When you’re working with lots of artists and labels, they’ll often have questions around best practises. Here is a list of our top 5 music distribution tips…
1) Release Strategy:
DSPs (Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music etc.) tend to favour artists who release music consistently and in the streaming era, the waterfall model is a very popular strategy. This is where an artist releases tracks with 4 weeks or more between each release with each track appearing on the same release so that it builds up to create an EP or album. We always advise artists to get their releases uploaded into the distribution system as soon as they have them ready. This way they have a solid plan and they can focus on other things like marketing the music and creating social content. With My Client Zone artists can set pre orders and set a release date within their metadata.
2) Lead Time:
If an artist is looking to market their release effectively, then it’s a good idea to have as long a lead time as possible. We suggest that your artist and label clients upload releases to their My Music Distribution Zone account and choose a release date 6 weeks in advance. There are several reasons for this but mainly as it helps to build anticipation with fans and gives the artist something to communicate and build up excitement about the release. Additionally, most marketing happens pre-release so it’s important that everyone is aligned and working towards a common goal.
3) Marketing:
With over 100,000+ releases uploaded onto music streaming platforms every day it’s important to ensure that your clients are marketing their music effectively. Once you’ve partnered with My Client Zone you can add these packages as extras onto your white labelled distribution service for clients to buy. We also offer several discounted marketing packages you can re-sell with your own mark up on. Such as editorial playlist pitching, EPK Creation, Digital PR etc. Reach out to your My Client Zone rep to get a list of the marketing services we can offer.
4) Branding Your Streaming Profiles:
Most DSPs have a place where your clients can log into, to update their profiles. You should advise your clients to update things such as their artist image, adding links to their social media profile, adding visual content (such as Spotify Canvas) and updating their biographies – this is something that DSPs look at when considering to support an artist or not. Artists and their teams can claim their artist profiles on these global platforms:
- Spotify for Artists
- Apple Music for Artists
- Deezer for Creators
- Amazon Music for Artists
- TIDAL for Artists
5) Advertising:
Once the music is out on the platforms it’s a good idea to tell your artists and labels to run some adverts on either social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Or directly on DSPs such as AudioMack who offers Sponsored Songs or Spotify through their ads service. You can use ads to drive people to the platform of their choice via smart links to listen to the music.
We hope you have found our top 5 music distribution tips useful. Mastering music distribution is crucial for any aspiring artist and record label looking to make their mark in the industry. By sharing and implementing these these top tips with your clients, you can help them navigate the complexities of the modern music landscape with confidence.
If you would like further guidance on music distribution best practices, feel free to reach out to your White Label Distribution rep.