The number of distribution companies that offer this service is enormous and we will look closely to only three of them: CD Baby, Spinnup and Awal.
CD BABY is not only a digital aggregator but also an online music store specializing in the sale of CDs, vinyl records and music downloads. This platform might be good for those who would also like to sell music in physical format. CD Baby (2016) claims that ‘they have grown to become a global leader in independent music distribution … paid out over $250 million to their artists… [and have more than] 300.000 artists who sell their music on CDBaby.com’. They do not charge annual fee but they charge upfront fee and take 9% revenue of the distributed music. What differentiates them from other aggregators is that they can also track, collect and distribute royalties on behalf of musicians who are not signed to a record label or a publisher.
Spinnup on the other hand, is building its popularity by introducing a model of talent scouts from Universal Music who are searching for the best unsigned and undiscovered artists through their platform. Spinnup (2016) claims that ‘If an artist is “scouted” they can expect the scout to do everything
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Unlike CD Baby and Spinnup they do not charge upfront fee neither yearly fee but they do take 15% revenue. Their special feature is that they submit all releases to the BPI’s Anti-Piracy unit where they scan illegal download sites and issue takedowns. AWAL (2016) says that ‘this service helps minimize piracy while steering fans towards legitimate digital service providers where [artist’s] music can be purchased and streamed.’ Another useful feature is that they market your music. AWAL (2016) claims that ‘[they] consistently achieve great results for AWAL members including store promotions, editorial coverage, and playlist placement with key revenue-driving digital music