Being an independent artist now when digital music streaming services are all the rage is truly a blessing.
Because back in the day, before the onset of music streaming services, artists had to obtain reputed Record Labels to record their tracks and then to market and produce physical copies of their music.
Phew, seems like artists had to put in a lot of hard work to help their music reach us.
But today, it is amazing how you can quickly upload your music on several music streaming services such as SoundCloud, Pandora, Apple Music, Spotify, etc.
Also, it is great for listeners and music lovers, as they have multiple choices of the songs to listen to from the comfort of their smartphones.
Some songs they love, some they don’t, regardless of it they play the song and you get the royalty.
If you’ve poured your heart and soul into a new track which you, your friends and family absolutely love, then you’ll obviously consider uploading it to a streaming service.
Today, we’ll show you the simple steps on how to upload your music on Spotify.
However, it’s suggested to get your music on as many streaming services as possible to reach maximum reach and benefits.
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How Does Spotify For Artists Work?
We know how music streaming apps work for listeners since so many of us now rely on music streaming to get our daily dose of music, that are either supported through advertisements or through a monthly or annual subscription.
But, Spotify for Artists is a whole new concept and specifically formulated for artists and musicians.
With Spotify for Artists, musicians have total control over their artist profiles and can find out who all are engaging with their music/playlists, and from which countries.
Moreover, Spotify Analytics allows musicians to view the performance of their tracks and new releases. Not just that, musicians can compare their performance graph with other Spotify artists, find out the location, age, the gender of their audiences and followers, and see which tracks were streamed or downloaded the most.
All of these statistics allow musicians to make well-informed decisions like where to go for a musical tour, where to perform live, which music style to produce more and so on.
Also, being a part of Spotify for Artists, musicians will be the first to know about the new tools and features created for artists.
With Spotify for Artists a musician can:
- Manage their artist profiles themselves.
- Update and write their own bio, their avatar and image gallery.
- Get automatically verified on Spotify which lets their fans and followers know the profile is original and belongs to the said musician.
- Track the performance of their new releases in real-time.
- Get updates on their previous releases from anywhere in the world.
- See which tracks got the most number of streams and downloads.
- Share their playlists, promote their music, control how their listeners view them on Spotify.
- Learn about their audiences, their location, age and gender.
- Make an Artist’s Pick where they can highlight any important message regarding a track or an album, songs, concerts and playlists etc.
In a nutshell, Spotify for Artists offers musicians a significant reward for all their musical labour, because the more streams or downloads a track gets, the artist’s account will be credited generously.
If you haven’t signed up on Spotify for Artists yet, now is the time to do so and reap benefits for your hard work because as per multiple sources, Spotify is planning to increase their artists’ payout since the number of subscribers is rapidly increasing.
Now that you know what Spotify for Artists is, how it works and what it offers, you’re probably on your way (hopefully) to create your account on it.
So, let’s find out the simple steps to upload your music on Spotify.
How To Upload Music to Spotify?
After you’ve produced music with the help of professional producers, sound engineers, musicians, songwriters and hopefully your music also has quality sound, the next expected move would be to release the songs or the album in the music marketplace.
Music marketplace is none other than our trusted streaming services, this becomes an overwhelming task for up and coming artists because first, there isn’t a straightforward ‘’upload’’ option available for artists on Spotify and second, there are so many options to choose from.
Still, we’d recommend you to go with Spotify as it’s rated as the best streaming app overall as of 2024.
To upload music on Spotify you’ll either need a signed deal with a record label or a music distributor.
With a record label getting your music on Spotify becomes easier since they manage everything but if you don’t, you’ll have to find and work with a music distributor.
But, lo and behold, recently Spotify announced a new beta feature enabling independent artists to upload their music on Spotify through Spotify for Artists without the hassle of record labels and distributors!
However, the upload option is available only by invitation to a few hundred US-based independent artists, but with time they’re planning to extend this feature to all or more musicians, labels, and companies.
How does the ‘’upload’’ feature exactly work on Spotify for Artists?
It works by delivering your music straight to Spotify with you being in charge of its release date and all this is done at no extra cost no matter how many times you release music.
You can also see a preview before submitting your music of how all the things will appear to your followers and listeners. Even after releasing your music, you’ll be in complete command of all your data and information.
Just like releasing through a record label or music distributor, your bank account will automatically be credited each month with the sum you earned as you get paid when listeners stream your music on Spotify.
Uploading through Spotify for Artists is free of cost and Spotify doesn’t charge you any fees or commissions, so don’t be fooled into paying your money to a scam in hopes of releasing your music.
Furthermore, Spotify also works with a few companies that take care of the distribution and licensing of independent artists’ music, and when listeners stream or download their music on Spotify they give artists the royalties they earn per stream or download.
Typically, a fee or a commission is required if you choose to work with a distributor, with each distribution service being different in the assistance they provide, the charges will differ too, so do your homework before picking the final one which suits your need and meets your budget.
So, let’s go through the steps required by you to publish your music on Spotify through a distributor.
For you to get your music on Spotify, you have to work with a music distributor or use DSP – Digital Service Provider. A Digital Service Provider is a company that centres on distributing media or in your case, music; to numerous streaming platforms including Spotify.
As we’ve discussed above, these companies require you to pay a small amount to publish your music on streaming platforms so you could gain a following to reap its benefits.
But the good news is you’ll receive royalties or a certain amount of money as many times your song is played or downloaded on any streaming platform you upload it to. So, in a way, your fee pays itself off.
Choosing the right DSP which meets your needs and budget is not an easy task and there are a few things to keep in mind since some DSPs work on an invite-only basis while others require you to fill out an application form that will later either be admitted or rejected by the company depending on their artist preference.
So, in order to get approved by your choice of DSP make sure your music is original and has good quality sound and there’s already an existing following of your music no matter how small, it could be your Instagram fanbase too.
I am pretty sure all of this is again overwhelming, but with the help of the right distributor or digital service provider, your music career will take off on a flight eager to fly higher and higher.
Also, don’t make the mistake of publishing your music on just one music streaming platform, if you do so then that could be the biggest error you probably made in your career.
Uploading your music on a single streaming platform is the equivalent of putting all your eggs in one basket, in doing so you are depriving the subscribers or listeners of other streaming apps from your music since people are subscribed to various music streaming apps worldwide.
Make sure to get it published on as many relevant streaming apps as possible to build a fanbase, maximise your reach, increase your bank balance and get potential record offers from reputed companies.
Alas, to make your quest of finding the right digital service provider or music distributor easier, we’ve put together a list of some of the best and some of our favourite music distribution services so you can make the best possible decision that benefits you and your music career.
Check them out below:
1. TuneCore
Probably one of the best and affordable choices of DSP on the list. TuneCore distributes your music on Spotify and other streaming platforms as well for an affordable fee, allows you to reserve all your music rights, gives you 100% of the royalties, gives you a custom cover art, and submits you the monthly sales report.
2. RouteNote
This DSP will upload any original music on Spotify without any charges; that is for free! RouteNote also works with more than 15 other streaming platforms to publish your music on more than one streaming platform. The drawback of this DSP would be you only get 85% of the profits from each published track if you don’t pay the additional fee.
3. AWAL (Artists Without A Label)
With this DSP it’s like working with a label but without restricting the artist’s rights.
They do cut 15% from your royalties but they provide you with additional services like promoting your music through several campaigns and have the potential to help you receive funding for your music production.
4. LANDR
With LANDR not only will you be able to submit your music on several platforms for a monthly fee, but you can also master your audio. Audio mastering is the post-production process of preparing your music for distribution and LANDR’s mastering is completely automated.
However, this DSP doesn’t promote your music so if you just want to upload your music on Spotify and other streaming platforms this makes the best cost-effective choice.
5. STEM
It’s an invite-only DSP and won’t charge you a fee for music distribution but deducts 5% of your royalties for commission.
STEM gives you a representative to communicate with while ensuring your music gets on several playlists.
6. Distrokid
This DSP signed a deal with the major video sharing platform, TikTok giving all Distrokid artists’ music the exposure and popularity in viral TikTok videos.
This is a great choice for artist’s who like to keep up with the trend of pop culture while receiving 100% of their royalties. The only drawback would be the huge number of users which makes it hard to get prompt answers to your queries.
7. Ditto
Ditto offers musicians unlimited music distribution to several digital stores for an annual fee while giving the artists 100% of their royalties.
Apart from music distribution, DITTO also offers pre-release promotional tools, streaming sales data and reporting.
8. CD Baby
Not only do they charge you a one-time fee instead of recurring annual fee, but they are also proactive in helping you tap into the major revenue streams like CD & vinyl distribution, physical administration, YouTube monetization, sync licensing and so on.
9. Fresh Tunes
This company takes on the value-add approach where music distribution is free of cost and revenue is generated through their value-added services. They also assist you professionally on the musical front and promote your music through Facebook and YouTube campaigns.
10. Symphonic
Offers you complete music distribution assistance, advertises and markets your music increases your music revenue opportunities and more. You have to pay a fee in order to submit your music but get to keep 100% of your royalties.
Final Thoughts
By now, you must know there is no straightforward answer to the question, “how to upload music to Spotify?“. It can be a complicated and an overwhelming task but in the end, it’s all worth it when your music reaches its listeners, gains a fan following and you get the motivation to keep on producing and releasing new music.
In conclusion, we would like to remind you:
- To pick the right digital service provider to distribute your music effectively on Spotify and other streaming platforms.
- To know what goes behind your royalties and if you are getting the total amount or the company is making a cut from it.
- To be clear with your expected requirements from the chosen digital service provider and if they’ll be able to fulfil those.
- To consider the future of your career before picking the music distributor and to determine if they meet those needs.
- To do thorough research on all the digital service providers, their services, their charges prior to choosing the final one.
Briefly, your choice of DSP determines the growth of your musical career, so choose wisely. Now, are you prepared to upload your music on Spotify? Hopefully, the answer is a big fat yes!
