Music video distribution is one of the main forms of revenue for artists to benefit from their music financially.
However, since the internet came along, the distribution market has been continuously changing. It is of the essence for artists to keep up with these changes to get their music heard, their videos seen and the money coming in.
Whether you record your tracks at famous recording studios or at your mate’s home recording studio but you have the sickest beat maker on your side, you should never skip making a music video. The role of a music video, in simple words, is to promote the artists and their tracks whilst also sending a message and entertaining the audience.
The Power of Music Video Distribution
As Simon Cahn, a French filmmaker and music video director, puts it, “The track is the burger and the music video is the full meal deal with fries and Coke.’
Therefore, once you have got the ‘full meal deal’, it is time for you to think about distribution. Music video distribution and music promotion go hand in hand. Distributing your top video basically means promoting it – and for that, you might need some help.
Today we will be reviewing the very best music video distribution companies. We will have a look at what they offer and what feedback they receive from the artists. Please note that the order on this list is aleatory.
How Music Video Distribution Companies Can Help
Every company has its own offers and package deals, but, in essence, they all offer the same type of service.
They guarantee you exposure to almost all the streaming services out there. Which is believed to be the best recipe for success. Here is our top pick of the best.
1. Symphonic Distribution
Symphonic Distribution is a 10-year-old company based in Tampa, Florida, US.
If you want to distribute your music videos with them in time for your release date, Symphonic offers you two packages: Base and Plus.
Symphonic Pricing
The Base package costs $95 (74£) per video and gets your music sent to VEVO, Tidal, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Noiseporn. You can choose whether you want the company to send your music video to all of these platforms or just to the ones that you want to.
The Plus package costs $150 (117£) and it differentiates itself from the Base package. Through having a couple more partners you can get your music sent to, such as Dailymotion, MOOD:, View Lift, Xumo and Music Choice.
If you want your important video to be featured on Music Choice, however, your music video will need to already have at least 1M views on VEVO.
There are no annual fees and you can sign up for YouTube Monetization for free when using Symphonic Distribution. Through this service, you will start earning ad revenue from every video on YouTube that features your music. Once your music starts generating ad revenue, Symphonic Distribution will get a 30% share of your earnings.
How Can Symphonic Benefit Artists?
What also makes Symphonic Distribution very attractive is that they have a deal with Merlin. Which offers them (and their customers) special benefits and higher royalty rates.
They seem to be the only ones out there who have this kind of deal. So it seems worth checking it out. Also, Symphonic Distribution is one of the very few companies to distribute with Beatport.
The company has good overall reviews on its services (Aris Take, Pro Musician Hub, The Corporate Thief Beats). However, the prices are thought to be a bit too high.
If you want to know more about them, visit their website or watch an interview from earlier this year with its founder, Jeorge Brea.
2. Horus Music
The distribution company Horus Music was founded in 2006 in Birmingham.
It is a company that offers three types of services: marketing, distribution, and record label services.
Horus Music Pricing
In terms of video distribution, there are 5 packages you can choose from.
- Deluxe Video Package, which costs 175£ and gets your music video sent to iTunes, Tidal and VEVO.
- Tidal Video Package, which is 100£ and delivers your music video to Tidal and VEVO.
- iTunes Video Package, which is 100£ and delivers your music video to iTunes and VEVO.
- VEVO Channel Package which costs 75£ and sets up your VEVO channel as well as distributes your first music video.,
- VEVO Video Package, which costs 20£ and distributes one music video on your existing VEVO channel.
All of these packages include free UPCs and ISRCs and provide monthly royalty statements and payouts.
Most importantly, you get 100% of your royalties. With an artist account, which costs 20£ a year, you get unlimited releases, playlist pitching, YouTube Monetization, and many other benefits.
How Can Horus Music Benefit Artists?
Horus Music has a very good reputation amongst artists and was reviewed as excellent by 78% of the people on Trust Pilot.
One of the things that users seem to value a lot is customer support. They all mention being extremely friendly and helpful.
Also, the platform itself is very easy to use and the team goes above and beyond to fulfil your needs.
Considering all these important and beneficial factors, Horus Music is definitely a company that you might enjoy working with.
3. Music Video Distribution Companies – JTV Digital
JTV Digital is a company that appears to be particularly successful among artists in Africa.
It provides licensing, marketing, and distribution services. You can choose to have your video distributed on iTunes, VEVO or Trace TV Channels.
There is also an option to add some additional services that could potentially boost your distribution revenue. Such as TV advertising, video marketing, and video promotion.
JTV Digital Pricing
Unlike other companies, JTV Digital does not offer packages, deals, or subscriptions. Instead, they have a ‘pay-as-you-go’ scheme. This is where you pay 0.5€ per track upload and 0.2€ per track delivery per store.
Sounds very cost-effective, doesn’t it? You also get free UPCs and ISRCs and YouTube Monetization services when you sign up.
However, in terms of video distribution, the price for an iTunes music video is €99 while a VEVO Channel costs €29.90 per year. Also, the company gets 10% of your royalties.
While it is extremely cheap to upload tracks with JTV and it is also free to sign up, the services provided in terms of music video distribution are quite limited because you only get access to iTunes and VEVO.
However, if you are looking to distribute with just these 2 platforms, then you have got yourself a pretty good deal.
How Can JTV Digital Benefit Artists?
JTV Digital seems to do very well in Africa, and it might be safe to say that it is one of the most popular distribution companies over there. Although the reviews they have been receiving in the past 2 years are quite mixed.
Some customers are very happy with the services and overall experience with the company. While other customers have reported a lack of communication and feedback and late payments.
There are different opinions and experiences out there and you can never know until you try it yourself. So, if you want to give this company a go you can visit their website.
4. Music Video Distribution Companies – Peeksound
Peeksound is a distribution company based in El Paso, Texas, US.
What is very attractive about this company is that not only does it has your video delivered to various platforms in the digital sphere, but it also has it sent to TV networks such as MTV or BET. Meaning that artists are getting more chances to become recognised.
Peeksound Pricing
In comparison to other companies in this sector, Peeksound gets its audio and video distribution services under the same umbrella. This is through an annual subscription of £39,99, which gives you access to unlimited uploads.
They work with many outlets such as YouTube, VEVO, Dailymotion, Apple Music, Tidal, Turkcell, UMA and other mobile app streaming services. Also, you get to keep 100% of your rights and sales revenues. Which makes this service cheap and attractive.
For an additional fee of $99 per network, you can deliver your video to TV networks across the US and Canada. However, for the UK and Ireland, the prices go up and start at $199 per network.
How Can Peeksound Benefit Artists?
The platform even makes it easier for you to choose a network as it has them grouped and listed by genre. Such as Rock/Pop Networks, Urban/Rhythmic Networks and Country Networks.
Therefore, depending on your budget and target, you can choose from spending very little money with just an annual subscription. Or, go big and spend maybe over a thousand pounds on digital and TV distribution.
Peeksound has a good presence on social media and very good reviews from artists and producers. So, you might want to check it out.
Our Final Thoughts on Music Video Distribution
Deciding who to trust with your royalties and revenues can be quite tricky. Especially for an independent artist or band. This post aims to help up-and-coming artists decide how they want to distribute their videos and more importantly, with what company.
It might be a good idea to have a read on music licensing before you think about distribution. As well as get some knowledge on how to submit music, so that you have a rough idea about the territory you are stepping into before you actually get there. Especially if you are very new in this industry.
Sometimes artists make the mistake of not getting informed well enough before they sign a contract or make a very important move in their careers.
There are risks in the music video distribution business as well. You can lose a bit of money and tons of energy if you choose to work with the wrong people. Therefore, consider this post a guide or a starting point for your research before you make a decision.
Based on the price, service provided, and customer reviews, we would recommend Peeksound as a company that might be best to try first. They offer very attractive services for very affordable prices and they focus on creating fan bases rather than distributing music videos only.
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