Platforms to upload music as an artist
If you have come this far, it is possible that you are an artist and you are interested in sharing your songs to earn money. So stick around because what we are about to tell you about music uploading platforms is sure to be of great interest to you.
You probably already know that the rules of the music industry have changed. With this case you will see it right away. In the early 1960s, Please Please Me, the first album by the famous British band The Beatles, was released. But did you know that it wasn’t them who released their albums? They actually reached the masses thanks to their recording company. And that’s how the music business used to work, you needed a record label to distribute your own songs.
With time, digitization and access to technology, the music business has changed completely. Nowadays, if you are an artist and you want to share your songs, you can do so through many platforms to upload your own music. We tell you which are the best ones!
Why use platforms to upload music?
Uploading music to digital platforms can have many advantages for artists. The most important ones are:
1. Control
You will be the one distributing the music yourself, so you can choose the niche you really want to target. For example, if you have made a pop song and you would love it to become the hit of the summer, uploading it to worldwide platforms would be a good idea. If, on the other hand, you are an independent musician and are much more attracted to smaller environments, you will also find a specialized platform for that.
2. Creative freedom
This is one of the main reasons why artists want to distribute their work. It is true that musicians have always had creative freedom, but there are certain moments in the process where more professionals come in to give their opinion and create the final product. For example, the choice of the first single to be released, the order of the songs on the album, the album cover, and so on. If you choose to distribute your own music on specialized platforms you will be the one who decides all this.
3. Remuneration
As it is logical, the recording companies keep a percentage of the benefits according to each contract and conditions. Something that also disappears in the new business model. Since you will be in charge of uploading music to digital platforms, the benefits will also be for you, without percentages for the distributor. What you will need to know are the conditions of the monetization programs of these platforms. We will tell you about them below.
Before moving on to the next point, if you are still in the composition phase, we recommend you to read this article in which we reveal all the steps to compose a song.
The 5 best platforms to upload music
There are multiple options to choose from and each one has its own conditions and monetization program for artists, so we have decided to make a list of the most used ones so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.
Of course, before uploading your music to the Internet, we recommend you to register all your works. By the mere fact of being the creator of a work you own the copyright, however, registering a song will allow you to obtain a proof of authorship with the date on which you had access to the work.
That said, here is our selection of the best platforms for uploading music:
Spotify
It is a music, podcast and digital video streaming service with a very interesting remuneration system for artists. Although it is not one of the platforms that pays the most, it is the one that could offer you the greatest reach, since it has more than 190 million active users per month. Its remuneration plan may vary, but it is estimated that for approximately 330,000 monthly reproductions, the artist would receive around 1,400 dollars.
SoundCloud
It is one of the open audio platforms widely used by independent musicians. It is a music streaming service. And the main difference with respect to other social networks is that it offers the possibility of uploading songs and albums without the need for external distributors. So it is ideal for those musicians who want to disseminate their works or who want to share any sound file. Since 2018, with SoundCloud Premier Monetization artists with more than 5,000 plays on a single can start monetizing their profile.
Deezer
It is a French streaming music app with millions of audio content. It was born a year after Spotify and its functions are similar. It has a free version with ads and a Premium version without ads and with more features. It has approximately 16 million users and is available in 16 languages. According to the latest data, the monetization program for artists is also similar to Spotify‘s, although Deezer’s remuneration is slightly higher.
Google Play Music
In 2011 Google decided to bet on music and incorporate Google Play Music, a cloud-based music storage and synchronization platform, into its line of services. It is estimated to have approximately 10 million users. However, the monetization system offered to artists is very attractive. It is estimated that for every 215,000 reproductions of a single, it is possible to charge almost 1,500 dollars.
YouTube
Contrary to what one might think, YouTube is one of the least profitable platforms in terms of remuneration. To earn about 1,500 dollars a month it is necessary to get more than 2 million views per month. A very high figure especially if you are starting out as a musician. However, it is one of the biggest video search engines, so even if it is not your main platform for earning, it will always help you to position yourself and gain visibility.
These are the 5 most used specialized social networks in the industry. However, in addition to uploading music to digital platforms, you can also make your work known through our Creators page. A platform designed for any creator with a professional account to publish their previously registered works. This way, they will appear in the gallery and you will reach more people. In addition, as a creator, you will also be able to evaluate the possible licenses that will be included progressively.
