After you’ve produced your songs and the Mixing/Mastering is complete, it’s time to publish your music on streaming services and download shops like Spotify, Itunes, Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Youtube Music, Tiktok. Some of the best Free Music Aggregators I review in this Blogpost are:
- PMD Digital
- Amuse
- Tunecore
- Cdbaby
1.PMD DIGITAL
PMD Digital is pretty new in music distribution game. Unlike other digital music distributors on this list, PMD Digital is an all in one platform for indie artist services.
I’ve tried almost all of the above music distribution companies. To be very honest, I’ll go for PMD Digital. The reasons are so many.
There is no subscription model in this platform. I hope it’ll change the market.
My Personal Experience with PMD Digital :
- YouTube Content ID
- Facebook UGC & Facebook Music.
- Soundcloud monetization.
- Tiktok Monetization.
- Fastest Distribution ( Distribute in 2 working days, Some time they distribute in 1 day as well )
- Distribution to 80% of streaming platforms (all the major ones)
- No Upfront & hidden fees.
- Monthly Payouts.
- Detailed Reports & Daily sales trends.
PMD Digital is a newly distribution company. It was launched in 2019, and I started using their services from 2020. So far overall experience is amazing, I never found any distribution like them.
That’s why I’m rating PMD Digital
2.AMUSE
Amuse is certainly unique when compared to its competitors. They offer some very cool features that a lot of other digital distribution companies don’t, so there’s many reasons they might be the right fit for your music.
First, they’re the only major company that allows you to distribute your music for free while keeping 100% of the profits. It’s pretty hard to compete with a price like that!
They’re able to offer this as music distribution is only part of their business model. When they see an artist that they think is going to be a success, they offer to sign them to their label. This is where they make the bulk of their income, in order to fund their distribution service.
If you’re hoping to get signed one day, the potential of a record deal is one more reason to go with Amuse. Of course, there’s no obligation to sign a deal with them, if that’s not your cup of tea. You can simply use them as a free service to distribute your music.
Another interesting feature of Amuse is that they are the only major music distribution company that allows you to submit music from an app on your phone.
3.TUNECORE
TuneCore is one of the oldest digital music distribution companies and they have a proven track record because of that.
Like DistroKid, Tunecore lets artists keep 100% of their revenue. However, their pricing scheme is different than the others we’ve mentioned so far. They charge a yearly fee on a per single or per album basis. So, the more music you have, the more you’ll be paying each year and it adds up quick.
However, there are some perks to TuneCore that may make their services beneficial to certain artists.
First, TuneCore offers payment advances to artists who have had a significant number of streams in the past year. This can help you to fund future releases, much in the same way a label would, but as an independent artist.
Second, they offer Songwriter Services, a program that will ensure you collect all of your songwriters royalties.
So, although TuneCore’s services are more expensive than others, they may prove useful to artists who are making a significant income off of streaming, in order to offset the costs.
4.CDBABY
Where DistroKid is one of the most popular subscription based digital music distributors, CD Baby is one of the most popular companies that charge a one time fee.
Currently they charge artists just $9.95 USD per song or $29 USD per album. After that, your music will be sent to all major streaming platforms indefinitely (unless you choose to have it removed).
This makes CD Baby a much better choice if you’re only planning to release music a few times a year.
However, the one downside is that they do take a commission of 9% from any money you make through them.
Another perk to CD Baby, that a lot of other digital music distributors don’t offer, is there physical music handling. For additional fees, CD Baby can print you CDs or Vinyls of your music and even distribute them to stores around the world. Although not everyone may need this service, it’s a nice option to have in case you do.
After reading this article you should have a pretty good idea of what sets each platform apart from the next and which distributor is better suited for you.
