UMG’s Spinnup DIY distribution service tells artists to move music, goes invite only

Univeral Music owned Spinnup d.i.y. distribution service has given artists two months to move music to another distributor as it transitions to an invite only artist discovery and distribution platform.

Spinnup launched in Sweden in 2013 and went global starting in 2016. The platform allowed D.Y.I. artists to distribute music to major streaming platforms for a flat fee while keeping 100% of their rights and royalties. During the pandemic Spinnup waived all fees for a single track upload.

UMG has also always used the platform as an artist discovery tool. In June of 2020, UMG shared that it had upstreamed at least 80 Spinnup artists.

Move It Or Lose It

In an email sent to artists on Wednesday, Spinnup said that on July 19 it is “changing from an open DIY music distribution service to a curated artist discovery and distribution platform. This means we will be reducing the number of artists on the platform as we move into this new chapter.”

“Artists who are leaving Spinnup are being asked to takedown their releases and transfer to a new distributor by July 12th 2022.” according to a Spinnup FAQ, “after that date we will need to begin taking down any remaining live releases from departing artists.  

More To Come?

“With large scale acquisitions happening across the market, it will be interesting to see what becomes of the (for now) independent distribution services,” said Christopher Carvalho of Unlock Your Sound who tipped Hypebot to the shift.

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.