What Are Music Distributors?
Most if not all of your favorite artists have one thing in common: a distributor. This is the primary medium of how music reaches you. Whether it’s through hiring a publisher or releasing independently, distributors get your music into stores.
As mentioned in our article on radio registration, distributors act as the middleman between the artist and Digital Service Providers (DSPs) such as Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify, and Pandora. Most distribution services usually charge a fee for you to register your music with their company, and depending on the distributor used, your music will be placed on certain platforms.
Types of Distribution Companies
All music distribution companies function under the same premise, however, some differ from others based on the additional services that are offered. The main types of distributors are Major, Service, and Self-Distributors.
1. Major Distributors
These distributors cover hundreds of music platforms, with direct connections to major streaming services. Examples include The Orchard and Ingrooves.
2. Service Distributors
Some companies offer more than just distribution. Different service packages can include promotional, accounting, and marketing assistance. Some examples are Fuga and Label Engine.
3. Self Distributors
These companies offer straight-to-the-point distribution with little to no additional services. They usually charge a flat fee or percentage request to distribute your music. Examples include CD Baby, Distrokid, and Tunecore.
Why You Need a Distributor
As a music artist, you may wonder, “Why can’t I upload my music straight to a DSP?” While this can be done on servers like Soundcloud or Spinrilla, larger platforms have specific requirements that allow them to enforce the “middleman.”
Major DSPs like Apple Music and Spotify rely on a seamless transfer of accurate metadata information— something you can’t expect every artist to do correctly. Distributors gather all needed information from the artist, format it appropriately, and send it to the platforms all at once. This ensures your music is on all streaming services on its expected release date.
Distributors also handle royalty payments. When your music appears on different streaming platforms, you are owed royalties from each service provider. Receiving payments from multiple platforms would be hard to track and likely difficult for platforms to issue. To simplify this process, distributors collect all royalties and get them to the artists, eliminating unnecessary links in the distribution chain.
Start Releasing Music Through The Mezzo Agency!
The Mezzo Agency offers distribution setup through both contracted and a la carte services. Through data-driven solutions, we use your provided song catalog to extract needed data and complete the setup process quickly and accurately. As an artist your job is simple: to create! Let us do the rest.