In the past couple of decades, the music industry has changed a lot. The old way of doing business, where musicians depended heavily on record labels for exposure, is no longer the only method. Nowadays, independent artists can send their songs to millions of potential fans around the world with a click of a button. It is easy today, but have you wondered how music distribution actually works in this digital world? Let’s analyse this.
Development of Music Distribution
Previously, music needed to be manually operated. Artists and labels produced cassettes, discs, and vinyls, which vendors sent out to various retail venues. It was a costly method that demanded a lot of connections, as well as physical infrastructure in the area. Although, the consumption pattern was completely transformed by the internet, alongside streaming services. Nowadays, both musicians and audiences are able to swap music using the internet.
Currently, independent and established artists can easily upload their music on platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music, which helps them break free from regional boundaries. The process takes less time and is cheaper, enabling DIY artists to have better control over their releases.
Functions of a Music Distribution Platform
A music distribution platform serves as the intermediary between an artist and various streaming services. Most of these platforms take care of the technical side of things regarding distribution, such as file formatting and sending them to different stores online. However, distribution is more than just putting music out there – it is also the filing of information such as the title of the song, the name of the artist, the album cover, and even the royalty details.
As Bridger Music explains, contemporary music distribution includes more than just placing tracks onto the web. Proper management of metadata is critical to an artist’s performance on music streaming platforms. Misplaced songs, incorrect royalty calculations, and a slew of other possibilities can result from failing to have precise metadata.
How Digital Music Distribution Works
These are the usual major steps in the distribution of digital music:
- Selecting Distribution Services – Artists pick out a plan that corresponds to what they want in regard to pricing, features, and revenue sharing.
- Uploading the Tracks – Musicians upload their tracks along with the album artwork, description, and other relevant information.
- Metadata Management – Optimization by correcting all relevant details for maximum visibility and revenue.
- Processing and Distribution – The service provider encodes the music and then sends it out to the various streaming platforms and digital stores.
- Royalties and Analytics – Each artist is able to monitor their individual earnings, streams, and downloads via the platform’s dashboard.
The Effects of Streaming on Artists
Independent artists are now able to be recognized without a major label thanks to streaming services that have digitized the music industry. In other ways, streaming services have their challenges too. For example, streaming per song earns considerably less as compared to the traditional sales of albums.
This is why performers and musicians have to manage their engagement with fans and come up with new ways of generating income, like selling merch and hosting shows.
Wrapping Up
The movement from recording in the studio to streaming music has fundamentally changed how music is propagated and consumed. For a modern artist, the right music distribution services help the artist reach a global audience while still controlling their work. By knowing how to digitally distribute their work, musicians can effectively build their career in the industry.
