Distribution

Music distribution is the process of getting your music to the many different digital stores (commonly referred to as DSPs) around the globe. This includes Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Pandora, TikTok, Facebook/Instagram and many more.

Precise directly licenses and distributes to almost all key platforms. Our direct relationships with key stores help better support our artists and provide further opportunities. Beyond that – we take a very hands-on approach with our partners – actively working to optimise their catalogues, syncing lyrics, creating visual material and much more.

If you are approved or onboarded as a distribution client, you will have access to our dashboard where you can submit releases, track your streams across multiple platforms, manage your catalogue and more. Your account manager will be able to walk you through our dashboard functionality, best practices of using and making the most out of all of the features.

Please note that we are not a public distribution/DIY platform. Precise only works with certain artists/partners that our team can properly support, acting as an engaged and hands on partner to grow their digital audience.

File Requirements

• High resolution artwork (preferably 3000×3000 pixels in size)
  Please ensure your artwork accurately reflects the artist name and song title if relevant. For instance, your artwork should not contain a different name than the artist name you’re releasing music under. If you have multiple primary artists on a track, these should not be referenced as ft. or feat. in the cover art. Instead, this should be styled as “with or X/&”. E.g Future & Drake Master/high quality audio files (ideally .wav files or flac files, we do not accept MP3 files)
• Song title, artist name, and composer/writer names and any other credits related to the song
• Your desired release date

If your release has been previously released by another distributor, it is crucially important that you include the original ISRC and UPC codes assigned by the previous distributor.

If you’re releasing a track for the first time, Precise can assign an ISRC and UPC on your behalf which you’ll be able to track in our dashboard.

Your account manager will be able to clarify on other style guideline requirements and an exhaustive list.

In order for your release to go live on all platforms on your desired release date, please ensure you submit any releases to us at minimum 2 weeks in advance (the more notice the better!)

Most streaming platforms have different timelines as to when music delivered to them will go live.

Once submitted, our team will review your submission to ensure it complies with the various style guidelines set out by different streaming platforms. If there are any issues – our team will be in touch on what changes are needed or why your release was rejected.

For certain platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and YouTube Content ID – our team will review your submission to make sure you have exclusive rights to the entire track/instrumental. For example, if you have a leased or non-exclusively licensed beat – these platforms will not accept your release.

Most platforms have a different way of calculating royalties and rates can vary based on a number of factors.

This includes (and is different from store to store) but not limited to;

• Whether the fan streaming your song is a paid/subscribed user to the platform, or a free/ad supported subscriber
• What country your music is being streamed from (for example, Australia, New Zealand and the United States typically have higher ad/streaming rates than others)
• Whether an ad is served before your song
• How many times a user streamed your song

For more information – you may find the following pages useful;

Spotify: Loud and Clear
Apple Music Insights: Royalties
Dissecting the Digital Dollar

Typically, your music should go live on most platforms within 3 days after you have submitted it. Sometimes sooner. For reference, YouTube Music, Apple Music, TikTok and Facebook typically process deliveries the fastest. We endeavor to deliver releases submitted to us within 12 hours of them being submitted.

For optimal results on new releases, we recommend uploading your songs to our portal at least two and a half weeks before your desired release date – which gives streaming platforms editorial teams enough time to review your song and potentially place it on their curated playlists which we assist with.

We recommend that you submit any releases in a timely manner, preferably at least two weeks (14 days) before your desired release date.

At minimum, we require that any releases are submitted within five business days (UTC) of your desired release date.

As your trusted partner, we wanted to take a moment to warn you about some deceptive advertisements we’ve recently seen for illegitimate music promotion services.

Third parties that promise playlist placements or a specific number of streams in exchange for compensation are likely using illegitimate practices without your knowledge. These services can threaten your hard work, resulting in the potential withholding of streams or royalties, or even complete removal of your catalog from streaming services.

Our streaming partners work diligently to ensure streams are legitimate, meaning they reflect genuine user listening intent. If a service finds that you (or a third party hired by you or on your behalf) have boosted play counts through any automated, deceptive, fraudulent or other invalid means (digital bots, “click farms”, payment for placement on playlists, etc.), the service may permanently remove your entire catalog.

If you’re in the market for a music promotion service, make sure to do your research before you hire them.

• artists.spotify.com/artificial-streaming
• artists.spotify.com/help/article/third-party-services-that-guarantee-streams
• artists.spotify.com/blog/what-is-artificial-streaming-the-latest-episode-of-the-game-plan-explains

Precise takes action to investigate any music or clients that receive artificial streams, up to terminating and taking down any delivered releases. Any penalties charged by Spotify to Precise will not impact any artists who did not release the applicable violating tracks.