November 2021 Newsletter
Oh My Gosh! It’s already time to talk about November. We can not believe how fast this year really has flown but fear not, Identity Music has been ramping up for the end of 2021 not down! For the music industry, November is a crucial time of year, many artists want to get their all-new Christmas releases out into the world for the festive season.
Are You Looking To Get A New Release Out For Christmas?
If you are looking to get your new festive release live on music platforms in time for Christmas please remember that there are deadline dates! All releases need to be approved by music platforms before they can go live, some platforms are faster than others but as Apple Music are normally the longest to review releases, we will give you their deadline dates. As always, remember if you would like promotional support from Identity Music, you need to give maximum time between your release upload and release date.
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Upload Deadline For Xmas Releases
WE NOW OFFER DISTRIBUTION TO POVU & PELOTON!
We have always said building relationships with more platforms for you to deliver your music to is at the top of our list! Well, we have another one to add to the list. Identity Music is proudly in a partnership with both POVU & Peloton.
Do you want your previously released tracks and albums to live on POVU & Peloton ASAP?
Here is how to do it:
1. Log onto the client portal
2. Assets (Select the release you would like to go live on POVU or/& Peloton)
3. Distribution (Live Tab)
4. Send to More
5. Choose the date that you want the release to go live
6. Select “POVU or/& Peloton” and “Send”
Our Hottest Releases From the last month
‘pa$$ the time’ By BronzeBronze comes in HARD with the debut release of his main title theme song for the new animated Netflix series, INSIDE JOB. Now solo-artist, he steps out in front of his own musical groups as more than producer/songwriter with his new sweaty basement-club banger ‘pa$$ the time’.
A psychedelic journey recorded through 2019-2020 in bedrooms across Brooklyn and a cabin in the mountains. “I” finds Matt singing over wailing synths and frenetic drumming, all set to Aaron and Joey’s fuzzed out riffs. Combining the styles of heavy psych, acid folk, garage rock, and surf, the band layers together sounds that build new worlds.
Keane (Kainbeats) is a pianist/composer and medical student. Inspired by the tranquility of warm light and peaceful dreams, he crafts each mix to avoid harsh sounds.
**NEW PROMOTIONAL SUPPORT FORM**
Contact Us Today To Get The New Form
Top Tips From Identity Music
We are invested in YOUR success, that is why we are on hand Monday – Friday 10am-6pm BST to answer any questions you might have. All of the teams here at Identity Music are here to make the music industry a fair industry. This starts with helping you get the most out of your music distribution.
Each and every month we will be bringing you new top tips on how to make the most of what Identity Music has to offer or music industry hacks to get your releases out without hassle.
This month due to the rising level of scams around the festive season, we are giving some advice on what to watch out for to ensure you don’t get scammed!
Playlist Scams
A tale as old as time, just with a younger-looking face. This scam is a form of bribery: a “pay-for-play” music scheme, that dates back as far as the 1950s where DJs took bribes, making you pay for placement in commercial radio.
Now, it’s poked its ugly head back out in the form of playlist scams. The trouble is, most of these scams look and sound legitimate, even going so far as to name the Spotify playlists you will be featured on, reviews from happy clients and numerous success stories. But the reality is, these companies can’t hack into curated Spotify Playlists and slot your music in there for you.
You should not be paying for placements on Spotify Playlists. Instead, enlist the help of experts at a trusted institute, such as your distributor, who have playlist pitching experience.
A&R Scams
Have you ever seen an A&R person scouting talent who then charges you for them to review, or share your music? We hope not, but they are out there…
A&Rs have great power within the music industry. Using their network of contacts and their music knowledge, they can help to break artists into big opportunities. That being said, A&Rs are paid to listen to music as part of their job. So be careful of those asking you to part with your cash. You should never pay to have an A&R listen to and share your music.
Blogger Scams
As technology and industry evolve, scammers evolve to make their scams more effective, more convincing and more dangerous. Some bloggers will try to charge you for writing a story or posting your music. If a blog does this, it’s a sure-fire sign that nobody is reading their content. Most blogs make money through featuring advertisements and are paid the big bucks for achieving high view counts.
A good blogger will want the best content to keep their audience engaged and returning. Those who are charging for other services don’t have a high enough viewer count to sustain income from advertisements, meaning that the audience they are reaching is probably smaller than they are telling you!
What You May Have Missed
Some highlights from our Social Media profiles that are definitely worth checking out!
In Other Music Industry News…
Adele gets Spotify to take shuffle button off all album pages
Adele has persuaded Spotify to take the shuffle button off all album pages so tracks play in the artist’s own order. The singer tweeted: “We don’t create albums with so much care and thought into our track listing for no reason. Our art tells a story and our stories should be listened to as we intended”.
It’s fair to say Adele didn’t ‘go easy’ on fans of random music…
A statement later announced their “new premium feature… to make play the default button on all albums”.
A Spotify spokesperson said they were “excited” to be rolling out the feature which was “long requested by both users and artists”. The spokesperson said Spotify users could still choose to shuffle an album, but the system would default to playing tracks in the order chosen by the artist. “As always, we will continue to iterate our products and features to create the best experiences for both artists and their fans,” the statement concluded.
You can still shuffle an album using the controls for individual songs. This mainly adds an extra step and pushes you to choose a first track. Rivals like Apple Music still let you tap a “shuffle” button from an album page. However, critics have already raised concerns about removing a feature to please an artist. It’s one thing to recommend playing albums a certain way, but it’s another to take control away from listeners to dictate that order — and what about artists who are happy to allow shuffle play?
Pitch Your New Release To Amazon Music
One of the biggest things for artists when releasing music is getting their release out to more listeners. Back in July 2018 Spotify launch its playlist-pitching tool for unreleased music as part of its Spotify for Artists service. Most musicians take advantage of this feature and have wanted it for more music platforms.
Now Amazon Music have released a way to pitch your new music through their app. Amazon’s version is called ‘New Release Pitch Tool’ and it went live as part of its service’s Amazon Music for Artists suite.
Artists and their teams can use the tool to pitch tracks for consideration in Amazon Music’s playlists and also its stations. But – this is quite an important point – the tool isn’t just about getting onto those properties. It’s about providing Amazon with the metadata that could surface tracks in other ways too. “Places like Amazon Music activity feed, push notifications, Alexa alerts & prompts genre-based browsing, and more,” as Amazon Music put it.
Thanks for reading!
We hope that you are ready for this new season. It is a pleasure to work alongside so many talented musicians, thank you all for choosing to work with Identity Music.
Our aim has always been to be a music distributor that gives back to our artists and labels. We will be sharing a newsletter with you now and again to keep everyone in the loop. We are allowing you to feature in our newsletters and join our music community. Want to have your input on our monthly newsletter? Get in touch with our marketing team at marketing@identitymusic.com.
By setting up your music distribution with Identity Music, you can take full advantage of our music promotion support services and get your music out to all corners of the globe. You can get in touch with our team to discuss your options here!
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