distribution were talked about. iTunes, of course, was the top music distribution system for artists. So what makes iTunes the best? I decided to so some research on the top four music distribution systems that I know of and what they provide for the artist.
Amazon Music is currently available in 9 countries including the US, UK, Austria, France, etc. They sell the artist song via download and streams. The music will be eligible for streaming to Amazon Prime members, 90 days after your release date. You can sell your music four different ways depending on the whole price tier you choose. Front Line is the highest wholesale price. Mid Line is the a payout that is slightly lower than Front Line. Catalog is is slightly lower than the two already listed. Special is the last one and is the lowest wholesale pricing tier offered. Once you go through the process of selling your music via Amazon Music it will take 3-7 business days before your music goes live. For streams, your music will go live 90 days after your release date.
Spotify Music is currently available in 53 territories including the US, UK, France, Spain, Mexico and many more. They sell the artists songs via paid streams. With each stream of your song your earn a share of Spotify's advertising revenue. The actual amount varies and depends on the ratio of advertising revenue and your percentage of the total number of streams on Spotify in a given month. The amount of payout has varied between $0.006 and $0.0084.
If an artist decided to sell their music via iTunes their music has the potential to be heard worldwide 121 territories including U.S, Canada, UK, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Russia and many more. They sell the artists song via downloads and via streams (thanks T-Swizzle). Each song is sold for $0.99 an an album is $9.99 (the default price). The artist gets $0.70 for each song sold and $7.00 for each album sold. DRM-free tracks from EMI are charged at a higher price of $1.29 per song. When your music is played on iTunes radio you get paid per play fee and a proportionate share of iTunes advertising revenue for each month. The music will go live within 1-2 days.
After researching and learning about these four companies, it's pretty obvious why iTunes is the number one music distribution system. They reach out to the most people, have the lowest days till you go live and they give you the fairest prices for your music. They are they number company people go to to buy new music. iTunes has managed to become to go to site for all music needs including songs, albums, music videos, radio, and streaming. You can get your music out to your audience way the same way all these other companies are at a fairer price.
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