Coming off of the not-so-intuitive process of getting ISRC codes and registering your songs on SOCAN and Sound Exchange, the good news is that it’s never been easier to get your music distributed globally.
Bandcamp
Bandcamp, an online record store and community, has become a rare beacon of light for independent artists, taking a comparatively very low cut of every album or single purchased on the site and paying out artists quickly. Moreover, they’ve introduced an initiative called Bandcamp Fridays, where on specific Fridays, the organization waives their share of the revenue entirely to ensure even more money goes directly to artists.
An average of 82% of the money goes to the artist or their record label.
As a result, my first recommendation for any artist releasing an album is to make sure it’s on Bandcamp, and to direct your friends, family and (gasp!) fans to purchase your digital or physical release from there. If you develop a bit of a following, Bandcamp also keeps track of who purchased your album, notifying them of when you’ve released new music.
What you’ll need before uploading your music to Bandcamp:
- Final, mastered audio in WAV format
- ISRC codes for every song on the album
- Final, hi-res album artwork
- Pre-order on-sale date
- Release date
- As a Canadian artist, when using an American digital distributor, you may also need to submit a tax form to be paid, but the site will walk you through that process simply.
It’s important to note that Bandcamp doesn’t automate its release. So, you’ll actually have to click the button to release your album when it’s time!
Digital Distributors
Digital distributors such as CDBaby, TuneCore, LANDR, Distrokid, etc. offer a simple process for uploading your music to a single site and having them verify and distribute it across the web to streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, digital retailers like Amazon Music, and to databases like Shazam and Sound Exchange.
…it’s never been easier to get your music distributed globally.
The processing time for digital distributors to verify your release, release it to the various partners, and have it actually appear live can be as quick as overnight but also up to 2+ weeks. As such, I’d recommend uploading everything a minimum of 1 month prior to release. Once you’ve submitted everything, any change you’d like to make to the release re-starts the verification process, so…
What you will need before finalizing your digital distribution:
- A breakdown of agreed-upon composer/lyricist credits
- Final, mastered audio in WAV format
- ISRC codes for every song on the album
- Final, hi-res album artwork
- Pre-order on-sale date
- Release date
- As a Canadian artist, when using an American digital distributor, you may also need to submit a W-8BEN tax form to be paid, but the sites will walk you through that process simply.
Claiming Apple Music Artist Page
While digital distributors will get your music onto Apple Music, they don’t have access to create or edit your artist profile. If you would like to have some control over the way your artist page looks, as well as access to analytics relating to plays, purchases, etc., you’ll need to claim your Apple Music artist page by following the instructions here.
Claiming Spotify Artist Page
Likewise, digital distributors will get your music onto Spotify, but if you’d like to control your artist page, post playlists, and interact with your audience in various ways, you’ll need to claim your Spotify artist profile. It’s a fairly straightforward process that can be completed by following the steps here.