DistroKid Launches Much Cheaper TuneCore Alternative #SFMusicTech
One man founding army Philip Kaplan debuted DistroKid yesterday at SF MusicTech Summit. DistroKid was originally a feature on Fandalism, Kaplan's social network for musicians, that offered low-cost uploading to digital music stores iTunes, Spotify and Google Play. He's now spun it off and is intent on making it "truly the best system in the world for uploading music to stores."
Philip Kaplan, founder of FuckedCompany.com among other accomplishments, is now single-handedly running both Fandalism and the newly launched DistroKid. It sounds like a lot of work but, as he told Anthony Ha at TechCrunch:
"I have been building these companies that can be run by one person…I’ve automated absolutely everything…Every now and then there will be a problem, and rather than just fixing a problem, I have to build a system to fix the problem."
Obviously that wouldn't work for companies that create products requiring personal attention to customers but Kaplan's focus is on automated systems providing services to large numbers of people.
DistroKid Launches at SF MusicTech
DistroKid is the newest. Launched yesterday at SF MusicTech Summit, DistroKid is basically a spinoff of Fandalism Distro.
The core features of DistroKids and Fandalism Distro are pretty much the same thing at launch. DistroKid customers receive:
One upload for free
One musician or band can upload unlimited songs & albums for $19.99 a year
"Distributors" are now called "Labels" and can upload music from unlimited musicians starting at $79.99 a year
However DistroKids has added Amazon to the iTunes, Spotify and Google Play stores.
Kaplan emphasizes musicians' need for cheaper services and doesn't think cost should get in the way of having one's music on major stores.
He also claims DistroKid is much faster at delivering music to online stores than competing services.
Kaplan Wants DistroKids to Be "Best System in the World"
Kaplan originally added Fandalism Distro to attract more members to his social network. But he saw that many were joining just to use the upload features so now he's shifted his goals, telling Anthony Ha:
"I just sort of bit the bullet and said, 'If I want this to be truly the best system in the world for uploading music to stores, it should be its own thing.'"
On Twitter Kaplan makes it clear there's more to come for DistroKid, discussing additional upload destinations and an eventual iOS app.
More:
- Fandalism: Finally A Social Network That Works For Musicians
- Selling Music On iTunes? Fandalism Has Lowest Distro Fees, GeoRiot Simplifies Affiliate Sales
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch/@crowdfundingm) also blogs at Flux Research and Crowdfunding For Musicians. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
I’m pretty sure that no distributor is going to allow themselves to be called a label. As well getting your release into any digital system takes some work beyond a few clicks of a mouse. #justsayin
After quickly looking at the service and interface:
The home page says ‘Your music will be in stores today’ which is impossible, any person working in the digital music business knows this perfectly.
After logging in you see this:
‘It usually takes 1-3 days for your songs to appear in stores’
So here we are, no innovation here.
Maybe I missed it but where is the contract? terms of service? nothing apparently…
The interface is super-simple, yes even a ‘kid’ could use it BUT:
– where do people type in the (c) and (p) information?
– where do you enter the label name (if any)?
– it says you can upload a 1000×1000 artwork, but iTunes only accepts 1400×1400 at least…
– you can upload mp3, so terrible quality sounding tracks can be uploaded and be used as input for encoders and downgraded audio formats, not good at all
Don’t want to bash here but looks like this service is an oversimplified one….
After quickly looking at the service and interface:
The home page says ‘Your music will be in stores today’ which is impossible, any person working in the digital music business knows this perfectly.
After logging in you see this:
‘It usually takes 1-3 days for your songs to appear in stores’
So here we are, no innovation here.
Maybe I missed it but where is the contract? terms of service? nothing apparently…
The interface is super-simple, yes even a ‘kid’ could use it BUT:
– where do people type in the (c) and (p) information?
– where do you enter the label name (if any)?
– it says you can upload a 1000×1000 artwork, but iTunes only accepts 1400×1400 at least…
– you can upload mp3, so terrible quality sounding tracks can be uploaded and be used as input for encoders and downgraded audio formats, not good at all
Don’t want to bash here but looks like this service is an oversimplified one….
Also—and perhaps most importantly—there’s no step which allows you to enter your Paypal email or any other method to get paid. Wrote to them to ask, no response.
Also—and perhaps most importantly—there’s no step which allows you to enter your Paypal email or any other method to get paid. Wrote to them to ask, no response.
As a digital aggregator myself, I have to applaud and congratulate Kaplan for his work in launching DistroKid. He’s doing something that every distributor SHOULD be focusing on: Simplification.
Artists/Labels shouldn’t be boggle down with too much information to fill out when they’re trying to deliver content. Creating a simple, easy-to-use interface is exactly what artists are searching for and are in need of. This is the future and where digital distributors are going to be heading (mark it!).
While Kaplan still has a long way to go (i.e. accounting/sales and creating a payment system), I believe hes definitely on the right track and I’m sure we’ll be hearing from him soon.
Kevin Rivers
CEO, Venzo Digital
I tried them out and they immediately got my saxophone solo up at http://www.smarturl.it/sax
I agree with other posts… It would be really nice to know how we’ll get paid 🙂
Um, launched without showing artists how they get paid? That seems like a miss to me. Call me when you get that sorted out, Phil…
BTW There’s a reason why it’s called Intellectual Property as well as music.
Your theory of simplification is nice… if you’re an artist not planning to do much with your music beyond “weekend warrior” status. And there are artists/musicians where that is exactly what they want. I’m in no way knocking that.
However, all these little “details” that may seem troublesome to the average music uploader are important details. Copyrights mean something. Who owns the Master recording and being able to let people know who owns what, how and/or why is not just a frivolous step in the distribution process. It can make the difference between an artist getting paid or not paid or credited or not credited for their artistic contribution.
It’s not necessary for everyone, but is a vitally important step for the serious label, artist, producer and songwriter.
Peace.
Hi Anon,
Simplifying the process is not a theory but a relative fact. I never said that details are not important (in fact I agree with you). However, while certain information like Copyrights, Roles, Labels, etc. are very important, it’s even more important to automate those processes.
The internet is becoming more intelligent everyday with new languages and processes being created. As a result, there are new ways that can be explored to help the end-user accomplish a task with little to no effort.
I mean which would you rather choose? The ability to type in your Copyright Information on a blank text field? Or have your Copyright information already displayed for you with the option to edit it?
Kevin Rivers
CEO, Venzo Digital
http://www.venzodigital.com