After Spotify ended its beta test that allowed artists to upload their music directly, the only option for artists looking to place their music on the platform became third-party distribution sites. Spotify isn’t nearly as straightforward as uploading music to Bandcamp and SoundCloud, but don’t let that tempt you to throw the towel in after you’ve invested so much in the music.
For the best chance of your new release taking off, you want your music across every platform, including Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Amazon Music and many others. Thankfully, third-party distribution services, or DSPs (Digital Service Providers), make this practically effortless on the artist’s behalf.
How to Upload to Spotify
There is no upload option for the average Spotify user. Instead, you will need to rely on DSPs. Some DSPs initially offer their services for free, while most require an upfront fee. It may seem like common sense to choose a free DSP service; however, there are a few things that you will want to consider.
– Some DSPs are invite-only.
– Some DSPs can only upload music to limited platforms.
– Some DSPs charge upfront fees
– Some DSPs will help you with physical music sales.
– Some DSPs will provide better data insights than others.
– Some DSPs don’t let you keep 100% of the rights to the music
– Some DSPs take a cut of the royalties.
– Some DSPs will require you to fill out applications, which can be denied.
– Some DSPs only accept certain genres.
– Some DSPs reject artists on the quality of their music.
With this in mind, here are the top four DSP services for uploading your music to Spotify.
- RouteNote – With this DSP, you can choose to pay an upfront fee, or you can choose to pay 15% of your streaming revenue.
- Tunecore – The fee with this DSP is affordable, and there are several packages available; songs can be uploaded to Spotify for as little as 9.99 USD. Additional perks include keeping all of the rights to your music and 100% of the Spotify royalties and custom cover art.
- CD Baby – This distro company can make your music available on over 150 streaming services, all for a one-time fee. Additionally, CD Baby can help artists create CDs in a matter of days.
- Ditto – Ditto Music gives new users a 30-day free trial, and they’ve got an impressive hall of fame with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Chance the Rapper advocating for the services.
Researching the best DSP and figuring out which is best for you may not be the most enjoyable aspect of being an independent artist, but it can pay off in the long run. For the best results, always give your distro company ample time to upload your release – aim for 3 – 4 weeks ahead of the official release date.
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Our Spotify submission page is always open to artists looking to get plenty of traction behind their new releases. Whether you’re a bedroom producer that has just released your debut, or a highly accoladed entity, if you believe in it, we want to hear it.