Once you’ve released your music the focus usually shifts to how to ensure you are generating earnings. You’ve told everyone where they can find your release(s), and you’ve been playing it non-stop.

There are several factors that determine how much, if anything, is paid per stream. These include:

• The music service that the release is being played from
• The type of plan the listener has (free, subscription, etc)
• How long the track is listened to
• The country and/or currency where the play is being generated

Many services require that a song be played anywhere from 20 to 30 seconds for it to be counted as a stream, like Spotify and Apple Music. While there are certain services, like Facebook, consider a track to be a play or consumed after just 3 seconds.

There are some music services that when playing your release from your account then it won’t count towards your stream count.

Since this can all be so complicated, let’s simplify as much as possible using one question:

How many streams/plays/consumptions will it take for me to earn $1? This has several underlying factors such as:

• What rate the outlet is using to pay performance royalties. Since a stream generates both a performance and mechanical royalty.
• The country, and the currency the stream occurred in – rates fluctuate over time
• The type of plan the listener has, ad-supported streams vs. Subscription supported streams

Here’s a breakdown based of the most popular streaming services:

There are several factors that go into the revenue you receive from your music being streamed. This means that these numbers could vary for you from outlet to outlet—but we hope this provides an understanding of what to expect in general from certain services.

“It’s like going from black and white to color.”

“Can I move into your studio?”

“How am I supposed to listen to regular music now?”

These are just some of the comments that artists and musicians make when they come in to listen to music in Dolby Atmos in our new Atmos mix room at The Record House. Clearly the experience is a special one.

Even though Dolby Atmos has been around for 8 years, I found out that there were still people who didn’t really know what it was. They probably heard movies in Atmos in the theatres but they weren’t necessarily aware of it.

Bringing this technology and medium to music opens up a whole new world of possibilities, both in terms of creation and experience.

From a very young age I loved putting on my headphones and disappearing into the music. Very often I would listen with my eyes closed. Getting rid of the visual senses allowed for a deeper immersion and I would get lost in the record. Now with Dolby Atmos, music engulfs and washes over you like never before. The immersion is no longer something you have to imagine. It’s physically happening in the room.

That’s probably why everyone who hears music in Atmos for the first time is overcome by child-like excitement. It could be an A&R, manager, artist or a civilian, they all get these big eyes and smiles, there is a lot of laughter and ‘Whoa!’s .

I decided to do Atmos remixes for a number of the artists I produced for the launch of AvidPlay’s Dolby Atmos support. During the playback sessions I was sitting back on the couch and they were sitting at the console. I got the same exact reaction from two artists on the same day. Just as the first chorus hit, they turned around with amazement pointing to the goosebumps on their forearm!

The introduction of Dolby Atmos support on AvidPlay is incredible because it allows for everyone to create and share music in this format. The platform is intuitive and easy to use. You can do your release in a matter of minutes.

The catalog work that Dolby started with Universal and Warner is great and as I mentioned before the joy of hearing your favorite records in Atmos cannot be understated. However, I believe that creation of brand new content is crucial in the widespread adoption of this format. As more artists create new music in Atmos their audience will be more inclined to get an Atmos-enabled speaker or pay a higher premium for their music service.

Doing these remixes for my artists I also noticed a few interesting things about mixing and production in general.

First of all, the fact that we got our dynamics back is amazing! I was happy with the stereo mixes I did for these tracks but comparing them with the Atmos Binuaral version on headphones, I like the Atmos versions more! There is no question if it folds down well or not. It does an amazing job and since we are not squashing the mix, the choruses pop more and it has more impact. Plus you have an LFE channel, fun!

The second realization was kind of counter-intuitive. Much like everyone else who had a chance to listen to Elton John’s Rocket Man in Atmos, I was blown away. Once the chorus hits and the guitars open up next to you, the background vocals surround you and the electric guitars fly overhead; you shoot off into space! Still, that song is pretty simplistic in terms of instrumentation. There isn’t a whole lot going on but with great and tasteful mixing, it creates one of the quintessential Atmos music experiences. When I started mixing my artists I was thinking, “oh I have way more stuff to play around with and spread in this 3D space, it’s going to be great”. And it was. But I realized while spreading a dense production with a bunch of layers of synths, keys, guitars, percussion, and vocals creates an impressive “Sphere of Sound”, there is something special to having fewer elements and being able to identify every small moment that happens in a song. It’s not because things get lost or buried in the mix, you have a 360 plane to place sounds in, but the human mind can only focus on so many things at once. So perhaps it’s better to have a few cool elements doing a few cool things than a whole bunch of elements doing a whole bunch of cool things. Just food for thought.

If you’re an artist or producer and haven’t heard music in Dolby Atmos, find a studio that has this capability and go listen to some music. You’ll be hooked! And then starting creating some music in Atmos. Have fun with it and share it with the world, easily via AvidPlay.

Jessica Mar – New Truth

Beto Vargas – Mistakes

Camie Llano – Visitor

Buel – Advice

Juan Cortes – So I Erased His Face

Whether you just distributed your first release with AvidPlay or one of many, you’re probably wondering how to gain control of your artist profile across all of the streaming outlets your music is now live on.

Well sometimes when you check out that release you may find the artist profile it’s linked to is wrong, there was never a profile created, there’s no picture, etc.

This is something that you want to rectify as soon as you can, because it’s possible this may be the first introduction a potential fan will have to you. You should consider your artist profile as the visual identity for your brand. Below we’ve provided some details on how to reach stores to fix any issue that may arise in relation to your artist profile.

It’s important that your artist profile is updated consistently as it should always reflect where you are in your artist journey. Since it’s unlikely you’ll stay the same forever, your profile should reflect your evolution.

Hey Everyone,

Mike Avenaim here. If you don’t know anything about me, I’m a session drummer / music director / composer and producer based In Los Angeles. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of working with many artists including: Scott Weiland, Lil Nas X, NOTD, Bea Miller, Ruel, Caroline Jones, Leslie Odom Jr., Emblem3 and many more.

What a lot of people don’t know about me is that I’ve been a part of writing several records of my own with some incredible musician pals, some of which never saw the light of day. Part of that reason was it was just too much hassle for me personally to figure out how to get it out to the world and how to deal with distribution. I just felt overwhelmed by the whole process. I feel with multiple writers, investors, producers etc. it becomes a real headache.

Earlier this year, I was at NAMM, walking past the Avid booth and ran into one of the best dudes in the business, Rob D’Amico. We were chatting away as we usually do nerding out about track folders and all the cool things that were coming up for Pro Tools, but somehow, we ended up on the topic of distribution and that Avid was coming out with a new platform called “AvidPlay”. Rob spent a couple of minutes walking me through the platform and it was the first time that I felt like the entire process would be really easy for me.

Now, back to the records I never released… I made a record in 2009 with an incredibly talented bunch of writers and producers. Lindsay Rimes, John Fields, Paul David Hager, Simon Shapiro, Leigh Walker and myself were all heavily involved in the process, but we never put the album out – the band was called “KisTone” and the album was called “Way to Nowhere”. This seemed like the perfect record for me to test out the AvidPlay platform.

Here is my experience using the platform:

I prepared my files for upload. The first thing i did was go to the AvidPlay Dashboard page inside Avid Link. My first thought was, “This is a very simple interface and super easy to use”. There is a large button to press that says “New Release”. Next is the “Release Details” page.  Its a series of drop-down menus asking you to input specific information including Artist, Label and whether or not you are releasing a single or album. A great feature of the platform is that it auto fills sections like ID Type and ID Numbers. Also, once you’ve added the artist in, anytime you have a new release the information can auto populate by just simply selecting the artist again.

On the next page you upload your Artwork and then upload your tracks. It’s very simple. Next is the section where you input the specific information for each song. This was a standout feature for me because AvidPlay allows you to add “Participants” that you can recall each time you need them. There is also a feature to “Apply to all” so if you gave equal splits on every song, you don’t have to spend time inputting song split information. The ISRC codes are generated automatically, which was also a big plus for me.

The following page allows you to select the “Outlets” you want to release your music on and the release date. You may also select the button “Distribute to all future outlets”. I felt that this was a great feature to save time in the future when new platforms become available. Once you’ve selected everything you want in this section you click “Save & Distribute”. The final step is to go back to your “Participants” page and input the PayPal details of everyone involved in the record process. AvidPlay will automatically distribute earnings to each individual from the album.

Overall the process was incredibly simple. I didn’t spend more than 10 minutes doing this entire upload. Saving time is very important to me. I didn’t have to dig through the internet on how to get music released.

Standout Features:

• Automatic PayPal distribution
• A dashboard that shows Total Streams, Top Streaming Service, Overall Earnings and Top Countries
• Easy to edit after the fact in case there is an error made during the upload process
• The ability to recall “Participants” for future releases. Massive time saver!
• The ability for one user to start a Label through the platform and release any music they want for their friends, band/artist signings, co-writers etc. under their umbrella. This is a feature I will utilize a lot under my own label name that I created with the platform.

Finally, there are NO HIDDEN COSTS.  Once you pay for your Plan, AvidPlay will not charge you to add participants/co-writers, nor will it charge you for any future distribution etc. Other distribution platforms charge to have co-writers involved and force them to sign up and pay the annual membership fee to receive any of the money. I don’t agree with this and this is another thing that makes AvidPlay so great!

I highly recommend this to anyone that has been twiddling their thumbs on a release. Sign up and get it out so we can all hear your music!!!

After you get your music on streaming services around the world using AvidPlay, it’s time to do the most important thing to make sure your music captures a growing audience—promoting. In this blog, I’m going to give you four tips to help make sure your music doesn’t sit on streaming services unnoticed, and what the best methods are to start growing your fanbase.

Tip one: Get by with a little help from your friends… and family

Utilizing your inner social circles is an easy step to start getting your music some plays. Even if you don’t have a following of die-hard fans, your close friends and family can be huge when it comes to getting your music off the ground.

Have your friends and family add your music into the playlists that they routinely listen to, have them follow you on streaming services that support that feature, such as Spotify, and let them know that they are directly supporting you by listening to your music.

AvidPlay makes getting your friends and family to your music simple with the ability to share Smart Links. To use Smart Links, go to your Releases tab, select the Share dropdown, and select Copy URL. This will create a custom webpage for you to share that gives anyone you want to listen to your music the option to listen on whichever service they would like.

Tip two: Find a place where your music fits in

With the initial boost from your friends and family, it’s time to start digging around for a playlist or community where your music fits in. In my situation in particular, I was looking for places based around cinematic and orchestral music—a fairly niche, but growing group. I approached this in three ways:

1. Searching for user-generated playlists on Spotify that had email addresses or contact information for the creator of the playlist that I could reach out to in order to see if they would be interested in adding my music to their playlist. Landing in some of these playlists was by far the largest boost to my stream count and led to my music being added to their listeners personal libraries.
2. Finding a community to share, converse, and give feedback. Places like Reddit, forums, and Twitch are great places to foster a community and become known by people who love the same kind of music you’re creating. Make yourself known, make friends, but most of all, show a willingness to be involved in these communities beyond just self-promoting. For me, VI-Control was a great community where I could stay up to date on all things orchestral/cinematic while engaging in conversations that directly impacted the music I make and listen to.
3. Creating your own community. A new endeavor that I have taken on is to try and create a Twitch channel where people can watch me write the music that I’ll eventually release. This is a great way to create a dedicated following who you know will be there to support and listen to your next release.

Tip three: Your music is important, but so are you

Promoting yourself as an artist is just as important as promoting your latest release. Don’t be shy about sharing your creative process, engaging with the companies of the products you use to make your music, or utilizing all of your social channels. In the studio to do some recording? Start up a livestream on Instagram and let people tune in. Working on some album artwork for the next release? Get some feedback on what your followers like. The more you engage with your followers, the more they’ll be engaged with you.

With so many different channels to promote yourself, it’s important to include all of the places where your fans can find you.

Add in your social channels wherever possible and make it easy for people to follow you. If you’re a member of the Avid Link community, you can add social channels and websites to your profile so people can easily access all of your channels. If you released your music to Spotify, utilize Spotify for Artists and add your social links to your profile there as well.

Tip 4: Utilize new technologies to get anyone to your music, anywhere.

Promoting yourself face-to-face is never simple. It’s not easy to get someone to your music at a gig or during a conversation, especially now that CDs are irrelevant. Luckily, AvidPlay has a clever solution to this, through the use of QR codes. These codes create a direct link to Smart Links, allowing you to put them on anything from posters to business cards in order to get people to your music by simply having them point their camera at the code. To get your QR code, you want to go to the same Share dropdown mentioned earlier and click on QR code. This will automatically generate a QR code for you to use however you want, for free. Give it a shot:

What’s the goal here?

In the end, all of these tips are geared towards creating organic growth for your music. You want to get to a place where people find your music, without you having to show it to them. By utilizing these tips and getting a good basis of plays, you’re setting your music up to be picked up by streaming service algorithms. For instance, the more followers you get on Spotify, the more listener’s Release Radar playlist you will end up in when you put out a new release.

Best of luck out there!

About a year ago I wrote a blog for Avid called MasterCheck: How Dynamic is Too Dynamic?. Since then, Avid has announced AvidPlay, a new music distribution platform. Let’s take a look at 3 key points paraphrased from last year’s piece, and consider these observations in the context of AvidPlay (or even other distribution services, for that matter!).

1. Revenue from music streaming now exceeds that of downloads, CDs and vinyl combined. So it makes sense to optimise your mixes and masters accordingly.

Not only does it make sense to optimise your mixes and masters, it also makes sense to ensure that you’re happy with your choice of distribution service! Different platforms offer different annual and lifetime rates, which vary depending on the number of artist profiles, number of releases and so on. It is also worth noting that some of the services with cheaper rates will take a larger cut of royalties, so you should weigh up your own circumstances (are you uploading ten albums of niche experimental music under multiple different monikers with a tiny audience, or one album which is likely to be streamed heavily?). For what it’s worth, AvidPlay’s royalty retention rate is 0%.

2. A track mastered at -10 LUFS for CD will be turned down by 3dB to reach YouTube’s -13 LUFS target, 4dB for Spotify and 6dB for Apple Music. This means up to 6dB of unused headroom!

When distributing music through a platform like AvidPlay, it’s not as though you can upload separate masters for each individual streaming service, so is it even worth paying attention to their loudness standards? Well, yes and no. Regardless of how loudly or quietly you master a track, the fact is that some loudness processing will happen before playout on some streaming services, no matter what. But submitting a master which sits close enough to a few of the services is probably a better approach than uploading a -10 LUFS “commercial” master. Many engineers have grown accustomed to mastering at that level for CDs, but even on a comparatively loud service like YouTube, you’ll still be losing 3dB of headroom. And headroom is important, because…

3. In a playlist where every track is normalised, a song which takes advantage of all available headroom (i.e. the track with the widest dynamic range!) might seem to “pop” more.

The received wisdom is that the loudness war was the result of every artist and label wanting their music to “pop” more than everyone else’s. Starting a “dynamics war” might be similarly daft, but at least we wouldn’t suffer the same loss of transient detail, and increase in listener fatigue! Clever manipulation of macro dynamics can also be used to create very loud sections in an otherwise quiet track – keep an eye on MasterCheck’s short-term loudness measurements to take advantage of this neat trick.

If you find yourself mixing or mastering music for streaming services, for a limited time you can take advantage of 50% off NUGEN Audio’s MasterCheck plug-in. This offer is exclusive to the Avid store.

Looking to move away from CD Baby, DistroKid, Ditto, or another distributor to AvidPlay? Here’s what you need to do to move your current releases without disruption, while also maintaining all of your streaming statistics.

First, you’ll need to log in to your current distributor account and gather these details:

• EAN/UPC associated with your released album(s)
• ISRC associated with track(s)

If you’re unsure about how to go about this, you can reach out to the distributor who’ll be able to offer guidance on how to find these details. Ensure that you have all details associated with the album(s) exactly as they were initially entered; title, genre, artist, etc. This will help to ensure all stats associated with the release will still be available to you once the product is distributed through AvidPlay.

Now that you have all of your information, you can begin to takedown your releases from your current distributor. If your distributor allows you to takedown the releases yourself go ahead and do that, or request that they do it for you.

Once you’ve confirmed the releases have been removed from stores and streaming services you can create your AvidPlay account, if you haven’t already, and go ahead and redistribute your music.

You can purchase an AvidPlay plan here.

If you follow the process outlined you will be able to find the grand total of streams for all track-linked versions on relevant services such as Spotify (through Spotify for Artists).

We look forward to having you as a part of the AvidPlay family.

When I first saw that Avid was entering the digital distribution market, I wondered what they could possibly bring to the table that was not already available with other similar companies that offer the same service.

I had been busy with my company Space Cabin Audio making drum expansion libraries for Platinum Samples drum virtual instrument Accent and in late 2019 I had finally had some time to write and release music again.  That is when the hunt for a distributor started.  I checked out all of them and decided that I would use AvidPlay.

I already had Avid Link installed with my Pro Tools subscription so I didn’t have to create another account, remember another password, or deal with a company that I had not dealt with in the past.  The price was also a major factor.  Other companies charge a lot more per year and if you need to make any changes with your release you have to email them and then wait for changes.  The other companies also leave monetization splits up to the artist.

With AvidPlay you are in complete control of every aspect of your release, from monetization splits, artwork, and even changing the data after release if you want.

Using AvidPlay was the most intuitive, well thought out release process I have ever used for digital distribution.  Here are the basic steps it took to release a track.  The entire process was completed in less than 15 minutes and my song was available the next day on most major streaming platforms.

Step 1

Go to the Avid Webstore and purchase an AvidPlay plan.  At first, I chose a single release, but as I plan to release more, I was simply able to update to the unlimited plan directly inside of Avid Link.

Step 2

Download and install Avid Link if you are not on a current Pro Tools Subscription, or if you are on a current subscription, simply open Avid Link.

Step 3

Log in to Avid Link with the same credentials as you use on the Avid website.  If you use Pro Tools, you already have this info, if you don’t use Pro Tools you will make an Avid Account when you purchase the AvidPlay subscription.

Step 4

Choose the Products tab on the left side of Avid Link, locate the AvidPlay product, then click the Dashboard button.

Step 5

Click the New Release button on the top right.

Step 6

Enter all the relevant information on the product details tab.  In this example, I am using the default AvidPlay label, but feel free to put your label here if you have one.  Pick your release date if you plan on releasing the song or album on a specific date.  Fill in the song name, artist name, then click Save and Next.

Step 7

Next add your artwork.  This is one of my favorite parts of AvidPlay.  All of the info you need is displayed easily and concisely.  So many artists these days wear every hat in the project.  From producer/engineer, promoter, and yes, even graphic designer.  This page lets you know everything you need to do.  From file type to pixel size.  Drag your artwork in and let it upload. I use both Photoshop and Affinity Pro for this purpose, but you can use any program you want as long as it lets you set the size to 4000 x 4000 pixels and save it to a supported format.  So simple. Then click save and next.

Step 8

Drag and drop your audio file onto the window and wait for it to upload.  I suggest uploading the suggested 16 bit 44.1kHz audio file, but you are allowed to use other audio file formats if you choose.  They suggest to name the audio file as you want it to appear, but you can change that after upload if you wish.  Once the file is uploaded, preview it inside of the app to make sure it plays correctly.  Often times we get in a rush and forget this final critical step only to notice something later.  Either way, even if you do, you can change this audio file at any time inside of the AvidPlay app.

Step 9

The track details tab.  Fill in all relevant info and then click Save or Save and Distribute.

I have included an image from the first track I released with AvidPlay as an example of what is in this tab.

As you can see in the image below this is very well thought out.  You can add the lyrics, set up payment splits, put in performing rights info, add credits for everyone involved, the genre, and pretty much anything else that needs to be done.  This step is what really sold me on using AvidPlay as a way to release my music.

If you are like me and play every single role in your project, then AvidPlay is most likely for you.  In nine simple steps, you are able to have your music available quickly on most streaming platforms.  Since Avid is adding more platforms all the time your music will automatically go to them as long as you choose to add new platforms by default.

With the introduction of AvidPlay, which makes it simple to get your music on popular streaming services around the world, it’s important to make sure you’re giving yourself every advantage to have your music reach your intended audience—allowing you to grow your fanbase. Here’s a quick walkthrough on how to give your music a chance to make it into some of the most popular Spotify playlists.

Step 1: Purchase an AvidPlay subscription

AvidPlay is a simple way to stream and sell your music around the world. Keep 100% of your revenue and rights, get shareable links to grow your fanbase, and even split earnings automatically with bandmates. AvidPlay enables you to get your next release on Spotify, which is the first step to being able to pitch Spotify playlist curators.

Purchase a plan here

Step 2: Release music to Spotify

When setting up your release, select Spotify as a distribution option, and set the release date for at least a month out. This will ensure that Spotify has time to recognize your release and give you enough time to claim your Spotify artist profile through Spotify for Artists.

Step 3: Claim your Spotify profile

In order to get access to pitching your music to Spotify playlist curators, you need to claim your Spotify for Artists profile. Doing this will allow you to customize your profile appearance, give you access to in depth Spotify streaming stats, and let you choose which upcoming releases you want to pitch. In order to claim your profile, you will need to provide a few of your social or webpage links to verify your identity.

Step 4: Pitch your music

Once you have claimed your Spotify for Artists profile. Navigate to your account, select the Music tab and select Upcoming. Here, you’ll see your soon to be released albums and singles, which can now be pitched to Spotify playlist curators. Spotify has a ton of different playlist options that fit any style, genre, or mood.

Do some research and figure out a playlist that your music would be a good fit for. While filling out the form for submitting your track, you’ll be asked to suggest a playlist that you think your music would a good fit for, so do some research and find a good option. Getting included in any of Spotify’s playlists can be a huge boost to growing your fanbase and gaining followers.

Good luck!

Since its launch, Avid Link continues to enable creators of all types to connect and collaborate with each other on a global scale, help them to keep their Avid applications up to date easily and efficiently, allow them to find, purchase, and update licensing and installing of Avid and 3^rd party products, plug-ins, and services, and expand their creative opportunities.  With steady growth of approximately 2000 users being added each day and more than 370,000 new members in the community, the potential for Avid Link users continues to rise.

AvidPlay, launched in the summer of 2019, is a key, integrated service, embedded within Avid Link, designed to offer music creators a simple and streamlined way to distribute their music to many of the major streaming platforms, worldwide, at an affordable cost.  Users keep 100% of their music rights, and earnings.  AvidPlay also offers more opportunities for users to be discovered in the Avid Link community, via the Lounges, and gives users the ability to manage their releases right from their desktop or mobile device.

Every new year brings new opportunities, and AvidPlay is primed and ready to help enable users with even more choices when it comes to streaming platform options, plans, and ways to share their music with their audience.  Let’s take a quick look at some of the new features and benefits now available in AvidPlay in this new release!

Distribution Service Additions

AvidPlay already connects users with many of the world’s most popular streaming services, including Amazon Music, Spotify, Tidal, and so much more.  With this new release, we’ve added Apple Music and TikTok to the list.  The addition of these two services is a huge win for users who wish to reach the maximum number of listeners and potential new fans across the world.  Apple Music boasts a user base of 60 million customers, all hungry for new music and artists to discover and listen to.  The addition of TikTok, gives users a gateway to more than 500 million active users.  Users just might find their music being used in one of the many hilarious and trending memes and videos the service is best known for.  Remember, AvidPlay users keep 100% of their earnings and rights!

Sharing

The core tenant of AvidPlay is to allow artists and musicians to share their work with the world.  We’ve made this even easier in this version of AvidPlay, with the addition of the ability to share via social media, in the Releases section.  Once a release is live and distributed, users will now see a “share” icon, underneath each release.  Clicking that icon will automatically generate a URL link that can be copied into the user’s social media site of their choice.  It’s one more way that creators can use AvidPlay to reach their audience in a quick and easy way.

New Plan Choices

AvidPlay has always strived to offer amazing value and affordable plans, made to help users maximize their ability to grow their audience and income, without breaking the bank.  Plans start at just $5 per year, with options for releasing anything from a single track or an entire album.  With this new version of AvidPlay, unlimited releases and lifetime plans have been added for tracks and albums, starting at just $9.99.  Users now have even more choice to find the plan that works for them and more flexibility to upgrade as their fanbase grows.

The release of Avid Link 2020.1, with the additional choices and benefits available to customers in AvidPlay, sets the stage for an exciting year for our customers.  There’s more planned, and we couldn’t be more excited to see and hear what our users will create and share with the world.  If you’re not yet an Avid Link user, there’s no better time to join.  Visit The Avid Link site , or download on your iOS or Android device, and start your journey now!