Submitting Your Songs To iTunes

If you're an indie artist you know that its possible to submit your songs to many of the digital streaming services like Pandora or Spotify, but that's not possible when it comes to iTunes. The fact of the matter is that many digital services, including iTunes, require either a mid-sized record label or a digital aggregator like CD Baby or Tunecore to submit your songs.

One of the reasons for this is the expense of administering a large number of accounts. There's a cost for the initial setup of the account (which is why an aggregator sometimes charges a setup fee) and most solo artists accounts won't be able to cover that amount during the lifetime of their songs on the service.

Then there's customer service, or the lack thereof. It's expensive to provide and just one call can wipe out any lifetime profits for either the aggregator or the digital service. That's why it's so hard to get someone on the phone at virtually every online company.

iTunes is a special case though, in that it only deals with larger accounts, meaning labels with at least  20 albums or more, or an aggregator. Apple supplies a great submission tool called iTunes Producer that prepares your songs for submission in terms of all the metadata and artwork, but you must be approved by Apple first before the app can connect to the iTunes store.

Let's say you have the prerequisite 20 albums in your catalog and you want to become an approved iTunes label. Apple still requires the following:

• A UPC code for each album
• ISRC codes for each song
• A US Tax ID
• An iTunes store account with a credit card on file 

Finally, Apple sets a sales threshold for each territory that you must exceed before it pays you, so sometimes you can get paid much faster by using an aggregator.

If you're a solo artist, you're pretty much forced to use a digital aggregator to get your music on iTunes and many other digital services. It's much easier than submitting to each one, as an aggregator is a single submission, but it will cost you either a yearly fee or a percentage of your sales revenue. If you're a label that meets the submission standards, then it's worth it to keep the submissions in house.

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Questions To Ask When Choosing A Music Distributor

The easiest way to submit your music to a digital distribution service like iTunes or Spotify is to use what’s known as an aggregator. An aggregation service submits your songs or album to multiple services all over the world, and also collects the royalty for downloads or streams. 

There are more than 40 digital aggregators doing business around the world, but they all fall into two basic categories; they take a percentage of sales or you pay a fee. Examples of services that take a percentage are CD Baby, Louder, Mondotunes and Bandcamp. Services that charge on a per album or song basis include Tunecore and Reverbnation. Some services, like Distrokid, just require a yearly fee for unlimited submissions.

Some questions to ask when comparing services include:

• Do they report to Neilsen Soundscan?
• Do you maintain your rights over your music and publishing?
• How often they provide a sales report?
• How often do they pay?
• What other services do they offer?
• Is there a setup fee for each release?
• Do they supply ISRC codes or barcodes?
• Will you continue to receive royalties if you stop paying the monthly or yearly fee?
• How many outlets do they distribute to?
• Is there a take down fee to remove your songs or album for the service?
• Can they arrange iTunes pre-order sales?
• Are there any additional charges that aren't obvious?

There are a lot of options between aggregators and there is no clear choice between them all. For more information, there are plenty of comparison sites online, but be sure that the service that you choose best suites you needs without any unforeseen surprises.

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Follow me on Forbes for some insights on the new music business.

You should follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

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