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How To Publish Your Music in 6 Easy Steps!

Copyrighting and licensing your music

At Disc Makers, it is our firm belief that all independent musicians looking to release their music to the world need a game plan to get started. The technical term for releasing music for public sale, use, and distribution is “publishing.” Even if you are only printing up CDs at home and selling them at gigs, you are in fact a publisher! Knowing how to publish your own music isn't a skill people are born with, so it's helpful to gather information and be educated about the process. Here are sixe easy steps you can take that will inform you about how to publish your music.

Prepare your music for release

The first step in releasing your own music is having music to release! Take your time and make your music the best it can be. Nothing will sell your music better than meticulous attention to detail and honing your craft. You don't have to break the bank to make a quality recording; there are plenty of excellent low-cost microphones and home recording software options available. Billie Eilish and Finneas still record at home after multiple Grammy wins. In learning how to publish your music, you'll also want to educate yourself about how to create it.

Please note though that while Billie and Finneas record at home, they also have their music professionally mixed and mastered in high-end recording studios. If you have limited funds, allocate a good portion of your budget towards audio mastering, as this will help your recording stand out from the millions of other songs out there. A pro engineer also has expertise in mixing and tools such as compressors that most home recordists wouldn't have. If funds are truly limited, there are online mastering tools and remote mastering houses that offer these services for a lower cost.

Register your music and secure your rights

The next step in how to publish your music is to register your compositions with the Library of Congress at copyright.gov. This is crucial to ensure legal ownership of your copyright. Read the instructions carefully; generally, for musicians releasing music, you'll copyright the sound recording. All the forms can be filled out online.

Register with a performing rights organization (PRO)

Performing rights organizations (PROs) collect royalties for public performances of music. To ensure you get paid when your music is played on the radio, streaming platforms, in live venues, and if used in a movie or a TV show, you must be registered with one of the PROs. ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC are the main ones. Anyone can sign up with ASCAP or BMI, but SESAC has an application process. It also makes sense as an independent artist to form an actual publishing company and affiliate it with your PRO to collect publisher's royalties on your songs, as well as writers' royalties.

Get your ISRC and ISWC codes

In the process of figuring out how to publish your music, you'll need ISRC and ISWC codes. ISRCs are 12-digit unique identifiers assigned to each song you release; you can usually get them for free from your manufacturer and/or distributor. ISWCs are for identifying the underlying composition and will be assigned to multiple versions of the same song; these are used by distributors, streaming services, and the PROs to track compositions for writers' royalties. You can get those from the ISWC International Agency and in the United States from ASCAP (you don't have to be an ASCAP member).

Choose a distribution platform

Digital distribution platforms

After you have registered your music, you'll need to select a digital distributor. For most artists, the digital distributor is your primary method of delivery. Digital distribution companies like CD Baby, TuneCore, and Distrokid will submit your music to the major streaming services and digital stores. Shop around to find a platform that suits your needs in terms of price, features, and ease of use.

Physical distribution (CDs and vinyl)

If you can afford to make physical products, you'll need to select a manufacturer. Disc Makers has everything you need to make vinyl records, CDs, and the accompanying packaging. The Design Studio can even help you create artwork if needed. Short-run services are available if you don't need many units. We will not get your physical product into stores, however; your best bet at first is to just go into local record stores and see if they will carry your album on consignment. When you're a larger act or label selling a significant amount of units, you'll be able to work with an actual distribution company like The Orchard.

Selling directly to fans

For most artists, your best source of revenue starting out will be selling directly to your fans. Bandcamp facilitates this very well with many customizable options to sell physical products and digital downloads. Having physical products to sell at live shows is a great way to start building fan relationships, and if your live show is solid, it can be a strong source of revenue.

Promote your music to reach a wider audience

Now that you have music to sell, it's time to begin the marketing process. The first step is to create and maintain your website and social media pages. This has a twofold purpose: to inform your fans of your gigs, latest happenings, and merch/recordings for sale, and to start a two-way conversation where your followers feel included in your music community. Being parasocial is for the birds (and the very famous)! Build fan relationships by genuinely engaging with them, and your following will increase along with your revenue.

Other street-level options for promotion include making sure your artist profiles on the streaming services are up to date. Spotify now allows you to include links to your merch store on your Spotify profile. Paid social media advertising is another method of trying to spread awareness of your music; depending on your budget, this can have some success in attracting new followers.

Track your sales and revenue

If you want to know how to publish your own music, you'll need to keep track of how your efforts are working by the sales and revenue data that's available to you. Most distribution platforms will have artist dashboards where you can track sales for both digital and physical formats, and the streaming services have the same setup to be able to track number of streams, location, and other data.

Register with Luminate

Luminate, formerly known as SoundScan, is an analytics platform which tracks entertainment data, the most pertinent being trackable sales of physical products, digital downloads, and streaming. As an artist, you'll need to register your ISRC codes with Luminate for them to track your music, and if you have a physical album, you'll need to register your UPC/EAN code as well. The retailers and streaming services will report all sales and streaming numbers. Unless you are an authorized retailer, you can't report sales to Luminate directly.

Track royalties with PROs

The PROs send out quarterly statements and royalty checks from the public performance of your songs. Double check your statements and ask them any questions you might have; they can (and do) make occasional mistakes. Especially if you are receiving publishing royalties as well as songwriter royalties, make sure that these are being calculated accurately.

Build a community and engage with your fans

Host live shows and engage at events

Performing live both in-person and online should be a major portion of your fan engagement and promotional strategy. Not only is this going to be your strongest source of revenue at the beginning, but it also is the best way to connect with your audience. People will buy your music just because they like you! Direct one-on-one performance is the best way for them to discover that. Seek out in-person venues where you can perform and people will listen. Figure out when your audience is going to be online and broadcast on a platform like Twitch, StageIt, or Instagram.

Create fan-exclusive content

Everybody likes to feel special! By creating fan-exclusive content available on your website or a platform like Patreon, you'll make your audience feel important, as they alone will have access to bonus tracks, early releases, limited-edition merch, and behind-the-scenes content.

Ready to publish? Get started with Disc Makers!

Understanding how to publish your music is a process which begins with its creation. After the music is recorded, mixed, mastered, and made into physical products or a digital file, then you need to make sure it is registered with all the appropriate organizations and assigned ISRCs and ISWCs. Once this is complete, you're ready to start selling and marketing it, keeping track of data to help you chart your progress. The important relationship in the process is your relationship with your fans and followers; make sure they feel a “part of” and involved and you will reap the rewards.

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