Get paid for your music with TuneCore

A leader in the field, TuneCore is a music distribution and publishing administration service that provides thousands of independent artists with tools to increase exposure and build audiences, all while maintaining ownership of their music and 100% of their revenues.

Established in 2006, the company has one of the highest artist revenue-generating music catalogues in the world, paying artists about $689 million from over 31,1 billion downloads and streams since its inception. At present the company is intensifying its focus on Africa and has started setting up partnerships and representatives in the continent. 

The company’s CEO Scott Ackerman says unlike other online distributors, TuneCore is putting down roots on the continent and gaining much-needed understanding of the market and its needs. “This past year has seen such incredible growth for the TuneCore community in Africa, with 59% year-over-year growth in the first quarter of 2016,” says Ackerman.

“We’re excited to continue helping independent African artists grow their careers and will continue providing them with all the tools necessary to make their music heard by more people around the world.”

Generate revenue

Through TuneCore artists are able to sell music to listeners through more than 150 digital music partners  (DSPs) worldwide, including African stores such as Simfy Africa and global players like iTunes, Groove Music, Spinlet, TIDAL, Google Play and more. Although there are numerous DSPs, artists maintain complete creative control of their music and are able to decide when and where it is sold.

As a way of providing transparency to artists, TuneCore offers an intuitive dashboard that allows artists to track exactly where and how much of their music is being listened to. Sales reports and data from major stores such as iTunes and Spotify are updated daily and payouts to artists are typically done monthly, depending on the amount of revenue generated.

Once a musician begins earning revenue, those funds can also be used to pay for other complementary TuneCore services. When signing up, members pay a service fee starting from $9.99 for the services via credit card, a prepaid card, or PayPal. As part of the expansion into Africa, the company is exploring mobile-based payment methods to cater for clients without credit cards across the continent.

Getting started

Signing up for TuneCore is extremely simple, according to Jonathan Jules, the company's Brand Manager for South Africa and Nigeria. “Just head to TuneCore.com and create an account. Once you’ve set it up, upload your music and choose the stores where you’d like to distribute your music. TuneCore will do the rest.”

While the benefits for young unsigned artists are obvious, TuneCore should also be of interest to more established artists who are already signed but may be struggling to earn money from streaming and downloads.

According to Raphael Benza, manager of prominent South African rapper AKA and DRC-born singer Tresor, “The service has been good to me. It’s impressive that they continue to add more stores in different territories. I will be using it for a while.”

Get TuneCore services for half the price with this promo code: MIA50 . Valid until 31 August 2016.

Other artist services

TuneCore also offers a robust suite of tools and services that enable artists to promote their craft, connect with fans and get their music heard around the world. Musicians can get assistance on professional audio mastering, monetizing content on YouTube, building professional websites and getting reviews and ratings for their songs. TuneCore also helps musicians wanting to acquire licenses to sell music for covers of other artists’ songs.

TuneCore Publishing Administration has a dedicated in-house creative team that is actively searching for music placement opportunities for all types of sync uses – TV, Film, Commercials, Video Games, etc. Through TuneCore Publishing Administration, independent musicians keep 100% of their rights and 90% of royalties. TuneCore takes a 20% commission fee if theysecures a sync licensefor the artist. 

For more information about TuneCore click here.