You have mixed and mastered. Your album art is ready. You have consulted your preferred digital distributor. What now?

We have shifted to a world where everything moves and shakes on the web. Online is one of the major players in creating revenue for an artist and musicians should take advantage of this wherever possible. Your music can make money online, but you need to get the basics right. 

Studio time is expensive and why put in all the work without reaping the benefits? If you are an artist that is at the stage of your career where you are recording albums to release your vision to the scene and online streaming, do it efficiently. Here are a few tips to keep your release in check. 

Does your artwork match the requirements?

Album art tells the visual story of your new release and more often than not this will be the first thing your social media followers will engage with on their platforms. So, yes, it’s important to create an album cover that breaks through the clutter.

The artwork requirements are:

• 1400 x 1400 pixels min, 3000 x 3000 max, 72 – 300 dpi (300 is best)
• You can either upload a jpg, png or jpg
• It should be smaller than 25mb, if you can’t mail it – it is too big
• RGB colour scheme (CMYK is for printing)

Are your tracks in the correct format?

Mp3’s don’t make the cut when it comes to digital distribution. You need to upload a high-quality 16-bit WAV file.  You will receive a ISRC code for each of your songs when uploading it to your distributor. 

Metadata can go a long way. 

Include all the details necessary for each track, from the people involved to the genre. I.e. the songwriter, publisher, collaborators to is it live, genre or cover song? You can easily tap into a wider fanbase by listing who was involved. And it’s important to allocate the percentage each individual has the right to – this directly influence who earns what. Make sure you are registered at SAMRO. 

So, when does your song drop?

If you’re an already established artist with more than 250 followers, you should have a plan in place. You cannot conquer the world of streaming with an impromptu drop. Why? Playlisting is the key to rack up your streaming numbers and for this you need between 4 – 6 weeks to contact the curators of said playlists. You want to be featured on a release radar at the least. 

With this said, have a proper description of your music at hand. 

This includes a written blurb, genre, suggested moods and a list of artists you sound like. This makes your job of sending emails and the curator’s job of placing your track much easier. 

Be sure to have the correct payment details on your account. 

The best is to either register yourself as a business to open a cheque account or to setup your Paypal account. 

And there you go. Set. Distribution can seem like a daunting avenue, but it shouldn’t have to be. Apply these simple tips and you will be sure to see results. Do remember, if you do not get playlisted, it’s not a reflection of your talent, it just means that you need to do a little more work. It will come when the time is right. 

While you get your things in order, here’s one of our playlists featuring some of our local bests. Enjoy.