Knowledge Center

What is Music Distribution?

Music distribution refers to the process of making music available to listeners through various channels such as streaming platforms, digital downloads, physical media (like CDs and vinyl records)

What is a digital distributor?

Before the age of the internet, an artist needed labels in order to release music. Now with the growth of streaming platforms, everyone including labels have to go through a digital distributor or aggregator. They are the middle people who help deliver your tracks to all platforms like Spotify, Apple etc. MGMH Groove is a digital distributor for independent artists.

Moving your entire back catalogue:

We here at Groove are offering free back catalogue transfers for a limited time. So if you have a lot of songs or albums released with another distributor and wish to move everything to us. Just email us at support@mgmh.net and we will issue you discount codes.

Label Distribution:

Groove allows labels to distribute their artists via our dashboard. You do not need a special label plan nor do you need to pay more. Just create an account and distribute the songs. You can add your label name in the label area and you can set up split payments right from the dashboard for each song, to pay your artists directly.

If you have a lot of releases, you can also email us at support@mgmh.net and we can work out a special percentage only deal with you. Where we can waive the upfront upload cost and charge a higher percentage.

How do I choose the right distributor?

There are lots of distributors available to artists today. You must ask yourself what more is the distributor doing for you? Everyone can get your music released… but what extra’s do I get. Also check on whether they charge per release or yearly and then make an informed decision.

How does Playlist pitching work?

When you fill up our form with all information, we will send that across to platforms like Apple, Amazon music, Youtube, Wynk and Saavn. We cannot force them or tell them where to place the songs. If their team likes the music, they will pick it up and place it on an official playlist or offer a playlist cover. Being on an official playlist increases an artist’s streams and helps them get discovered by newer audiences. Please note there are NO guarantees that your song will get picked up. DO NOT believe anyone who claims they can 100% get you placement.

Can I only do Publishing without Distribution?

Yes you can!

How do I change a release date?

You can place a track on hold before release by editing the release and moving the release date to a date well in the future, then editing the release and changing it again when you have a set date.

How Do I switch my music over to Groove without losing my streams?

RE-UPLOADING YOUR RELEASE

1. Create an account with MGMH Groove (if you haven’t done so already!)
2. Click the ‘Create New Release’ tile in the artist dashboard. 
3. Choose the ‘re-release of an existing single/album’ option
4. When adding your tracks, select the option to enter your existing ISRC. Ensure you do this for EVERY track. This is how the tracks will link on Spotify and your streaming count will merge across. You will find this information on your old distributor’s dashboard. You can use the same UPC code as well. You can add a 0 before if the numbers are enough.
5. Submit your release and we’ll do the rest!

PS: You can only update your song file (remastered) if the song footprint (Length is the same) everything else must remain the same

SWITCHING OVER

1. To ensure your stream counts merge to the Music Gets Me High versions, ensure that your new release is delivered and live for 48hrs prior to issuing a takedown with your old distributor. If you click into the album page on Spotify desktop, look for the ‘1 More Release’ icon which indicates that the 2 releases have successfully merged. (Note this can take 48hrs).
2. When you see this symbol, send a request to your previous distributor to remove their version from all online stores;
   • Tunecore – click here
   • CD Baby – click here
   • Distrokid – click on the ‘Remove my music from all stores’ button after you click into your product
   • DITTO – go to your release and click on ‘Takedown’ button

What is Music Publishing?

Music publishing refers to the business of acquiring, administering, and exploiting the rights to musical compositions. It involves managing the copyrights associated with songs, including the lyrics and musical compositions themselves. Music publishers work closely with songwriters, composers, and copyright organizations to ensure that creators are compensated for the use of their work.

Why do I need Music Publishing?

If you have written and composed your own music or are a songwriter, then you are entitled to publishing royalties. Publishing royalties are collected every time your music is played on the radio, live, on TV and even when streamed.

Do I get a refund if I cancel a release?

No there are no refunds given if you have paid for a release and then want to cancel.

Where all do you distribute?

Here’s a link to all the DSPs we distribute to:

Will pitching to Press & Festivals from Groove guarantee a slot?

No. We cannot promise you coverage or a performance slot as this isn’t in our hands. We hope to just make it easier for artists to get their details across to prominent festivals & media that we are in touch with. We hope this opens new doors for you and you do get picked up.

My Music has gone into the wrong artist profile:

This happens a lot especially with artists having similar names. We can send a request to the platform to make the change. Please fill up this form for each platform change:

https://www.support.di-st.ro/artistfix.php

How to I add a single to my album?

You should first upload your single, once the single is delivered it will be issued an ISRC code. Now you can upload your album and for that particular single add the ISRC code issued. For the rest of the songs that are new, request an ISRC code. When you use the same ISRC code, your stream counts will combine and you can see the song under singles with single artwork and you can see the song under album under album artwork.

How do I collect Publishing income?

Your publishing royalties are divided into Publisher share and Artist share. You need to first register yourself with a PRO (Performance rights society) like IPRS, PRS for Music or BMI. They will help you collect half of your publishing income. The balance you can only collect via a publisher or publishing admin like MGMH Groove. So if you’re just with IPRS or PRS, you’re only collecting half of your publishing income.

Do you deliver to Beatport?

Yes we do! However Beatport needs to approve the label before we can deliver. Please fill up this form:

https://dashboard.groovedistro.com/beatport.php

And once it is approved by them, we will turn on your label in your dashboard to choose under label listing. Then you can upload and deliver.

How do I add more platforms to the share link?

Most Indian platforms like Saavn, Gaana don’t allow pre-save or auto add. So once your music is released, you can send us the link for the song on Gaana, Saavn etc and we can add it to your share link.

What’s better: yearly payment or one time payment?

There are no right or wrongs, however do keep in mind that with yearly payment, you will have to continue to pay each year to keep your songs online. If you forget to pay one year, your music will go offline. Also in the long run, yearly payments tend to work out more expensive for artists as opposed to one time payment + percentage. Because in percentage deals, the distributor only makes money when the artist does.

Can I release a cover song?

It is NOT legal to release cover songs in India and across the world without the permission of the copyright holder. In India, most of the times the copyright is held with a label. You may have seen websites like easy song licensing that claim to provide you with a license for covers. Please note this license is ONLY applicable for release in America and not worldwide. If you’re caught releasing someone else’s copyright without permission you can be blacklisted by music streaming platforms.

What if my song is in Public Domain?

In India a song’s copyright is valid for 60 years after the death of the copyright holder, after that the song becomes public domain (unless copyright is extended) and hence one can release covers without a license. However, certain platforms like instagram, Facebook and Youtube content ID, do not monetize public domain songs and hence may remove the tracks from their platform.

Are you using licensed or bought beats/samples? + Why is my music not on IG/Facebook?

Your music will be monetized on IG, Facebook and Youtube content ID only if you have created all parts of the song. If you have: – Content licensed non-exclusively from a third party (such as samples or beats that are not exclusively licensed), Cover songs, Public domain songs, Content containing sound effects, loops etc from audio samples library, then your tracks will not be monetized on the above platforms. 

What is an ISRC code? and why do i need it?

An ISRC code is an International Standard Recording Code. It is used to identify individual sound recordings. So if an album has 10 songs, each song will be assigned an ISRC code and hence you will have 10 codes. You need to use the ISRC code when you’re switching distributors or when you wish to use the same song that has been previously released (same recording) for example as a single; as part of an album or compilation. If you use the same ISRC of the single as part of your album, then you will see both the single release with its artwork as well as the song as part of the album with the album artist, However the stream counts will be combined.

What is a UPC code? and why do I need it?

A UPC code is a universal product code or barcode you see on any sale item. One UPC/ Barcode is issued for each point of sale. So for 1 single you will get 1 UPC code and for 1 album you will get 1 UPC code. You need to know the UPC code, if you’re switching distributors so you can use the same barcode.

How do I add lyrics?

There are 2 main external sites you need to upload your lyrics to be shown on stores. Instagram stories pulls its lyrics from musixmatch.com. Apple Music uses the service genius.com. If you register an account with these services you can upload your lyrics and make them available to users on these services.

What are the artwork requirements for upload?

Name on artwork MUST match the release name. The file format must be .jpg/.jpeg/.png in RGB Colour (not CMYK). The file size must be no larger than 10Mb image dimensions at least 3000 x 3000 pixels, and perfect square. The art must not contain website addresses or social media links. 

What format music do you accept?

We accept .WAV audio files in 16bit 44.1kHz resolution (CD Quality), and 24bit WAV files at the most common sample rates. We do not accept mp3 files or 32bit files. You can convert other file types to WAV using iTunes or other web-based conversion apps.

How long does it take for my release to go live on digital stores?

The turnaround time can vary from store to store. We recommend submitting your album at least 4 weeks prior to your intended release date. This gives enough time for us to ingest and deliver your tracks, and for the services to also ingest, index and display them on their own sites. We will advise you from your catalogue page if your release has been delivered to stores, but this does not mean the store itself has been able to get the tracks live on their site (which is out of our control).

When do I get paid?

You get paid when we do. Royalties can sometimes take 3-6 months to be processed from the end of actual month sales, depending on the platform. For the major services who pay royalties on a regular schedule (eg. Spotify + Apple), royalties are available 3 months from the end of the stream month. For example, all of January streams will be deposited in your dashboard on 16th March. The delay is a common issue with all distributors who need to wait until the music services process and audit all their sales figures. We then need to process these statements and attribute the royalties to each of our artists. As soon as this is done you can access your money from the payments page in your dashboard, and request a withdrawal. You can withdraw your money from your dashboard once it crosses AUD$10 or Rs.600

It’s release day and I can’t find my songs?

Providing you have given at least 2 weeks for stores to ingest your release, if you have received a notification from us that your release has been successfully delivered and can’t find it on iTunes or Spotify, please contact us from your dashboard and we will investigate. If you are a brand new artist, the search indexing on these stores can take some time to update (especially on Friday’s which is global release day!), so it usually resolves itself throughout the day.

How do I move my tracks from topic file on YouTube to My personal channel?

To get your tracks moved from the generic ‘Topic’ channel to your personal channel, we need to apply for an ‘Official Artist Channel‘. Sometimes it can take at least a month to be approved by YouTube, and you need at least one distributed release to qualify for an OAC. See here for more details.

If you get accepted, the topic channel is merged with your user channel, and a new section is added with those videos as per the screenshot attached. You need to already have some content on your user channel and YouTube expect that it should already have some traction. They will refuse to process OAC requests for channels with no content.

If you think you qualify and would like to apply, please confirm the following details for us via support email on main artist dashboard;

Artist name:

Artist YouTube Channel: (Please send URL link)

Topic Channel: (Please send URL link)

VEVO Channel (If Applicable): (Please send URL link)

Can I access my music and art files after I’ve uploaded them?

Yes, your music is stored safely in the system. We store and backup every music file you upload, which you can access any time you need. View your single or album from your MY CATALOGUE page, and you can play or download any of the audio tracks you have uploaded (just right-click and ‘save file as’).  To download your art files, just right click the album art on the main MY CATALOGUE screen and right-click ‘save file as’ to download the full resolution version.

How do I enable Discovery Mode?

If you have any tracks that are eligible for Discovery Mode, a button will appear under your account settings that allows you to opt-in!

You can opt in and out of individual tracks on a monthly basis. Please see more information from Spotify here. Again, only eligible tracks are invited to apply for discovery mode, the criteria are; 

• Track must be distributed by us 
• The artist must be credited as a main artist or remixer 
• Track must have been released more than 30 days ago 
• Track must have at least 1 radio and autoplay stream in the past 7 days. Please check your Spotify for Artists analytics if unsure about this. 

Take a look at this link for some further details about Discovery Mode if you’re interested: https://support.spotify.com/us/artists/article/getting-access-to-discovery-mode/?ref=related

Single vs EP vs Album?

Our system recognizes any releases over 3 tracks as EP/Albums however we can change the metadata of the release to show up as EPs when we distribute the release. However please note different DSPs will have their own guidelines on how many tracks and the minimum release length required for each release type so this may not always be reflected on each store.

Please let us know via the main artist dashboard support once you’ve uploaded the release with us so we can update the release type to EP for you.