An educator's guide to digital music distribution

We spend a lot of time encouraging students to write, to be creative, to make music. Occasionally those students produce something magical that they want to share with the rest of the world. YouTube, SoundCloud and social media platforms allow anyone to upload their content just by creating an account. And then there are platforms that do not deal directly with individual creators. In order to get music on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Beatport, Tidal, Deezer, and the hundreds of other music streaming sites, artists have to go through a distributor. There are around 30 distributors out there who will accept submissions, ranging from free services like Amuse, to services such as Ditto Music and Distrokid that offer unlimited releases in Stereo and ATMOS format for upwards of £300 per year. Distributors provide a range of services, including uploading artwork, video content, sourcing metadata, and offering performance analytics for artists to monitor how their tracks are performing. Ari Herstand provides a regularly updated comparison chart of the major players in this field.

Dealing with distributors

So, you’ve chosen a distributor. The next thing you will need to know is that under-18s cannot enter into commercial contracts (at least in the UK). This means that either your students’ guardians will need to sign up on their behalf or you may wish to look at a centre-wide distribution agreement. During my teacher training, we trialed a college-based account with DistroKid, which offered unlimited number of releases. DistroKid has a payment splitting service, where they will pass any money generated directly on to the artists – so no end-of-year book-keeping is required.

The next thing your distributor needs is a well-mastered final track, in uncompressed form. Mastering – the process of ensuring that your track plays out at the same volume as other tracks, and that your mix translates on everything from in-car speakers and £5 earphones to pricey pro-audio monitors in acoustically treated environments – has never been easier. There are a range of services online offering both human- and AI-driven mastering services. LANDR, Izotope and AI Mastering all offer services for under £20 per track. I have usually found that, by the point my students are ready to release their first singles, they are keen to master these themselves. It’s worth noting that most distributors will run the final audio through a quality-check process.

The next thing on the list is artwork. This can be anything from a photograph of the artist, or band, to an abstract image. The main issue to take into consideration is that artists and photographers are creatives, just like musicians. And like musicians, they deserve to be fairly credited and compensated for their work. The Musicians’ Union and Independent Society of Musicians both provide template release forms for musicians to licence artwork on a non-exclusive basis. Whatever the approach, whatever the image – make sure the rights are cleared.

The last thing on the list is metadata. This is the term the music industry has alighted on for the data describing a track. Typically this involves the obvious: title, name of artist, name of album. It’s worth having a short discussion with students about artist names. It may be that they’re happy to release music under the name they use daily. If they are a band or group, they will need an artist name. This should be short, memorable, but most importantly – unique! Nothing makes an artist difficult to find online more than having the same name as twenty other artists.

Islands in the streams

Once the above is in place, your students are almost ready to ‘drop’ their first tracks. At this point it’s worth taking a closer look at the streaming platforms. Spotify is by far the biggest of the music discovery sites, with 572m active users and 35% of the global market share. According to Spotify’s 2023 Loud & Clear report, the platform received an average of 8,500 new music uploads per week last year. So, releasing music without a plan to support and promote it is the digital equivalent of emptying the ocean with an egg-cup.

The received narrative is that streaming doesn’t pay, and that musicians will never be able to live on their streaming royalties alone. The truth of that is that there were around 25,000 artists earning over $50,000 in 2023; just from Spotify alone. Apple Music is likely paying out around 25–30% of what Spotify does – although their royalties are paid at a higher rate, the platform has a lower subscriber count, with around 16% global market share.

Although your distributor will pay your artist the majority (around 80%) of their royalties, a secondary stream of ‘neighbouring’ rights will also be paid via PRS for Music and PPL. It’s very much worth getting students into the habit of registering their work with both bodies. In order to hit the dizzying heights of making a living from streaming royalties, artists need around 700,000 streams per month. While this sounds like a comical figure, consider the case of ‘Home’ by Good Neighbours. The duo’s first track dropped on 17 January this year. By the end of that month, it had accumulated two million streams. So, how did these newcomers achieve this feat?

Banging the drum

Never before in history has more music been released by more people to a bigger audience. But that does come with a challenge for creating visibility. The streaming platforms themselves offer a certain amount of promotion. Spotify is all about music discovery. The site learns your unique musical tastes and listening habits, and feeds you content with the aim of keeping you engaged – and listening. Understanding this process is key to cracking the code. Contrary to popular belief, playlists are still critical to growth. There are four types of playlists:

1. Editorial playlists

These are curated by humans. What we know about them is that they prioritise you releasing content regularly, or waterfall releasing. Rather than releasing three tracks together as an EP, splitting that release into single tracks, released a few weeks apart, is more likely to catch the attention of playlisters. Editorials also prioritize ‘buzz’ – so this means your social media trajectory should be on point before you pitch. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have the largest number of followers; but those followers should be engaged and excited – replying to comments, discussing the music, and engaging in your students’ wider brand. Once your students are ready to release music, they should claim their Spotify for Artists profile. This will allow them to submit their music to playlist curators for consideration. Ideally this should be at least three weeks in advance of the track being released, in order to allow sufficient time for consideration.

2. Personalised playlists

Personalised playlists are the algorithmically generated ones, e.g. Daily Mix/On Repeat/Niche Mixes. Over the last year, this format has seen massive expansion.

Typically, a new track will be tried out by a few people on their Discover Weekly. Their reaction is key to how Spotify pushes your track out to other users they’ve identified with similar music tastes. How do you get on the first round of Discover Weekly? The easiest way is to get people to follow your artist profile. From there, shares, likes, pre-saves and adds to a personalised playlist, all forms of organic traffic, will trigger the algorithm. Conversely, fake traffic will have the opposite effect, deprioritising your content. So, no bots, no faking it! Spotify has recently introduced a range of measures to detect and deal with any fake traffic on its site.

3. Personalised editorial

Again, these are algorithmically generated playlists, but unlike the generic discovery playlists, these are tailored to the listener’s mood, or time of day. They tend to rely on the metadata built up about a track over time to pitch the right track to the right person at the right time of day – the result of big data in action. If your track is mellow, upbeat, good for studying, running, commuting, this is how it gets in front of its audience. The more your music is listened to, the more data Spotify picks up on it, and the more it will recommend it to people via these playlists.

4. ‘Listener’ playlists

The final type of playlist is those generated and curated by other users – human beings! Most of these have a presence on other channels – Instagram, TikTok or Youtube. This is where you can connect with similar artists, and promote one another’s music. For example, Kid Kapichi run ‘Kid Kapichi’s Bangers’, and frequently feature music from other exciting up-and-coming acts on their playlist.

Is the clock ticking for TikTok?

Over lockdown, TikTok became the focus of the commercial music industry, with countless tracks blowing up via the platform. TikTok thrives on viral trends. Encourage students to create challenges that can easily incorporate their music. The goal is to make these challenges fun, relatable, and easy for others to replicate, thereby spreading their music organically across the platform. Anything that involves audience participation is likely to build an engaged and passionate crowd for your music. Hashtags still play a crucial role in discoverability on TikTok. Instruct students to use relevant, trending hashtags alongside unique ones specific to their music or brand. This strategy can significantly increase the visibility of their content. Research what other musicians are using in terms of tags and alt text.

Partnering with other TikTokers can catapult a student’s music to a broader audience. Choosing partners whose audience aligns with the music genre can ensure that the music reaches potential fans. These don’t need to be huge celebrity influencers – reaching out to other musicians and other creators is the key to creating organic growth in the audience for your music. Again, check out what other musicians are doing. Don’t jump on the trends bandwagon – reinvent trends for your own music and your audience. Consistency is key on TikTok. Regular posting keeps the audience engaged and helps in building a loyal follower base. Encourage your students to post diverse content types, including behind-the-scenes clips, song snippets and personal stories to maintain interest and engagement.

Into Instagram

With the introduction of Reels, Instagram has become a major player for music promotion. Creating engaging Reels using students’ music can be a great place for building an audience. Utilising Stories to share music snippets, updates, and engaging with the audience through polls and Q&As can also foster a deeper connection. Hosting live sessions can be a great way for young artists to showcase their personality and music. These live sessions can include interview segments, live performances, or simply casual conversations with the audience. It’s an excellent way to build rapport and engage directly with fans.

Into the deep

Promoting music on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram requires creativity, consistency, and engagement. By leveraging the unique features of these platforms and encouraging collaboration, teenagers can significantly boost their music’s visibility. As educators, guiding them through these strategies, while emphasising the importance of authenticity and interaction, will equip them with the tools they need to succeed in the digital music landscape.

Releasing music is a minefield – and there is no ‘right’ way. But allowing students to begin their professional journeys in a supportive environment can be invaluable for young musicians. It has never been easier to access this world, and it has never been more important for students to approach the industry in a professional, explorative manner. The satisfaction of having your first tracks out there in the world is like nothing else – and has been the most powerful part of my teaching experience.