Spotify Enlists DistroKid to Help Enhance Its Direct Upload Feature
When Spotify announced it was letting artists upload music directly onto its service last month, many in the music industry asked whether it would be worth the trouble, given the need to get their…
When Spotify announced it was letting artists upload music directly onto its service last month, many in the music industry asked whether it would be worth the trouble, given the need to get their tunes onto other services as well.
Now, Spotify has a solution.
The music streaming behemoth announced on Wednesday that it is working with digital distributor DistroKid to help artists choosing to upload directly via its Spotify for Artists site to “seamlessly distribute” their music to other platforms as well.
“[DistroKid] has been a trusted and reliable partner to Spotify, which is why they’re a natural choice to enhance the experience for artists using our beta upload feature,” the company said in a brief blog post. “As part of this partnership, Spotify has made a passive minority investment in DistroKid.”
Spotify isn’t sharing much information on how the technical integration will work, only that it will be rolling out in the near future. The dollar amount for Spotify’s “passive minority investment” in the startup has not been revealed. Earlier this month, DistroKid announced it had received funding from investment from Silversmith Capital Partners.
Trending on Billboard
DistroKid was founded in 2013 by CEO Philip Kaplan. The mission of the company is to empower artists globally by allowing musicians to upload, manage and market their songs to leading services, including Spotify, Amazon and Pandora, while maintaining 100 percent of royalties.
Spotify unveiled its plan to bypass distributors on Sept. 20, saying that the tool is open to artists who control their copyrights and do not have label or distribution agreements in place. By logging into their Spotify for Artists accounts, users can upload music, fill in metadata information and customize the track’s appearance on the service.
“We’ve focused on making the tool easy, flexible and transparent,” Spotify For Artists’ senior product lead, creator marketplace Kene Anoliefo told Billboard at the time. “There will be no limit or constraint on how often they can upload. We think that can open up a really interesting creative space for artists to begin sharing their music to their fans on Spotify.”
More From Pro
