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@@RichardMasonOfficial that's mostly a collab app/an easy way to keep your files/lyrics in one place. I'm currently writing an anti-Zionist song using it and they haven't given me a hassle with any of it so I don't think they track what you do and seems generally ok.
@@cloudbloodmusic I was referring to the aspects of the service regarding how it allows songwriters to do song splits, licensing, royalties and credits. Tunecore and other distributors are joining it. I read some of the Terms of Service and found some really shady stuff in there. Getting her thoughts from a legal perspective will be helpful.
It's an incredible service you're providing here by stepping through these agreements - as you pointed out: "the only music industry contracts you can't negotiate".
yup, that happened to us, 50+ albums removed overnight, no heads up, no warning, no email, nothing, gone overnight, claiming "fraud" on our part, whatever that means right, or that some stores do not want to distribute our music. Of course, I uploaded the music to a new service and no store issues. I wish I would have found your channel 8 years ago, never saw any back royalties owed to us. Just awful company. Thank you SO much for what you are offering to the artist community! 🙏 you have some good harvest karma coming your way!🔥
Thanks for going through it for all of us, very insightful! It would be cool to see a comparison between the different distributor's contracts so us artists could make more informed choices about which one to choose...
I’ve tried CD Baby and now Distro Kid. DK seems a little easier to manage. I paid a lifetime fee to be able to manage my own IRSC codes. Also signed up with BMI for years…looks like the6 are going down?
As a full time musician/teacher who briefly considered law school (my Dad was a judge for about 25 years) I must say, I love your videos. This is all good and VERY important information that most people don't care enough about. Musicians are notoriously bad at keeping their money, and making sure their business is legally sound. Most don't even look at it as a business, most want to become a part of someone ELSE'S business (getting signed.) And they take like 10% sometimes even less. So on behalf of all the musicians I know, THANK YOU!
This kinda click bait, you had me scared for a second, but after watching I was like oh this is all pretty standard stuff but overall Im glad I watched! All good information, and its nice to know you've got artists back and that there is a YT page dedicated to us! Def Subscribing and looking out for more!
@@TopMusicAttorney No, we greatly appreciate you! I use artificial intelligence to create my own music. Just watched the lawsuit video against Suno (which I use). but I use it to create the instrumental songs/ soundtracks, then I take the stems I have from each song I created using suno ai and then I input them into my recording software, tweak it, edit it, and turn it into my very own music. I therefore, did not go against any such copyrights, nor did I steal anything from anyone. Therefore, I have my own music. Right?
The Record Labels, and Record Companies are just jealous trash lol . I'm also a professional stagehand as well. I have seen and learned some things from working backstage. The politics that arise from backstage are absolute trash. LOL
@@BLACKF1R3OFFICIAL you essentially remixed or maybe reworked AI's tune. it's still art but imho not as much as if you work some midi of your own, just practice it :)
You may already have done this, but a step by step video on 'How to not get f*cked' when releasing your art would be great. At least the 'essentials' as you see them, maybe? So many people (and i was almost one of them before i saw a lot of your videos) finish their music and just sign up to Distrokid or similar because "that's what everyone says to do". But then there are so many other factors and conflicting advice (are you signed up to performing rights, this royalty management agency or that artist registration agency, etc, etc, etc...). It's all so opaque and impossible to understand unless you have the time to become a lawyer yourself, but i've spent a hell of a long time improving my skills as a musician, i don't have enough time left in my life to become an expert on the legalities too. Thank you so much for helping guide us, but yeah, a step by step of some kind would be really helpful! Thank you!
Make it free and post it everywhere it cannot be taken down. The people who like and resonate with it will find you by a different means. Art is a spiritual channel and not a product. So does not need to advertised or treated as such. Because it's a calling above the system that only looks to feed upon the artists to generate revenue that if they can will not share with you the creator. And will demonize anyone who speaks upon the evil practices necessary for 'their' business to exist.
@@holdenhurdle8831 While I wholly agree with the sentiment, the fundamental issue is that people like doing what they love for a living. You cannot do that by making it free and not advertising it. While yeah, art isn't a product, I like to eat food and have a roof over my head. I also love making music more than anything else. Getting to provide for myself WITH music seems great. Capitalism inherently disallows this.
@@holdenhurdle8831 that’s a nice thought, but my (and probably a lot of people’s here) dream is to make a living off music, and that means not giving everything for free. Artists should be paid for their work, whenever possible, and that is tragically limited as it is. We deserve to feed ourselves for producing something of value like everyone else. Both aside from that, and in service of trying to become stabilised in our genres for that goal, it would be bizarre to not put it on popular platforms such as Spotify and in my case beatport and so on. I respect a positive attitude but this is not very realistic for those who want to make art all day and have enough money to live.
we never signed off the June 2021 t.o.s update. suddenly they wanted hundreds of dollars. we cancelled everything instantly. it was an old catalogue anyway, a singer songwriter no longer active -
Distrokid, for years, insisted that I’d never had a sale or radio play. I was there when people bought digital albums, & I had a bunch of radio play on a radio show that I hosted. But nope, not a single sale, not a single radio play, according to them. I told them to take down my music, they asked why, I said “because you’re a scam artist”, & their response was essentially ‘yep, that’s fair’ & they refunded the last payment they’d taken & took my stuff down
dk took our 350+ dollars streaming money out of our bank-that was for two years worth of streams-they did not send us an e-mail to tell us.they also greyed out two thirds of our music on spotify etc - dk said it was spotify and spotify said it was dk -welcome to the music business - lol
This video is super clutch, and I'm deeply appreciative to you for making it, as I'm a broke-ass artist looking to begin distributing tunes that are just chillin' on my hard drive.
@@operationbasscrime She's likely a shill. Going on their website, Priam seems even less transparent. Is their Terms of Service / Contract as upfront on their site? Nope. Their CEO is based in Albania but they pretend to be U.S. California based. Yet the default currency is Euros on their site. They say they only have 2-10 employees. Distrokid has at least 50-200. So who has more risk for being a shady company? So good luck sueing them if something really goes wrong with your music.
Do y’all know how often the payouts in the “We Owe You” section update? I get that royalties take 2-3 months to come in but recently around a week ago I was checking my payouts daily and it was going up for three days in a row and then it stopped which doesn’t make sense since I’ve been getting consistent streams ever since. I guess my question is do they update the payouts weekly/monthly?
distrokid claims that i've been acting “suspiciously” (i think due to my music becoming popular) and because of this i can't get my revenue from songs i made. i wish that distributors allowed artists to get money directed to their accounts instead of to the distributors first…
Very kind of you to walk us through this contract. I appreciate the detailed depth of information you have given. One thing about cover songs and DK. It was indicated to me by them that even though I had a license from Easy Song for the cover song my project released, I still have to pay the $12 yearly fee for them to distribute that song. The reason seemed to be because they themselves did not wish to go through the trouble of verifying every cover song license from every one of the artists using their platform.
We can't, so the solution is to go directly to CONSUMERS! Sell your music on your own website, and cut out the middle men! Glad you can be here. I'm live here every Wednesday at 5pm PST if you want to come say hi!
I thought independent music makers could submit tracks to eg Spotify, Tidal, Apple, etc. as long as its properly mastered. It's just a bit tedious and that's why DK exists. Is that false?
I thought independent music makers could submit tracks to eg Spotify, Tidal, Apple, etc. as long as its properly mastered. It's just a bit tedious and that's why DK exists. Is that false?
I used to use Distrikid. I now use Amuse. Also there is CD Baby, and Soundcloud has distribution now as well. Not saying any are better than the others though.
Find the time to do it yourself or pay a trusted friend who isn’t doing anything or much to distribute yourself… it’s literally the only way you’ll be safe 🙌
Amazing Amazing Amazing work, thank you so much for taking the time to put all this together! So much information gets concealed from front end use on a regular basis, it's so great to have someone awesome like you sitting down and going through actual documents, and paying attention to definitions etc, instead of just going off opinions and vibes. You're a diamond! Huge thanks, -becky
I just put my main band's first album out via DistroKid, I'm watching this and saving the video in case any problems arise due to their TOS and/or contracts. All of the nonsense going on with streaming lately is a perfect example of why and how physical copies of albums and movies will always be relevant and necessary for making any lasting impact, creatively speaking.
I've started to make my own website to promote my music and mechanise etc so if they go and do something I don't like I can just sell it directly from the website as that's all I will be promoting going forward and I can also monitor every vist and where they are watching from also its the way forward
@@TopMusicAttorney I’m also considering going back to college to study either pre-law or engineering. If I go the law school route I’m planning to focus on civil rights issues (specifically guarding against violations of the Bill of Rights). Your channel is helpful because it applies law concepts to something that I understand.
Most people don't realise that a contract is a legal document that is agreed upon... why are we signing contracts that we can not add amendments to before signing... A contract is meant to serve both parties...
It's not a contract. Just because these corporations have managed to use their money and power to get precedent for a time does not make a digital checkmark become a contract. It's just who can afford the better attorney
Thank you for pointing out the importance of the IRC #. I was worried about losing all the views and plays if I take it down and move distributors. Thanks so much!
As always my bro... a record label I been doing this for years EVERY1 AROUND THE WORLD is fooled by this fake computer industry... its still about the labels and yes u must pay them 1st and have everything ready for them... i deal with relaps records... what kind of mudic u do... theyr more like grindcore deathmetal punk hardcore... I do other projects with people too but with tjose genres relapse rec. Is my people :) Iv played with Deicide sufgocation canibal corps all the big guys... not showing off, trying to help 1 love Let me know if u do any of them genres
I recently graduated from Harvard Law. I will soon be uploading a video about how unbelievable shady this “company”’s practices are. As a fellow lawyer and musician, thank you so much for this video.
Well put Krystle! I’ve been trying to tell my affiliates, artists and co-writers the same thing for over a decade. It is a whole new landscape with streaming and digital distribution. IP, copywriting and royalty structure have completely changed and quite frankly I’m burnt out on the music industry. I will continue to develop artists because I love music and enjoy working with musicians but the money making days are over unless you get into licensing and rep yourself.
@@CommentbycommenterI am still taking on new musicians. Most of what I invest my time in these days are pet projects or artists whom I truly love their music. I recently just finished producing an EP for an artist and am developing/mentoring another. However, most of my focus these days is cowriting/producing one offs to license for film/tv. I have worked more in the film industry for the past decade than the music industry but I’ve been with ASCAP for over 20 years. Please feel free to contact me through my channel.
@@Commentbycommenter I am still taking on new musicians. Most of what I dedicate my time to these days are either pet projects or artists whom I personally love their music. I have personally sought out most of the artists I’ve worked with lately however I have been approached by a few. If I have the time, we have goals that align and the project feels right I’m open. I’ve recently just finished producing one artist and am currently developing/mentoring another. My main focus these days has been co-writing/producing one offs to license for film/tv. I’ve worked more in the film industry these days than the music industry, though I’ve been with ASCAP for over 20 years. Feel free to contact me through my channel.
@@Commentbycommenter I am still taking on new musicians. Most of what I dedicate my time to these days are either pet projects or artists whom I personally love their music. I have personally sought out most of the artists I’ve worked with lately however I have been approached by a few. If I have the time, we have goals that align and the project feels right I’m open. I’ve recently just finished producing one artist and am currently developing/mentoring another. My main focus these days has been co-writing/producing one offs to license for film/tv. I’ve worked more in the film industry these days than the music industry, though I’ve been with ASCAP for over 20 years. Feel free to contact me through my channel.
@@Commentbycommenter I am still taking on new musicians. Most of what I dedicate my time to these days are either pet projects or artists whom I personally love their music. I have personally sought out most of the artists I’ve worked with lately however I have been approached by a few. If I have the time, we have goals that align and the project feels right I’m open. I’ve recently just finished producing one artist and am currently developing/mentoring another. My main focus these days has been co-writing/producing one offs to license for film/tv. I’ve worked more in the film industry these days than the music industry, though I’ve been with ASCAP for over 20 years. Feel free to contact me through my channel.
I’m not sure on what I need for my music who I should have I’m only a young adult and I’m so very new to this all of there is any advice I can get that would be greatly appreciated
Thank you lovely top music attorney for your video. Very educational,and I appreciate you point aspects of the agreements out to artists who sometimes forget or haven't read it all.
Really interesting information! I’m a musician, DJ, starving artist myself and I’m so glad I ran into your video, I have so many questions and I’ll look to see if any of them are answered, wow thank you so much because this really opens one’s eyes to what you sign and don’t know.
@@TopMusicAttorney I will definitely work on catching a live, I’m in Eastern time zone and today I have a gig. Looking forward to understanding more, thank you for the videos!
This is great information, not only about Distro Kid but other legal issues that should be addressed, so thank you for sharing! Looking forward to seeing more videos from your channel! ❤
Can you please do One also for Ditto music i know people who’ve had problems with it im still with Ditto music contract expiring in October I’ve had minor problems in terms of delaying my music twice so have doubts about resigning with them again
Question: for a while now I’ve been uploading videos to UA-cam of me doing live improv on a modular synth. Over the last couple of months my channel has taken off, and I’ve started earning a bit of cash via UA-cam (I’m not signed up to a distributor or anything like that). A couple of days ago someone lifted the audio from one of my tracks, stuck a scream sample over the top, and released it as the opening track on their new album. Distrokid has laid claim to my video, sending my YT income to this “artist” instead of me. I’ve filed a dmca against the track (only thing I can do really). What’s the best approach to preventing this happening in the future? As a kind of follow on from that, sometimes I record entire live sets, which can be an hour or more. I want those sets to be available on YT without any ads in the middle, but as I understand it, a distributor would force ads into my YT videos if I was to upload them to a distributor? I don’t suppose you’d have any advice for someone who is totally new to all of this stuff? (I’m probably going to be watching a lot of your videos today, if you have any videos you think I should check out first, that would be amazing!) Thanks! (Great video by the way!)
I cancelled my Distrokid in December. They still took my money for another year! I had to contact them to claim that back. They did eventually refund me. However! My music is still up on streaming services etc. So surely still earning royalties? So are they saying they will contact me and still pay? I removed my music in part, because I didn't agree with the new Spotify 1000 plays or less no longer receiving payment. Also they kept messing up my music with another artist of the same name. In short should I contact them again and ask if there is any monies left owing?
Thanks for the info. What I got from your vid is that as long as I don’t do something illegal myself I should be ok. But I don’t love the false claim thing, where someone can screw me wo them checking into it first.
On your point regarding covers, you don't need ANY license at all if your songs are only on streaming platforms. That mechanical license is for downloads. Spotify and other streaming platforms already pay the necessary license fees, so Distrokid's model is outrageous. I think RouteNote allows you to only distribute to streaming platforms so you don't pay a fee, but most don't allow this and just charge for the license regardless.
It's their business and their agreement, so they should be able to terminate it at any time but forfeiting future royalties when doing so wouldn't be right.
One bad experience does not mean every distributor is doing the same.....Most important , I have seen artists having problems with their distributors but that is the case with only those artists who don't know how to operate the dashboard properly or they are technically weak. I never had any issues with distrokid and tunecore. Used both services they are great. Also, sometimes you get a reply late, but that doesn't means they are fraud or a scam. They are taking care of lakhs of artists and handling their catalogue. So , it is really hard for a team of 50-100 people to care of thousands of artists. These are big companies. They need time to rectify and clarify all the issues and matter. So relax.....guys. it is all subjective in the end.
Question: iHeartRadio made a music channel for my (our) music but I never received any money except for... idk... all I know is I never got paid. However, Tidal, Pandora and everyone picked up every song on my album. Is there a way to show they owe us royalties?
I would LOVE to see a video like this going over the ToS for Ditto, Landr, or especially Too Lost as well (if you haven't already ofc). Def subscribing immediately and checking out all your other videos!! Thank you for doing this so we understand what we're signing! This is exactly what smaller artists need!!
I have one thing to say about the small commercial at 16 minutes. When you say Top Music Attorney... don't say Tommy needs a new flurry 🤣. Articulate that just as well as the rest you did please. You are a big help and I really love watching your vids, but that moment I had to rewind to really know what you were saying. Keep it up and thank you for everything!
I subscribed immediately because I’ve been with Distrokid for 4 years and them only and I’ve generated over a millions of streams which I’m pretty sure I’m not lost out on millions of dollars but I am interested in how I can find out how these numbers are actually generated and how royalties and payments are legally distributed!?
This is helpful! Does it make sense to pursue an organized lobby for change? If clients and lawyers came together with a clear call to action and a value statement that is quantifiable in measurement of what they stand to lose and gain distrokid could evaluate if making those changes would be feasible and asses their risks and benefits to making the change. If they know the size of the impact they can do the math and either get leadership on board or at least get them to consider how large the problem is.
You freaked me out for a second when at 22:08 when you said, "Hey John, this is what you made during this month..." lol Thank you for this video tho, I am going independent and have been thinking Distrokid was probably my best bet. Now I know what I need to be aware of going into it! Thank you!!
It’s okay man. Distrokid is awesome. And the support is amazing I can tell you for sure in my personal view so far using distrokid. It has been great! Don’t get scared man. Just do your stuff and if for whatever reason something comes up which for me nothing hasn’t happened and it’s going super great for me. But if something comes of course reach out to the support or seek lawyer help
Really good look at the issues in signing with Distrokid as well as other contractual distribution com panies. I would like to know if you have any "How to and Why To" videos about starting ones own music publishing company. I am very concerned here. Thanks much!
Several platforms pay royalties to "record companies" based on how much plays that record companies have spread over all their artists. This means that the big artists bring in more money for that record company than the small ones. If Distrokid has a deal like this with the platform, it means that Distrokid will be distributing the money according to the rules they have in their terms and conditions and maybe not by number of plays or something alike.
When it comes down to someone claiming you stole their music. That can be easily protected and disputed. And here's how. When you make your tracks. Always Keep your tracks up dated. From beginning to end. And if the claimers produced track date. Is after your produced track date. Well who stole whose music. This is why the produced track date is always important. You can also protect yourself with your own added track ID number and date. Then email this information back to yourself. Began date and product completion date. So once again you now have your track produce date. And the two most important things not to do before doing this is. One. Not to share this information with any one. And two. Make sure not to put your tracks out there before doing this first.
@@TopMusicAttorney . I've been looking at going with CD Baby for distribution mainly because they are local to me. Less than a 15 min drive from my house.
Thank you for the video! 🙏 Is the contract the same in 2024? It would be great if you later keep people updated :). So helpful to have a music attorney opinion on that. Such fine print can be daunting and overwhelming to process. Most people probably sign up with DK and other distribution companies without fully reading and understanding the agreement(s). Plus conditions change at times and as you say without any power to negotiate them. Love also your language and the manner of explanation, for a non- native speaker it helps as well.
HERE IS A LINK TO THE DISTROKID HIGHLIGHTED DOCUMENT: www.topmusicattorney.com/dspterms
🟡Ready to become your own record label? Get started now!:
www.topmusicattorney.com/becomeyourownrecordlabel
💻 #1 Resource For Artists And Producers: www.topmusicattorney.com
⚖ Hire An Attorney: www.delgadoentertainmentlaw.com
📰 Get My Newsletter: www.topmusicattorney.com/newsletter/
📄 8 Essential Music Contracts Bundle: www.topmusicattorney.com/contractsbundle
🎧 Listen To The TMA Podcast On All Streaming: www.topmusicattorney.com/podcast
🟢 Free Stuff: www.topmusicattorney.com/free-stuff
You should review the Terms of Service for Session Studio, which is a new platform for songwriting and royalties.
I'm curious about how good amuse is
@@RichardMasonOfficial that's mostly a collab app/an easy way to keep your files/lyrics in one place. I'm currently writing an anti-Zionist song using it and they haven't given me a hassle with any of it so I don't think they track what you do and seems generally ok.
@@cloudbloodmusic I was referring to the aspects of the service regarding how it allows songwriters to do song splits, licensing, royalties and credits. Tunecore and other distributors are joining it. I read some of the Terms of Service and found some really shady stuff in there. Getting her thoughts from a legal perspective will be helpful.
What you recommend?
It's an incredible service you're providing here by stepping through these agreements - as you pointed out: "the only music industry contracts you can't negotiate".
🙏
yup, that happened to us, 50+ albums removed overnight, no heads up, no warning, no email, nothing, gone overnight, claiming "fraud" on our part, whatever that means right, or that some stores do not want to distribute our music. Of course, I uploaded the music to a new service and no store issues. I wish I would have found your channel 8 years ago, never saw any back royalties owed to us. Just awful company. Thank you SO much for what you are offering to the artist community! 🙏 you have some good harvest karma coming your way!🔥
I'm so sorry to hear this; please feel free to reach out to our office - admin@degladoentertainmentlaw.com.
And which service did you move to, exactly..? (Cause that would be useful information to pretty much everyone here)
Thanks for going through it for all of us, very insightful! It would be cool to see a comparison between the different distributor's contracts so us artists could make more informed choices about which one to choose...
More to come! Thanks for being here 🙏
Yes please to this
I’ve tried CD Baby and now Distro Kid. DK seems a little easier to manage. I paid a lifetime fee to be able to manage my own IRSC codes. Also signed up with BMI for years…looks like the6 are going down?
As a full time musician/teacher who briefly considered law school (my Dad was a judge for about 25 years) I must say, I love your videos. This is all good and VERY important information that most people don't care enough about. Musicians are notoriously bad at keeping their money, and making sure their business is legally sound. Most don't even look at it as a business, most want to become a part of someone ELSE'S business (getting signed.) And they take like 10% sometimes even less. So on behalf of all the musicians I know, THANK YOU!
That's so nice! I'm really grateful for the amazing of community of people who are dedicated to their music careers and learning. Glad you can be here
This kinda click bait, you had me scared for a second, but after watching I was like oh this is all pretty standard stuff but overall Im glad I watched! All good information, and its nice to know you've got artists back and that there is a YT page dedicated to us! Def Subscribing and looking out for more!
Appreciate you joining the fam and being here! 🙌
except that they commonly cancel people without notice or reason. Lots and lots of people.
@@TopMusicAttorney No, we greatly appreciate you! I use artificial intelligence to create my own music. Just watched the lawsuit video against Suno (which I use). but I use it to create the instrumental songs/ soundtracks, then I take the stems I have from each song I created using suno ai and then I input them into my recording software, tweak it, edit it, and turn it into my very own music. I therefore, did not go against any such copyrights, nor did I steal anything from anyone. Therefore, I have my own music.
Right?
The Record Labels, and Record Companies are just jealous trash lol . I'm also a professional stagehand as well. I have seen and learned some things from working backstage. The politics that arise from backstage are absolute trash. LOL
@@BLACKF1R3OFFICIAL you essentially remixed or maybe reworked AI's tune. it's still art but imho not as much as if you work some midi of your own, just practice it :)
I've got like 40 songs on Distrokid. This video has me backing up my ISRCs, No idea why I didn't think to do this already..
Me too
I have been uploading so many songs lately on distrokid, so I need to do the same
What is ISRC?
3:44 @@9ethergangdretti369
@@9ethergangdretti369 its a code that tracks your song across multiple stores, more or less. Think of it like a unique ID.
So glad this channel exists. I'm not distributing yet, but that day is coming soon so this stuff is seriously well-timed.
Glad you can be a part of the fam! 🙌 Be sure to check in and let me know once you have your music in distribution, and lmk how things are going!
@@TopMusicAttorney I absolutely will, figure I got 6 more to round out an album then it's on.
You may already have done this, but a step by step video on 'How to not get f*cked' when releasing your art would be great. At least the 'essentials' as you see them, maybe?
So many people (and i was almost one of them before i saw a lot of your videos) finish their music and just sign up to Distrokid or similar because "that's what everyone says to do". But then there are so many other factors and conflicting advice (are you signed up to performing rights, this royalty management agency or that artist registration agency, etc, etc, etc...). It's all so opaque and impossible to understand unless you have the time to become a lawyer yourself, but i've spent a hell of a long time improving my skills as a musician, i don't have enough time left in my life to become an expert on the legalities too. Thank you so much for helping guide us, but yeah, a step by step of some kind would be really helpful! Thank you!
Make it free and post it everywhere it cannot be taken down. The people who like and resonate with it will find you by a different means. Art is a spiritual channel and not a product. So does not need to advertised or treated as such. Because it's a calling above the system that only looks to feed upon the artists to generate revenue that if they can will not share with you the creator. And will demonize anyone who speaks upon the evil practices necessary for 'their' business to exist.
@@holdenhurdle8831 While I wholly agree with the sentiment, the fundamental issue is that people like doing what they love for a living. You cannot do that by making it free and not advertising it. While yeah, art isn't a product, I like to eat food and have a roof over my head. I also love making music more than anything else. Getting to provide for myself WITH music seems great. Capitalism inherently disallows this.
@@holdenhurdle8831 that’s a nice thought, but my (and probably a lot of people’s here) dream is to make a living off music, and that means not giving everything for free. Artists should be paid for their work, whenever possible, and that is tragically limited as it is. We deserve to feed ourselves for producing something of value like everyone else. Both aside from that, and in service of trying to become stabilised in our genres for that goal, it would be bizarre to not put it on popular platforms such as Spotify and in my case beatport and so on. I respect a positive attitude but this is not very realistic for those who want to make art all day and have enough money to live.
haha love this, thank you for the suggestion. Glad you can be here. I'm live here every Wednesday at 5pm PST if you want to come say hi!
we never signed off the June 2021 t.o.s update. suddenly they wanted hundreds of dollars. we cancelled everything instantly. it was an old catalogue anyway, a singer songwriter no longer active -
Distrokid, for years, insisted that I’d never had a sale or radio play. I was there when people bought digital albums, & I had a bunch of radio play on a radio show that I hosted.
But nope, not a single sale, not a single radio play, according to them.
I told them to take down my music, they asked why, I said “because you’re a scam artist”, & their response was essentially ‘yep, that’s fair’ & they refunded the last payment they’d taken & took my stuff down
dk took our 350+ dollars streaming money out of our bank-that was for two years worth of streams-they did not send us an e-mail to tell us.they also greyed out two thirds of our music on spotify etc - dk said it was spotify and spotify said it was dk -welcome to the music business - lol
This video is super clutch, and I'm deeply appreciative to you for making it, as I'm a broke-ass artist looking to begin distributing tunes that are just chillin' on my hard drive.
you're rich! start saying it and you'll feel that power . you're not broke
@@chesspeese3050 yeah, that's not how it works. The landlord doesn't accept confidence or wishful thinking in lieu of rent
Thanks Peter! Glad you can be here. I'm live here every Wednesday at 5pm PST if you want to come say hi!
What’s the best platform to use?
So if you don't recommend DistroKid, TuneCore, or Symphonic what do you recommend?
@@TopMusicAttorney Would be cool to see a comparison with their Terms of Service and why they are good.
@@operationbasscrime She's likely a shill. Going on their website, Priam seems even less transparent. Is their Terms of Service / Contract as upfront on their site? Nope. Their CEO is based in Albania but they pretend to be U.S. California based. Yet the default currency is Euros on their site. They say they only have 2-10 employees. Distrokid has at least 50-200. So who has more risk for being a shady company? So good luck sueing them if something really goes wrong with your music.
@@TopMusicAttorney Why are Priam Digital Good?
Do y’all know how often the payouts in the “We Owe You” section update? I get that royalties take 2-3 months to come in but recently around a week ago I was checking my payouts daily and it was going up for three days in a row and then it stopped which doesn’t make sense since I’ve been getting consistent streams ever since. I guess my question is do they update the payouts weekly/monthly?
It takes between 2-3 months I know it sucks for me too but is just a patient game but they actually pay
distrokid claims that i've been acting “suspiciously” (i think due to my music becoming popular) and because of this i can't get my revenue from songs i made. i wish that distributors allowed artists to get money directed to their accounts instead of to the distributors first…
I ❤ the work that you do! You're channel is a vital source for indie music-makers. I love the way your mind works. 🎶🎵 🙏
I like what you do for the songwriter/performer explaning details.
Appreciate you being here and being part of the fam! 🙏
Which is more useful in 2024 and so on... UA-cam Artiste page or choose a distribution company of your choice?
Very kind of you to walk us through this contract. I appreciate the detailed depth of information you have given.
One thing about cover songs and DK. It was indicated to me by them that even though I had a license from Easy Song for the cover song my project released, I still have to pay the $12 yearly fee for them to distribute that song. The reason seemed to be because they themselves did not wish to go through the trouble of verifying every cover song license from every one of the artists using their platform.
I'm glad UA-cam suggested this video to me, it was very informative. My question is: How do we Cut Out the Middle Men and go directly to the DSPs???
We can't, so the solution is to go directly to CONSUMERS! Sell your music on your own website, and cut out the middle men! Glad you can be here. I'm live here every Wednesday at 5pm PST if you want to come say hi!
I thought independent music makers could submit tracks to eg Spotify, Tidal, Apple, etc. as long as its properly mastered. It's just a bit tedious and that's why DK exists. Is that false?
I thought independent music makers could submit tracks to eg Spotify, Tidal, Apple, etc. as long as its properly mastered. It's just a bit tedious and that's why DK exists. Is that false?
Question : So if distrokid and tunecore aren't good, which one do you suggest?
I used to use Distrikid. I now use Amuse. Also there is CD Baby, and Soundcloud has distribution now as well. Not saying any are better than the others though.
@@SenatorJaiz I was thinking of switching to amuse, is it good?
@@SenatorJaizhow do you get SoundCloud to pay out?
Find the time to do it yourself or pay a trusted friend who isn’t doing anything or much to distribute yourself… it’s literally the only way you’ll be safe 🙌
@@LocusFelix if self distribution was a possibility more people would do it. So are you telling people to start a record label?
Amazing Amazing Amazing work, thank you so much for taking the time to put all this together! So much information gets concealed from front end use on a regular basis, it's so great to have someone awesome like you sitting down and going through actual documents, and paying attention to definitions etc, instead of just going off opinions and vibes. You're a diamond! Huge thanks, -becky
I signed up knowing I would lose money, just wanted to get my music on more convenient platforms.
Also could I use my LLC through DistroKid to open up a bank account like navy Federal and receive funding in this field? Just curious
22:52 this is exactly what I need help with
if nobody told you......YOUR AWESOME HELPING PEOPLE......
I just put my main band's first album out via DistroKid, I'm watching this and saving the video in case any problems arise due to their TOS and/or contracts. All of the nonsense going on with streaming lately is a perfect example of why and how physical copies of albums and movies will always be relevant and necessary for making any lasting impact, creatively speaking.
I've started to make my own website to promote my music and mechanise etc so if they go and do something I don't like I can just sell it directly from the website as that's all I will be promoting going forward and I can also monitor every vist and where they are watching from also its the way forward
Save for later indeed! Glad you can be here. I'm live here every Wednesday at 5pm PST if you want to come say hi!
@@TopMusicAttorney I’m also considering going back to college to study either pre-law or engineering. If I go the law school route I’m planning to focus on civil rights issues (specifically guarding against violations of the Bill of Rights). Your channel is helpful because it applies law concepts to something that I understand.
Most people don't realise that a contract is a legal document that is agreed upon... why are we signing contracts that we can not add amendments to before signing...
A contract is meant to serve both parties...
It's not a contract. Just because these corporations have managed to use their money and power to get precedent for a time does not make a digital checkmark become a contract. It's just who can afford the better attorney
Thank you for pointing out the importance of the IRC #. I was worried about losing all the views and plays if I take it down and move distributors. Thanks so much!
You got it! Glad you can be here. I'm live here every Wednesday at 5pm PST if you want to come say hi!
Cut to the chase. What distribution service should we use?
100 thousand views and not one person even the creator of the video can tell me wich service is a good alternative ??😭
As always my bro... a record label
I been doing this for years EVERY1 AROUND THE WORLD is fooled by this fake computer industry... its still about the labels and yes u must pay them 1st and have everything ready for them... i deal with relaps records... what kind of mudic u do... theyr more like grindcore deathmetal punk hardcore...
I do other projects with people too but with tjose genres relapse rec. Is my people :)
Iv played with Deicide sufgocation canibal corps all the big guys... not showing off, trying to help
1 love
Let me know if u do any of them genres
Cd baby is cool it’s a one time payment and they don’t take your music off if you don’t pay them unlike distrokid
Band camp...maybe?
united masters
Bandcamp or CDBaby, or sell CDs yourself and keep every penny of profit
I recently graduated from Harvard Law. I will soon be uploading a video about how unbelievable shady this “company”’s practices are. As a fellow lawyer and musician, thank you so much for this video.
please help protect us artists 🙏🏽
did you upload it yet ?
Thank you, COMPOSERONCRACK.
waitin on that 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼💖
exploring safer, longer-term options.
Well put Krystle! I’ve been trying to tell my affiliates, artists and co-writers the same thing for over a decade. It is a whole new landscape with streaming and digital distribution. IP, copywriting and royalty structure have completely changed and quite frankly I’m burnt out on the music industry. I will continue to develop artists because I love music and enjoy working with musicians but the money making days are over unless you get into licensing and rep yourself.
Are you taking on new musicians?
@@CommentbycommenterI am still taking on new musicians. Most of what I invest my time in these days are pet projects or artists whom I truly love their music. I recently just finished producing an EP for an artist and am developing/mentoring another. However, most of my focus these days is cowriting/producing one offs to license for film/tv. I have worked more in the film industry for the past decade than the music industry but I’ve been with ASCAP for over 20 years. Please feel free to contact me through my channel.
@@Commentbycommenter I am still taking on new musicians. Most of what I dedicate my time to these days are either pet projects or artists whom I personally love their music. I have personally sought out most of the artists I’ve worked with lately however I have been approached by a few. If I have the time, we have goals that align and the project feels right I’m open. I’ve recently just finished producing one artist and am currently developing/mentoring another. My main focus these days has been co-writing/producing one offs to license for film/tv. I’ve worked more in the film industry these days than the music industry, though I’ve been with ASCAP for over 20 years. Feel free to contact me through my channel.
@@Commentbycommenter I am still taking on new musicians. Most of what I dedicate my time to these days are either pet projects or artists whom I personally love their music. I have personally sought out most of the artists I’ve worked with lately however I have been approached by a few. If I have the time, we have goals that align and the project feels right I’m open. I’ve recently just finished producing one artist and am currently developing/mentoring another. My main focus these days has been co-writing/producing one offs to license for film/tv. I’ve worked more in the film industry these days than the music industry, though I’ve been with ASCAP for over 20 years. Feel free to contact me through my channel.
@@Commentbycommenter I am still taking on new musicians. Most of what I dedicate my time to these days are either pet projects or artists whom I personally love their music. I have personally sought out most of the artists I’ve worked with lately however I have been approached by a few. If I have the time, we have goals that align and the project feels right I’m open. I’ve recently just finished producing one artist and am currently developing/mentoring another. My main focus these days has been co-writing/producing one offs to license for film/tv. I’ve worked more in the film industry these days than the music industry, though I’ve been with ASCAP for over 20 years. Feel free to contact me through my channel.
Thank you so much for going over this 👍🏾💯💯💯
Here to help 🙏
I’m not sure on what I need for my music who I should have I’m only a young adult and I’m so very new to this all of there is any advice I can get that would be greatly appreciated
Hey thanks for reaching out; please email my assistant and she can help direct you. Hun@DelgadoEntertainmentLaw.com
Thank you lovely top music attorney for your video. Very educational,and I appreciate you point aspects of the agreements out to artists who sometimes forget or haven't read it all.
Hello please can you do a video about Ditto music
Really interesting information! I’m a musician, DJ, starving artist myself and I’m so glad I ran into your video, I have so many questions and I’ll look to see if any of them are answered, wow thank you so much because this really opens one’s eyes to what you sign and don’t know.
I'm live here every Wednesday at 5pm PST if you want to come say hi and ask your questions!
@@TopMusicAttorney I will definitely work on catching a live, I’m in Eastern time zone and today I have a gig. Looking forward to understanding more, thank you for the videos!
Do you have a link to Ditto Music TOS
Thank you for this! I'm a lawyer and an artist too! Livin' the dream! ❤
This is great information, not only about Distro Kid but other legal issues that should be addressed, so thank you for sharing! Looking forward to seeing more videos from your channel! ❤
finally i found someone talking about music distribution without posting that 7% discount link
23:59 wow had no idea .. kinda used to wonder about this
Love the knowledge you drop 💯💪🏼
Appreciate you being part of the fam! 🙏
Can you please do One also for Ditto music i know people who’ve had problems with it im still with Ditto music contract expiring in October I’ve had minor problems in terms of delaying my music twice so have doubts about resigning with them again
Very grateful for you taking the time to explain this. Thank you Subbed
Awe, I appreciate the kind words! Glad you can be here. I'm live here every Wednesday at 5pm PST if you want to come say hi!
Question: for a while now I’ve been uploading videos to UA-cam of me doing live improv on a modular synth. Over the last couple of months my channel has taken off, and I’ve started earning a bit of cash via UA-cam (I’m not signed up to a distributor or anything like that). A couple of days ago someone lifted the audio from one of my tracks, stuck a scream sample over the top, and released it as the opening track on their new album. Distrokid has laid claim to my video, sending my YT income to this “artist” instead of me. I’ve filed a dmca against the track (only thing I can do really). What’s the best approach to preventing this happening in the future?
As a kind of follow on from that, sometimes I record entire live sets, which can be an hour or more. I want those sets to be available on YT without any ads in the middle, but as I understand it, a distributor would force ads into my YT videos if I was to upload them to a distributor?
I don’t suppose you’d have any advice for someone who is totally new to all of this stuff? (I’m probably going to be watching a lot of your videos today, if you have any videos you think I should check out first, that would be amazing!)
Thanks! (Great video by the way!)
Just listening to this specific video our situation is literally alike and I needed that now I no what to do 😮💨🙏🏽
what should i drop music with
Overwhlmed but thankful ❤
We're in this, together!
Found it extremely helpful & glad I didn't make any crazy decisions with my music.
Appreciate you being here 🙏
I cancelled my Distrokid in December. They still took my money for another year! I had to contact them to claim that back. They did eventually refund me. However! My music is still up on streaming services etc. So surely still earning royalties? So are they saying they will contact me and still pay? I removed my music in part, because I didn't agree with the new Spotify 1000 plays or less no longer receiving payment. Also they kept messing up my music with another artist of the same name.
In short should I contact them again and ask if there is any monies left owing?
@@NishaKumari-fl8tz Not a chance. I'm not going to India when you decide not to pay.
Thanks for your work.
23:57 I love this bit of info! Knowing that capitalization means defined terms and lower case is all subjective is something to be looking out for!
Thankfully you popped up into my feed - insightful and helpful. Subbed.
Glad you can be here, Mike! I'm live here every Wednesday at 5pm PST if you want to come say hi!
can you do a video on sound-on distribution
Awesome video. One question, what happens if we don’t sign it? It’s from 2021, it’s there, but they didn’t ask me to sign it yet.
Thanks!
I have been with distrokid and I am very.. very new and idk wether to be worried or not can someone tell me if I should be!!
@@eldenkluin if this is the question you have after a 30minute video explaining this, i don't think any amount of paragraphs Will help
@ I commented this at the start of the video..
Thanks for the info. What I got from your vid is that as long as I don’t do something illegal myself I should be ok. But I don’t love the false claim thing, where someone can screw me wo them checking into it first.
As a regular person not privy to legal jargon….how so we sift through it all so its understandable and palatable without the help of paying a lawyer?
You should start your own artist-run platform. I would switch if the deal was fair, which it would probably be.
On your point regarding covers, you don't need ANY license at all if your songs are only on streaming platforms. That mechanical license is for downloads. Spotify and other streaming platforms already pay the necessary license fees, so Distrokid's model is outrageous. I think RouteNote allows you to only distribute to streaming platforms so you don't pay a fee, but most don't allow this and just charge for the license regardless.
What about Symphonic? I’ve heard good things about them!
It's their business and their agreement, so they should be able to terminate it at any time but forfeiting future royalties when doing so wouldn't be right.
One bad experience does not mean every distributor is doing the same.....Most important , I have seen artists having problems with their distributors but that is the case with only those artists who don't know how to operate the dashboard properly or they are technically weak. I never had any issues with distrokid and tunecore. Used both services they are great. Also, sometimes you get a reply late, but that doesn't means they are fraud or a scam. They are taking care of lakhs of artists and handling their catalogue. So , it is really hard for a team of 50-100 people to care of thousands of artists. These are big companies. They need time to rectify and clarify all the issues and matter. So relax.....guys. it is all subjective in the end.
i wish that were true.but ?
Question: iHeartRadio made a music channel for my (our) music but I never received any money except for... idk... all I know is I never got paid. However, Tidal, Pandora and everyone picked up every song on my album.
Is there a way to show they owe us royalties?
I would LOVE to see a video like this going over the ToS for Ditto, Landr, or especially Too Lost as well (if you haven't already ofc). Def subscribing immediately and checking out all your other videos!! Thank you for doing this so we understand what we're signing! This is exactly what smaller artists need!!
I hate that when you stop paying, your music will be deleted.
You should always have a backup somewhere else.
You should always have a backup somewhere else anyway.
You can pay a fee to leave it up forever
I didn’t pay for 3 years and still my music wasn’t deleted. I think it’s a hustle for the to delete from aaaaaaaaaalllll the platforms.
@@VogelKlein nahh i didny pay last november they took all my music down
Much respect for this.
I have one thing to say about the small commercial at 16 minutes. When you say Top Music Attorney... don't say Tommy needs a new flurry 🤣. Articulate that just as well as the rest you did please. You are a big help and I really love watching your vids, but that moment I had to rewind to really know what you were saying. Keep it up and thank you for everything!
That was Amazing! Thank You!
I subscribed immediately because I’ve been with Distrokid for 4 years and them only and I’ve generated over a millions of streams which I’m pretty sure I’m not lost out on millions of dollars but I am interested in how I can find out how these numbers are actually generated and how royalties and payments are legally distributed!?
Hey could you do the-source b.v.
This is helpful! Does it make sense to pursue an organized lobby for change? If clients and lawyers came together with a clear call to action and a value statement that is quantifiable in measurement of what they stand to lose and gain distrokid could evaluate if making those changes would be feasible and asses their risks and benefits to making the change. If they know the size of the impact they can do the math and either get leadership on board or at least get them to consider how large the problem is.
Thx, this was very insightful. Would you disect routenote tos someday maybe?
❤ Thank you so much for your great video🎉🎉🎉
Thank you so much. You really explained everything so clearly.
Glad you found it helpful!
LOVE THIS CHANNEL , JUST DISCOVERED🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
You freaked me out for a second when at 22:08 when you said, "Hey John, this is what you made during this month..." lol Thank you for this video tho, I am going independent and have been thinking Distrokid was probably my best bet. Now I know what I need to be aware of going into it! Thank you!!
hahaha lol
It’s okay man. Distrokid is awesome. And the support is amazing I can tell you for sure in my personal view so far using distrokid. It has been great! Don’t get scared man. Just do your stuff and if for whatever reason something comes up which for me nothing hasn’t happened and it’s going super great for me. But if something comes of course reach out to the support or seek lawyer help
Ahh hell nah!. I'm going to have to watch this.
How long have you been a music attorney ?
10 years!
Real facts. Thats why I distribute my own music 100%
What platform you recomend
Really good look at the issues in signing with Distrokid as well as other contractual distribution com panies. I would like to know if you have any "How to and Why To" videos about starting ones own music publishing company. I am very concerned here. Thanks much!
Thanks for the video, very informative, love your hair by the way. ❤
🙏
This was really informative, but have you done one on (or can you) for Soundrop?
Several platforms pay royalties to "record companies" based on how much plays that record companies have spread over all their artists. This means that the big artists bring in more money for that record company than the small ones. If Distrokid has a deal like this with the platform, it means that Distrokid will be distributing the money according to the rules they have in their terms and conditions and maybe not by number of plays or something alike.
Do Priam next.
Yes
I used to use ditro and I didn’t renew it , I don’t know if I should switch too next pro or use distro again , what you out recommend?
When it comes down to someone claiming you stole their music. That can be easily protected and disputed. And here's how. When you make your tracks. Always Keep your tracks up dated. From beginning to end. And if the claimers produced track date. Is after your produced track date. Well who stole whose music. This is why the produced track date is always important. You can also protect yourself with your own added track ID number and date. Then email this information back to yourself. Began date and product completion date. So once again you now have your track produce date. And the two most important things not to do before doing this is. One. Not to share this information with any one. And two. Make sure not to put your tracks out there before doing this first.
Thanks for this
Thank you for this. I'm going to reach out and hopefully hire you for your services. Yes, I documented everything.
Question: have you covered CD Baby’s terms of service?
Not yet, should I do that one next?
@@TopMusicAttorney . I've been looking at going with CD Baby for distribution mainly because they are local to me. Less than a 15 min drive from my house.
@TopMusicAttorney yes! I have a single that I think may actually REALLY go somewhere. I don't know who to go through.
@@nadimwood1175who did you go with?
I heartily appreciate you providing this content.
I heartily appreciate you! Glad you can be here. I'm live here every Wednesday at 5pm PST if you want to come say hi!
Is there a video on United masters ?
How do we setup our own website to directly distribute our music?
Thank you for the video! 🙏 Is the contract the same in 2024? It would be great if you later keep people updated :). So helpful to have a music attorney opinion on that. Such fine print can be daunting and overwhelming to process. Most people probably sign up with DK and other distribution companies without fully reading and understanding the agreement(s). Plus conditions change at times and as you say without any power to negotiate them.
Love also your language and the manner of explanation, for a non- native speaker it helps as well.
Great insights. Any examples of successfully winning against nonsense claims?