Hi there, fellow reader.
A couple of weeks ago I started using a digital distribution service called Amuse. I was not sure about it working until I got the e-mail saying that on 15th March (the date I have set) my 2 track album will release on multiple stores.
I’m Raul, and this is how I got my music released (almost) in all of the most popular music distribution stores.
Amuse
Is simple if you have slightly more advanced knowledge about music metadata and structuring in the format Amuse requires you to input. Once you’re done with that, got your music sorted, album name, track order, album cover (min. 3k x 3k, 6k x 6k), etcetera. It is simple. I’d say too simple. It’s free, bold and you keep your own royalties. In other words: perfect.
In one of the three steps of the whole process, you request the release, where you append your single/EP/album metadata and Release it. Then you wait for it to be approved. If something’s wrong, Amuse team will actually send you an email describing what you need to fix or change at your album’s metadata (setup). Once that’s done, you’ll have to wait for the day it will be released. In the process, the album will be sent through their distribution label, sent to the following stores:
- Spotify
- Apple Music & iTunes
- Deezer
- Tidal
- Amazon Music
- Napster
- Google Music
- Shazam
- YouTube
YouTube will automatically generate videos with the artwork of your songs in a Topic under your artist name (that’s satanically awesome).
Just to clarify, I haven’t been paid to promote their service. They really just seem to be really kind and full of opportunities, and deserve your attention, compared to many other digital distribution platforms.
City of The U
I’ve been doing music for myself for a couple of years now, definitely more than 6 years. This is the first time when I see my name verified and spread to all these gorgeous streaming and downloading popular platforms. Then talking about the music I love and feel deeply, available for other people, is an exciting feeling of strange. On my birthday I released Changes, an music album I consider it describes me good.
Changes got released in ALL of the stores except iTunes, don’t know why, though. Check it out here or here. To write my industry bio, go here.
Promotion
You just got to do it by yourself (if you’re not registered to the Amuse or some other music label). Which means you got to talk to your close family and friends to listen and share your explosive mixtape. Create a dedicated Instagram, Twitter and other social media sorts of platforms and abuse those hashtags if you’re desperate. Of course, in the first months or years of your releases, you might gather less Spotify listeners and end up with few cents over your streams, which is fucking much for a free start, so start complaining.
Plans
I slowly built a timeline plan ’till the end of this year of what and when should I publish. There’s some good shit I plan to create. Got about 41 singles/album songs for now and more to come (weird flex but ok). Revolving my day-to-day life, working as a full-time software developer, having my personal projects as well (games, software) and publishing actual music along with it, I know how to keep myself busy. I find it all fun to be honest. I love creating and I try to shift into something that would be also more public welcoming (no, I won’t start rapping and twerk while listening to Christian music while twerking on Broadway in 2060).
