Friday, February 12, 2021

Distributing your Musical's soundtrack "Indie" style

"Indie" is short for "independent" and independently released music is not financially associated to any of the three major labels (Sony, Universal and Warner). "Indie" does not refer to a style of music; it refers to the financial circumstances of its distribution.

Creating an "Indie" label or brand is pretty easy, but you need to get a GTIN from GS1 US so your brand can be uniquely identified online before your Musicals' soundtracks will be available on Spotify, Apple, Google, Amazon and the plethora of other streaming music sites. For example, our newly-formed "Indie" label name is April Alsup Records. The good news is that most of the streaming services will pay the artists royalties directly for each time someone listens to your Musical's songs.

WYSIWYG EP Release
Online Scene Segue - Spotify EP Release
February 12, 2021

We've been using Soundcloud for a variety of music theater applications. Their platform is very powerful for music theater composers because not all music is suitable for the airwaves; for example, we provide rehearsal and master tracks for theater companies, casting directors and actors that are preparing for auditions and/or performances.

Unfortunately, Soundcloud doesn't have significant market share for streaming commercial music tracks and if you plan to monetize your Musical's soundtrack with a radio mix then you'll want to look into their distribution functionality called "Repost". It supports all the major streaming channels and it is free for Soundcloud premium members.