It’s hard being an Independent Artist. Not only are we doing everything ourselves we also often are targeted, scammed and misinformed every step of our process. Simply just being in the creative process is heaven! But at the end of the day we have to protect our music and pay our bills. A common misconception made by Artists is the process of Distribution and Marketing. These two processes are very easy to mistake especially with so many promises being made when someone else is doing it for you. Well I’m here to break it down and hopefully ease the confusion.
Music distribution is the way that the music industry makes recorded music available to consumers. It's a core aspect of its business model, and it makes it possible to purchase most music in stores or download or stream it online. (thebalance.com)
Music Distribution is one of the steps of the Music Release Model that comes after copyrights, registration. By the time you’re here your music has been mixed, mastered and ready for the world to hear. All you need to do is select your Distributor and follow their steps so that your music can be repellers to the world via iTunes, Spotify, Tidal and many more Music Streaming and Download companies. Each artist has their own pick of who they will go through to distribute their music and each company comes with a different set of options and benefits. It’s always smart to go with a company with in your budget that fits your desired needs.
Here is a short list of the most popular Distribution companies for Indie Artists Music
Distrokid
Tunecore
CD Baby
United Masters
and there are many others out there. Some Magee labels even offer Distribution Contracts if you pass their submission process.
In order to release your music to ITunes, Spotify and the major streaming and download platforms these companies are the way to go. But if you’re not quite ready for that yet. YouTube, Reverbnation and Soundcloud are still amongst the top Music Sharing site and can still help you move into the next phase of Music Promoting which is Marketing.
Music Marketing is the art of promoting your music either digitally or physically to get people listening and buying your latest album or song. There are many free ways to Market a Your Music as well as Paid Opportunities. If you’re an independent artist without a lot of money you may go with free options like Social Media Posting or sending your music to your Email List. Indie Artist with a little more money may choose to run ads on social media and indie artist with a bigger budget may choose to hire a company to do the work for them. Whatever the case is Music Marketing is a crucial step to get your music out there.
Why You Need Music Marketing
Music Marketing is what’s going to get your music in the hands of not only fans but industry contacts and you need this to move your career along. If you’re thinking about making it in music independently or working towards a record deal without Marketing your music you won’t get very far. I know I know, even more work right? Yes it is. Music in a whole is a very tedious process and though us as artist and producers would love to stick to the creative process and performing the reality is being independent forces us to take on tasks that we aren’t always comfortable with. However Music Marketing, when done consistently and effectively can put you in a position to make money as well. I’ve talked about copyrights and registration but if nobody is hearing your music you can’t get royalties.
Takeaway
I hope I was able to give a better understanding about the differences of Music Distribution and Music Marketing. These are two closely related steps in the music process but very different. My advice if you have music already out there on these platforms start doing all you can to promote it. It won’t be easy but you will see the results overtime. Need help navigating send me a message. Peace #CymphaniSpeaks