Distributor, aggregator or label: what your music needs

Distributors, aggregators and labels may sound similar, but they do different things and ask for different things in return. Before signing with anyone, it helps to be clear about what your music needs right now.

The label: investment and a share

A record label invests in you: it pays or helps pay for recording, promotion and sometimes an advance, and brings its team and contacts. In return, it usually takes some or all of the rights to the master recording and a large percentage of what it earns.

It makes sense when you need that investment and that team. What you need to check is which rights you are handing over, for how long and on what terms you can get them back.

The distributor: delivers your music and pays you

A music distributor usually does not invest in your master recording: it delivers it to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TikTok and the other platforms, collects what it earns and pays you. In return, it charges a fixed fee or a commission. The master recording stays yours.

This is what you need if your songs are already recorded and you want to release them yourself, at your own pace, without giving up your rights.

The aggregator: the digital distributor

In the industry, “aggregator” is the term for digital distributors that bring together the catalogues of many artists and labels to deliver them to the platforms. In practice, an aggregator and a digital distributor are almost the same thing: the difference is the extra services they offer.

What really makes the difference

• Your rights: with a distributor, you keep your master recording; with a label, it depends on the contract.
• The money: a fixed fee, commission or a share for the label. With commission, if your music earns nothing, you pay nothing.
• Promotion: some distributors only release your music; others pitch your releases to playlists.
• Support: a person who knows your project or a form.

How we do it

At MusicAdders, we are a distributor and work on commission: if your music doesn't earn, we don't charge a thing, and you keep 100% of your rights. We supply the leading platforms directly, pitch all our releases to the leading playlists at no extra cost, and you get paid between the 1st and 5th of every month. And for labels and distributors, we offer white label: your own distribution platform, with your branding.

Unsure what is right for you? Tell us about your project and we will work it out together.