Putting your stuff on Spotify?

Hey guys,

I would like to know about the loudness the songs require for those specific platforms… I read some that every platform requires different loudness levels.

Also, is distrokid still the best way to go?

Thanks.

Hey guys,

I would like to know about the loudness the songs require for those specific platforms… I read some that every platform requires different loudness levels.

Also, is distrokid still the best way to go?

Thanks.

My understanding is that steaming services apply their own compression when playing.

I think with DistroKid you could select different sets of distribution services and upload different files each time. (I can imagine the tedium though.)

My own approach is to not master for maximum loudness, leave some head room and dynamics, and the results will be fine for most people.

This is largely a cost/benefit calculation for myself. I find I’m better served by devoting resources to creating more music than to finessing some (relatively) marginal gain in quality for this or that service. I get far more plays from Bandcamp and Soundcloud than any streaming service so at the moment there’s little incentive for me to pursue “Mastered for iTunes.”

But on that note (ha ha) here’s an interesting article:http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2012/02/24/147379760/what-mastered-for-itunes-really-means

Ok. So are you saying that itunes, spotify accepting any kind of loudness? I really not want to do some loudness war, but as far as I remember, it will be rejected if not match the required loudness… Maybe it is simply crap.

My songs usually have a DR around 11… I still have to measure LUFS…

What about your songs?

Ok. So are you saying that itunes, spotify accepting any kind of loudness? I really not want to do some loudness war, but as far as I remember, it will be rejected if not match the required loudness… Maybe it is simply crap.

My songs usually have a DR around 11… I still have to measure LUFS…

What about your songs?

I’m unaware of any special audio test but I really don’t know. Seems odd; what if your music is just very quiet?

My DR often sits around 6 or so. Some songs have more range. I picked one that I think might be a “worst case” track (fairly dense and thrashy). I try to leave some room to account for side-effects of format conversion. I think I peak at -1.5 DBs

Ok, I think DR is not really such informative. Also highly seems to depend on the type of bass you do use. The lower it is, the higher the DR…

Found this article about LUFS values in ITunes etc, quite interesting:https://www.masteringthemix.com/blogs/learn/76296773-mastering-audio-for-soundcloud-itunes-spotify-and-youtube

Summary:

  • iTunes changes the audio to -16 LUFS, no compression or limiting applied. So ideally, your tune has -16 LUFS, so you can exactly hear how it will sound like.

  • Youtube -13 LUFS

  • Spotify -12 LUFS

  • Soundcloud doesn’t change anything, but converts to 128kbit MP3 (limitations occur)

This prompted me to do more Googling, and I came across a Reddit post with a sub-thread of “Does it really matter, and what should I actually do?”

https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/5pcxbk/want_your_music_to_sound_the_best_it_can_on/

I believe that streaming is killing the digital music market. The gains with Spotify are really low.

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I’ve been thinking about going the distrokid route, putting stuff on spotify etc, but not so much worried about loudness, rather how it would affect the creative commons character of the music I’ve also put on free music archive / bandcamp etc.

I don’t plan on becoming a member of some mcps-prs alliance kinda license maffia if that is obligatory(?). I like the idea of people being able to use my music on youtube without a copyright gestapo hammering it down and wonder if putting my music on streaming services would automatically flag the same music on youtube?

Hm, do you know if I can exclude Spotify in Distrokid? I am also not a fan of those streaming services.

Hm, do you know if I can exclude Spotify in Distrokid? I am also not a fan of those streaming services.

Yes. You get to select the distributors.

I’ve been thinking about going the distrokid route, putting stuff on spotify etc, but not so much worried about loudness, rather how it would affect the creative commons character of the music I’ve also put on free music archive / bandcamp etc.

I don’t plan on becoming a member of some mcps-prs alliance kinda license maffia if that is obligatory(?). I like the idea of people being able to use my music on youtube without a copyright gestapo hammering it down and wonder if putting my music on streaming services would automatically flag the same music on youtube?

You retain all rights. You can set the license as you see fit. But I don’t recall an option (when uploading to assorted distributors) to state that your music is CC or whatever. (I might be wrong.)

One Distrokid annoyance is that there’s no option to include additional digital material, such as a PDF where you can be more explicit about rights, copying, etc. I charge for my stuff but I tell my friends to feel free to make a copy for anyone they think would enjoy it. (I’m still up in the air on shifting to a pay what you want model. It kinda worked OK for an ebook I wrote, but even there I later moved to $5+. Pricing is tricky.)

I opted to get my music on most of the Distrokid options (Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, etc, but not the additional YouTube whatever service) primarily to increase access for anyone who might be interested. But I try to steer people to Bandcamp because they will get the included PDF “booklet”. And I get more of the mad profits[0].

You can always still upload your music to your own YouTube channel and set all the rights info as you like.

[0] I haven’t even earned back what Distrokid costs me. They say, “Do what you love and the money will follow”, but I’m getting a bit skeptical. ಠᴗಠ

Just got this via email

Spotify has always been a great streaming tool and even though like apple music too putting stuff on spotify is more easier with musconv playlist converter

https://www.dittomusic.com/pricing is now $19, flat rate per year… unlimited distribution.

I’d give this thread a read first… Someone on DITTO music?

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very helpful video (ditto-wise), as i’m currently deciding where to put my stuff except soundcloud/youtube…

Lately Distrokid has gotten negative reviews too, what scares me about them is you get little to zero explanation why you get banned from them.

I’m going to try CDbaby at some point, they have been doing this for a long time and seem to not get into consumer controversies.

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i’m still deciding where should i start… urgh… currently cannot decide between beatstars/bandcamp. Any suggestions? should we create another topic for the general opinions and experiences?

I don’t know about beatstars, but Bandcamp is is different from everything else mentioned here. It is its own separate store, you deal with them directly and have complete control over your pricing, previews, downloadable extras etc. So you can use Bandcamp and still join a distributor to put your stuff on iTunes/Spotify etc.

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Already have account on bandcamp for quite some time, and i’ve read most of technical stuff, i just have hard time deciding what should be my next step… it’s more mental struggle, to be honest… Although I’ve never used spotify nor itunes…
Since soundcloud isn’t giving any results so far…