Hi Andre
Good to meet you.
Thanks for the reply, I’ll give them a look at some point.
I use Ditto as they are based in the UK after having a bad experience with Tune
Core. However, your suggestion is definitely worth a look
Regards
Jonathan
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Andre Louis
Sent: 04 January 2018 14:27
To: vibe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vibe] Re: Getting Your Music on iTunes
Since 2013 I've been using a site with a very, very minimal interface called
DistroKid. Their site works perfectly well with any screen-reader you care to
mention, they're a flat-rate per-year service but you can *choose* but don't
have to, upload extras with your track.
The cheapest plan is $19.99/year and they will put you on all the good digital
stores you care to mention. I have not once, needed sighted assistance to do
this.
Entering my name into iTunes, Goole Play, Amazon, Spotify etc etc, will net you
more than 300 tracks across both albums and a handful of singles, all
self-uploaded with no difficult whatsoever.
Should you care to look at DistroKid yourself, the following link may be of
some interest. Also read their FAQ which should answer any questions you may
have. If it doesn't, contact me off-list and I'll endeavor to explain further.
I wouldn't use any other distributor at this point, quite frankly.
https://distrokid.com/vip/seven/550542
----- Original Message -----
From: Jonathan Bulmer
To: vibe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2018 2:17 PM
Subject: [vibe] Getting Your Music on iTunes
Hi all
On a welcoming email from Peter Bosher, he asked how I got my music onto iTunes
so I thought I would reply here for all.
Getting your music onto any download platform for sale is easy.... As long as
you are sighted. For us VI people, it is a living nightmare and not to be
undertaken without sighted help.
The reason for this is that you need to go through a distributor such as Tune
Core, Ditto Music (which is whom I use), or any of the myriad others who
perform this service. Some charge a flat rate, others charge a percentage of
royalties which would only be welcome if you don’t make a sale which kind of
negates their existence in my view.
So why sighted help? It’s because all distribution websites which I have come
across use animated forms which are a nightmare for screen readers and you can
never be sure what ‘extras’ have been added on, bumping up your final bill.
It should cost around £20-£40 to upload an album to the standard list of
download and streaming platforms but there are additional costs which are not
necessary but could be added unless you uncheck certain boxes etc. These could
be anything from chart registration. Both UK and worldwide, future proofing
your upload by signing up to include any new platforms which may come along,
and other ‘offers’ which may be available.
However, once you have negotiated all this, there is still the matter of
uploading you tracks, adding any metadata which is required such as genre etc.
Once everything is done however, the distributors can get you on iTunes in as
little as 1 week depending on the time of year. Christmas is always
troublesome as iTunes has to prepare the plethora of Christmas re-releases, pop
entries and everything else. Of course, the big labels always come first so if
you have a Christmas song you want to release at the end of November, it’s best
to do what I did and send it at the end of August.
Yep!! You read correctly. I was thinking about Christmas in late summer. But
that is what you need to do as an independent.
This brings me to another point. When I sent my songs to iTunes, I was rushing
and inadvertently sent the in-mastered files which I found out too late. So I
waited until after Christmas (today( and resubmitted the proper files (making
damned sure this time). This means that the album had to be taken down and
re=submitted involving paying again for everything I had paid for below:
Lesson learned.
Anyway, for anyone interested, my music can be found on the Soundcloud link
below.
https://soundcloud.com/jonathanbulmer/albums
Thanks for reading
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
