Hi!
Is it beneficial for a no-name artist to distribute his music to iTunes, Amazon and all the famous stores? Wouldn't it be better to sell songs only e.g. via MGcash on Soundcloud (you take 85% of the song's price as opposed to taking only 70% from iTunes...).
I mean, does selling on iTunes and other famous stores brings a no-name artist more buyers? Comparing to selling songs only on Soundcloud (via self promotion like sending the buy links yourself to people).

Does selling on iTunes, Amazon etc really help buyers discover a no-name artist?


cheers!

 

Not if no one knows who you are. I released several tracks on iTunes. Not a single sale.
For reference, here ya go:
Reverie
This is my album. It's only been about a week. Let's see how many sales come around for it. You'll know by the "popularity" bar for each track. No one really knows who I am, tho. I never play out. So if you're in my shoes, no one will be buying your music. Especially if you live in America - where everyone only listens to what is shoved down their throats by the top 40 radio stations. Hopefully you'll be more successful than me.
I say try it out. If you generate sales, well then... good. If not, then do a better job promoting yourself. I used Distrokid for my distribution method. I heard it's not real distribution, & I don't find that surprising if it's correct. Maybe you'd like to try it for yourself first.

 

Just like publishing an album physically, if you're unknown, so will your music. However, in my view, I believe it's necessary that you do publish your songs. They are like online business cards. Once you start moving your material around and want to find venues to play, festivals to be invited to, and so on, being on iTunes or Spotify will get venue promoters' attention. If someone hears about you and gets interested in learning about you, most likely they'll look you up in Spotify. If you're not there, it's harder to self-promote your material. Fortunately, some aggregators will publish you for free (for a higher sales cut, of course), but assuming you are a nobody, sharing a bigger part of no sales is ok to get your songs out there effectively. The problem is that if you become an overnight sensation, then you'd be losing serious money to the aggregator, but then it's up to you to assess your future sales potential.

 

1) Is there an aggregator which will distribute my songs to Spotify for free and which will give my songs free ISRC codes and free barcodes? (in exchange for a cut in sales)

2) If I release a few songs with a free aggregator, can't I just stop using it and release these songs in another aggregator (which will take a smaller cut of sales profits) ?

 

Are you serious? What guarantee can you give that you will make any sales at all to offset costs?

 

Look into using places like Ditto Music,if you unfamiliar with promoting yourself,i suggest looking into using their services for promotion
https://www.dittomusic.com/
......or I suggest joining the free music summit to look into how to actually sell your stuff(its free to join)
http://go.musiclaunchhub.com/summit-hub/ another dude thats excellently priced is james taylors music business edge for around 37$ monthly you'll get access to the full training on getting your release out their etc http://musicbusinessinstitute.com/join-edge/ these are the only places really reasonable,with full bore experience training wise,james has worked with the stones,jeffbeck etc....Im on james stuff,,,,this guys wicked good.

 

What costs do you mean? I look for a free aggregator to publish a few songs to iTunes, Spotify...

I'd like to know:
1) Is there an aggregator which will distribute my songs to Spotify for free and which will give my songs free ISRC codes and free barcodes? (in exchange for a cut in sales)

2) If I release a few songs with a free aggregator, can't I just stop using it and release these songs in another aggregator (which will take a smaller cut of sales profits) ?

 

No one is going to purchase your music unless it is fucking amazing, and you market it professionally, hit the streets and play it live, and develop a following. Lets face reality....people barely buy popular music. You want to make it in music. Fuck worrying about recording and focus on your live show.

 

No unless you market and promote the hell out of it. It doesn't have to be 'fucking amazing'. Hardly anything these days is.

 

Ok. Heres the 411. Straight up. I've been writing, producing, remixing and releasing music for over 28 years. When vinyl was happening. Labels were happening. Advance on royalties, promo departments in full effect, access to studio's with serious hardware and seasoned engineers, you maybe even got a rider. Exposure on radio. And in print. Clubs were happening in a big way. Large venues, mad attendance and a captive audience. Peeps could hear and most importantly, have something 'tangible' to collect, hold and enjoy. Vinyl had covers / sleeves providing art, imagery and information reflecting the Artists / Bands persona, musicality and direction. And you tour. Perform live. Build a following. Acquire a manger.The label made a financial investment and chased down returns. Now, fast forward to the here and now. The digital domain. Music sells in various formats. From whack (128 kbps mp3's) to semi reasonable lossless formats. For as little as $0.99 a song. Distributors. Aggregators. No financial investment necessary (putting aside their own operational costs) Lets say the artist has had little exposure and no fan base per se. They offer you a fair 50-50 split. The digital file is distributed to numerous online retailers. They take a %. Some at 15%. So now your musical composition is earning way less than 50%. And its selling online for $1.99. Piracy, file sharing stifles royalties. Streaming services pay next to zero to the artist, via your aggregator. Distributor. Who still take their cut. And peeps subscribe to their services as they don't have to spend a dime purchasing music en mass. So there you have it. Thats my 2 cents anyway (no pun intended) dv8r171 is totally on point. Performing Live and developing a following is the only way to slowly secure an income in order to pursue your Art form. You may even make it. The power of positive thinking. We all got your back here. Gotta hustle to survive. It's like a jungle out there it makes me wonder how I keep from going under. Prolific words indeed. Peace!

 

This a an aggregator that will publish you for free: Loudr. Remember it's not actually frvee. It's pay zero upfront and pay through the nose when it sells. If you want a big name in the industry even CDBaby has a free version.

No. Each song published gets a unique IRSC code. You can't drop a song and republish it because it would count as a new song with another IRSC and zero pupularity. However, you might want to read the terms and conductions of the contract you agree upon with a distributor or aggrgator. Some might let you become a paying customer. Maybe there's a free to set an IRSC free. You'd have to do your job and read the fine print.

In the end aggregators are companies that want to make a buck as much as you do, so they won't go easy on you if they see a sales potential. If they are not taking your money up front, there's something else down the line. Like Tom Cuise said in Jack Reaper: "The cheapest woman tends to be the one you pay for."

 

There are differences between distributors and distributors, some will actually ask you to work your way up for more sales in different ways. In ways like asking your artist to put up a list of favourite tunes (such thing as a top 5, top 10) or/and to upload photos with a brief description. Having this, they will look up for the fitting sales platform and make a spotlight on your label/artists.