release date
- Cover artwork
- Main style
- Ownership — serving to the proper individuals and corporations receives a commission:
- Label identify
- Song writer
- Songwriter (composer & lyricist)
- Recommendation — serving to listeners and algorithms floor the appropriate music for a temper or event:
- Sub-genres
- Mood
- BPM and key
- Explicit Content / Parental Advisory
- Instrumentation
Not all DSPs request or show metadata in the identical manner, so simply make sure to present your distributor with as a lot correct data as they permit through the music distribution signup course of.
If you might be given the chance to supply additional information in a separate course of — for example, through Spotify for Artist’s direct pitching software — do it! It could seem to be a small factor, however sturdy metadata can imply the distinction between obscurity and discovery.
IMPORTANT: A variety of artists are inclined to checklist stylish genres and sounds-like artists, considering it’s going to carry their music extra consideration. But accuracy is much extra necessary than trendiness.
Recommendation engines are designed to ship the appropriate music to the appropriate individuals. The extra that listeners interact, the extra extensively the platform will share your music.
Don’t attempt to sport the system by gaining the improper sort of early consideration; it is going to be counterproductive. The algorithms can have “proof” that individuals don’t like your music. When in reality, all that occurred was you gave inaccurate metadata that brought about the observe to be shared to the improper viewers.
8. UPC and ISRC codes
Don’t fret about these an excessive amount of. They’re each offered by most distributors in the event you don’t have a UPC and ISRCs assigned already.
The UPC is a product identifier for the general album/launch. It’s just like the barcode on a field of cereal that will get scanned on the grocery retailer.
ISRCs are track-level identifiers. Sound-recording codes.
UPCs and ISRCs assist music platforms preserve observe of what’s being listened to, and who to pay for that exercise.
IMPORTANT: If you launch a music as a single, after which later embody that very same recording in an album, make sure to preserve the ISRC the identical. That’s what’s going to tally stream counts collectively so all of the performs the only already garnered get related to the identical observe on the album. You can do that so long as it’s the identical recording (not a drastically totally different combine, model, or edit).
9. Release date
This is easy. And additionally not that easy.
When would you like the music to look for listeners? Simple! Provide that date. Your music distributor will inform the streaming platform, and the platforms will do their greatest to publish the music on that day.
However, the half that wants some further consideration is…
… will your required launch date offer you sufficient time to plan promotion?
… to make the most of associated alternatives comparable to Spotify’s playlist pitching characteristic (which requires supply of the observe greater than per week prematurely of its launch)?
… and are you giving your self sufficient wiggle room for second-guessing and your individual human error through the distribution course of?
You may not suppose that final one is frequent, however I can inform you after 18 years expertise in music distribution, musicians change their minds about issues last-minute on a regular basis.
When you set your launch date, be sure to strike a stability between pleasure, endurance, and realism.
10. The greatest distribution to your music
No matter which distributor you select, you’ll want the primary 9 issues on this checklist.
Then it’s time to decide about which service is greatest to your music distribution, royalty assortment, and promotion.
There isn’t any one-size-fits-all answer, and totally different artists will favor one distributor over one other for various causes.
Some issues to think about when evaluating music distributors:
- Size of the distribution community
- Extra promo, monetization, or A&R options
- Commissions
- Responsiveness to your questions
- Community and schooling
- Whether there are one-time signup charges, annual charges, or — like with BandLab’s music distribution —the providers comes included with membership
If you’re a career-minded musician who desires reliable distribution, rock-solid consumer assist, and a completely unstoppable roster of recent, status, promo alternatives coming your manner each single month, be a part of ReverbNation as we speak!
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Some of those had been talked about above. But let’s assessment.
Make positive you DON’T:
- Rush your launch. You don’t get one other probability for this music to satisfy the world, so plan, be affected person, and do it proper.
- Underestimate metadata. Inaccurate data can result in discoverability points.
- Ignore Pre-Launch Promo. While you’re prepping for distribution, make sure to construct anticipation so your launch can have the largest influence as soon as its stay.
By checking off the objects on this checklist and steering away from frequent pitfalls, you’ll set your self up for a profitable music launch and painless music distribution.
And as you launch extra music sooner or later, you might must refer again to this checklist once more. We hope to see you then as your music catalog continues to develop.
Best of luck in your musical journey!