TopicDistribution & Catalog OperationsDistribution, DistroKid, release operations, royalties, and catalog administration.
VideoApr 24, 2026The ULTIMATE Music Marketing RoadmapMaster your music marketing with a comprehensive roadmap that integrates release timing, social media tactics, and strategic advertising to grow your fanbase effectively.
VideoNov 7, 2025How To Test UNRELEASED Music With Meta AdsDiscover how to strategically test unreleased music using Meta ads to identify your strongest tracks and optimize your release strategy with real audience data.
GuideJul 30, 2022How To Release Music as an Independent ArtistThe first step to getting people to listen to your music is to release it on all major platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and more. Whether you're a new artist and you want to release your first song, or you've been making music for a while but...
NewsletterAug 7, 2023How to do Instant Grat tracks on Apple Music & iTunesApple Music’s Instant Gratification tracks let fans stream select songs from your upcoming album before release day and get instant access when purchasing on iTunes. This feature helps build anticipation and enables flexible pre-release promotion.
GuideApr 27, 2025How To Switch Music Distributors (Without Losing Streams)Music distribution is kind of a commodity nowadays. There are dozens of platforms all with different features, and each of them change year over year. Sometimes this means you need to switch music distributors, but how do you do this? Well it's actually quite...
GuideAug 15, 2024Spotify Removed Music For Artificial Streaming?Over the past couple years Spotify has been trying, and failing, to crack down on bot streams on their platform. More artists that have done nothing wrong get their music pulled than artists actually committing artificial streaming. In this post i'll talk...
GuideAug 26, 2023Should Music Artists Use CD Baby or DistroKid?At some point every artist will have to choose which music distribution company they use to distribute their music on streaming services. There are dozens of options out there but most artists ask if they should use CDBaby or DistroKid. In this comparison...
GuideSep 10, 2022How Often Should Artists Release New Music?Releasing high quality music on a consistent basis is one of the most important aspects of any music marketing strategy. The rate you release music will not only determine how well you hold your audiences attention, but also how you time your social media,...
NewsletterMay 19, 2026Should you promote your music before it comes out?Promoting your music before release often wastes budget and effort, as pre-save ads cost 3x more and organic hype rarely converts without an existing fanbase. Focus most marketing efforts on release day and after for better results.
NewsletterMar 2, 2026Your music will flop sometimes (and that's okay)Not every song will succeed in marketing, even if it's well made. Understanding a song’s marketability and adjusting your promotion budget based on real performance can help you maximize your marketing dollars over multiple releases.
NewsletterJan 6, 2025Preparing for a new year of releasing musicBatch creating music and content before your release cycle gives you a buffer to focus on marketing and growth. Planning your releases and marketing strategy ahead reduces stress and improves execution throughout the year.
NewsletterMay 20, 2024How often should you release music?Releasing a new single every 4-8 weeks balances quality, promotion time, and audience engagement for most artists. Faster release schedules work only under specific conditions, while slower releases suit complex genres or album-focused strategies.
NewsletterJan 15, 2024What most music marketers agree withAfter 10 hours of interviews with music marketing experts, clear consensus emerges on key strategies: quality music matters, consistent releases every 4-8 weeks work best, and social media presence tailored to your audience is essential for growth.
NewsletterJan 2, 20242024: The year your music takes offPlan your 2024 music releases with a clear cadence and back them with a strong content strategy. Combine multiple marketing channels like social media, ads, and collaborations to grow your fanbase effectively.
NewsletterJun 26, 2023Treat your music like a BUSINESSTaking your music career seriously means treating it like a business with a clear release plan, marketing budget, and content strategy. Understanding the essentials of business setup, money management, and taxes can save you time and headaches down the road.
GuideJul 8, 2025Music Ad Tips YOU Need (From A Profitable Record Label) feat. spiration musicRecently I had a chat with Alex Bochel, who runs a profitable record label called spiration music by running Meta ads for music marketing. That's right. He releases music through his label, promotes it with Meta ads primarily focused towards Spotify and...
GuideMay 18, 2025The Truth About YouTube Content ID for Indie MusiciansContent ID allows you to claim royalties when your music is used in YouTube videos, either your own or other people's videos. But is Content ID worth it for indie music artists, does it help or does it hurt? Let's talk about it. First, I ran a poll on my...
GuideNov 18, 2024Roblox x DistroKid Partnership – Get Your Music On RobloxIf you use DistroKid you may have noticed you can now distribute your music to Roblox! If you aren't familiar, Roblox is an insanely popular online gaming platform with over 200 million monthly active users. Roblox users are able to create their own games in...
ToolMay 9, 2025DistroKid Royalty AnalyzerUse our free tool to process your DistroKid royalty statement and understand your royalties. See a graph of monthly royalties over time, breakdown by DSP, and average payment per stream by country for Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. Your data is...
VideoMay 1, 2026Spotify and DistroKid's NEW Generative AI Tagging (is it enough?)Spotify's new generative AI tagging via DistroKid offers artists a way to disclose AI contributions in music, but does it truly address the evolving challenges of AI in the...
GuideNov 20, 2022How To Release Cover Songs with DistroKidDistroKid makes it very easy for you to release cover songs on music distribution platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and the rest. In the past, this could be difficult because you'd have to go and secure the cover license yourself and ensure you kept up to...
NewsletterNov 17, 2025How to get 1 million streams in 1 yearCombine paid and organic marketing with a $5,000 budget to release 9 singles in 2026, supported by 20 social posts and 2 YouTube videos per song. This approach builds on proven real-world data to help you reach 1 million streams.
NewsletterJan 23, 2024How to grow to 1,000 Spotify monthly listeners for freeGrowing to 1,000 monthly Spotify listeners without a budget requires consistent, quality releases every 4-6 weeks and a strong social media presence with daily engaging content and genuine fan interactions.
NewsletterSep 25, 2023How to trigger Spotify algorithmic playlistsLearn how to trigger Spotify’s most valuable algorithmic playlists like Release Radar and Discover Weekly by hitting specific engagement thresholds and using high-quality sources such as Facebook ads or organic promotion to drive streams, listeners, and saves.
VideoJul 9, 2026DistroKid Just SoldDistroKid’s recent sale to a private equity firm raises important questions about the future of indie music distribution and what artists should expect next.
GuideMay 9, 2023DistroKid Launched a Mobile AppDistroKid launched an app for iPhone that lets you distribute your music, see streaming data and check royalties right from your phone! DistroKid App Highlights DistroKid, a DIY distributor, has launched a new mobile app that allows artists signed up to the...
GuideMar 9, 2023A New Era For Spotify for Artists, Spotify's Biggest UpdateSpotify is once again introducing a new suite of tools that will have massive positive impacts for artists. Including short form Clips, release Countdowns, a new marketing tool called Showcase and more visibility to shows and merch. Let's take a look at it...
GuideMar 9, 2023DistroKid Pricing: Plans & ExtrasDistroKid offers annual plans from $22.99 to $1,349.99, with unlimited uploads and distribution to over 100 stores. The Musician Plus plan at $39.99 provides key features like release date scheduling and synced lyrics, essential for marketing your music...
GuideFeb 19, 2023How Much Did Spotify Pay Me For 1,556,335 StreamsMy song Chains has generated 1,556,335 streams, but how much money did this actually generate? In this post i'll walk you through where these streams came from, what countries and calculate the average payment per stream. Background & Streaming Services We...
GuideDec 27, 2022Is Spotify Marquee 10X BETTER than Facebook Ads?Spotify recently released a study they ran claiming Spotify Marquee delivers 10x more listeners per dollar than social ads on average. Is it true? Spotify Marquee Study Here's how Spotify structured their study. They worked with eight labels and distributors...
GuideMar 14, 2022How to Do a Waterfall Release Strategy with DistroKidMany artists have seen their favorite artists using a relatively new release strategy called the waterfall release. However it's not initially clear what the benefits of this strategy are and how you could even do it with your music distributor. In this...
GuideMar 4, 2022How Does Spotify Release Radar Work?Spotify's Release Radar is an algorithmic playlist updated every Friday that only includes music released in the past 28 days. Fans that follow you will get your music in their Release Radar, but if your song gets enough traction in the first 28 days Spotify...
GuideMar 1, 2022Spotify Marquee ReviewSpotify Marquee is a native advertising format inside of Spotify to premium users and free users. You can show a pop-up message inside the Spotify app showcasing your latest release to people who have engaged with your music, and you only pay for the people...
GuideFeb 26, 2022How Do I Access Spotify for Artists Before My First Release?Last week I was launching the debut single for a new band, and I really wanted to be able to setup our profile and pitch our first song to Spotify editorial playlists before our first release came out. However most music distributors don't allow you to make...
GuideJul 15, 2021YouTuber to Touring Artist feat. Anup Sastry from Intervals, Jeff Loomis, SkyharborAnup Sastry started doing drum videos on YouTube which got him a gig with Jeff Loomis on tour. Since then he's released music / recorded with Intervals, Skyharbor, Marty Friedman, Monuments and many more. He used his YouTube channel like a resume to attract...
NewsletterNov 3, 2025Testing Unreleased Songs In AdsUse multi-song test campaigns to gather real data on unreleased tracks by running ads with different creatives. This helps decide release order, content creation priorities, and budget allocation based on actual performance metrics.
NewsletterOct 27, 2025Stop living song to songBatch creating music and content builds a release buffer that enables consistent scheduling and focused marketing. This approach helps artists plan creatively and avoid disruptions caused by life events or last-minute rushes.
NewsletterMay 19, 2025Analyzing Your Royalty StatementsUnderstanding your royalty statements can reveal how much you earn per stream across platforms and countries. Using tools like the free DistroKid royalty analyzer helps visualize payments over time without manual spreadsheets.
NewsletterJul 1, 2024Are you stuck at X0,000 monthly listeners?Many artists hit a plateau around 20,000 to 30,000 monthly listeners where growth stalls despite regular releases and promotion. Understanding why this happens and exploring new marketing strategies can help break through this common barrier.
NewsletterFeb 12, 2024How much do artists get paid per stream?Artist payments per stream vary widely depending on the streaming platform, listener country, subscription type, and distributor. Spotify dominates streams but pays less per stream, while platforms like Amazon Music and Napster offer higher rates with smaller...
NewsletterDec 18, 2023Albums vs SinglesDeciding between albums and singles depends on your goals and genre norms. Singles keep your audience engaged with frequent releases, while albums offer a cohesive artistic statement and stronger press opportunities.
NewsletterDec 11, 2023Is Spotify Showcase worth it?Spotify Showcase lets artists run ads on Spotify’s mobile home page to promote releases directly within Spotify for Artists. Currently available only in the USA, UK, and Canada, it offers a new way to reach listeners alongside other marketing channels.
NewsletterOct 16, 2023Why Spotify saves are better than Spotify followersSpotify saves and playlist adds indicate genuine listener engagement, often leading to repeated streams over months or years. These actions create a stable, long-term audience reservoir, unlike followers who may not consistently hear new releases.
GuideNov 17, 2024What is the difference between a single, EP and album?You may have noticed in your music distributor that you can't typically select ‘single', ‘EP' or ‘album' for your release. The streaming services categorize singles, EPs and albums automatically. But how do they decide? The track counts for singles, EPs and...
GuideNov 2, 2024What is Spotify Release Radar?What Is Release Radar? Release Radar is an algorithmic playlist on the music DSP Spotify designed to show you new music from artists you follow alongside some new songs the algorithmic thinks you'll like. The official description on Spotify is “Catch all the...
GuideMar 5, 2021FireThanks so much for checking out my song Fire! Below you can find links to listen to the song on streaming and stores, the music video on my YouTube music channel, and the lyrics as well. Listen here: https://hd.andrewonspotify.com/link/04ayn6 Fire Lyrics: I...
GuideSep 14, 2023DistroKid Acquired BandzoogleDistrokid, the awesome music distribution company, has official acquired Bandzoogle, my least favorite website tool. Don't get me wrong, Bandzoogle has great prices, great customer support and lots of templates. I just hate their awful website builder and lack...
