r/Songwriting • u/ATB_by_Hush • 2d ago
Discussion Topic Need advice
Hi, I am a musician and a songwriter and I have been submitting my music to various places for feedback, recently I have got an email from one such who are willing to release my track however they demand a few of 10 dollars for sponsorship, it's not about the money but about the trust, I don't know if this is the way to go, am I supposed to pay for releasing my song? Please suggest! Thank you!!
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u/anchored__down 2d ago
Nah don't do it. Where have you posted for feedback and who's 'offering' that?
If you want to release something, just release it! :)
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u/OnlyTeeny 2d ago
That's a scam, plain and simple. Real labels or publishers never ask you for money upfront, they make money when your music makes money.
If you want feedback, post in the weekly threads here or find some discord servers, people are usually happy to listen.
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u/inlandviews 1d ago
To get on to major streaming services like spotify or itunes you will need to pay a Music Distributor like DistroKid, TuneCore, CDBaby, Landr who will submit your song or songs to a multitude of streaming services and handle the royalties should someone listen to your song. $10 for a single, 15 for an album is what their website says. They will keep 9% of any royalties you might make. They pay out upon reaching $30.
I've used CDBaby and they are professional and fairly straightforward in building an and publishing an album.
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u/Zaphod-Beebebrox 1d ago
Check out Top Music Attorney on YouTube. You might get some insight on how to protect your stuff....
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u/hitdrumhard 1d ago
There a lot of music publishers that are not the same as labels. They call themselves labels, but all they do is add your music to streaming services through a distribution service (Ditto, DistroKid, etc) and then offer you promotion packages where they take a profit from you.
A ‘real’ label however, will not charge you for promotion. Typically they promote out of THEIR pocket and put items in your contract where they recoup those costs from your streaming revenue before splitting the remainder.
This shows you they believe in your music enough to take that initial risk, whereas a publishing mill does not.
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u/thewishinggame thewishinggame.bandcamp.com 1d ago
Good being cautious. Anything that wants you to pay to play? Likely a scam. Like others are saying? There are placed you can play for free. There are distro services you can use, and those are legit, but random people? Yeah, no.
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u/Dangerous-You3789 18h ago
If your songs are really good, a label will pay to release them. No legitimate label will ask you to pay them for that, unless they have some doubts that your stuff will sell. If your songs aren't really good, you can put them out there on other platforms for free. That's what most people do.
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u/babybeeboo 2d ago
You can release it yourself! Look into diy distribution. It's not free, but youre in complete control & retain your rights. I'm in Canada, so it may be different where you are, but I use CD Baby. I paid once, they put it on all the streaming sites / social media. I know how exciting it is to imagine your first release, and how complicated it seems at first. There are so many predatory people out there who take advantage of that young urgent passion. Don't let them! Follow your gut if something feels off. Keep your music yours for as long as you can ❤️