Music aggregator: what it is and how it works

Platforms do not sign an agreement with each artist: they sign with aggregators, which bring together the catalogues of thousands of artists and labels and deliver them with the data each platform requires. The platforms then pay the aggregator what that catalogue has earned, and the aggregator distributes it among its owners.

In the industry, aggregator and digital distributor are used almost interchangeably. We call ourselves The Honest Aggregator.

• You upload the release: audio, artwork and metadata (title, artists, credits and release date).
• Each song has its ISRC and the release its UPC. If you do not have them, the aggregator assigns them to you.
• The release is checked against each platform's rules to prevent rejection or removal later.
• It is delivered to each platform for your chosen date.
• Before release, it is pitched to playlist editors.
• The platforms pay the aggregator and provide a report of streams and sales.
• The aggregator pays you your share and shows you where every euro comes from.

Some are purely self-service: you upload your music and get paid, and there is a form for everything else. Others also offer playlist pitching, publishing (your songs' songwriting royalties), YouTube Content ID, catalogue migration and a team to help you.

With us, you get all of that: we supply the leading platforms directly, we are a Spotify Preferred Provider with Discovery Mode and pre-save, and we pitch all our releases to the leading playlists at no extra cost.

If you run a label or a distributor, you can have your own distribution platform with your branding: Workstation with your logo, colours and domain. Your artists upload their releases and track their performance on your platform, and we take care of the rest: distribution, on-time monthly payouts, straight to each account, support for your artists and catalogue migration.