Music Distribution: our ONErpm Review

Music Distribution: Our ONErpm Review – The Honest Truth is…

ONErpm might have flown under your radar but don’t be fooled, this company is here to stay and when you see what they are doing for artists in Latin America, you certainly need to see and understand what all the hype is about!

ONErpm Review – What You’ll Learn

• How you can save money on distribution fees
• How you can kill your next release with some FREE marketing tools
• A secret to getting on some very popular Spotify playlists
• Learn if ONErpm is the right choice for you

ONErpm Distribution Summary

As we work to uncover the good and bad of music distribution companies, it is always a delight to find a company that is delivering in a big way. However, simply doing good doesn’t always get you the recognition you deserve.  

When you hear a familiar name over and over, or see the endorsement of a product from a notable music figure, you tend to make inaccurate assumptions instead of doing your research.

Trust me, I’ve been there and it sucks to look back and realize you missed out on an opportunity, thanks to your lack of due diligence. Thankfully that’s what we’re here for. To help guide you through the muddy waters of the music business and help you to make more informed decisions.

Our research allowed us to uncover a company called ONErpm which is making waves in the music industry. I was surprised to see all they had to offer where music distribution is concerned. 

I’m sure you will be too. With that said here is our ONErpm review and we hope this information proves helpful for you and your artistic journey.

Who Is ONErpm For?

ONErpm is a no-brainer for artists based in Latin America or are making music that are popular in these markets. However, this doesn’t mean that artists from other parts of the globe can’t benefit from their services.

One of the key benefits of using ONErpm aside from distribution is that they do not charge you any fees to distribute your music. If you are on a budget this can be very helpful. 

However, the flip side of this is that they do take a 15% commission. If commissions are not something you are willing to hand over then ONErpm may not be for you.

Lastly, artists looking for low-cost features to help promote their music will really enjoy ONErpm. Some of their marketing tools are certainly worth it and a lot of them are free!

Fees & Commissions

To kick off our ONErpm review we will run through their pricing structure. If this platform is on your radar then you can breathe easy. This is because they are quite friendly to your wallet. Not only is ONErpm free to join… but they charge you absolutely nothing to distribute your music.

ZERO FEES! I know I wouldn’t mind that! This also means no fees for adding new stores or takedown costs which is really great. ONErpm is set up very similar to Soundrop which also charges zero distribution or annual fees.

With zero distribution fees, ONErpm takes its piece of the pie in the form of commissions. This is fair as you can’t have your cake and eat it too… unless you go with a company like Fresh Tunes which doesn’t take a commission or charge any fees.

With that said ONErpm does hit you with a 15% commission on your music. This is fairly high but could be worth leveraging if you’re not currently making a ton of money on your music.

Outlets & Release Options

Want to maximize the promotional efforts of your upcoming release? A great way to do this is with a Pre-Order Campaign. ONErpm does not specify that they have a pre-order option but after further investigation, it turns out that they do!

In order to take advantage of the ONErpm Pre-Order option, you simply set your release date as normal. However, what you will need to keep in mind is that, once you select a release date, your pre-order window automatically becomes one month before your release date on iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play.

You will need to plan accordingly in order to take full advantage of this feature and maximize the promotional efforts of your new release.

Note: When uploading your track you also have the option to add the lyrics of your song if you’d like! Not all platforms offer this so it is a great way to allow fans to further connect with your music.

Stores

I want to let you in on a little secret about ONErpm that may not be apparent on the surface. It certainly isn’t a good or bad thing but it is important to know this as an artist trying to determine which distribution platform to use.

So what’s the secret?

Well, ONErpm is very focused on the Latin American Market. I think this is very awesome and when you hear some of the stories about what they have been able to do for musicians in this part of the world, you can’t help but admire them.

With that said, this fact may not be desirable for all musicians especially if you are not situated on this side of the globe. If you are looking for help beyond distribution, you will need to keep in mind where most of ONErpm’s resources and connections are situated. 

The needs of an artist based in Brazil as opposed to an artist based in the United States will be a lot different. You need to decide which distribution platform will help your career the most.

With that said, ONErpm distributes to fewer outlets than most platforms but still manage to reach all the popular ones. You can choose to opt out of specific stores as they allow you to manually select or deselect who you’d like to distribute to.

ONErpm also provides you with the option to do the same for geographical regions you don’t want to distribute to. 

This is great for anyone who may have deals restricting where their music can be sold or if you are trying to focus your marketing efforts to select platforms.

Speed To Stores

I’m fascinated by stories of a major artist making last-minute changes to their album which is scheduled to be released the next day. These stories obviously don’t come out until after the fact so I wonder how accurate they truly are.

Miraculously, these releases are distributed and available without a hitch. Can ONErpm work this type of distribution magic for your next release? The truth is, ONErpm has a really fast turnaround time when it comes to getting your music to stores.

They will typically have your music on iTunes in 24 hours which is perfect for those last-minute submissions. I’m sure you don’t mind that superstar treatment!

Spotify, on the other hand, will typically take them about 3-5 days and the remaining stores will vary.

General Features

Publishing Tools

Would you like to have the composition rights of your music licensed?

Well, you can do just that with ONErpm and have your music registered with PROs (Publishing Rights Organizations). Furthermore, you can also arrange for the distribution of your lyrics as well as synch licensing for films and TV.

ONErpm works to get you the rights to your compositions on your behalf which can be a great resource for artists trying to gain placements of their music on other mediums.

Promo Art Generator

This is a nifty little tool to help you create a promotional image for your release consisting of your cover art and logos of the stores your music is being distributed to. Perfect content for social media posts!

Smart Link Generator

Another great tool that you can utilize to help promote your music. This is done by creating a trackable link that sends people to your music.

This is becoming more popular as it allows fans to easily access your music on the platforms they frequently use, Instead of being forced to listen on a platform they are not familiar with or don’t even have.

Your fans also don’t have to go hunting for your music and have issues trying to find it. Another added benefit is the ability to track the activity coming to these links.

Sync Social Media

This is a section on ONErpm that allows you to link all of your social platforms.

Manage Email Lists

This section allows you to track the emails you collect from fans via your links.

Video Distribution

I think this is a hard aspect for some artists to grasp, which is the business of promoting your videos. 

Getting your single out to the world is just one side of the coin. Furthermore, properly promoting your videos can be a daunting task by itself.

ONErpm has another solid feature that allows you to upload your music videos and distribute them to the likes of iTunes, Tidal, and Vevo. 

You will need to go through a similar upload process as if you were uploading a single or album. You provide all of your video details and then you will need to select what platforms you would like to distribute to.

It is important to note that this type of distribution will come at a cost. Video distribution to iTunes is free of charge which is awesome! 

However, if you would like to arrange for distribution to Tidal and Vevo, then this will cost you $4.99 and $29.99 respectively. These prices are very reasonable in comparison to other video distribution services.

Playlist Plugging

ONErpm will help you to get your music on popular Spotify playlists. They have a number of their own playlists that are quite popular and span across a number of different genres. 

I’ll let you in on a little secret. If you get 10 friends to follow one of ONErpm’s playlists (specifically the one you want to get on) they claim this will guarantee your spot on that playlist.

Definitely worth a shot!

Analytics & Reporting

I am always curious to see how much emphasis artists put on the analytics they get from any platform they use. The sad fact is that artists overlook this area or don’t think about it altogether.

Don’t let that be you!

ONErpm has some very solid reporting tools on their platform that you can utilize to help you make sound business decisions. You have the ability to track certain aspects of your music that are quite unique to ONErpm. 

For starters, they allow you to track your playlist placements and content ID information for any of your music being used on YouTube videos.

ONErpm also offers you daily trend reports and monthly analytics for you to really grasp the success of your releases. 

They don’t stop there though, ONErpm sets you up with monthly reporting on the money you make in association with your sales. This is one of the more comprehensive reporting tools on the market.

Artist Payouts

When it comes to getting your money withdrawn from ONErpm you will need to make sure you have a Paypal account. If you don’t have one already you can sign up for one here.

ONErpm does not impose any thresholds before withdrawal and do allow for payment splitting through their royalty share generator. 

ONErpm is one of the few companies out there that provide payment splitting. This is such a simple but important feature that I feel all platforms should have.

Ease Of Use

If you’re anything like me, you don’t want to be spending countless hours trying to navigate complicated websites. Your time is valuable and every minute in your music career counts.

Thankfully, one of the added benefits of the ONErpm platform is that it is very easy to use. Upon signing up and verifying your account, you can then access your dashboard and begin uploading your music.

When I went through the process I was impressed at how quickly I was able to submit all my information without any confusion. This is great for anyone who may not be as comfortable with technology.

Customer Service

Working with ONErpm’s customer service team is a pretty solid experience. They provide email response times within 24 hours and are available for phone calls to further discuss issues upon request.

The more you research distribution companies you realize they are more or less offering a similar service and areas such as customer service and support seem to make or break them as a company. 

Issues are bound to arise but from what we have seen and experienced, ONErpm has been nothing but helpful.

Final Verdict

ONErpm is a very solid platform! They certainly get overlooked when it comes to the competition but I wouldn’t sleep on what they are offering artists. 

You do have to keep in mind that they are focused on Latin American markets but this may only affect you if you are really established in your career and looking to develop North American partnerships. 

I definitely suggest giving this platform an honest look when trying to determine your company for distribution.