Numbers mean nothing without context. In China the numbers are unusually huge, and for anyone with big eyes that looks good, the trick is to look with sharp eyes. Eye Spy with my little eye something that has: massive potential for my music to get utilized and return a healthy income, this is what music distribution in China proposes. Please use your sharp little eyes to spot the digital music distribution diamond in the rough, not all services that now boast distribution to China are equal.
These are more or less the only music distributon channels that are being utilized by the majority of the Western digital music distribution services who amongst their typical worldwide music distribution plan including Asia, throw in China for good measure; they are, Kanjian, K digital, KK Box, or have an exclusive agreements with Tencent or Netease, which means you can get your music on one or the other. What if there was an other choice, someone who could get you into China through the backdoor and distribute your music to all the top major streaming services and minor radio and sound media providers and you keep 100% of the royalties to boot? Umm… Where do you sign up you ask.
Musicinfo's digital music distribution gets your music to the largest audience in China hands down, buy distributing your music to all the top major monetizing streaming services and having your music organically promoted to a multitude of significant radio, internet radio and various music media providers. No one else can do this for you all in one shot, and start promotion actions by distributing your video and posting on Chinese social media as well as find your music a life on influential playlists. By all means you are welcome to go and do the leg work yourself, and after miles of pounding the digital pavement you may come up with a better strategy to find the best digital music distribution service, but think of all the music you could have been making in the meantime.
Trend is the trendy word. The now, the current, is all that is important. What we need to know now and do now will give you the power to be in the game and pave the way to your success. The trend, the hype is music distribution to China and playlists. What that means is if your music is in China you gotta get it on a playlist. You’re then on the right track to get your music heard and generate royalties. This is a good thing that your music is not sitting around on the sidelines waiting quietly waiting for its turn to be put in the rotation. As a thriving musician you have the choice to influence how and who your music gets listened to, but when it comes down to it the real matter is in how many plays it gets. More is better and better is more. The bigger the audiences, the more plays, the more royalties, that’s the logic. The biggest audiences now and the current trend is China. But first you’ve gotta get your music there.
Take a comparison, Table 1. of the services that are available inside and outside of China. Note that if you have your music on Spotify, Pandora, Deezer or others it is most likely not in China. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and others are not in China. Take a look at table 2. and see for yourself the strengths and limitations of the top distribution services for you. It is obvious that the logical choice when distributing your music to China is to utilize the service that specializes in China. Experience the most extensive reach to the audiences in China, outlined in table 3., and make Musicinfo your music distribution and promotion expert.
Table 1. Numbers Comparison for Digital Music Distribution, Streaming and Social Media (Monthly Active Users, MAUs) 2019
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Territory |
Rest of the World |
Music Distribution in China |
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Streaming |
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Social media and video |
Table 2. Comparison of Music Distribution Services
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Amuse |
BEST:No fees. No commission. You keep 100% of the revenue. Extremely data driven/focused. Give advances (for signed artists) .Pay for marketing (for signed artists). Can upstream to a 50/50 (not 360) label agreement |
WORST:New and unproven. If they lose their investor, their entire company folds. No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties.No desktop site to upload (app only). Will not obtain mechanical license for cover songs
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AWAL |
BEST:No fees. Analytics, demographics and trending reports. Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube basic analytics mobile app Personal attention for artists with traction. Synch licensing possibilities (for buzz artists) Playlist plugging possibilities (for buzz artists). Physical distribution possibility. Instagram Story "Music" inclusion |
WORST:15% commission. Customer support is extremely slow and it is very difficult to get a response. No payment splitting. Must apply and be accepted to use AWAL. High payment threshold ($45). No place to see all playlists you're included on. No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties (must be ‘signed’ to Kobalt). High delays for non-priority artists to get releases distributed
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CDbaby |
BEST:No yearly fees. You pay once, your music is up forever no matter what. Physical distribution. They have partnered with Alliance Entertainment, Super D and Amazon to get your CD/record in record stores around the world. You must apply for this feature. Fulfillment and an ecommerce store for CD and vinyl. They have an admin publishing service to collect your songwriter royalties via CD Baby Pro Publishing. One of the few companies to collect your Synch licensing possibilities. |
WORST:9% commission. They charge $5 for a single UPC or $20 for an album UPC. These aren't optional add ons. You can't distribute your album without a UPC - so add on an additional $5/20 for each release. No Instagram Story "Music" inclusion (without CD Baby Pro Publishing opt-in or Facebook Monetization opt-in and publishing support). High YouTube commission (30%) No payment splitting. No mechanisms in place to help artists who start to catch (marketing support, playlist plugging, etc)
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Distrokid |
BEST:No commission. You keep 100% of the revenue. Unlimited songs for one yearly price. Payment splitting. Single page signup. Email every step of the way - upload success, when it appears in Spotify, iTunes, etc. Instagram Story "Music" inclusion. Next day trending reports. You can send lyrics to Apple Music and iTunes. “Leave a Legacy,” for $30/release, the release will never come down “even if you die,”or miss your annual payment. Ability to download the songs. Text message marketing (coming soon). |
WORST:Reports and analytics, very basic information in plain form. $.99/year/release for Shazam. If you distribute an album of 10 songs, it will cost you an additional $10/yr for that album just for Shazam. Lots of extra fees. No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties. Text message marketing feature has been ‘coming this week’ for months. Payment splitting costs. No mechanisms in place to help artists who start to catch (marketing support, playlist plugging, etc.)
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Ditto |
BEST:No commission. You keep 100% of the revenue. Unlimited songs for one yearly price. Reports and analytics reports are very clear and intelligible. Are they accurate? Who knows. |
WORST:Lots of hidden fees. Customer service. Lots of complaints from customers. No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties. No mechanisms in place to help artists who start to catch (marketing support, playlist plugging, etc)
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Fresh Tunes |
BEST:No fees. No commission. You keep 100% of the revenue. (except from China). Distribution to Chinese DSPs. Have ‘experts’ who will review your music for $25/song. Can be helpful to get objective feedback. |
WORST:Only 15 total outlets. They are new and unproven. No payment splitting. No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties. No mechanisms in place to help artists who start to catch (marketing support, playlist plugging, etc.)
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Horus Music |
BEST:Choose the plan that make sense for your project: Free (for 20% commission) or 0% for a fee Distribution to Asian markets In-house playlist pluggers (for a fee, with approval). In-house playlist pluggers and other marketing services (for a fee and by approval) |
WORSE:No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties. No payment splitting. High takedown cost for the first 3 months (if there’s an error with distribution and you need something fixed, it’ll cost you).
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Landr |
BEST:No commission. ASCAP members get free membership and free distribution. In house playlist pluggers (for artists gaining traction). Free distribution with any mastering membership. Shared workspace. Landr has a collaborative workspace where everyone on the team can work on a track in a centralized location. |
WORST:New and unproven. There is a big learning curve when it comes to the distribution. Yearly/Monthly fees. Lots of missing features that other distributors offer. No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties Does not provide a mechanical license for you to release a cover song seamlessly. No mechanisms in place to help artists who start to catch (marketing support, playlist plugging, etc.) |
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Mondo |
BEST:Distribution to the most worldwide DSPs (including Asian markets; China?) |
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WORST: 10% commission. Yearly fees. No payment splitting. No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties. No daily trending reports. Distribution speed - require 3-4 weeks lead time typically. Does not handle mechanical licenses for cover songs. No mechanisms in place to help artists who start to catch (marketing support, playlist plugging, etc.)
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One RPM |
BEST:Best distributor for Latin America (especially Brazil). Have their own popular playlists they can insert their artists into In house playlist pluggers. 6 different MCNs (Multi-Channel Networks) with 5.5 billion views a month. This helps maximize YouTube revenue. They have video production studios where their artists can shoot videos. Collect YouTube mechanicals in Brazil. Payment splitting. Analytics showcase playlist skip rate (access to detailed Spotify playlist API). Give advances. |
WORST:Not catering to DIY musicians anymore. 15% commission. No Asia distribution (with no plans to expand). No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties
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Reverbnation |
BEST:Packages. For $19.95 a month they offer a mailing list service (up to 10,000 subscribers), free song downloads, the ability to submit to opportunities such as TV placements, label submissions and festival slots, and distribution of 2 releases per year. Tons of Data. Because they have so many bands who have registered so many shows, they have a touring database built up that can help bands find venues of similar size in multiple cities.No commission. You keep 100% of the revenue. |
WORST:Everything is branded heavily with ReverbNation. It's hard to operate independently from them in any respect. No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties. They are built for the beginning bands and don't offer "professional" services for bands that outgrow the beginning model. Communication is very slow and impersonal. No mechanisms in place to help artists who start to catch (marketing support, playlist plugging, etc.)
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Routenote |
BEST:Strong in Asian markets - namely China. Internal playlist pluggers. No fees whatsoever |
WORST:Revenue and analytics reports. No clear interface to see your reports - you have to download a CSV file and work Excel magic. Distribution speed - require 3-4 weeks lead time typically. No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties. 15% commission. No daily trending reports |
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Stem |
BEST:Personal attention. You have a dedicated rep who you can communicate with. In house playlist pluggers. No fees or up front costs for anything (none!). Low commission (5%). Automatic payment splitting.US mechanical download payment splitting (every US download earns 9.1 cents for the songwriters that the artist/label is required to pay. Stem is the only company who pays this as part of their payment splitting. Very intelligible revenue and analytics reports. Analytics mobile app. Collects US YouTube mechanicals. Offer edits to songs already distributed without having to take down and redistribute the release |
WORST:Invite-only. Distributes to only 12 outlets. High payment threshold ($50). No cover song distribution (for most artists). No admin publishing partner to help you collect your songwriter royalties. No daily trending reports. No Instagram Story inclusion
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Soundrop |
BEST:No fees whatsoever for originals. Payment splitting. Free accounts for collaborators. Streamlined, no hassle cover distribution $9.99 to obtain a mechanical license to distribute a cover song (cheapest of any platform). Under the CD Baby umbrella |
WORST:15% commission. Revenue and analytics reports. Not very developed or intelligible. Very difficult to get granular data.Payment splitting is not automatic (you have to email in and request it). Only 5 total outlets: Apple Music / iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, Deezer. New and unproven. Lots of missing features that other distributors offer. No admin publishing partner to help collect songwriter royalties. No daily trending reports. No mechanisms in place to help artists who start to catch (marketing support, playlist plugging, etc.) Customer service is not very helpful. Not much pull or connection with the DSPs.
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Symphonic |
BEST:No yearly fees. They distribute to Beatport . Collect SoundExchange revenue for you (both Copyright Owner and Artist sides). Have a deal with the global not-for-profit independent digital rights agency, Merlin, which allows them special preference and benefits and higher royalty rates. Merlin bargains on behalf of their 20,000+ members (labels/distributors). In house playlist pluggers. Hands-on client reps with direct support. They offer physical CD and Vinyl distribution (in part, powered by CD Baby). They have also partnered with Alliance Entertainment to get your records in shops around the world (must apply for this - not all are accepted). They have an opt-in admin pub service (they use Tunecore Publishing, but likely switching in the future) They distribute to China and Korea. |
WORST:15% commission. No automatic payment splitting. No Spotify or Amazon trending reports. Invite only
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Tunecore |
BEST:No commission. You keep 100% of your royalties. Has an admin publishing company which will help track down your songwriter royalties (Tunecore Publishing). Revenue and analytics reports are incredibly clear and very detailed. Daily trending reports (for Apple Music / iTunes and Spotify) Offers advances for future revenue projections. |
WORST:Costly yearly fees for each release. No payment splitting. Complicated way to get a mechanical license to distribute a cover song Admin publishing company prevents you from working with a synch licensing agency to get your music in TV, commercials and films. Deal breaker. Charges a fee for adding new outlets. Either $2 per outlet or an additional $10 per release to automatically add all new outlets. No mechanisms in place to help artists who start to catch (marketing support, playlist plugging, etc) |
Note. Table adapted from: Take, Ari’s. (2018, December 19) CD BABY, TUNECORE, DISTROKID, AWAL, DITTO...WHO IS THE BEST DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION COMPANY FOR MUSIC. Retrieved from https://aristake.com
Table 3. The Digital Music Distribution Coverage of Musicinfo
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