Release Check-List
Step 1:
GET YO MONEY (make sure your registered to get paid)
There are multiple ways that royalites are collected for you to get paid for your music. The simpliest one will be directly getting paid from your distributor for recreations of your music through streaming or digital/ physical purchases. However there are 3 other areas you should be aware of as an independet artist to be sure that you are ready for you song to collect money for you.
If you are confused about royalties and would like more information you can check out this article for a broad overview of how royalties work for music.
P.R.O. (BMI, ASCAP etc…)
an organization that collects public performance royalties for songwriters. This is how you register that you wrote an original song.
Sound Exchange
is a nonprofit that collects digital performance royalties for your music from places like Pandora Radio
The MLC
The MLC will help you to collect any mechanical royalties if you are not currently affiliated with a publishing company or a Publishing administrator like (Song Trust)
Step 2:
CREATE SPLIT SHEET
A split sheet is basically a signed document that goes over how streaming and backend payments are divided among the different people who participated in creating the track. On a split sheet, everyone is referred to as a “Writer” or a “Publisher”.
This is where we’ll need info like your legal name, email, the PRO that you signed up with, and your IPI/CAE number. An IPI/CAE number may be a new term to you. If you’re not sure what that is, click here to check out our FAQ on it If any of this sounds confusing, don’t worry!
We’re here to help. Just send us a message with any questions you might have!
If you’re feeling good and want to get started, click the button below to download my split sheet template and fill out your info!
Once that’s filled, send it over in Slack and I’ll sign my end of it!
Got any questions? Send us a message in Slack!
Step 3:
UPLOAD SONG TO DISTRIBUTOR
It’s finally time to upload your song and set the release date! If you’ve released a song before, you already know this process and have your own distributor.
If this is the first song you’re ever releasing, you can pick from any distributor (CD Baby, Tunecore, Distrokid, Ditto, etc.). We recommend DistroKid, though!
You’ll need the following information
(and maybe more depending on what distributor you’re with!):
Artist Name
Song title
Album title (if applicable)
Album art
Release Date
Song language
Song primary and secondary genre(s)
List of writers / producers / engineers on the track
The final song file in .WAV format
If you need any help with this, let us know and we’ll be happy to assist!
Step 4:
REGISTER THE SONG WITH P.R.O.
This step can be tricky, so if you are already confident with this step go for it, The article linked below can prove helpful in making sure you get the most out of the collection of your performance Royalties, otherwise feel free to reach out in Slack with any questions you might have.
Step 5:
Catalogue your works
once you have all the information from your split sheets your registration with distribution and your P.R.O. one of the best favors you can do for yourself is to catalog all your work into one place.
Below is a free google sheet template for you to use if you don’t already have a system
