Music distributors are responsible for making sound recordings available to a consumer. They take care of ISRCs and licenses for sound recordings, and distribute physical copies of recordings to retail environments, as well as place recordings on digital service providers (DSPs). Music distributors may also include administration duties that writers may employ, allowing the distributor to collect royalties on the writer’s behalf.
There are many types of music distributors, including:
- Major: These are distribution companies associated with the three major music companies – Sony, Warner, and Universal.
- Independent: These companies offer music distribution services to independent artists and record labels.
- Aggregators: These are the most common type available around the world and usually focus on digital distribution. Examples of this type of distributor are DistroKid, CDBaby, and TuneCore.
Most DSPs don’t accept music submissions from individuals, which is why using music distribution services is a popular option.