Tag: routenote

How does RouteNote’s royalty payment process differ from other distribution services

RouteNote’s royalty payment process has some unique aspects compared to other distribution services:

  1. Flexible pricing models: RouteNote offers both a free plan and a premium plan. With the free plan, artists keep 85% of their royalties while RouteNote takes 15%. The premium plan allows artists to keep 100% of their royalties for a flat annual fee.
  2. Plan switching: Artists can switch between the free and premium plans at any time, allowing them to optimize their earnings based on their current performance.
  3. Payment schedule: Royalty payments are made automatically between the 15th and 20th of each month, provided the $50 minimum earnings threshold has been met.
  4. Royalty types: RouteNote collects various types of royalties, including performance royalties, mechanical royalties, YouTube micro-synchronization royalties, and neighboring rights.
  5. Delayed ingestion for compositional royalties: Compositional royalties can take 6-9 months to ingest due to RouteNote collecting from over 100 countries and societies, each with its own upload period.
  6. Combined payments: For artists who distribute through RouteNote, publishing royalties are paid alongside master/sound recording royalties.
  7. Transparent reporting: RouteNote provides monthly reports to artists, allowing them to track their earnings across different platforms.

Unlike some services that may have more complex pricing structures or longer payment delays, RouteNote aims to offer a straightforward and relatively quick payment process. However, it’s important to note that the actual speed of payments can vary depending on the type of royalty and the specific platforms involved.

How does RouteNote ensure fair royalties for artists

RouteNote aims to ensure fair royalties for artists through several key practices:

  1. Transparent pricing model: RouteNote offers two main distribution plans – a free plan and a premium plan. With the free plan, artists keep 85% of their royalties, while RouteNote takes a 15% cut. The premium plan allows artists to keep 100% of their royalties for a flat annual fee.
  2. Flexible plan switching: Artists can switch between the free and premium plans at any time, allowing them to choose the most cost-effective option based on their earnings.
  3. No hidden fees: RouteNote emphasizes simple, fair pricing with no hidden costs.
  4. Timely payments: Royalty payments are automatically made between the 15th and 20th of each month, provided the $50 minimum earnings threshold has been met.
  5. Comprehensive market coverage: RouteNote partners with all top digital outlets, covering over 90% of the digital music market, which helps maximize artists’ earning potential.
  6. Publishing royalties: In addition to distribution royalties, RouteNote offers a publishing service to help artists collect compositional royalties from over 100 countries and societies.
  7. Transparent reporting: RouteNote provides monthly reports to artists, allowing them to track their earnings across different platforms.

While some users have reported issues with payments, these appear to be isolated incidents rather than systemic problems. RouteNote’s overall structure and policies are designed to provide fair and transparent royalty distribution to artists. However, as with any service, it’s crucial for artists to carefully read the terms of service, set up their payment information correctly, and maintain open communication with the company if any issues arise.

How does RouteNote’s payment process differ for master recording royalties versus compositional royalties

RouteNote’s payment process differs in a few key ways for master recording royalties versus compositional royalties:

  1. Collection timeline:
  • Master recording royalties are typically collected and paid out more quickly, usually within 45 days after the end of the month they were earned.
  • Compositional royalties can take 6-9 months to be collected and paid out, due to RouteNote collecting from over 100 countries and societies, each with their own upload periods.
  1. Payment frequency:
  • Master recording royalties are paid out monthly, between the 15th-20th of each month, as long as the $50 minimum threshold is met.
  • Compositional royalties are paid on the same schedule, but due to the longer collection timeline, payments may be less frequent initially.
  1. Royalty types:
  • Master recording royalties come from streams and downloads of the actual recordings distributed through RouteNote.
  • Compositional royalties include performance royalties, mechanical royalties, YouTube micro-synchronization royalties, and neighboring rights.
  1. Payment combination:
  • For artists who distribute through RouteNote, compositional royalties are paid alongside master/sound recording royalties in the same payment.
  1. Revenue share:
  • For master recording royalties, RouteNote offers either an 85/15 split (free plan) or 100% to the artist (premium plan).
  • For compositional royalties collected through RouteNote Publishing, RouteNote takes a 15% cut of the publisher’s share.
  1. Reporting:
  • Master recording royalties are reported in more detail, with breakdowns by platform and country.
  • Compositional royalty reporting may be less granular due to the complexities of collecting from multiple societies worldwide.

While the basic payment process is similar, the key differences lie in the collection timeline, types of royalties, and the way RouteNote handles the revenue sharing for each royalty type.

What inspired Steven Finch to start RouteNote

Steven Finch was inspired to start RouteNote in 2007 with the goal of democratizing online music distribution and making it accessible to all artists. The key motivations behind founding RouteNote appear to be:

  1. Empowering artists: Finch wanted to create a platform that would allow musicians, from new artists to established names, to share their music online without needing the backing of a major record label or distribution company.
  2. Simplifying the distribution process: RouteNote was designed to make it easier for musicians to get their music onto popular streaming platforms and digital stores.
  3. Fairness and openness: The company was founded on principles of being fair and transparent with artists, offering free distribution options alongside paid services.
  4. Addressing industry challenges: Finch aimed to tackle the difficulties artists faced in achieving global recognition for their music.
  5. Equal opportunities: RouteNote’s mission revolves around providing all artists, regardless of their status or resources, with equal opportunities to distribute their music worldwide.

By creating RouteNote, Steven Finch sought to provide a solution that would allow artists to retain control and ownership of their music while reaching a global audience through major digital platforms. This vision was likely shaped by his understanding of the music industry’s challenges and his desire to create a more artist-friendly distribution model.

Distribute Music with Distrokid and RouteNote

Distrokid and RouteNote are both great options for uploading your music into the worlds largest stores and streaming services. Here is a quick list of Pros and Cons for both.

DistroKid:

Pros:

  • Simple and user-friendly interface
  • Affordable pricing for basic plans
  • Fast distribution speeds (especially for paid plans)

Cons:

  • Limited features in basic plans (e.g., no YouTube Content ID)
  • Additional fees for advanced features
  • Limited customer support options

RouteNote:

Pros:

  • All-inclusive features in their free plan (including YouTube Content ID)
  • Unlimited track uploads even on the free plan
  • Wide range of additional features and services
  • 24/7 customer support

Cons:

  • Slightly more complex interface compared to DistroKid
  • Slower distribution speeds compared to DistroKid (for the free plan)
drums music streaming distrokid routenote
via – Shuttur

Why Are Musicians and Labels Choosing RouteNote over Other Distributors?

Musicians choose RouteNote for a variety of reasons, often depending on their individual needs and priorities. Here are some of the key factors that might draw them to RouteNote:

Free distribution: RouteNote offers completely free basic distribution to a vast network of digital stores and streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and TikTok. This is particularly appealing for beginner and independent musicians who might not have a large budget for music promotion.

High royalty share: RouteNote keeps a lower percentage of royalties compared to some other distributors (85% for free distribution, 100% for Premium plan). This means musicians keep more of their earnings for each stream or download.

Wide store reach: RouteNote distributes to a very large number of platforms, both major and niche, giving musicians the potential to reach a wider audience globally. This can be helpful for expanding their fanbase and generating more income.

Transparency and user-friendly platform: RouteNote has a reputation for being transparent with their fees and royalties, and their platform is considered user-friendly and easy to navigate. This makes it easier for musicians to manage their music distribution without needing technical expertise.

Additional features: RouteNote offers various optional features like pre-saves on Spotify, YouTube Content ID monetization, release scheduling, and advanced analytics. These can be helpful for musicians who want to further promote their music and gain insights into their audience.

Free vs. Premium options: RouteNote provides both a free and a Premium service. The free plan is suitable for basic needs, while the Premium plan offers additional features and higher royalty share for a monthly fee. This flexibility allows musicians to choose the option that best suits their budget and goals.

What is RouteNote Convert – How to Convert Audio and Image Files for Free

RouteNote Convert is a free online audio and image converter tool that allows users to convert their files between a variety of different formats. It is a popular tool for musicians, podcasters, and other creative professionals, as it allows them to easily convert their files to the required format for uploading to streaming services, social media, or other platforms.

RouteNote Convert supports a wide range of audio and image formats, including:

  • Audio: MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, AAC
  • Image: JPG, PNG, GIF, WEBP, TIFF, EPS, HEIC, PDF, PSD

RouteNote Convert is easy to use and does not require any registration or installation. To use RouteNote Convert, simply upload your file and select the desired output format. The converted file will be available for download within seconds.

RouteNote Convert is a valuable tool for anyone who needs to convert their audio or image files. It is free, easy to use, and supports a wide range of formats.

Here are some of the benefits of using RouteNote Convert:

  • It is free and easy to use.
  • It supports a wide range of audio and image formats.
  • It does not require any registration or installation.
  • It is fast and reliable.
  • It is safe and secure.

What is IMDB for the Music Industry?

Over the years there have been a lot of companies try to build IMDB for the music industry. However, none have been able to get to scale.

I have a theory behind this…

IMDB is all about movies – in which is long form content and the audience spend at least a few hours of their life focused on watching something – for either entertainment or educational purposes. Spending that amount of time watching one thing – means the customer is willing to really dedicate time into it.

Music is the opposite.

Music is short form content that is consumed in a matter of minutes and then the consumer moves onto the next one. As technology improves and artists now have the ability to distribute their music to streaming services via distributors (like RouteNote) – it means there is also more music being created now than ever before. This type of content means that the customer isn’t as engaged or consumed by the content. Thus, not willing to spend a great deal of time to research about the music they are consuming.

We built Tunedex (via RouteNote) to help solve this problem for music, but we have since realised that this isn’t really a problem.

How do I Add or Remove Songs from RouteNote?

Adding Songs to RouteNote

To add your songs to RouteNote, you first need to create an account on their website. Once you have an account, you can log in and go to the dashboard. From there, you will see an option to “Create New Release.” Click on that and fill in the necessary details like the album or single name, artist name, and release date. Then, you can upload your music files and artwork. After that, you will need to select the streaming services you want your music to be distributed to. RouteNote offers both free and paid options, so choose the one that suits your needs. Once you have completed all the steps, RouteNote will review your release, and if everything is in order, they will distribute your music to the selected services.

Removing Songs from RouteNote

If you want to remove your songs from RouteNote, you can do so by going to your dashboard and selecting the option to contact the support team. The support team will do all the heavy lifting and you simply need to email them and ask them to remove the releases in question.

My Journey with Blogging! and Why I’m Writing on Here

For a long time I have been writing different kinds of blogs online. I started a blog focused purely on technology back in 2006 – it was called Crenk. After two years of running Crenk it was doing really well – it got to a million readers every month and things were great. Then Google changed their algorithm and overnight it went from a million readers a month to about ten thousand.

 🌏 End of the world!

Everything I had built for the past two years were gone in an instant!

A long time after that I decided not to write a blog. I thought it was futile!

However – we were starting a new company that would in 2008 and we really need to grow an audience – but we had $0 marketing budget. The only way we were going to drive an audience to our site and keep them there was to produce a strong blog! It had no extra costs – was based upon time and quality of content – and allowed us to drive people to find our site instead of us having to find them (this was the same time Hubspot coined the term – Inbound Marketing!).

 ✍️ This was the start of the RouteNote Blog

The RouteNote blog took a year or two to really start to grow, but it helped us drive the majority of new customers to our service in the early years! It was hard going and long hours and I was the only writing on that blog for the first 4 years or so.

The RouteNote blog now gets over 250,000 new readers per month and drives a large minority of all signups still on the main RouteNote site. Its invaluable and by far the best investment I ever made!

That brings us to now…..

I still own Crenk and write on there from time to time, but it isn’t the same product as it used to be. The RouteNote blog has gone from strength to strength and now has 3 fulltime writers there.

and I have started writing here….

WHY?

Im still not entirely sure why.. If I write articles on Crenk I will get a lot more SEO and a lot more natural readers, but it has always been focused on Tech. I wanted a place that was mine – somewhere I could share my thoughts (not matter what the topic). I don’t really care if lots of people read articles on my site or not – I’m writing on here purely for the love of writing …. and I find it really helps me to express myself and to my ideas out of my head!

So expect a lot more articles (a lot are going to be random).

Creating a Brand is Hard and It Takes at Least 5 Years!

The other day we official launched RouteNote Create under the RouteNote umbrella.

RouteNote Create was originally intended to be a standalone product – but I learnt a lot about starting a brand over the past 12 months and it is getting harder and harder with time to build meaningful brands online. The landscape and places you need to be visible are getting larger and larger and it’s very difficult trying to keep them all up to date and heading in the same direction with the same branding, tone of voice and message.

Note to self – If you are going to build a brand – then make sure it focuses on a new customer type and expect it to take at least 5 years to really show fruit!

Can Certain Music Distributors Send Music to Stores / DSPs Faster Than Others?

Short Answer = No

All music distributors (RouteNote, CDBaby, Tunecore, etc) take the same amount of time from the moment a track leaves the distributors server and is packaged to be delivered to a DSP (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, etc). On average the DSPs will take between 24-48 hour to ingest the content once it is uploaded to their servers.

The ONLY way a music distributor can speed up the process is by pushing tracks through its internal moderation process faster.

Will I get a copyright strike if I submit my song to RouteNote or CDbaby after I upload it to my YouTube channel?

No.

Within these platforms you should be able to whitelist your artist channel or even have your artist channel in their Networks.

In some cases you might be claimed, but all you need to do is to dispute the claims or talk with the support teams at these services and the claim will get removed immediately.

Free Spotify Music Distribution within 48 Hours!

There are a growing number of musicians and labels all over the world that would like to get their music live for Free in Spotify! Music distribution to Spotify and other services can take some time and the vast majority of them have poor customer service – however, you should check out RouteNote.

RouteNote is a very large music distribution service that allows artists and labels to get their music live in Spotify and other stores for free within 48 hours. This is outstanding!

RouteNote is free to create an account and artists can upload for free and keep 85% of the royalties with monthly payments straight into your Paypal account or International Bank Account.

Im a huge fan so click here to take a look for yourself!

Amuse.io Music – Release Financial Figures for 2019 – $9.5m Revenue – $10.9m Loss!

Amuse.io is a new music upstart that has been getting a lot of press of late. Amuse.io has just released their official 2019 financials and it’s very interesting reading.

Revenues = $9.5 million USD

Profit / Loss = $10.9 million USD Loss

Staff = 49 staff

Cash Liquidity = 208%

This basically means that Amuse will need to raise another round of Venture Capital within the remainder of 2020 or start of 2021 to be able to survive.

Source – https://www.merinfo.se/foretag/Amuseio-AB-5590367016/2kgcyso-1hslk

How to Submit Your Music on Sony Music or Universal Music Record Labels?

Universal Music and Sony Music don’t have an official website and app for submissions at present. They have always selected music based on their A&R team who keep a close eye on artists and platforms all over the world and then select the artists that are performing well.

If you want to be a major label artist you should focus your efforts on building your own fan base to start and getting your music into the world’s largest stores and streaming services via a platform like RouteNote.

Should I Copyright my music before putting it on YouTube?

It’s not required.

Copyright for music is technically given automatically when you create the track. You don’t have to register it with any organisation across the world to “get the copyright”.

Thus, after creating a track I would look to release the track on YouTube, Soundcloud and into all music streaming services (which you can do for Free via RouteNote).

Is it Free to Upload to Spotify?

Yes. RouteNote is completely free and allows any artists from anywhere in the world to upload as much music as they want to the worlds largest stores and streaming services.

  • Free to uploading unlimited to music to the worlds largest stores and streaming services
  • YouTube Content ID, Facebook Content ID and Instagram included
  • YouTube Networks
  • Distribution in China and other emerging markets.