13 votes

Musicians, do you put your stuff up on BandCamp, SoundCloud, both, and/or other?

I've been working on some music, and while I'm not quite ready to show it to the world, I might be in the near future. I was curious where other musicians are putting their music? I've checked out both SoundCloud and BandCamp, and they both seem reasonable. Any pros or cons to using one over the other? Any other places you upload your music for streaming and/or purchase?

Suggestions from the comments:
BandCamp : Hosts and shares your music
SoundCloud : Hosts and shares your music
DistroKid : Distributes your music to various services†
TuneCore : Distributes your music to various services†
OneRPM : Distributes your music to various services†
AudioMicro : Sells your royalty-free music and sound effects
Jamendo : Hosts and shares your indie music or royalty free music

† Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Tidal, Amazon Music, TikTok, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Instagram, etc.

22 comments

  1. [4]
    Apos
    Link
    I like SoundCloud, YouTube, and Jamendo. My favorite is Jamendo. It's where I find all my favorite indie artists. They have a system to help with the YouTube content ID system. AFAIK there are no...

    I like SoundCloud, YouTube, and Jamendo. My favorite is Jamendo. It's where I find all my favorite indie artists. They have a system to help with the YouTube content ID system. AFAIK there are no upload limits.

    7 votes
    1. [2]
      joplin
      Link Parent
      Jamendo is new to me. Thank you!

      Jamendo is new to me. Thank you!

      4 votes
      1. Apos
        Link Parent
        np! Twitter can also be useful (if you stay in the artistic section of the site :P).

        np!

        Twitter can also be useful (if you stay in the artistic section of the site :P).

        4 votes
    2. helloworld
      Link Parent
      Thank you for Jamendo! I'm really liking the best of playlists. Somehow Bandcamp/SoundCloud are always off for my taste, but this is pretty nice.

      Thank you for Jamendo! I'm really liking the best of playlists. Somehow Bandcamp/SoundCloud are always off for my taste, but this is pretty nice.

      2 votes
  2. [3]
    Muffin
    Link
    Distrokid is the place to go if you want your stuff on streaming services. Very reasonably priced, and the service is a pleasure to use all around. I self publish all of my and Noise Job's stuff...

    Distrokid is the place to go if you want your stuff on streaming services. Very reasonably priced, and the service is a pleasure to use all around. I self publish all of my and Noise Job's stuff through there. https://distrokid.com/

    6 votes
    1. [2]
      joplin
      Link Parent
      Oh yeah, I've heard of them, but had forgotten about it! Thanks, I will definitely check that out.

      Oh yeah, I've heard of them, but had forgotten about it! Thanks, I will definitely check that out.

      4 votes
      1. Muffin
        Link Parent
        Also an important note if you want to get playlisted on Spotify and others: submit your tracks/albums at least 4 weeks in advance through the service.

        Also an important note if you want to get playlisted on Spotify and others: submit your tracks/albums at least 4 weeks in advance through the service.

        5 votes
  3. knocklessmonster
    Link
    I haven't done any "releases" but put finished stuff on Soundcloud just to share it with the world, sort of like a blog, and so people can grab it for free. You almost have to have a soundcloud to...

    I haven't done any "releases" but put finished stuff on Soundcloud just to share it with the world, sort of like a blog, and so people can grab it for free. You almost have to have a soundcloud to generate an audience. There's apparently a limit of 100 free downloads. Apparently Bandcamp only allows 200 for free, but I've also used archive.org to link to an unlimited free download (easier since I prefer CC over conventional copyright anyway).

    If I start selling it, I'd use Bandcamp because it offers the best system I've seen for payment and redistribution in a manner that isn't DRM-encumbered. I've already got the account set up, it's just a matter of having stuff I want to sell.

    5 votes
  4. [3]
    Staross
    Link
    I'm looking into it for my first EP, I would put it on bandcamp only but my collaborator would also like Spotify. We might go with distrokid because we have a cover and they have a service for...

    I'm looking into it for my first EP, I would put it on bandcamp only but my collaborator would also like Spotify. We might go with distrokid because we have a cover and they have a service for that, but OneRPM could be an option too, they don't have a flat fee but take a % of your revenues, which I expect to be $0, so should be a good deal.

    5 votes
    1. Muffin
      Link Parent
      Who's gonna believe in you guys if you don't? ;)

      Who's gonna believe in you guys if you don't? ;)

      3 votes
    2. joplin
      Link Parent
      Another new one! Thank you! I'll start adding these to the text above so others can quickly find them.

      Another new one! Thank you! I'll start adding these to the text above so others can quickly find them.

      1 vote
  5. [3]
    0d_billie
    Link
    In Sir Curse we aim to get stuff released onto Bandcamp a little before it goes up on other streaming services. People can listen for free, and we tend to get a little bit of money from generous...

    In Sir Curse we aim to get stuff released onto Bandcamp a little before it goes up on other streaming services. People can listen for free, and we tend to get a little bit of money from generous folks as well. Usually we put it up on Bandcamp about 2 weeks before it goes up on Spotify (though as others have pointed out, you should work out the date you want your music to be released and then upload minimum 4 weeks prior to that), to try to generate a little more revenue than we get from Spotify/streaming as a whole. I personally really like Bandcamp, you can sell merch through it as well as physical and digital copies of your music. They also waive their fees the first Friday of each month (at least for the duration of the pandemic) so more of your money goes into the artists' pockets. We've made a few hundred quid from it, just off the back of music and merch sales! Far better than the £20 that Spotify has brought us.

    I don't really know much about Soundcloud, as I don't use it myself, or know anyone else that does. I don't think it's that popular of a service here in the UK. It's a good tool to have the tracks up somewhere that we can link to when sending songs out for review, or trying to book gigs and give a sample of our sound. They've also recently added some kind of royalties-sharing feature. I don't really know much about it, but I got a ton of emails from them recently, mentioning the service.

    Mostly, you have to go where the audience is. For better or worse, the audience for Sir Curse is largely on Spotify, so we need to get our music on it. We use DistroKid to upload our music, because it's a flat, yearly fee to upload unlimited music. Now granted we've only got 3 singles out at the moment, but it feels like a very good deal, particularly with an EP on the horizon!

    4 votes
    1. [2]
      joplin
      Link Parent
      Oh man, I'm having flashbacks to handing a cassette to the bartender at my favorite bar trying to get him to give it to the owner so we could get a gig! The internet makes everything so much...

      It's a good tool to have the tracks up somewhere that we can link to when sending songs out for review, or trying to book gigs and give a sample of our sound.

      Oh man, I'm having flashbacks to handing a cassette to the bartender at my favorite bar trying to get him to give it to the owner so we could get a gig! The internet makes everything so much easier. :-)

      2 votes
      1. 0d_billie
        Link Parent
        Hahaha, it's a double edged sword! Handing a cassette to someone in person you've already got a toe in the door. Sending out cold emails is soul destroying D:

        Hahaha, it's a double edged sword! Handing a cassette to someone in person you've already got a toe in the door. Sending out cold emails is soul destroying D:

        2 votes
  6. [4]
    randulo
    Link
    Everywhere possible! I started releasing on TuneCore, but as a few say above, DistroKid is better and cheaper for original music. I publish originals and covers on Soundcloud as a podcast. That...

    Everywhere possible! I started releasing on TuneCore, but as a few say above, DistroKid is better and cheaper for original music. I publish originals and covers on Soundcloud as a podcast. That way, people can subscribe and listen to stuff in their podcast app as I post it. I post a lot, and have at least 150 originals there now.
    I just freshened my Bandcamp, and found you can use your own domain name in the free version, that's also a nice touch. Bandcamp automatically puts you whole collection for sale, which is a cool idea. I also publish jingles and such on AudioMicro as royaltyfree music. This has probably paid more cash than the others. In my experience, the most "action" comes from Apple Music/iTunes.

    3 votes
    1. [3]
      joplin
      Link Parent
      Thanks! I hadn't heard of TuneCore or AudioMicro. I actually think I might be decent at certain types of royalty free music. For Apple Music/iTunes, does that happen mainly through DistroKid?

      Thanks! I hadn't heard of TuneCore or AudioMicro. I actually think I might be decent at certain types of royalty free music. For Apple Music/iTunes, does that happen mainly through DistroKid?

      1 vote
      1. [2]
        randulo
        Link Parent
        Apple/iTunes can be reached through either Tunescore or DistroKid. Apple is very tough on titles. If you accidentally misspell or change punctuation of a song title, it will refuse it. Because...

        Apple/iTunes can be reached through either Tunescore or DistroKid. Apple is very tough on titles. If you accidentally misspell or change punctuation of a song title, it will refuse it. Because DIstroKid gives yoiu any number of uploads, it may be a good idea to do everything but Apple first, then do the Apple submit of the same stuff. That requires double work, but it's tough to cancel the whole upload once you've filled out all the info on multiple tunes.
        This said, Apple is probably the most widely used site for music.
        AudioMicro is definitely one for music for podcast intros, jingles and videos. I say this only because I've gotten the most actual payment through them.

        2 votes
        1. joplin
          Link Parent
          Oh, interesting! Thanks for that info.

          Oh, interesting! Thanks for that info.

  7. [4]
    Pistos
    Link
    Looks like you have a great list already, but I'll offer a sort of off-the-beaten-path alternative viewpoint: I don't aim to make money from my music (whether performances or songwriting). I don't...

    Looks like you have a great list already, but I'll offer a sort of off-the-beaten-path alternative viewpoint:

    I don't aim to make money from my music (whether performances or songwriting). I don't care too much about trying to get hits/views/clickthroughs/likes. So, when I share stuff, it is either directly shared via a Nextcloud link to the client or target audience, or, if I expect slightly wider distribution, I put it (if it's a video) on Vimeo. I license almost all my stuff with Creative Commons licencing. I might make money occasionally via direct, custom labour on video or audio work for a client, but that's not the norm for my original creative work.

    Philosophically, I just feel that my original, creative works should be free (libre), and not shackled, and that it makes more sense [for me] to put money in the bank account via non-artistic means. With this kind of freedom, and this kind of mindset, my art can be art for the sake of the art (and not necessarily for the sake of earning money, or fulfilling a contract).

    3 votes
    1. [3]
      randulo
      Link Parent
      Nothing prevents you from keeping them free AND having them on the services mentioned. That's what I do. In fact, the best way for people to listen to my stuff is as a podcast, because there's no...

      Nothing prevents you from keeping them free AND having them on the services mentioned. That's what I do. In fact, the best way for people to listen to my stuff is as a podcast, because there's no ads, the interface is whatever podcast app they choose, and they can quickly move through the 150+ compositions and 300+ spoken word or interview stuff. Maybe investigate releasing your music as a podcast! I see I already said that podcast bit above, sorry!

      3 votes
      1. Pistos
        Link Parent
        You're probably right, but I just haven't been incentivized to get onto Spotify, iTunes, etc.

        You're probably right, but I just haven't been incentivized to get onto Spotify, iTunes, etc.

        2 votes
      2. joplin
        Link Parent
        That's a really interesting idea! I certainly don't need however little money I would make from these things, but I just want to put it out there so others can share in the joy it brings me to...

        That's a really interesting idea! I certainly don't need however little money I would make from these things, but I just want to put it out there so others can share in the joy it brings me to make them. I hadn't thought of the podcasting angle! Thanks! (Feel free to share links to yours, if you want to. No biggie if you don't want to, though.)

        1 vote