Recommended music hosting sites in2023?

[John Vere]

I have 22 finished original songs ready for the world to hear. I’ve been using Sound Cloud and Sound Click to post and listen on my phone and Bluetooth headphones as part of the proofing process.  They both offer some sort of fee based upgrades to get paid for ? downloads? streaming? 
I don’t really care if I get paid but it would certainly be nice if it is an easy option. 

I'm in the process of researching what is the best system of delivery these days? I’m way out of touch. Most of the bands at festivals I've hung out with seem to use Spotify

And the other question is it necessary to properly register your songs these days? 

Here's the collection   https://www.soundclick.com/artist/default.cfm?bandid=1420844&content=music

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by JohnnyV

[hsmusic]

Just as everyone wants plugins for nothing these days free streaming has sucked the life out of being a musician (why many pro artists are selling their publishing / catalogs)

To get your music out there or test the waters w/o investing $$ you might check out Route Note & their free  option ( you keep 85%)  No yearly or take down fees like some others if you decide to remove your material. They also offer monetization partnerships with YouTube & SoundCloud.

https://routenote.com/

[Bajan Blue]

We've used CDBaby for years (10 Albums I think we are up to) - now it might no longer be the best option, but we were just too busy this time to research and try other options, so we have just registered our next album, Kiss of Storms with CDBbay.

For a one off fee you get full distribution  (Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Deezer etc etc) and of course, registration coverage.

Hope this helps

Nigel

 

 

[OutrageProductions]

Most of the collaborators that I work with around the world are using DistroKid, and seem to be very satisfied.

[John Vere]

On 9/2/2023 at 11:12 AM, OutrageProductions said:

Most of the collaborators that I work with around the world are using DistroKid, and seem to be very satisfied.

Yes. I've been reading for 2 hours and they seem up front.  I bought a Musician's license and will go from there. Need to fix up my Pay Pal account as I have changed banking since my E bay days. But at least they gave me all the info I was seeking. 

CD Baby seemed very elusive and until I give them money not even sure what I'm buying?  

Those seem the top 2 so I'll stick with Distrokid. 

From there I now figured out that then Distokid handles the distribution to the DIgital stores for you. Spotify seems the top of the heap but I keep reading how they rip you off and your lucky to see $10 a year from them after 1,00,00,00 plays.  

 

On 9/2/2023 at 9:30 AM, pwalpwal said:

soundcloud?

I have had Sound Cloud and Sound Click accounts for a long time. Sound cloud is a very clucky interface. It's difficult to set up what you want in the way of albums and making things safe from download. I only post to share with family, post here in this forum and proof mixes. They tell you your song is #3 on the charts to try and sucker you in to paying. I think this is the sole reason these sites are available for free. To sucker in wannabees.  I bet you I could post a recording of my dog farting and It would rate #14 in Hip hop that week. 

Sound Click does a bit of that as well but at least Sound Click has a way nicer interface and you can easily choose what happens to songs as well as the most important feature- you can update a mix.

Both will be way off the radar for non musicians.  So I don't think anybody would glean any income there. 

I also have a Reverbnation account somewhere but forgot my password 10 years ago. 

I was expecting a lot more feedback but this sub forum is sort of quiet right now. But thanks for the feedback.

 

[hsmusic]

I've posted this before, gives you more info on different services.

https://aristake.com/digital-distribution-comparison/

[John Vere]

@hsmusic  Big thanks for the link. That was exactly what I was after.  Took over an hour to read it all  but was worth it. Now I can clearly see the options available. 
 

I paid for the basic membership for DistroKid but I might look into the others a little more.

It’s so hard to navigate the waters of the music industry these days when you produce actual singer songwriter stuff. Everything is loops and AI generated or some guy grunting out cuss words.  
 

I like the idea some services offer that you first need approval for. 

[Jesse Screed]

On 9/4/2023 at 2:22 PM, JohnnyV said:

I paid for the basic membership for DistroKid but I might look into the others a little more

Hello JohnnyV, Bandlab has a distribution service also.  I don't know anything about it, but here are some links.

https://help.bandlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/16970445724825-What-is-Distribution-

https://www.bandlab.com/distribution

I did find a little more.  There is a free trial.  After a free trial you can still use the service but it is an 80/20 split, but if you only make $0.22 from streaming who really cares.

https://blog.bandlab.com/how-to-use-bandlab-distribution/

https://blog.bandlab.com/intro-to-bandlab-distribution/

Edited September 5, 2023 by Jesse Screed

[John Vere]

" As a BandLab user, you can seamlessly create music, distribute, and get paid – all within one platform for only $14.99 USD per month. "

 

This is possibly the most expensive Distribution fee I've seen yet. Many are free. Some take a cut of your royalties etc. My membership with Distro was only $22 for a year. You get 100% of most of your royalties. This is normal. 

The ones that are used the most have been around for a long time. CD baby I think is the oldest but it needs to improve to compete with Distrokid and Tunecore and a few others. 

Read the info on the link that @hsmusic  posted. There are reasons most people use the same services that are on the top 10 lists. 

I've been doing a lot of reading and there are literally 100 of Videos on the topic. The story goes that Covid took the musicians off the stages and into their basement studios so the outflow of new releases became crazy. One Distribution company expanded to over 300 employees because of this.  So everyone jumped on the bandwagon ( pun intended) because as we all know $10 a month from thousands of people adds up to a pretty good profit. And nobody cares if the material sucks and is badly recorded. But some of the distributers do because they can also make a lot of money by sharing in your profits.  And some are the ones who can actually pitch you music just like a record label if they like your stuff this is what appeals to me. 

Getting your music on Apple or Spotify means nothing if it just sits there. 

Like all businesses Music has it's sharks and there are people who believe in the actual music and others who are just after you cash. When you take your music to this level you are venturing into a business model. I've always had both the hobby and the business aspect of my music. That's what Cactus Music was and still is. I retired from most of it but I still play gigs and I even still do a little bit of live recording and sound. So I'm approaching this like any business deals or venture I embark on. Who will be my partner and what will they really do for me if I pay them or not. 

My original music I always treated as a hobby.  So that is about to change. In the old days getting a record deal was a 1 in a million chance. I'm not really sure that has actually changed.  And generally music recorded in a home studio or even a small semi pro studio was only considered a demo. There were what we called the Gatekeeper so that only good quality recordings were the norm and you had to go buy it in a store. 

Now the "store" is a digital delivery system and it's instantly world wide. 

There's might be a glimmer of hope that somehow these global listeners stumble across your collection and like it. It's worth a shot but I'm only going to do this if I can connect with the right partners. I don't like sharks. And I can smell them a block away.  

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by JohnnyV

[Jesse Screed]

9 hours ago, JohnnyV said:

This is possibly the most expensive Distribution fee I've seen yet. Many are free. Some take a cut of your royalties etc. My membership with Distro was only $22 for a year. You get 100% of most of your royalties. This is normal. 

Hello Johnny V, I have been following your journey and I know that you leave no stone unturned when seeking the truth.  I have read the links hsmusic provided and there was some great info.

My only point was that Bandlab does offer a paid service, but they also offer the service for free.  If you choose not to pay the monthly fee they take a 20% cut of your royalties.  When I look at the payout from all the streaming services a 20% cut is nil.  It will take over 6000 streams on Spotify to make $25.00.  If you take the free service from Bandlab you will get a check for $20, with Distrokid you end up with $5 over the year.

The biggest issue I had with the Bandlab service is that it was so vague and didn't really provide much info.  That may be because it is so new?

10 hours ago, JohnnyV said:

There's might be a glimmer of hope that somehow these global listeners stumble across your collection and like it. It's worth a shot but I'm only going to do this if I can connect with the right partners. I don't like sharks. And I can smell them a block away.

Yes, there is always a glimmer of hope.  It is a great skill to have sharkdar.  I wish you all the best in your quest, and thanks for all the great videos you provide to help us all learn to use our tools.?

[John Vere]

Thanks @Jesse Screed  I guess even though I thought I read the info I didn’t catch that part. 

[msmcleod]

For any of these services, check the fine print... there are so many gotchas there it's not funny. 

I've heard stories of people getting copyright strikes on YouTube from their own material, just because they've used a distribution service in the past.   

Whatever you do, don't base your decision on price alone.  

 

[John Vere]

Thanks @msmcleod  

In one video the presenter recommended choosing 3 distributors that seem to meet your needs and post a few song on each. You cannot post the same song on more than one Distributor. Then you see how each does and get a better feel for the system. Like some don't have very good reports but might earn you more money over time. If 2 of the ones you chose suck you can always take the songs down and take them elsewhere. At least make sure any site you use allows taking songs down. Some charge you money for this. Yep, a steep learning curve but I'm not in a hurry. I've waited 20 + years already.