We live in the days of the DIY musician, where anyone with a computer and an idea can package, market and sell songs to a worldwide audience at the click of a mouse. Record distribution in 2K era is far more easier to attain than when I got in the game back in the early 90s, where you had to almost sell your soul to get your product to just a regional market. Now digital distribution to the indie artists is opening the industry to all musicians for very low fees to get going, giving artists control of their own fate in this game of sink or swim players with sharks in the tiniest of waters.
Two of the biggest names in independent music distribution are TuneCore and CDBaby. Although two different companies, they operate in very similar ways. They both get your music in some of the biggest online music stores. They both keep track of your sales and give detailed sales reports of your progress. They both also give tips and instructions on how to build a better brand and be a better musician. And they both offer a variety of other great services to not only get your career going, but also keep it in motion.
How does one decide which operation to roll with? One of the more obvious differences with the two companies is the pricing for digital distribution. CD Baby offers a one-time flat rate for their service, whereas TuneCore provides a yearly subscription type deal. With CD Baby, they take a small percentage of your record sales for their service and TuneCore gives you 100% of your sales to you.
If digital distribution is important to how you sell your music, these factors could play a vital role in how you decide who houses your product. Is the yearly fee too much to deal with to keep your music on the industry playing field, or do you need to collect every penny you make from your sales the moment the cash starts rolling in? They both offer other servies that make them different, but the distro is what they both push mainly to peak consumers interests.
However you decide, both TuneCore and CD Baby are a great place to do business. They provide opportunity for us DIYers and help keep musicians working. To those that have never looked into either of these options visit their websites to decide which is right for you.
