Distribution - Digital and Point of Sale

[SoulMusic Sovereign]

So obviously everything is going digital. With me wanting to make my money off the free sites like Myspace, and then the others like cd baby...using snowcap and ect...is it safe to still do full lenth projects over ten songs? From what I understand the union will only cover ten then you're on your own. But I also understand that snowcap sells your music as .99 singles anyway with the power of the consumer to pick and choose right? How do I make that decision? Because for my new project I'll be making about 500 hard copies for the dj's, radio people and whatever companies that would benifit me by having hard copies. Other than that it's all digital sales. And I definatly wanted to add more than ten songs. And does interludes count as a single in those snowcap instances?

[Debra Hughes]

Yes, Digital is the new format of distribution. So many artists are confused as to what is the best way to get their music out to the public. The records labels have been hit hard with technology hitting into the very source of their income. They've been forced to renegotiate their way of thinking in lines of asking artists to consider 360 agreements. Where as a 360 would give the label a portion of all earned income of the artist inclusive of ancillary rights from show performances. Once never touched by a label and now looked upon as make-up income.

Prime example of what makes a label look twice:

50 Cent - Vitamin Water Deal

Interscope Records did not have a piece of the merchandising of 50 Cents outside income. Thus, all the money generated from the sale went directly into the pockets of Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and NONE to Interscope or it's executives. Hence, the 360 agreement would have secured the label a fair and equatable portion of income. He's just one of the prime examples of WHY the 360 would have been ideal for this label.

Now onto Digital Distribution:

Look at the new Bobby Valentino album. It's going to be released via I-Tunes first per all the publicity surrounding the project. I also look at artist like D4L who proved that they could move over 70,000 ring tones with no deal in place. After moving so many downloads, they were offered a deal with Asylum/Atlantic for a one-album deal. The album did well enough for D4L to get a distribution deal for their label entitled the same name.

Check into Digi-waxx which is a company I hold of high esteem. Run by former music executive DL it's a great outsource for promotions. They offer multi levels of promotions, distribution and point of sale information.

If you are adventurous, there are many Digital companies other than CD Baby who offer digital downloads and link to major distributors such as Rhapsody, I-Tunes and other major digital download facilitators.

Check my second blog as to the companies that are available.

[Debra Hughes]

The following is helpful information for those interested in Digital Distribution. It's a list and source you can use to assist you in your digital distribution needs:

3Guppies. com

3Guppies. com, a direct-to-consumer mobile entertainment store, provides access to a more limited catalog of CD Baby albums, and offers ringtones of the recordings.

Apple iTunes
Downloadable program for Mac and Windows.

Arvato
German-based website that offers a la carte downloads and focuses on both independent and major label music. Arvato's services are available worldwide.

AudioLunchbox
One of the first all-independent music download sites.

Bitmunk

Bitmunk is a digital marketplace where you set the amount of money you want to receive for each sale of your music, then different sellers can sell it for whatever price they want on top of that.
BuyMusic

A la carte downloads for 79 cents for anyone with Windows IE browser.
Charity Tunes
Sells permanent downloads and ringtones, and donates a portion of the money to a charity chosen by the customer from among a group of charities with whom Charity Tunes partners. Currently carrying a subset of the CD Baby catalog.

Choice Records
Choice Records powers Suite503music. com, a digital download store where customers can purchase music by a wide variety of independent artists.

Chondo
Site that specializes in black music worldwide including Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, Urban/R&B, Gospel, etc.
Daiki (Music Online Corp)
Daiki Sound is one of the largest Japanese online retailers of independent music.

Destra
DestraMusic is an Australian corporation that provides DRM music services to a variety of retailers in their network.

DigitalKiosk
DKT places digital kiosks in independent music stores in Indianapolis. Users can purchase tracks from the kiosk and then create a CD with those tracks (soon customers will be able to export songs to portable devices).

Emusic
Website for Mac, Windows, Linux where members can download up to 40 tracks per month of high-quality MP3 files.

GreatIndieMusic
Website that offers a la carte downloads and focuses on independent music. Great Indie Music's services are available worldwide, and they sell music through eBay.
HearMusic
Hear Music provides kiosks for Starbucks. Starbucks customers can preview music and burn CDs on demand through these kiosks.

Inprodicon
Inprodicon is the licensing agent and technology provider for the majority of online music retail sites in the Nordic region.

Interia
Polish service that offers a la carte downloads and focuses on both independent and major label music. Interia's services are available worldwide.

IslandBeats
IslandBeats. com is an online digital music store that specializes exclusively in Pacific Island Music and music of all genres by Pacific Artists.

Last. fm
Last. fm is a service that keeps track of what music you listen to, and then produces a large number of features personalized to you.

Liquid Digital Media
Liquid exclusively provides music for Wal-Mart's digital download store.

LoudEye
Loudeye exclusively provides music for some select retail outlets, including Cingular's mMode service, BurnLounge, and OD2.

Monstar. fm
Monstar. fm is an online download service in Japan that currently carries a limited subset of the CD Baby catalog. Downloads are available on both an a la carte and a subscription basis.

Mouzika
Site that specializes in independent World music.

MP3tunes
Online music store that allows purchase of regular MP3 files, for maximum compatibility with all computers and players.

MSN Music
Microsoft's music store is integrated into Windows Media Player, so people who use Windows Media Player can purchase music from their desktop.

MusicIsHere
Site that offers a la carte downloads - based in the Latvia.

MusicMatch
Audio jukebox program for Windows. No longer accepting any new content, as they were purchased by Yahoo.

MusicNet
Musicnet provides music for Yahoo! Music, FYE, Urge, iMesh, Music Gremlin, Synacor and Virgin's download services.

Muze
Muze provides music for AT&T/Cingular Wireless, eLegal Arts, and Gibson.

MyKidsTunes
Website that offers a la carte downloads and focuses on children's music. My Kids Tunes' services are available in the U.S. and Canada.

Napster
Downloadable program for Windows. Yes it's now legal and paying.

NextRadio
NextRadio-powered WebTunes is a BellSouth-branded online music service for BellSouth's internet customers. WebTunes is the exclusive online music service for BellSouth's portal.

Nifty
Nifty is one of the leading Internet Service Providers in Japan, and controls it's own music store called MOOCS. MOOCS is an SD-Card based music download service that sells independent and major label downloads which can be transferred to SD-cards. Nifty also offers a streaming service.

NTT
NTT is one of the most popular wireless carriers in Japan. Users of their service can purchase permanent downloads from their phones and portable devices.

PassAlong
Website that rewards participation by allowing users to "pass along" recommendations to friends via IM or email and earn free music for helping promote download sales. PassAlong also sells music through eBay.

PayPlay
PayPlay is a download store that focuses on independent music. It's available for Windows users and requires no registration or software download.

PlayIndies
Company that offers many services to independent musicians, including a site that offers a la carte downloads and focuses on independent music. PlayIndies is currently in Beta mode and will not be receiving new music until early next year.

Puretracks
Canada-based service that acts both as an online download retailer and a back-end service provider for other retailers, such as Tower.

QTRnote
Website that offers a la carte downloads.

Rhapsody
Downloadable program for Windows, based more towards playing/streaming/listening than downloading. Rhapsody is owned by Real Networks.

Ruckus
Ruckus is a subscription download service designed exclusively for colleges and universities. Participating schools pay a monthly subscription fee to provide their students with all-you-can-eat "tethered" downloads.

RuleRadio
Online radio and download store.

Sonific
Sonific uses independent music for promotional purposes and sync licensing. Songs that have been signed up for CD Baby's promo program are included in Sonific's SongSpots.

Sony Connect
Sony's new digital download store.

Starzik
Starzik is one of the largest online digital download retailers in France, and allows customers to purchase downloads in multiple formats.

Theta Music
Theta Music is a Japanese company that specializes in music technology for internet and mobile services. Theta will initially only be selling a subset of the CD Baby catalog.

Tradebit
Website that offers a la carte downloads and focuses on independent music. Tradebit's services are available worldwide.

TreeTunes
Website that offers a la carte downloads and focuses on independent music. TreeTunes's services are available worldwide.

USEN Corporation
USEN is a leader in Japanese media that operates one of the leading Japanese digital music services called OnGen.

Verizon V CAST
V-Cast Music Store is Verizon's digital music service that can be accessed on a PC and on new Verizon phones. V-Cast includes music from the major record labels and independent artists.

Voeveo
Voeveo is a New Zealand-based ringtone portal for connecting independent music fans to their favorite artists.

Wippit
Wippit is one of the leading U.K.-based digital download services.

YooPeDoo
YouPeDoo is a site based service that offers a la carte downloads from major labels and indies. It is operated by Nareos and does not use peer-to-peer technology.

ZuKool
ZuKool Music provides highly relevant, personalized music recommendations. The service uses advanced AI to create intelligent taste agents that, through user interaction, evolve to embody a user's musical taste profile.

[George Lott]

wow thanks for your help! :)

[JaWar]

In 2008 the format that you choose depends on the genre of music you create. If you create music that typically caters to an older audience printing CDs to sell isn't a bad idea. Of course, if your music caters to a largely younger and technologically savvy audience then I'd still suggest printing CDs, but in much fewer quantities. Truth be told you'll want to encourage pre-sells for your physical product.

You'll want to get creative with your marketing and sells strategies as to encourage people to want to buy into your brand. For instance, including a t-shirt with the sell of the CD may encourage additional sells.

It has been my experience that what works for one artist may or may not work for another.

At this point choosing to distribute your music digitally really isn't an option. Marketing and selling digitally isn't the future it is the NOW. Mobile is the future. :-)

Have you read Industry Pimping. What you read may shock you.