We’ve written before about the importance of independent distribution companies Tunecore and CDBaby, and how these are key to an independent artist getting their music on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and nearly all other major players in the digital music game. We've also previously loved how transparent Tunecore is about sharing the amount it has pays to artists that use the service, as it gives us a good indication of the state of the digital music industry for independent artists.
Well, Tunecore is taking advantage of this openness again, and recently revealed that the company has paid more than $300 million to its artists since its inception in 2005.
“Hitting this $300 million earnings milestone is something to be celebrated, and we congratulate all our TuneCore Artists," TuneCore COO Scott Ackerman said in a statement. "TuneCore's mission has always been about giving all artists the opportunity to easily and affordably get their music heard anywhere in the world and receive 100% of the revenue from the downloads and streams of that music."
Additionally, the company pointed out the significant growth in digital music streaming and downloading, reporting that more than 3 billion units are now being streamed and downloaded, compared to 1.8 billion through the end of December 2012. This is all obviously good news for independent artists, particularly as the debate rages on about how positive downloading and streaming is for the bottom line of artists.
Though it’s primarily already established artists that are complaining about royalty rates and compensation from downloading and streaming, since these rates can be lower than radio and physical sales, depending on the service. But independent musicians tend to find digital as a great way to not only create income they wouldn't otherwise have, but also a way to increase their visibility.
As mentioned, Tunecore is a great way for artists to get their music on all the major services through a very easy process. For album distribution, the service charges $29.99 for the first year and then $49.99 for every year after that. Single distribution is $9.99 for every year. However, after these fees are paid, Tunecore pays everything it collects from each service to the artist (minus fees from each individual service).
This is compared to CDBaby, which offers essentially the same digital distribution service, but charges a one-time fee rather than an annual fee and then collects a percentage of net earnings. The amount the service has paid to artist is similar to Tunecore, and CDBaby reports paying out $250 million to artists since it began in 1998.
Since both companies provide essentially the same service, it really comes down to which best fits with the current needs of an artist as to which will be best (and pay the most) for the artist. Both services also have publishing divisions available, though artists are not required to use the publishing services along with distribution.
So, Why A Membership?
Let’s face it — trying to create professional mixes without the correct knowledge, tools, services, and network is like playing a concert with a broken instrument to an audience of no one.
That’s where the Sage Audio membership comes in — the membership gives you everything you need to create professional mixes consistently.
The membership is the secret to your success — it’s the difference between the 1,929,999,999 of poor-sounding mixes and the .00000002% of mixes that make people say 'WOW!"
There are 7 unique value-points included in your Sage Audio membership.
Let’s go over each one so you can decide if the membership is right for you.
1. Sage Audio University
- SAU Flagship Mixing Course: 23-video in-depth mixing course that reveals the little-known secrets of mixing and matches the needs of the new music industry.
- SAU Flagship Mastering Course: 19-video in-depth modern mastering course that dives into every nuance of making professional-sounding masters.
- SAU Pre-Mastering Course: Concise pre-mastering course that details the latest industry standards for preparing your mixes for mastering.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from budding mixing engineers to advanced engineers. The techniques and concepts taught can be applied to any DAW to create industry-leading mixes without expensive software or plugins - and free plugin alternatives are suggested throughout each course.
- Each SAU course includes Start-to-Finish session walkthrough lessons for multiple genres so you can follow along with your preferred genre.
- SAU Certification Document, which can be downloaded and showcased on your website and social channels.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
2. Private 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio private 1-on-1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us for advanced mixing feedback, in-depth discussions, and customized guidance that's tailored to your specific needs.
- Unlimited private access to us for advanced mixing feedback, where we provide detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Unlimited private access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve every aspect of your mixes and masters.
- Customized guidance that’s tailored specifically to your needs.
- Fast communication so you can improve your skills quickly.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited professional mixing feedback directly from us so you can consistently improve your skills and create professional mixes.
- Mixing feedback is invaluable, and the Sage Audio membership gives you continual direct access to us for real-world feedback so you can improve every aspect of each of your mixes while you're in the process of mixing.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
4. 50 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 50 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
5. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with additional real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
6. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 71 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
7. 800+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into categories so you can easily take a deep dive into all aspects of audio engineering with thousands of hours of concise, expertly crafted Sage Audio videos to continually improve your skills at your own pace.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
