Essential tips for digital music distribution in 2024

In today’s music marketing landscape, digital distribution has single-handedly been one of the most significant components, shaping the industry to its core and helping it become what it is today.

Since its introduction, music distribution has been a democratising force. The platforms we put our music on, better known as DSPs or digital service providers, have given artists a right of passage to share their creations with their eagerly awaiting audiences. This blog shares the roles of these distribution platforms and unearths the gems you should know to make your journey in this exciting industry a breeze.

Spotify: Unlocking the power of playlists to reach millions

Spotify: For an artist wanting to get to as many of their fans as humanly possible, distributing your music and making sure it gets heard on the most prominent music platform is critical. As distribution goes, Spotify claims over 30% of the music streaming market share, with over double the number of Apple Music subscribers. Daniel Ek's company, Spotify, has over 226 million premium subscribers as of Q3 2023, with over 515 million active users, and it increases by the day.

Despite the continued negatives on their royalty model or the recent policy change to only pay artists once they surpass the 1,000 streams threshold. Spotify is still the preferred app for casual and popular music listeners making it a must for distributing your music. Their world-renowned playlists continue to help listeners discover new artists and for them to get heard worldwide. As for their analytics tool, Spotify for Artists provides a powerful tool for you to pitch your upcoming releases to editorial playlists ahead of their release and upload videos and visuals.

Mastering Spotify for Artists: Unlocking the power of data

Spotify for Artists provides comprehensive analytics that paints a detailed picture of your listeners' whereabouts, location, listening habits, and even the songs they skip. It allows you to pinpoint where your audience resides, giving you the data you need to plan tours, strategise paid ads, or write songs that connect with the demographics you appeal to even more.

In this current era, YouTube remains one of the most powerful platforms artists can ever use. Despite feeling like you're late to the party getting on the YouTube train this year, YouTube is the place to be, and believe it or not, today is the perfect time to start your YouTube creator journey. 

Apple Music: Harnessing the power of super fans to boost your sales

Apple Music is a pioneer and a trailblazer, this iconic platform was among the first to revolutionise the digital music industry as we know it today, and it continues to be a leading force in the market.

For artists seeking to foster a deep connection with their listeners, Apple Music is a powerful tool. It not only provides an opportunity to engage with super fans, but also helps to convert them into loyal customers with a simple click on their mobile app. And from a strategic perspective, with 28.5% of the world being Apple device users, the potential for fan engagement is immense. With the right marketing assets and a simple DM, a sale of your project awaits.

Maximising potential with Apple Music for Artists

Apple Music for Artists is a user-friendly platform from Apple that empowers artists with comprehensive analytics. It presents data in a clear, easy-to-understand dashboard, allowing you to track the global reach of your music. If you are an artist who wants to understand and learn from your audience data, then sign up today to unlock the power within your insights. Share your music and personalise your artist bio or lyrics to connect with listeners in the app.

Once signed up, you can use newly released Apple Music for Artist tools such as Listening Now. Listening Now allows artists and artist managers to see their listener count in real time, giving you an immediate timeline of your audience's listening habits. How can this data be used? The ability to see real-time data gives you the power to pivot your campaign to meet the demands of your release, allowing you to adjust your campaign in real-time or support it with more DJ shares or social media advertising. Sign up to Apple Music for Artists today.

YouTube: Harnessing the power of video content for artist growth

YouTube, with its video focus, offers another viable route. Distributing content through its platform can provide artists with another potential income stream outside of streaming, such as performances and physical. YouTube has an enticing algorithm that rewards content creators who create great content.

Creating engaging YouTube content: Tips for Artists

As an artist, you already have the blueprint for being a creator. It would help if you now began to challenge your perspective and start to believe that you are one of the most creative content creators in the world. When it comes to content creation, artists have an unfair advantage. Artists are naturally equipped to use the YouTube platform in more ways than the average user; the first way an artist does this is to distribute their music to appear on YouTube music to ensure their fans, who have this as their platform of choice.

Creating Engaging Content

Being a dedicated creator on YouTube is not for the faint hearted, it takes some level of commitment and the gall to think it will work. A common trait to anyone that is doing extremely well creating content. Some may call it delusional to quote Youngbogusboys platinum viral quote. 

So why not embrace that ability to dream big like Faith Evans?

Use your YouTube channel to speak directly to your audience. Many of today's most successful creatives have already done the groundwork and laid the foundation for a healthy and prosperous career through their earlier blog content; from Mr Beast to Wiz Khalifa to Ali Abdal, these dedicated people grew their following by creating content that eventually sought out, connected, and resonated with their fan bases, catapulted them to be who they are in this growing creator economy.

YouTube provides artists a platform to distribute and share music (audio), blogs, shows, podcasts, shorts, music videos, and paid communities. For each content type, YouTube provides rich analytics that allows you to monitor how your content is being received online. The analysis of this data will help you to understand the behaviours and habits of your audience.

In addition to various content creation options, YouTube-focused artists have another trick up their sleeves. What is that, I hear you ask? Well, it's advertising. YouTube ads are a powerful tool that has the potential to propel your creativity to new fans. Placing affordable adverts on the platform is a discovery on steroids; you now have the power to target potential fans already listening to similar music, which is a great way to ensure your campaign circulates outside your core audience. 

In terms of music platforms, YouTube has been around longer than most. With 19 years under its belt, the platform has been an integral part of shaping the music industry and, now, all creative endeavours in the video content creator multiverse. Still, YouTube remains the second largest search engine after Google. It has become an ideal platform for creatives and artists to distribute their music, blogs, podcasts, shorts and music videos to viewers and monthly subscribed communities.

Building your personal brand in the digital age

In this new era of social media, personal branding is crucial. Nowadays, it's bigger than hip hop or your genre or creativity of choice.  Now it's about who you are, who tuned into your movement and how you can mobilise people to the beat of your drum. Personal branding is the lubricant that oils the wheels of opportunity to spin faster. Let's get into how you can build your brand: 

Boosting your social media presence as an artist

Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X are great tools to maintain your online presence. Regularly posting content, interacting with fans, and using the platform's features like live videos, stories, and reels help to create a connection with your audience. 

Crafting a strong visual identity for your music brand

Your visual identity speaks volumes; when you're not around, your identity speaks on your behalf. So, what is a visual identity? A visual identity could be a group of assets that represent your brand. Things such as your logo, album artwork, clothing and a collection of photos from a recent photoshoot all contribute to your overall aesthetic. Consistency in the production and themes presented in these assets helps you to create a brand that is identifiable and stands out.

Direct fan engagement: Exclusive content strategies

Use platforms like Patreon, Bandcamp, GumRoad, Channel Memberships, and your website to offer exclusive content to your most engaged fans. These platforms provide a route to get your personalised and highly sought-after content and products to your audience. Imagine receiving regular updates and exclusive content from someone you are a fan of, powerful stuff, right? This behaviour is the secret sauce that builds a great community. So, what stops you from giving your people the best of you?

Essential resources to elevate your music career

Navigating the new age of music can be challenging, but with the right tools and strategies, you can effectively distribute your music, engage with fans, and grow your career. By mastering platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube and utilising powerful data insights, you can take your music career to new heights.

For more resources to help you succeed in the music industry, check out these essential tools:

• Music Artist Planner - Release Strategy Notion Template
• Ebook: Social Media Management & Music Marketing for Artists

Download these valuable resources today and start optimising your music career for success!

Stay tuned for more tips and insights in our "Advice for Artists" blog series!