I was asking myself the same question, can I use multiple music distributors. HOWEVER, the reason I was asking seemed to be different than everyone else. It should be obvious to anyone out there that distributing the SAME release through different music distributors is impossible. You’d simply be creating duplicate releases which isn’t good… So, why was I asking?
Being promiscuous with your music distribution services might be a good idea (especially if you’re not experienced). The reason I was asking myself if I could use multiple music distributors was simply to test multiple platforms at once. In other words, I would be releasing DIFFERENT releases through different music distributors. That’s how I ended up creating all of these in-depth reviews on music distribution services. Keep reading to find out more about my strategy for “interviewing” music distributors.
- Why you shouldn’t use multiple music distributors
- Why you might WANT to use multiple music distributors
- What about multiple artist profiles on streaming services?
- Other reasons you may want to use multiple music distributors
Why you shouldn’t use multiple music distributors
Releasing the same release through different music distribution services will result in duplicate versions of your music. That’s not going to get streaming platforms to like you very much…
The only time this situation should happen is TEMPORARILY.
The only reason that’d be the case is if you were switching music distributors.
Other than that, I honestly can’t think of any reason why you’d want to have the same music on different music distribution services. Do some of you think it’ll make you double (or triple) your earnings?
I’m curious, let me know in the comments!
If anything, it just ends up costing you more BUT… It doesn’t work either way!
Why you might WANT to use multiple music distributors
If you want to find the best partner for your music, you need to be patient. Expecting to find the best music distribution service the day of your scheduled release isn’t best practice…
I recommend choosing 3-5 and releasing 3-5 singles through them.
If you’re still at this stage, chances are you won’t really get much streams anyway.
Sorry for being so blunt, but the advantage of getting started is the ability to LEARN and MAKING MISTAKES. It’s best to do that when it doesn’t really matter.
Just remember that your releases can be pulled from streaming services anytime.
Also, keep in mind that you can always CHANGE music distribution service at any point.
What about multiple artist profiles on streaming services?
One of the most realistic concerns I came across the web (which I too, had) was the fear of creating a duplicate artist profile. The only way to find out was to take the risk, which I did!
While distributing my music using DistroKid, I also wanted to try RouteNote.
It was perfect timing since I also wanted to conduct this experiment. What ended up happening is that the streaming services grouped my music under the same profile.
I can’t explain how it happened, but I guess streaming services are smart enough!
If you use the same metadata on each music distribution platform, you should be fine.
I can’t guarantee that this’ll work for EVERY music distribution “pair”, but chances are that it’ll be okay. You’ll have one artist even though you’re distributing your music using multiple services.
Other reasons you may want to use multiple music distributors
Besides having the ability to “interview” these different music distribution services, you can also test for payout consistencies. If you understand how streaming royalties are calculated, you can simply determine how much each distributor pays per stream.
It’ll require some mathematical skills, but you’ll be fine!
I can’t confirm any of these cases, but I’ve definitely heard of music distribution services “cheating” their clients. It’s not impossible, so just make sure to do your due diligence.
That’s basically what this is!
Another reason I use multiple distributors is because some of them provide different advantages. For example…
- Soundrop makes it super easy/affordable to get cover licenses
- RouteNote allows you to monetize your SoundCloud/YouTube streams for FREE
- LANDR has several revolutionary perks and advantages
You can also choose to have one distributor assigned to specific platforms (for example, Spotify) and have that streaming service excluded from all others.
In those cases, you just want to make sure to have ONE ISRC/UPC code assigned per release.
If you want to learn more about that, read one and/or both of these articles:
I hope this article has provided you with some peace of mind. If you have any questions about music publishing/distribution, feel free to leave us a comment. If you want to work 1-on-1 with me, you can also schedule a consultation HERE. Thanks for reading!
Sources
https://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/comments/abvkpn/using_multiple_music_distributors/
28 thoughts on “Can I Use Multiple Music Distributors?”
Hello Stefan,
Thanks for the informative article! I am in a situation where two artists are are releasing collaboration albums. Artist 1 is with MGM Distribution for his solo work, Artist 2 is with Ditto for her solo work (currently shopping around for a new distributor), The collaboration albums are being done as a 3rd Artist distributing with MGM (think something like Soundgarden, Chris Cornell (solo), and Audioslave OR John Lennon, The Beatles, Paul McCartney). So the question is this… What problems or challenges does this cause on a platform (Spotify, Apple Music) in linking/directing users to all three Artist’s music profiles?
I hope the question is clear.
Thanks in advance for any insight you might have.
Hey Pedro,
That is a tricky question indeed…
For the most part, the music streaming platforms “should” recognize the name based on the info provided and group the release under the name of all the artists involved (even if they have different releases by different music distributors).
The only issue that could arise is if the same release was released on multiple music distributors for the same music streaming platforms.
I hope that clears things up. If it doesn’t happen as it “should”, then you could reach out to customer support.
Thanks for commenting, great question!
– Stefan
Hi Stefan!
Thank you for the article.
I am wondering if there is a way to target niche audiences in different regions of the world by using multiple distributors. I have in mind new classical and crossover music, which is often not intuitive on some of the more mainstream distributors….So, for example, Horus Music covers much of Asia, China and India, whereas FreshTunes is involved in Moscow, Dubai and London. It seems that there might be some advantage for going in with a scalpel in the case of specialty genres, but it seems impossible that there wouldn’t be some overlap. Is there a way of doing something like this without (greatly) breaching the manners of the industry which you outline?
(and I am rather new to this process, so I may be missing some really obvious point that most in this field know..)
Cheers!—and thank you!
—NJ.
Hey Nikolas,
If you’re thinking of implementing multiple music distributors in your marketing strategy, I don’t recommend it.
The real work when it comes to promoting your music happens OUTSIDE streaming platforms.
Part of the answer is leveraging playlists.
The other part… Well, start by creating a strong following on social media.
It’s a big topic to get into, but I will make some videos on the subject in the future.
Thanks for your comment, all the best!
– Stefan
Hi, I am a beginner to all this. I have one song which people seem to like and I want to release it as a single however I have two different versions – an electric and an acoustic. So I plan to release both versions with 2 different distributors at the same time to see which does best. Any suggestions is this a good idea ?
Hey Owen,
I don’t recommend doing this. I advise researching music distribution services before commiting to one.
You cannot release the same release on 2 distributors at the same time, you will have duplicates.
What are the 2 distribution services you’re debating? Maybe I can help you make a decision.
Thanks, all the best!
– Stefan
Hi Stefan
Thanks for the article
Okay,
At the moment I currently use routenote free since I can afford a paid platform
However, I would love to distribute to Boomplay though it isn’t one of the routenote partners. I’m considering using afrotunes free to distribute “only” to boomplay while supplying other platforms with routenote. There won’t be duplicates in this case I guess.
Is this feasible
Hey Ugo,
It’s 100% feasible, do it exactly as yu described and you’ll be good to go.
Thanks for checking in!
– Stefan
Hello Stefan,
I have been using DistroKid for few years now releasing as an artist. If I wanted to release now as a label I would be satisfied with distro with all the platforms, but important one (Beatport) will not show my label’s name.
So, would it be possible to release on Distro and only for Beatport to find another distributor?
Thank you in advance!
Ivan
Hey Ivan,
Which DistroKid plan do you have? I’m curious to know if you’re using the Musicians Plus or Label plans and still having this issue.
Either way, you can definitely use more than one music distribution service for the same releases.
You’d just need to make sure to disable all the other stores on your secondary music distribution service (so there’s no overlap).
Instead of paying an additional fee to release to Beatport on DistroKid, you can have it included with a music distribution service like Ditto. And yes, Ditto allows you to create a label on Beatport (check it out).
I hope that helps! If you have any more questions, let me know.
Thanks 🙂
– Stefan
I also am facing this dilemma in that I want to use TuneCore to distribute my song and then another distributor (Venice) to distribute that same song however with dolby atmos as tunecore does not have dolby atmos distribution. Would this cause a problem with isrc codes? I know I could use distrokid to distribute dolby atmos but believe it or not what i mentioned earlier in this comment is cheaper than adding dolby atmos to a song on distro kid.
Hey Jamary,
I would only have that release on one of the music distribution platforms (even if one version is atmos and the other one isn’t).
However, you could overcome this by registering your song as a different release (for example, Dolby Atmos Remastered).
That way, the ISRC code would be different.
Hope that helps, thanks for commenting!
– Stefan
I have been using United Masters for distribution until this point. They have yet to upgrade to video release capabilities. I am planning to release my video to the public tomorrow. I decided to just post the thing on youtube but I found out that Tunecore does have video release capabilities. The SONG that the video is for is already released through UM. Would it be silly to only release the video for said song through Tunecore?
Hey Jonathan,
It wouldn’t be silly to release only the music video on Tunecore, however, it’s best to only work with one music distribution service in the long run. I’ve worked with 2 at one time, but it just makes it more complicated to manage.
If you’re looking for an alternative to Tunecore, Ditto allows you to release music videos to VEVO (not to streaming services though).
Let me know if you have any other questions. Best of luck!
– Stefan
Hi Stefan, thanks for your very nice article!!
I am in the situation of choosing 2 distributors for the same release:
Distrokids for all the stores, and a second one ONLY for Youtube content ID (that in DSTRKD is not free).
You said in the commets here that you personally would not recommend the Youtube content ID, can I ask you why? This is a very important topic fpr me.
Thanks a lot for your work, best regards
Luigi
Hey Luigi,
You don’t need another music distribution service for YouTube Content ID.
You can use a service dedicated to that purpose like Identifyy.
The reasons I don’t recommend YouTube Content ID…
– Unless you’re getting millions of placements on YouTube, you’ll make pennies (if any)
– It’ll cause problems if you ever decide to start licensing your music
– It’s very difficult to get your music off of YouTube Content ID if you ever make the transition.
Just make sure to think twice about it. It’s not worth it in my opinion, but that’s just me.
Let me know if you need more info. Thanks for stopping by, take care!
– Stefan
Hi Stefan,
I was just wondering, let’s say you distribute singles from one distributor, are you allowed to release the same songs on an album through a different distributor or is that not recommended?
Hey TYH,
Hmm… That’s a good question!
I would personally recommend not doing that, even if it’s technically considered two different releases.
In general, I wouldn’t recommend releasing music with more than one music distributor unless you have a very specific reason.
Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks, all the best!
– Stefan
I started with Repost Network in 2015, now I’m with Distrokid, have been since 2018. Distrokid famously charges fees for additional services (even Content ID), which Repost does not. They also don’t charge for Shazam, which is $0.99 for a single & more for an album. Also, Repost has Yandex, which is in Russia, which Distrokid doesn’t have, yet.
Hey Ase,
I personally don’t recommend using ContentID, but you’re right.
In regards to Shazam, you’re correct as well but for some reason, I Shazamed one of my tracks and still shows up even if you haven’t paid for it (I don’t know if it’ll always work).
Lastly, most people use Spotify and/or Apple Music. If you think it’s worth it for Yandex, go for it. I personally don’t think it’ll make much of a difference.
Thanks for your input, take care!
– Stefan
Hi Stefan
This year i started my own music label (21k RECORDS ) i an using distrokid’s music label plan to distribute my music but distrokid does not doensnot include some of the local streaming platforms like (Gana & Wynk ) which is included in tunecore so can i use both at the same time as in will only be using tunecore for those 2 platforms which are not present in distrokid
Hello Satyam,
Congratulations on starting your own music label!
You’re correct, you’ll be able to use both DistroKid and Tunecore at the same time if you only use Tunecore for Gana/Wynk.
You can also use multiple music distributors if you release different music on each one.
Feel free to reply if you ever have any other questions. Thanks!
– Stefan
hi I actually had a same question. but i am still bit confuse about ISRC and UPC code. so the first platform provide me with these codes. For the second distribution platform that i want to distribute my song to different platforms is asking about these codes.(example – with 1st one i distribute to apple music, shazam and with second i distribute my song to ganna and wynk ) should i provide them with the codes that i got from the 1st distributer or should i let them create these codes again. i am using 2 music distribution sites to distribute my same song to different platforms. Does these codes remain same for both of them
Hey Jashan,
You should use the same codes that were used on the 1st platform you distributed on.
However, make sure that your music is not being distributed twice to the same music streaming platform.
It doesn’t sound like it’s your case, but do make sure of that.
Thanks, all the best.
– Stefan
Hi Stefan,
Thanks for the great article. I have a question specific to children artists. I have 3 kids who write songs and I want to keep all three of their names on their songs, but my youngest is 11. When I tried using CD baby to distribute they informed me that they do not service anyone under 13! What do you recommend doing? Is there a music distributor that doesn’t have a lower age limit.? I would hate to leave my youngest’s name out of the credits. Thanks in advance.
Hello Naomi,
That’s a great question! I’m also glad to hear that you’re taking your kids’ creative ambitions seriously.
So, to answer your question… You’ll need to represent your kids until they reach the legal age, but that has nothing to do with the credits. Just think of yourself as the “record label” for your kids. That means that you’ll be managing the account in your kids’ names, but you’ll still be crediting them as the artist/band.
In other words, all music distribution services (and other online services) require you to be of legal age to use them.
Now, the MOST IMPORTANT part when it comes to your kids’ music is to register the works with your local performance rights organization (PRO).
You’ll need to look up the one for your country, but you can always sign up with BMI/ASCAP regardless (those are the organizations in the US).
Once again, you’ll still need to sign in your kids’ names until they reach the legal age.
So don’t worry, you’ll have the ability to credit your kids through the music distribution service AND the performance rights organization. You’ll simply be acting as the representative until your kids reach the legal age. Once that happens, they can take control of their accounts.
I personally use DistroKid to distribute my music.
They also have an affordable plan to have up to 5 artists, so you can have all of your kids’ music in the same account.
I hope that answers your questions, let me know if you have more. Thanks, best of luck!
– Stefan
I am in Israel. Here many people use distrokid. I was accepted into symphonic but am not sure -will they be able to match my hebrew name for search on spotify ? Or do I have to stik with distrokid
Hello Danielle,
Congratulations on getting accepted by Symphonic!
I think it might be worth it to switch over. There are more benefits at Symphonic, especially considering the barrier to entry.
That being said, you can still keep using DistroKid if you prefer having both. As long as you use the exact same name, it should group your releases together.
How many tracks have you distributed with DistroKid?
However, I would personally think about having only one music distribution service in the long run, but try both for now. See which one you like best!
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks for stopping by, best of luck!
– Stefan