If you’re looking to release your music on major platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, you’ve probably heard of music distribution.
A music distributor like CD Baby delivers your tracks from the studio to streaming platforms, then ensures you get paid for your streams. In this post, we’ll unpack how distribution works, what distributors do, and how you can generate revenue through distribution.
What is music distribution?
Generally speaking, music distribution is the process of making your music available to listeners across formats and platforms. Music distributors help facilitate that process.
There are three main types of music distributors:
- Major distributors: These companies (like Sony, Warner, and Universal) typically handle releases from established artists and major labels.
- Independent distributors: These companies cater to indie artists and smaller labels, but are still selective.
- Aggregators or DIY distributors: These companies like CD Baby serve the majority of independent artists and specialize in digital distribution to streaming platforms.
As music technology has evolved from vinyl and tapes to digital streaming, so has music distribution. The majority of today’s music distribution deals in delivering music to digital streaming platforms.
Most streaming platforms don’t let independent artists upload music directly. Instead, artists turn to distributors to handle the formatting, protection, and delivery of tracks to these platforms.
How does music distribution work?
Ready to release your music but wondering where to start with distribution? First, sign up with a distributor. CD Baby offers distribution to over 150 platforms for a one-time payment — no annual fees or hidden costs — and you keep over 90% of any royalty revenue.
When you’re ready to release, you can submit your music to your distributor. Generally, a submission flow will ask you to choose a release date then provide music metadata (descriptive information about your music), cover art, and high-quality audio files. Prepare the information and content your distributor needs ahead of time to ensure a smooth submission process. Learn more about metadata here.
For new songs, distributors generate International Standard Recording Codes (ISRCs)—unique identifiers that act like a digital fingerprint for each track. That code stays with the recording for life, even if it’s later released as part of an album or compilation. Learn more about ISRCs here.
Two quick tips:
- Be meticulous with your submission. A distributor is there to handle delivery and ensure content meets partner guidelines, but it’s your responsibility to ensure your attribution, payment, metadata, and creative elements like cover art are accurate. Take your time and review your materials before submitting.
- Provide your release with sufficient lead time. The industry generally recommends setting release dates four to six weeks in the future. That gives you time to promote and your distributor time to thoroughly inspect your release.
What are digital distributors responsible for?
A digital distributor handles two main tasks: getting your music securely and accurately onto streaming platforms and paying out the royalties you earn from streaming activity.
Marketing your music is still primarily your responsibility. Distributors make your songs available, but as an independent artist, you lead the way to attract listeners and grow a fanbase. That doesn’t mean, however, that you’re going it alone. CD Baby offers tools and services beyond distribution to help you promote your music and reach new audiences.
How do I earn money from my music?
When you create a song, you own two copyrights: the sound recording and the composition. Any time either is used, you earn royalties. By distributing your music, you license your distributor to reproduce and deliver your recordings to streaming platforms.
Since each platform pays differently, your distributor helps simplify the process by collecting and combining your royalties into one payment.
How else can I make money from music distribution?
One of the smartest ways to boost your streaming income is through music publishing. That’s the business of managing your song copyrights and making sure you collect every royalty you’re owed.
The streaming revenue you receive from your distributor accounts for only a portion of the royalties you’re owed. Your streams also generate broader mechanical royalties (collected by the Mechanical Licensing Collective, or MLC) and performance royalties (collected by Performing Rights Organizations, or PROs).
CD Baby members can maximize their streaming revenue by collecting these royalties through CD Baby Boost. We’ll register your music with the MLC and SoundExchange, ensuring you capture these additional royalties and maximize your earnings.
Why do you need music distribution?
Music distribution empowers today’s artists to share their music around the world. Now that you understand how distribution works, here’s how you could benefit from distributing your next release.
Discoverability: Getting your music on streaming platforms is the first step to being heard. Distributors ensure your songs reach platforms that lead the way in music discovery such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube.
Audience growth and insights: Distributors provide analytics that show where your fans are, which songs are resonating, and how your streams change over time. These insights can help you make smarter decisions about promotion, touring, and fan engagement. You’ll also have the opportunity to claim your artist profiles on major platforms like Spotify and Apple Music to get even more granular, platform-specific insights about your fans.
Proper attribution and payment: Distributors make sure your songs are properly credited, assign ISRC codes to track your recordings, and collect royalties for you from streaming services. This ensures you get paid accurately for every stream, download, or sale.
Marketing support: Many distributors also offer in-house or partnered services beyond distribution to help you promote your music and find new fans. These vary by distributor, but CD Baby offers a suite of marketing services for executing campaigns, promoting new releases, and optimizing your streaming profiles.
Distribute your music to over 150 platforms worldwide on an affordable pay-per-release basis with CD Baby. Sign up and submit your music today.