Qualified users with a SoundCloud Pro or Pro Unlimited account can sign up for an open beta right now. SoundCloud’s offering, then, could be at least cheap and convenient. If you just want to get your music out there, the issue is that the distribution costs can actually cost more than you bring in. More traditional distributors require multi-year contracts you can’t get out of – though they may offer personal relationships with curators at online stores, and the promise, at least, of getting you placed as “featured music” or on playlists. Some of these are pay-once or subscription services open to anyone. So if you want your music on other services, you typically sign a distribution deal. But the only major destination where you can upload music directly these days, apart from Bandcamp, has been SoundCloud (though Apple and Spotify may soon change that). Apart from DJs and specialists, most people get their music through streaming services.
Pay for CDBaby, and you get your music on iTunes for sale. The first loophole was CDBaby – the name is a reminder that at the time, independent music producers were still largely duplicating releases on CDs. When it launched, you needed to have a label deal of some kind to make your music available Apple dealt with those labels much as brick and mortar stores deal with labels and distributors. Then along came Apple’s iTunes Music Store. Digital music for many years meant primarily CDs and … well, piracy, despite some early (fairly horrible) stores. Okay, first, to understand what digital distribution is, let’s go back in time. Distribution is launching in a new beta as part of Premier service, and the terms look appealing. SoundCloud has a new pitch to creators: upload your music not just to SoundCloud, but to all major music services, too.
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