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If you’re a producer, singer/songwriter, or musician, earning money through your music can be a dream come true. The good news is you no longer need to be signed to a label in order to promote or sell your music. Are you wondering how you can get your music streamed on all major platforms and make money during the process?
More and more independent artists are getting their music on Spotify and Apple Music without being signed to a major or indie record label. The crazy thing is that some artists are even being found on these platforms and eventually get signed when they raise enough attention.
Getting your music heard is a tough gig. Putting your music out to platforms people enjoy using shouldn’t. This is why more and more artists and musicians are skipping the middle-man and getting heard on Spotify and Apple Music.
Your songs have a place in the world. They should not be collecting dust on YouTube, Reverbnation, SoundCloud, and other free platforms.
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The benefits of streaming platforms
Streaming platforms are convenient and convenience sells. People don’t want to look for new artists or bands anymore, they want to be catered to music that is similar to what they already love and listen to.
Algorithms take into account what you love listening to and push new ‘relatable’ content that you might also enjoy. This is how independent artists are being discovered.
The algorithm records how long your song is being streamed, whether it’s being replayed or not, and how often it’s being saved. When your tracks get this positive feedback, your streams begin to snowball. Streaming services do a great job at finding a place or person who will enjoy your music even if it’s not pop.
Streaming playlists are easy to share
Another benefit of streaming platforms is how easy playlists are easy to share. People in today’s world are constantly sharing playlists with others who have the same music tastes.
If your song(s) happen to be saved in a playlist by someone then your chances of being heard increases. Your art cannot be complacent in a platform that’s not innovating. Streaming platforms such as Spotify are the future.
Here’s how to distribute your music on all major platforms.
#1. Find a music distributor
First, you’ll need to upload your music through a music distributor service. A music distributer is a company that helps musicians get their music into iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, Instagram, and other major platforms. When your music is distributed it will have the opportunity to be heard by anyone in the world.
Before we let you know who the best distributor for independent artists is we’re going to walk you through some burning questions most artists might have.
Can you really make money from streams?
Yes. The awesome thing about getting your music on all major platforms is that you get paid every time your music is streamed!
That’s right! So, if you have a good following you’ll be able to monetize your music and make money every time someone streams your songs. One day you might make a few bucks from Spotify while simultaneously earning royalties from other platforms such as Apple Music and TikTok.
If you’re passionate about reaching a huge audience then this can be a great way to also establish multiple streams of income for yourself. You can then reinvest the profits to further your music career and provide more value to your following.
This type of income is known as leverage income. This is where you do the work once but get paid multiple times for it.
Tips For Making Money From Your Streams
- Grow your social media followers
- Pin your album or new song (Twitter, Facebook page, etc.)
- Get playlisted
- Share your music with the communities on social platforms
- Submit your music to curators
- Record high quality music
- Increase your audience as much as possible
- Engage with your following and other related pages
- Create a street team
- Use promotions and paid advertising
Tips for growing your social media followers
Engage with artists and other musicians in your genre. Twitter is a great platform to connect with people who can support you.
A social media hack is to click on related hashtags and begin liking peoples recent posts and even leaving a comment. This strategy is a form of saying hey this is who I am.
When people see someone liked or commented on their post, they usually tend to stalk the other persons feed. If they like what you’re about they will follow you back. If you seem interesting enough then chances are they’ll most likely listen to your music.
Growing your artist social media accounts is going to require you to work on this task every single day. When you begin to see the results it’s going to become almost addicting. Now, there will be days where it gets tiring and days where you simply skip out on it. This is normal. However, know that if you discipline yourself and get back on track, you will be able to meet your number of followers goal.
Pin your recent track to your profile
Which brings up the second social media hack for artists. Pin your recent song to your profile. This is the first thing visitors will see. And again, if you seem interesting to them then the next thing they’ll do is check out your work.
Facebook and Twitter are two social media platforms that allow you to pin a post for high visibility.
Record high quality music
The quality of your music is really what’s going to keep people listening to your music. Most independent artists might struggle with this part of the process but it’s a reinvestment you’ll eventually have to make.
If you’re a self-recording artist, don’t stop trying to get better every time you release a new piece. Always looks for ways to improve. If you’re content with your skills then by all means put out your track. However, if you’re not practicing audio engineering every day I recommend you record in a professional studio at some point.
Create a street team or promo page
A street team is a strategy that you can use to share your content when it’s released and to promote your posts. You can create a group of loyal supporters who can share, like, and comment anytime you update the street team page with content and instructions to push it out.
You can also create a promo page. This promo page can be a second alternative or addition to your promotional strategy. With a promo page you can share your street teams shares and comments to build momentum.
All this activity allows algorithms in the social media platform to push your content out to reach a bigger audience. This awareness creates hype and elevates your awareness.
Where else can I promote my music?
Millennial Music Agency is a platform that listens to your music via submissions and reviews it on their website. You can use the review as a means to sponsor and market your new single or album.
By providing artists with a platform to be seen and heard, we manifest credibility which artists can use to further their music career.
Millennial music agency (los angeles, ca)
When your music is finally being pushed out on Spotify and Apple Music, be sure to share your work as much as possible with as many groups and curators as you can.
Most curators won’t take your MP3 file or other links to free platforms. They want to share quality work and be collaborate with strong brand recognition.
This is why more independent artists are being discovered on platforms such as Spotify more than anywhere else. It’s easy to get playlisted, shared, and listened to.
Share your latest single on:
- Facebook groups
- Twitter artist music threads
- Instagram stories (more below)
- Tik-Tok stories (more below)
- Email newsletter
Facebook groups
Facebook groups are the perfect place for musicians and artists to share creative ideas and get a chance to get their music heard. This platform has a variety of groups for just about everyone!
Instagram and TikTok stories
The music distributer we’re about to talk about shortly is able to put your songs on Instagram stories and TikTok videos.
These trending social media platforms are a great place for you to share your new track with your following and increase awareness. The cool thing is that people can click on the song whether it’s on Instagram or TikTok, and play it on Spotify or Apple Music.
Email newsletter
Email newsletters are a great way for you to share your new song or album with your fans and support group. Sometimes social media doesn’t allow your posts to reach everyone who follows you.
This is where creating an email newsletter for your fans to sign up can become handy. You can use this email newsletter to directly connect your fans with a new release in case they missed a post online.
You can also use email as a means of hyping a new song or album prior to its release. This strategy is known as email marketing. The way this works is you can email your fans promotional content such as images, artworks, and teasers of an upcoming song or album.
This creates anticipation and further help you promote your music. These marketing campaigns are what allow artists to have a big release date. This happens when they prepared their fans for the release months prior.
These strategies create a ‘portal’ to your music and makes it easy to enter peoples world.
When your work is being distributed across all major platforms, royalties begin to come in every time someone hits the play button.
The more streams you get means the more money you will earn. But first you need is to get your work distributed. Here’s how you do it.
#2. How Do I Get My Music On Spotify, Apple Music, And All Major Platforms?
To get your music on all major platforms you’ll need to find a reputable distributor that can upload your music onto the biggest streaming platforms.
DistroKid is the best service for musicians looking to get their music into online stores and major streaming outlets.
They are the easiest way for musicians to get music into Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, Tidal, TikTok, YouTube, and more.
The reason why independent artists and musicians like yourself are using DistroKid is because:
- DistroKid is affordable
- You can upload unlimited music and albums
- The layout is super easy to use
- They were the first distributers to put your music on Tik-Tok and Instagram
- DistroKid monetizes all of your YouTube videos!
- You get paid monthly
- Instant Spotify Artist Verification
How much does it cost to distribute my music with DistroKid?
DistroKid only costs $19.99 per year to upload unlimited music on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Tidal, and more!
They are offering our readers 7% off when you sign up using the link here.
Who are DistroKid’s competitors and how do they compare?
Competitors include TuneCore which charges $9.99 per song and $29.99 per album. There’s also CD Baby, which charges $9.95 per song and $29.00 per album.
If you have a catalog of music this can become pretty expensive even if you’re only uploading a few songs. The best value is being able to upload unlimited tracks year round whenever you want.
In the end, DistroKid has the best bang for your buck.
This is why artists like you love DistroKid
DistroKid makes it easy to upload music
DistroKid makes it super easy to upload your song(s) to all major platforms. You also have an option to set your release date, allow people to preorder, and even set your own record label name.
You may upload several songs at the same time to release an album or one at a time for singles. DistroKid will send you an email once your songs are available in each store so you can share the links on your social media platforms.
Will my songs be available to stream at the same time?
Your songs won’t be published at the same time on all platforms but this is great because you can share your tracks whenever they’re available on Tidal and Amazon before it’s out on Spotify and the rest.
This allows you to let your audience know your song is available to them no matter what their streaming preference is.
DistroKid allows you to upload your own album cover
DistroKid’s layout is very easy to navigate and only takes minutes to fill out your projects information. The simple platform is favored by artists looking to quickly upload their work without any hassle.
You also get the option to choose the language, primary genre, and secondary genre along with other options to further describe your track(s).
DistroKid’s track price also allows you to set a fixed price on your individual tracks for iTunes, Google Play, & Amazon.
How to Earn Money with DistroKid
DistroKid provides you with stats for just about everything. This includes a breakdown of how you get paid as well as your daily streams!
DistroKid is a great means to earn money from your music due to their easy distributing services. The goal is to reach many listeners in order to increase your earnings.
Each store and streaming service delivers reports and payments on their own schedule. Your money will be sent between 1-14 days of a withdrawal request from DistroKid’s bank tab. You can easily transfer your earnings into your PayPal account without any hassle.
What Are Other Awesome Benefits From Distributing With DistroKid?
If you’re wondering whether you’ll get verified in any way the great news is you do.
Access to Spotify for Artists + instant Spotify verification
DistroKid allows you to gain access to Spotify For Artists which allows you to professionally personalize your Spotify artist page. When you distribute with DistroKid you will also be instantly verified with a blue checkmark on Spotify.
This access allows you to pitch your music to Spotify’s curators for a chance to be featured on official Spotify playlists. The awesome thing about becoming a verified artist on Spotify is the credibility you gain. It sets you apart from other artist and shows you’re serious about your craft.
Spotify for Artists give you insight on where your listeners are coming from and what their age group is. This can help you determine who your content is primarily based around.
You can also view how many people are listening to your music in real-time!
That’s pretty sweet, anything else?
DistroKid has also just recently allowed artists to access their Apple Music artist page, a feature you couldn’t access before. Some cool features include editing your bio, setting up a profile picture, and managing tour dates.
Not only that but…
DistroKid provides instant monetization on YouTube
In order to monetize videos on YouTube you must reach a total of 1,000 subscribers and have 4,000 hours of watch time on your channel.
However, DistroKid allows you to earn money from your music by making all uploads a ‘topic‘ on YouTube and automatically monetizes every song you upload.
This is extremely convenient because you are instantly monetized and are ready to receive earnings from YouTube ads right away! This is just one of the many perks you have when you distribute your work with DistroKid.
How much does it cost to distribute my music with DistroKid?
It costs $19.99 per year to distribute unlimited music through DistroKid. However, our readers get a 7% off by using the promotion link here.
The reason we love DistroKid is because it has helped our readers who are musicians and artists earn passive income. We are a personal finance and entrepreneurship blog after all. So, we’re big fans.
If you’re a recording artist, leave your links below!
If you’re a recording artist, leave your links on the comment section below. These links will stay up forever and won’t disappear. FREE PROMO.
FAQs and other questions
Can I choose which platforms to distribute my music?
Yes! You have an option to click or ‘unclick’ certain websites you might only want your music to stream in.
How much music can I upload with DistroKid?
You can upload unlimited amount of songs and albums with DistroKid.
How long does it take for my music to show up on Spotify?
After you submit your music for distribution it can take anywhere from 2-5 days before your music is live on Spotify.
Most platforms take about 2-3 days to show your music online but you can expect it to take about a full week for majority of streaming platforms to have your music ready for listeners.
How long does it take to become a Spotify Artist?
DistroKid will make you a Spotify Artist as soon as you join. You will be able to create your Spotify for Artist profile and edit your artist profile picture and bio.
You will also be able to upload photos for your fans to see and change your banner to promote new music.
Does my YouTube content become a topic?
Yes. When you upload a song or album, it will automatically become a ‘topic’ on YouTube and begin displaying ads immediately.
This means you will begin to earn money from not only playbacks but actual advertisement.
Can I submit to Spotify curators?
Yes. When you upload a song to DistroKid, you’ll be able to pitch your tracks to Spotify curators.
If approved, your songs can get playlisted on massive playlists which can draw serious traffic to your artist page.
Being playlisted on a curated playlist from Spotify can provide you with some serious passive income.
Which music streaming platform pays the most?
Here’s a list of music streaming payout via. atlasvpn.
Napster has the highest payout out Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube.
This doesn’t mean all your music should be shared directly from Napster though. Find which platform your audience uses the most and share those links.
You can also use Linktr.ee to link your favorite platforms all under one link. This will allow your listeners to choose their favorite streaming site and listen to your songs comfortably.
If you have any further questions regarding distributing your songs online be sure to leave a comment below. Otherwise, feel free to get in touch and email me personally! Contact info on the footer of the page.
How can I get my music on Spotify?
You’ll need to distribute your music with a music distributor like DistroKid to get your music on Spotify and other streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Amazon, Tik-Tok, Instagram, and many more.
My mission is to help my readers become financially successful every day so be sure to check out my posts on how you can earn more money to reach a freedom like no other.
“Some of my readers know when I’m not working on my business ventures I enjoy writing music. I particularly compose indie rock music. You can check it out here.”
— Frank Nez
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