For musicians, artists,
songwriters, and/or music producers, having an optimal avenue for music
publishing is very critical. It is even more important when one is independent,
and not backed by a major label, publishing company, or investor. Today, it has
become easier than ever to self-publish through signing up with one of the
multiple Print-On-Demand (POD)/aggregator sites. However, with so many choices
available now for aggregators, like CD Baby, TuneCore, and INGrooves, how does one know which one to
choose? The trick is, to choose the best fit for you and your professional
needs. Reading articles such as this Squidoo article, talking to other music
professionals who have self-published, and comparing sites is a great place to
start. After doing this, and reviewing what several POD sites had to offer, in
my opinion, Symphonic Distribution seemed to offer the most
variety of services for reasonable and varied pricing structures.
Whether you are an independent artist or
record label, Symphonic has different distribution pricing plans that you can
choose from, based upon your status (artist or label), desired royalty
percentages, and fan base. They take all of the hard work and difficulty out of
the publishing/distribution process because they will deliver your musical
content to any of their 300 worldwide partners with stores, such as iTunes, Beatport, Amazon, and Spotify. They also offer
daily and monthly sales reporting from their retail partners, for your review
and monitoring of statistics, for calculating artist royalties, or for mailing
out promotional materials. They also offer an array of other personalized
services that offer great benefit, making this an aggregator that minimizes the
need for going to multiple companies in order to get things done. For example,
they offer: marketing support; mastering services; YouTube management and
monetization; sync licensing; CD pressing services; graphic design; website
hosting; and even music video production. Their contract term for each option
is two years, and unfortunately that contract cannot be cancelled during that
time. However, it is a non-exclusive agreement, and even though there is a
one-time set up fee in most cases, it is not requested again when the service
is renewed.
For an artist, the pricing structure is
as follows, with 100% of royalties/rights retained; and free ISRC/UPC, customer
service, 24-hour distribution, distribution to 300 partners, and promo mailer
for each option:
- Mini Album – (1-5 Tracks) for a fee of $10.99
- Small Album - (1-10 Tracks) for a fee of $19.99
- Medium Album - (1-15 Tracks) for a fee of $29.99
- Full Album - (1-20 Tracks) for a fee of $39.99
For a record label, the pricing is a bit
different, but for each option the label would also receive the free ISRC/UPC,
customer service, 24-hour distribution, distribution to 300 partners, and promo
mailer for each option, without an annual or maintenance fee:
- 70% Royalties – ($100 Sales Threshold) $0 upfront and pay $0 per release
- 80% Royalties – ($300 Sales Threshold) $0 upfront and pay $0 per release
- 90% Royalties – ($500 Sales Threshold) $200 upfront and pay $0 per release
- 100% Royalties - ($0 Sales Threshold) $500 upfront and pay $100 per release
They offer a wide variety of choices for
both artists and labels, and they make it quite easy for you to compare their
services to the services offered by other POD/aggregator sites, through the
label pricing charts displayed on their website. I invite you to investigate
this site, as well as any of the others mentioned here, or any that you can
find on your own. Regardless of which one you choose, whether Symphonic
Distribution or another, be sure to take the time to thoroughly research your
decision because, as with this company, you may not have the option to cancel
the contract once you sign up. Happy POD/aggregator hunting!
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