When playback singer Nikhita Gandhi wanted to release her music back in high school, she did not have a record label deal. “As an independent artiste, it is important to understand the business and be self-empowered,” she says. Using TuneCore — which allows musicians to distribute their work on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and 150 other audio download and streaming sites — she was able to get her work noticed. The independent digital music distribution, publishing and licensing service (founded in 2005) launched operations in India earlier this month.
“When an artiste decides to put their music out, it is important for them to think like an entrepreneur. It needs to be marketed and delivered to listeners. Because of the way the industry has evolved, they have support to independently optimise visibility and distribution, and TuneCore is part of that process,” says country manager Heena Kriplani. This is the eighth international expansion for the Brooklyn-based company, which also has operations in the UK, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada. “TuneCore has been serving local talent since 2006. When the need for a more localised tool was apparent, we began an in-depth study into the Indian music landscape,” says Kriplani.
- CD Baby, created by American writer-musician Derek Sivers, was one of the first platforms to allow musicians to distribute their own CDs, and now on streaming services
- SongTradr is offering unlimited distribution and 100% distribution royalties through December 31 for users signing up for a free starter account
- DistroKid has an annual payment model (approximately ₹2,000) for unlimited song and album uploads. ‘Roxanne’ singer Arizona Zervas used it to reach #1 on the Spotify US top-50 chart.
This included accounting for regional language music and bringing in an industry veteran like Kriplani herself, who has worked with Gibson Industries for over a decade. There are also guides written by music publisher Achille Forler and podcaster Mae Thomas, sharing practical steps and tailored advice. One success story is rapper 100 RBH, from Amravati in Maharashtra. By distributing his music, he was able to get a record deal plus playback singing opportunities.
A dashboard allows users to track their digital music sales and sign up for Facebook, Instagram and YouTube monetisation services. For the first year, they offer 50% off the regular distribution costs, with singles available for ₹499 and albums for ₹1,499. The artiste retains 100% of sales revenue and rights to their work. “We’re constantly evolving. The plan is to productise trends and make them available to artistes as they happen,” concludes Kriplani.
Details: tunecore.in
