Digital Distribution: Staying Independent Or Going Label

Nov. 25, 2009 - PRLog -- In this digital day and age, labels and artists agree that online digital distribution of some sort is now as easy to find as milk in a grocery store. Lo and behold, there is usually a major difference in the quality of digital distribution you get.  Independent artists and bands now have an increased ability to release their music online for a small fee or even free on services like Tunecore, CDbaby, Iris, etc.  These services would then distribute  music to online digital retailers such as Rhapsody, Emusic and iTunes bypassing any thumbs up from independent or major music labels.  It's not always a bad thing, but what does this mean for the labels and music fans?  There is just more of an ocean of mediocrity out there to weed through.  Even with all of the various ways to independently release your music online, the numbers still prove there is a huge benefit of distributing your music (even if just digitally) through a label as apposed to self releasing.

The first major difference between a label digital release and someone going about it independently, is that the type of global digital distributors that are available to labels, are not available to independent artists.  Since the services to pick from only have a basic distribution model with only a small handfull of retailers like iTunes or Rhapsody, your music is what it is. Available.  Then there is the whole rest world who doesn't know it exists and is waiting to find out right?  Typical distributors like CDbaby and Tunecore, still only distribute your music to anywhere from 3 to about 10 (maybe) online retailers.  Compared to a label that could easily distribute music online globally through over 300 retailers.  Even indie labels usually already have networks for funneling the music into numerous global online streaming websites, web/FM radio stations, podcasts, magazines, blogs and are geared for promoting the music.

Another thing to self digital distribution is that generally labels are not always attracted to music distributed through a third party service like Cdbaby- a service available to everyone.  There's really a lot there to ever begin searching through to learn about new artists. Generally a major label likes and finds it easier to see a smaller label do the weeding process for them and many independnet artists are picked up from being discovered on small record labels.  Not to knock on digital distribution being available to independent artists, it is a valuable tool to many, but it also does open up the field so that anyone under the sun can sell their music online.  

Today the market is seeing a major trend that more music fans are flocking to independent record labels on their hunt for new music.  At least that still gives the record label clout to say "hey we discovered something good here and we really liked it. Here... you may too." That actually does a lot for an unknown group coming out of a garage and is sometimes all it takes to become widely known.  There are many groups of course, that have made it from rock bottom to the creamy top on their own.   About the same amount movie stars that have been randomly discovered at a coffee shop... there are a few.  

One important thing to keep in mind in this evolving digital/music business revolution is that while you may have the audacity and luck yourself to get noticed... even then, it helps to "go label."  Staying with indie labels just means you'll make a ton more monetarily than if you were with a major if your release blows up. You would also have more control over your decisions and those are at least two reasons to stay indie when you hunt for a label to distribute your music phyically or digitally. Maybe a cozy little indie label is a perfect fit  for you. It's a perfect place to start anyway.  Just don't shoot yourself in the foot by putting yout music out there to let it sit on a mediocre distribution platform.  If you need distribution, even just digital, look at your options to see if signing to an indie label to do that for while you focus your efforts on other types of promotion might be possible.  Too many bands that should be out just doing nothing but promoting, get all caught up in the administrative/clerical part of the distribution end.  The labels already have that worked out!  Trust me, go indie, get your distribution, let the label promote you and start drafting your spring/summer/fall/winter tour by golly!

by: The Indie Reviewer

Featured digital indie label:

Per Capita Records
www.percapitarecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/percapitarecords