Get your music into iTunes and other stores (Follow up)
by Lonnie on May.21, 2009, under Uncategorized
A while back I wrote an article on how to make use of TuneCore to get your music into a wide range of online stores for distribution and I’d like to follow up by introducing another competitor in the online distribution game.
Before I continue I do want to say that my experience with TuneCore has been top notch, the guys there are very responsive and have even taken part in discussions on this blog.
The new kid on the block is WaTunes .. I recently got introduced to this group and since I had a new single I was looking to release, I decided to use the opportunity to give them the test drive.. The big thing that is attractive about WaTunes is that they are entirely free and they give you 100% of your royalties.. TuneCore isn’t free, and while they do give you 100% of your royalties.. if you’re a new and relatively unknown musician I can almost guarantee that their fee to submit the album to the stores and the annual renewal will probably be more than you will earn in online sales ..
So let’s compare services..
TuneCore:
Cost: $9.99 for a single track annually and up to $20+ depending on the number of stores you distribute to, also annually
Number of Stores: 9 – iTunes (5 countries), Amazon, Rhapsody, Napster, eMusic and IMVU, La La, Shockhound and Amie Street
Usability: TuneCore is exceptionally easy to use, you upload your music right there and submit it.
WaTunes:
Cost: Free
Number of Stores: 3 – At this point, they distribute to iTunes, Rhapsody and eMusic
Usability: Not as easy to use, you have to set up your album then upload a zip file.. not hard, just not simple as TuneCore!
Also worthy to note about WaTunes – They offer services to get your music played on the radio and they have a VIP service coming soon ($29/year) to get you into more stores and get some detailed reporting..
Bottom Line:
If you’re a new, relatively unknown artist .. I would STRONGLY recommend that you give WaTunes a try first.. you can get your music out there at no cost and work on building your name… Once you’ve made a name for yourself, you have the option of switching over to TuneCore for broader distribution, or upgrade your WaTunes account to VIP and get out there more.. I also want to note that I’ve had more sales on Amazon than I have iTunes .. so I hope that WaTunes offers that option soon.
If TuneCore had a free offering that perhaps included less stores then I doubt WaTunes could touch them, but it’s hard to beat free so I think WaTunes is going to be attractive and steal some business from TuneCore .. I personally plan to release my new work on WaTunes to maximize my profit.
It is also very important to note that WaTunes’ VIP cost of $29/year includes as many albums or singles as you want to release, and TuneCore’s offering does not .. to put this into perspective, let’s say you release 3 albums and your TuneCore cost is $19.99, you’ll be paying $19.99 x 3 for a total of $59.97/year .. I have 5 albums so my expense is nearly $100/year with TuneCore … VIP at WaTunes makes my expense a mere $29.99/year regardless.
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8 Comments for this entry
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WaTunes - Getting Better and Better with Amazon partnership! | Lonnie Knows Everything
July 31st, 2009 on 9:53 am[...] time using the service, and after having been with TuneCore since 2007, I decided to write up a comparison of the two services .. so check that out if you’re not familiar with [...]
May 21st, 2009 on 11:16 am
Hi Lonnie,
Thank you for the mention. We’re always working hard to provide a formula to where we can place the power back into the hands of the musicians. I will also add that Amazon is apart of the VIP service and will be made available along with all the mobile stores and gaming markets. As we move forward to the launch of WaTunes New Experience (or WaTunes N.E.), we’ll be integrating some very cool features that will enable you to easily manage your portfolio and submit your music to us.
As always, let us know if you have any questions at all and myself or one of my staff members will surely be in touch with you. Thanks again! :)
Kevin Rivers
CEO, WaTunes.com
May 21st, 2009 on 12:34 pm
Kevin,
Thanks for the response! I do have one question, or rather, a feature request if at all possible ..
One feature I’ve not seen, or at least don’t know about it existing with TuneCore (perhaps by request?) is the ability to specify a background image for the artists’s page in iTunes ..
I’m looking forward to seeing some of these new features roll out, it’s a shame Amazon isn’t included as one of the free offerings :) .. but still, it’s nice because VIP is a one time per year fee and you can submit as many works as you want, whereas with tunecore, you’re paying $9 – $19+ per album per year..
May 21st, 2009 on 1:05 pm
Hey Lonnie,
The way the iTunes Artist page works is all information is solely based on AllMusic ( http://www.allmusic.com ). According to iTunes (as I just got off the phone with our iTunes rep regarding this question), the background image pages (as you see on mainstream artists like Jay Z, Taylor Swift, etc.) are based not on mainstream appeal but marketing appeal and fan presence.
Major music stores including Napster, Amazon, and eMusic are powered by AllMusic content database. However, new music stores such as ShockHound can be done manually. Therefore, we can submit your artist photos and bios to them and they can update your ShockHound page with the information provided.
The WaTunes VIP service is designed to provide the lowest cost effective way to gain entry into alot of music stores while putting the power back into your hands. The VIP stores doesn’t just include the big music stores but also the big mobile stores (including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint) as well as big gaming machines (including Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 – Music Videos Only).
Theres so much that we’re gearing to offer upon the launch of WaTunes New Experience. I look forward to continue to work with you and your music and let me know if you need anything else at anytime. :)
Kevin Rivers
CEO, WaTunes.com
May 21st, 2009 on 1:40 pm
Thanks Kevin!
I’m a VIP member, I anxiously await the new features.
- Lonnie
May 27th, 2009 on 10:43 pm
@Makell: Thank you so much Makell for your response and mention. We’re on the rise to something inspiring to finally be able to put the power back into the hands of the artist. Look forward to more features as we roll out into the Summer
@Lonnie: Hey Lonnie, to answer your first off-topic question. I’ve happen to of spotted your content on the ‘ShockHound’ store which enabled your discography to be set to ‘Live’.
In regards to your second question, we’re definitely creating a new player that will be correspondent to the upcoming WaTunes Marketplace where you’ll be able to embed a widget onto your website and other profiles and enable your fans to buy your music directly from the WaTunes Marketplace. We hope to have this completely rolled out by the end of the year.
As always, let me know if you guys need anything at all. :)
Kevin Rivers
CEO, WaTunes.com
October 29th, 2010 on 6:11 am
I look forward to being a part of WaTunes and releasing our next releases there. We’ve been waiting for the best online opportunities and judging from dealing with SongCast, researching Tuncore, and stepping up are production and marketing, we’re happy to announce that WaTunes looks to be the best thing online from our perspective for independent artist and start up labels.
We look forward to a long lasting relationship of continued success and prosperity with WaTunes.
Sincerely
Keefbee & Sudiesent1
November 3rd, 2010 on 8:52 am
I don’t recommend WaTunes.
May 27th, 2009 on 7:06 pm
I’ve been very impressed with them thus far, though one thing I’ve been watching is the fact that WaTunes has reported my release is LIVE and I’ve yet to see it … when I look for it on the stores offered, it’s not there.. off topic however ..
Kevin, I have a question for you … is there a possibility that on top of offering iTunes and various other stores to VIP members, you can top TuneCore by offering direct download that can be integrated from the artist’s site? I’ve been working on integrating a direct download solution myself but it’d be attractive if the people that were releasing my music could also offer their own distribution, even at a fee, would be attractive.. if I could embed a widget of some kind and have it all done in one place.. it’d be convenient..