Ditto Music: An Introduction to Music Distribution

If you make music and plan on sharing it with the world, chances are you’re going to need to get to grips with how music distribution works and enlist the services of a digital distributor. 

So who better to get the inside scoop from than global music distributor and music publishing company Ditto Music? Let’s kick things off with the very basics.

What is Music Distribution?

When we talk about music distribution, we're essentially talking about getting your music out there - whether that’s on physical shelves or online platforms like Spotify or Apple Music. 

Although there’s been a slight revival in vinyl and CD sales over the last few years, the digital music scene is where the action’s at right now - and it doesn't seem like that's going to change anytime soon.

Over 616 million of us forked out for music streaming subscriptions last year, so there’s no denying that digital music distribution is the golden ticket to reaching your fans, wherever they're tuning in. 

Digitally distributing your music has become an absolute must for any artist or labellooking for success. So, if you're itching to get your music in the ears of the industry's big players, you'll want to choose a reliable music distributor to help you do this.

What is a Music Distributor?

Think of a music distributor as a middleman between your music and the stores you want to send it to. Your distributor connects you with all the major players within the music industry, putting you in the shop windows of places like Spotify, SoundCloud, Tidal and anywhere else you can buy music from.

If you’re looking to send music to more global platforms and stores than anywhere else, then Ditto has you covered. 

How does Music Distribution work?

So now we know that music distribution is all about getting your music out there for the world to hear. But what else do distributors do to help your career?

As your music distributor, Ditto takes on several crucial tasks to ensure your music reaches its chosen audience and you receive all your rightful earnings. Here are a few of our key responsibilities.

Send your music to streaming platforms

Firstly, we handle everything to do with your release process. This includes sending your tracks to all of the major online platforms - sparing you the hassle of manually uploading all of your metadata stuff yourself.

Not only does this save you time, but it’s also kinda necessary as most major Digital Service Providers (DSPs) require artists to distribute music through companies like Ditto on their behalf. On top of this, we have great existing relationships with all of these platforms, as well as more region-specific stores which you might want to target. 

Simply put, you need a distributor to get your music out there.

Collect royalty payments

Once we’ve sent your music to all of your chosen stores, we focus our attention on securing all of your royalties for you. 

Music distributors collect royalties from the streaming platforms on artist behalves before transferring them back to the rightful owners. This’ll be either the artists themselves or the track’s rights holders. 

Royalty payments are triggered each time your music is streamed or downloaded, which can sometimes be a bit tricky to track. 

Not to worry though, distributors should take care of all of this, ensuring that your earnings are collected from the streaming platforms and sent straight back to you. Some distribution companies keep a chunk of these royalties, but not us. You’ll keep 100% of everything you earn when releasing unlimited music with Ditto. 

Promoting your music

The hard work isn’t over once your music is live and collecting royalties. Far from it. You’ll need to continue promoting it via all of the usual places. This means social media, live at gigs, and also amongst friends and peers. 

We all know how vital Instagram and TikTok marketing is to musicians nowadays, so focus your content around your new releases - using your song as the post’s sound or sharing a stripped-back, acoustic version of your latest track.

A good distributor will be able to provide additional promotional assistance, playlisting support, sync pitching opportunities, and general industry advice should you need it. 

From running dedicated music promotion campaigns to registering your music for the Official Charts, Ditto provides artists with a comprehensive suite of tools and guidance to amplify their releases. 

The Best Music Distributors

There are plenty of distribution options for you to choose from in 2024, but certain music distributors help you keep control of your own career and put more back in your own pockets.

When distributing through Ditto, you’ll keep hold of 100% of your earnings. Other distributors take cuts of your royalties, as well as charge for each individual release, so it’s important to carefully weigh up your options and decide what’s most important to you and your music.