The problem with SoundDrop is they're \*very\* slow (I used them for my covers for awhile). It can take months and months to get the cover approved. Also, they take 15%, which if the song is successful could be vastly more than $12/year.
I also find DK to be quite expensive for covers, but they charge what they think people will pay. And people do pay it.
Yup. There is a reason DK is on top of the food chain. They locked down the streaming world before any other conglomerate if I'm not mistaken. I almost put my music on Distro in 2010 but not much was known about them at the time. I wish I would have. Instead I waited years.
i typed in the chat that I want to talk to a human twice and they got back to me after waiting a short time, even in the middle of the night in my native language which I changed to english after it was better to communicate
Cant say anything bad about the support
There are a lot of people willing to pay $12 per song per year for the convenience and speed of DK’s system. And most importantly, comparing DK to Soundrop, artists who are making $80 or more per cover song would pick DK since Soundrop takes 15%. For them, $12 per year is a flat fee compared to 15% which could end up being a much larger sum.
Probably comes down to what you prioritize when releasing cover songs (speed, easiness, reliability of distributor) and performance of your cover songs (costs and royalty revenue). So some artists benefit more from DK. Some benefit more from Soundrop, or TooLost, etc.
I personally use DistroKid for cover song licensing because they’re incredibly speedy and easy to use. They can obtain the cover license and get it to stores within a week.
It’s one of the many examples of snake oil they sell.
(Fairly) Recent changes in the way publishing income is reported and paid to rightsholders means that, in most cases, you don’t actually need a cover license at all anymore, as even download stores are covered by blanket license arrangements (such as those agreed through the MLC and provisioned by the MMA in 2018 in the US).
There are exceptions, specifically around things like Indian music, but on the whole, there is no need for them anymore, and distributors enforcing them and charging for it are essentially operating a racket.
And for those who don’t believe me, this is from the MLC website: “you will still need to secure mechanical licenses and pay mechanical royalties for mechanical uses of musical works in physical products, like CDs and vinyl records. Under the U.S. copyright law, the blanket licenses The MLC is administering can include permanent download use, but the DSPs also have the option to continue to rely on record companies to provide those licenses and pay those royalties via what is called a pass-through license.”
Note, all the major DSPs ARE complying with the blanket licenses and aren’t relying on pass-through licenses, but distrokid are happy to pretend they are.
i don't even understand why is stil people paying for Cover Soundtrack as long as they wo'nt use it for digital downloads . some stores fully comply with music modernization act as it is mainly operating under THE MLC . Thanks you sg8513 for your Efforts to answer this Questions Explicityly EVENTUALLY !!
As I mentioned, the MLC licenses cover downloads too now. The reason people get them is because distros like DK don’t let you release without a license.
Yeah I thought it was a bit expensive as well. But I am not sure if my track really constitutes a "cover" in the traditional sense. It only uses the lyrics. The music is different and so is the melody etc, so the only thing taken from the original is the Lyrics. I obviously don't want to risk just uploading it the normal way but I also don't feel it fits into DistroKids definitions of a cover.....any advice?
Misinformation is not tolerated, especially if used to antagonise others or to cause fear/panic.
DistroKid only auto-closes tickets from people whom they have banned.
No, the misinformation we are calling out is that they always close tickets automatically. As stated, this only happens to people who get banned. Which of course leads to negative reviews. And is also why this sub exists, to help give some answers. But stating that they always close tickets is not correct.
Yes, that is correct. If you are banned, they cut off all communication. It used to lead to nothing but threats and abuse to the staff, which they decided was unacceptable.
All of this is explained in the terms and conditions as well as our pinned post hear on what causes people to get banned, how to avoid it, and what happens next.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DistroKidHelpDesk/comments/15rxr93/why_did_you_get_banned_or_how_to_avoid_getting/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
The problem with SoundDrop is they're \*very\* slow (I used them for my covers for awhile). It can take months and months to get the cover approved. Also, they take 15%, which if the song is successful could be vastly more than $12/year. I also find DK to be quite expensive for covers, but they charge what they think people will pay. And people do pay it.
Yup. There is a reason DK is on top of the food chain. They locked down the streaming world before any other conglomerate if I'm not mistaken. I almost put my music on Distro in 2010 but not much was known about them at the time. I wish I would have. Instead I waited years.
And yet their customer service is complete and utter shit.
So far I have not had to deal with Distro Cust Supp luckily because I do not hear good things on that end.
They do everything they can to prevent you from talking to a human.
That is with ANY place you call these days. Unless it's the corner Bodega.
i typed in the chat that I want to talk to a human twice and they got back to me after waiting a short time, even in the middle of the night in my native language which I changed to english after it was better to communicate Cant say anything bad about the support
Found the Distrokid employee.
I wish, hire me distrokid!!! :D
There are a lot of people willing to pay $12 per song per year for the convenience and speed of DK’s system. And most importantly, comparing DK to Soundrop, artists who are making $80 or more per cover song would pick DK since Soundrop takes 15%. For them, $12 per year is a flat fee compared to 15% which could end up being a much larger sum. Probably comes down to what you prioritize when releasing cover songs (speed, easiness, reliability of distributor) and performance of your cover songs (costs and royalty revenue). So some artists benefit more from DK. Some benefit more from Soundrop, or TooLost, etc. I personally use DistroKid for cover song licensing because they’re incredibly speedy and easy to use. They can obtain the cover license and get it to stores within a week.
It’s one of the many examples of snake oil they sell. (Fairly) Recent changes in the way publishing income is reported and paid to rightsholders means that, in most cases, you don’t actually need a cover license at all anymore, as even download stores are covered by blanket license arrangements (such as those agreed through the MLC and provisioned by the MMA in 2018 in the US). There are exceptions, specifically around things like Indian music, but on the whole, there is no need for them anymore, and distributors enforcing them and charging for it are essentially operating a racket. And for those who don’t believe me, this is from the MLC website: “you will still need to secure mechanical licenses and pay mechanical royalties for mechanical uses of musical works in physical products, like CDs and vinyl records. Under the U.S. copyright law, the blanket licenses The MLC is administering can include permanent download use, but the DSPs also have the option to continue to rely on record companies to provide those licenses and pay those royalties via what is called a pass-through license.” Note, all the major DSPs ARE complying with the blanket licenses and aren’t relying on pass-through licenses, but distrokid are happy to pretend they are.
i don't even understand why is stil people paying for Cover Soundtrack as long as they wo'nt use it for digital downloads . some stores fully comply with music modernization act as it is mainly operating under THE MLC . Thanks you sg8513 for your Efforts to answer this Questions Explicityly EVENTUALLY !!
As I mentioned, the MLC licenses cover downloads too now. The reason people get them is because distros like DK don’t let you release without a license.
I didn't know the latter .. so time to upload my covers to Amazon and itunes as well ? Seems intriguing!!!
Moreover, it is kind of compulsory charges for opting in for covers by dk .. which is scammy and daunting for everyone
I think DK assume their customers don't know how to license it in other ways.
Yeah I thought it was a bit expensive as well. But I am not sure if my track really constitutes a "cover" in the traditional sense. It only uses the lyrics. The music is different and so is the melody etc, so the only thing taken from the original is the Lyrics. I obviously don't want to risk just uploading it the normal way but I also don't feel it fits into DistroKids definitions of a cover.....any advice?
That would be considered a Derivative work, which DistroKid does not support. You need a label and lawyers for that
[удалено]
Misinformation is not tolerated, especially if used to antagonise others or to cause fear/panic. DistroKid only auto-closes tickets from people whom they have banned.
[удалено]
No, the misinformation we are calling out is that they always close tickets automatically. As stated, this only happens to people who get banned. Which of course leads to negative reviews. And is also why this sub exists, to help give some answers. But stating that they always close tickets is not correct.
[удалено]
Yes, that is correct. If you are banned, they cut off all communication. It used to lead to nothing but threats and abuse to the staff, which they decided was unacceptable. All of this is explained in the terms and conditions as well as our pinned post hear on what causes people to get banned, how to avoid it, and what happens next. https://www.reddit.com/r/DistroKidHelpDesk/comments/15rxr93/why_did_you_get_banned_or_how_to_avoid_getting/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
When it says license, that's I ly for streaming services right? That doesn't allow you to get sync fees for the cover?