Independent musicians with a DistroKid membership can upload audio files, upload album artwork, and name their track or album, and DistroKid will send it off to digital stores and music streaming services like iTunes and Spotify, where it can gain traction with fans and generate earnings. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. The streaming model of listening to music is categorised as a sort of public performance as the music is not owned by the listener and is similar to a radio play in that respect. We can help you collect all the publishing royalties you're owed worldwide including mechanicals from interactive streams on Pandora. Joe is an Indie artist/producer based in Brighton. DistroKid also uses a few programs to help get its members in front of larger audiences, including Hyperfollow, Playlist Spotlight, Wheel of Playlist, Slaps, and Upstream. However, we only recommend products we believe in and try to provide as much useful information as possible, regardless of affiliation. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. I researched the differences between Songtrust and DistroKid, and wrote about it all here for you. You also have the right to collect mechanical royalties on any cover versions recorded and released by other artists. If the above sounds like you, click here to learn more about getting up and running with Songtrust. They chase down the mechanical royalties that 100s or even 1000s of services may owe you for sales and streams. Regardless though, it is good to understand the big picture music industry no matter your situation. So if someone plays a Paul McCartney song at a live venue the PRO pays Paul McCartney and whatever publishing company he is/was signed too. to show your friends and have no real plans of a music career. Your email address will not be published. As of February 2022, Songtrust has collected a total of $1592 on my behalf. We Thoroughly Researched it, Distrokid Wait Times 101: Release Times, Payment & More, The Best Synth Plugins for EDM Production (Free & Paid), The 9 Best Wavetable Synths for Music Producers. All publishing performance royalties from streaming services (like Spotify), radio, TV, live concert performances, and much more. In the example of a Spotify stream, Spotify pays the master recording royalty portion to DistroKid, who then pays you those royalties for your ownership of the recording. Distrokid can also collect your streaming royalties from YouTube and SoundCloud too. Streaming services usually deliver these reports monthly, and they reflect sales from about 3 months ago. So you dont NEED it, but ya kinda do. Since not everyone reports usage properly, especially smaller companies, royalties are paid based on an estimation, instead of by the nitty-gritty numbers that distributors calculate. Another important thing to note is that almost all of these terms and royalty systems were setup long ago when the music industry was very different. However, you should know that PROs only collect performance royalties so you would still be missing out on some mechanical royalties that are owed to you. The MLC is funded by the Digital Service Providers they service, and they remit 100% of the royalties they collect to copyright owners. The big differentiators for DistroKid here are the yearly subscription model and the full royalty rights. OR since you have decided to go with Distrokid and already need to sign up with SongTrust as an Admin publishing company you can use their option. If you arent signed up to a PRO outside of DistroKid, and youre getting a high level of digital streams, then youre probably missing out on money and youre closed off to a valuable income source. So, youre not truly locked in you just have to go through the hassle and cost of switching. You can also send a direct message to the artists behind each of the presented songs and let them know you liked their song. DistroKid is a music distribution service that performs some of the functions of a record label, like releasing music and collecting royalties, designed for artists who either arent yet signed to a label or who want to remain independent. That is by far the cheapest option and the option you should go with if all you are trying to do is throw some songs up on streaming services for fun. The good news is that CD Baby is a non-exclusive sync licensing company. Home | Mechanical Licensing Collective - The MLC A composition refers to the lyrics and notes of a song. But as youll see there are reasons why I still use distrokid vs CD baby or other music publishers. Mechanical royalties are . Songtrust is a service that collects the publishers share of your performance royalties and your mechanical royalties. For the most part sync royalties are a stand alone separate thing. DistroKid distributes your music to all of the major streaming services and digital stores, including Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, and many more. If you don't have a PRO available in your country, or you'd rather work with BMI or ASCAP, you can still register your music with them if you live outside the United States. They do not offer additional music publishing services but instead recommend Songtrust for music publishing. Once you start to gain some traction you can upgrade your subscriptions. The play counts will remain the same and everything will remain up. This is a very important difference between the PROs and streaming distributors like DistroKid: while DistroKid distributes royalties based on the number of plays, BMI and ASCAP calculate their royalties based on the percentage of plays you got compared to everyone else. With all these services you have to release the song using the distributor in order to access the mechanical and performance royalties unlike Songtrust. Its what Spotify, Apple, Amazon and all the other streaming/downloading services pay when someone buys or streams your song. CD Baby Standard costs just $29 per album and is an affordable way to begin as a DIY musician. Anyone who spins the Wheel of Playlist will get their song on the Wheel of Playlist. Its the one thing I very much dislike about Distrokid. $9.90. However, the caveat with this is that if you cancel your membership, or switch banks and forget to let DistroKid know, all your music will be removed. But now that you know everything, you can make an informed decision. Is RouteNote Legit? You have made it to the end of a behometh of an article. To begin, the prices on each platform vary widely depending on which option you choose. Its the one time fee + commissions that cover a lot of what well go over below. DistroKid and other similar services are only for distribution and collect mechanical royalties for digital streams and sales. This is where Offeo comes in. Music Publishing Tips | Publishing vs Music Distribution - Songtrust Thats right, DistroKid does not take even a small percentage of your earnings, quite unlike other distribution services like Repost by SoundCloud, which takes 20%. They pay a flat fee for the use. Bestfriendsclub.ca also participates in affiliate programs with Bluehost, DistroKid, Loopmasters and other sites. Sign up for Distrokid and then come back and finish this article so that you can make the max amount of money from your music. DistroKid is a distribution service for independent musicians who release music often. Nothing on this site should be considered investment, legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Using DistroKid, artists can collect their streaming royalties all their revenue from streams on streaming services like Spotify. In fact, since Songtrust takes a 15% commission, that $485 would've been $570 directly through ASCAP. So registering for sound exchange is important if you are a session musician as well. Some may find Hyperfollow invasive, so you can always choose not to share the links that DistroKid creates for your releases. I also write helpful articles on how to make sweet music and grow those sweet, sweet Spotify streams. To ensure you make the most money out of your music, get started with a service that will collect them for you. When setting up your profile, you can categorize yourself on all of DistroKid's social features by genre and artists who have influenced you. Promote Your Music Video With YouTube Ads, CDBaby vs Distrokid: Digital Sales & Streams Commission, Types Of Music Royalties (Beyond Music Distribution), Mechanical Royalties CDBaby vs Distrokid, YouTube Monetization CDBaby vs Distrokid, Performance Rights Royalties- CDBaby vs Distrokid, Non-Interactive Streaming Platform Digital Royalties: SoundExchange, CDBaby vs Distrokid Which Should You Use Conclusion. DistroKid lets you input your social media information, categorize yourself by expertise (songwriter or producer) and select your genre and artist influences. No, the MLC does not take any percentage cut from the royalties they collect. Slaps is similar to SoundCloud in that you can comment on specific timestamps of a trackif you really liked one line in the second verse of a song, you can let the artist know right then and there. Its worth noting at this point that both CDbaby and Distrokid will distribute your music to virtually every store you could ever hope. The simple answer is that mechanical royalties are payments to the writer of a song whenever that song is reproduced in some form. DistroKid offers a slew of artist development tools. Also, digging more I learned the true cost of these extra services by comparing CD Baby Pro vs Distrokid combined with Songtrust. To watch how to register a song on BMI check out this step-by-step guide: Don't get overwhelmed if you are confused by music publishing. If you're an established artist, then you should be signed up to an organisation that collects your other royalties, such as performance and songwriting royalties. You need a way to collect these royalties. Using Songtrust you get 15% more than CD baby, 5% more than distrokid and skip the yearly fees of distrokid. Distrokid doesnt. It gives you better analytics, you can customize your label name, release date, preorder date and iTunes pricing. 3 mountainwampus 6 yr. ago Mechanical Royalties Guide | 2021 - Royalty Exchange Some of those royalties, like publishing, CDBaby would have collected for you (hence the extra cost). To learn more about this, check out my article: Is DistroKid A Publisher? You can even use Baby Yoda to promote your new song. Distros deal with master rights holders. Ill have to zoom out a bit before we dive into a direct comparison of Cd Baby vs Distrokid, but stay with me and I promise you it will be worth it. DistroKid does not collect mechanical royalties. The playlists are updated every week, and when the playlists get updated, all the votes reset to zero. Mechanical royalties are paid out any time a physical or digital copy of one of your songs is made. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Both BMI and ASCAP are great options and will follow through when it comes time to payout performance royalties to rights holders. When finishing up a release, you can add on additional charges for services like Leave a Legacy, which will make sure your music stays online forever, even if you stop paying your subscription fee. Were working on a publishing admin system for artists. When your music is streamed, you are owed royalties for the master recording (the actual audio file) as well as for the composition that was created (the songwriting and intellectual property that went into the creation of the final audio recording). The price of this can add up if youre releasing tons of music, but you can pick on a song by song basis to apply and pay for this feature. These companies/agents pitch your music to music supervisors and other sync opportunities on your behalf. Also, here is 7% off your first year of Distrokid. There is no guarantee, however, that your Leave a Legacy releases will remain published if DistroKid goes out of business. Winner CDBaby vs Distrokid Sync Royalties: CDBaby (kinda). It doesnt matter which tier you choose on either platform. Summary: Collect all your music royalties in four steps. CD Babys music distribution model charges per release $9.95/single and $29/album and this is increased $29.95/single and $69/album when publishing services are included. Play Your Part continues with maintaining your works data and spreading the word with your peers. You can read our in-depth comparison of DistroKid and CD Baby, but if youre in a rush, read below: CD Baby charges $9.95 per single and $29 per album, and CD Baby Pro Publishing bumps these numbers up to $29.95 per single and $69 per album, which is a lot higher than Distrokid at face value. However, many DistroKid artists use SongTrust for publishing admin, and we love it! You can register (and check on your songs) at themlc.com. What a sync agency charges, and whether you give them exclusive sync rights, is on a per company basis. When you withdraw earnings, you may be subject to applicable taxes and/or fees from . If a listener chooses to listen to your song then both mechanical royalties and performance royalties are being earned however if your song is being streamed on a non-interactive platform (notably Pandora) then youre only eligible to collect performance royalties. You can release cover songs easily, and DistroKid will help you take care of which royalties go where. Distrokid is a distributor. This means you can avoid long wait times, but it also means DistroKid wont help you preemptively avoid legal issues with your releases. There is only one organization and that collects and pays these royalties. However, reaching out to music supervisors is time consuming and difficult with no connections. The purpose of a PRO is to ensure that any public performance of an artists song is rightfully paid for, and this includes more than just live performances. It is also better than CD Babys per release model if youre releasing a lot of music. DISTROKID in that they give you 100% of your earnings. The coolest part of Slaps is the comment/track ratio (CTR). CDbaby vs Distrokid whos better at collecting sales and streams?