Music Distribution: Our Soundrop Review

Music Distribution services are meant to make your life easier.  Would you agree that the music industry can often feel like this complicated war zone that tries to confuse the hell out of you? A great book by Sun Tzu called “The Art of War” is all about going into battle with a strong strategy.

If you’re like me I am all about working smart not hard. That doesn’t make me lazy, but this is just one of the strategies I employ in order to be as efficient as possible!

So when it comes to distributing my music I apply the same methodology. You want to use a platform that you find very easy to use and makes distributing your music seem like a walk in the park. With this Soundrop review, I plan to show you how one company is poised to make your distribution experiences as straightforward as possible.

This may not be the most feature rich company on the block but for some artists this might just be the hidden distribution gem they’ve been looking for.

With that said, were about to review Soundrop and give our honest opinion on the platform. Let’s get started!

Who Is Soundrop For?

Soundrop is for someone on a tight budget who does not want to deal with distribution or yearly fees. With that said though, you will need to be conscious of the 15% commission. You will also need to be okay with Soundrop’s very narrow line of distribution channels.

A big plus is that Soundrop has a strong grasp in the area of payment splitting that most artists can benefit from. Aside from that, the platform is very easy to use but you will need to keep in mind that Soundrop has limited features in comparison to their bigger competitors.

Fees & Commissions

If you’re interested in using the Soundrop platform as opposed to the other music distribution services out there, you will be pleasantly surprised about a few things. For one the service is free to join which is always a plus. It gets better though, as Soundrop also does not charge you any additional fees for distribution.

Very similar to the likes of Amuse and Fresh Tunes, Soundrop allows you to distribute your music free of charge when you use their platform. However one big difference is how they handle commissions.

It’s important to know where you stand on distribution companies taking a commission on your music. When dealing with a company like Soundrop, you should be aware that they do take a 15% commission on your music. This is a bit high but the main reason for this steep percentage, is that you have zero distribution fees.

With that said, they automatically add new stores for you free of charge and do not charge you any fees for taking down your music.

Outlets & Release Options

There is no better feeling than gearing up for your next release. You’ve done all the behind the scenes work, grinding it out in the studio and your confident you’ve got a hit on your hands. One of the next steps will be to determine your release dates.

One area that may be of concern for some artists interested in using Soundrops services, would be their distribution channels. Unfortunately, Soundrop has a very small selection of stores that you can use to distribute your releases. Depending on the type of exposure you are looking for, this can greatly impact your decision to go with Soundrop.

With other companies having 100s of distribution partners, Soundrop is significantly lacking in this area. For some artists this may be fine as the primary stores are typically still available on Soundrop. You are still able to opt out of stores and determine the pricing of your albums that will be sold as opposed to streamed or downloaded.

Release Dates

Soundrop allows you to set your release dates to “as soon as possible” or on a more specific date. Soundrop does provide a Pre-Order option that is not mentioned when you are going through the upload process. They suggest giving them at least a month in advance to ensure that the Pre-Order can be taken advantage of properly.

You also have the option to decide where you would like your release distributed geographically. You can either distribute worldwide or specifically select where you want your music sent.

Speed To Stores

Not everyone can be blessed with the gift of speed. While Soundrop may not be the Usain Bolt of getting your music to stores, they do hold their own. Soundrop tends to be quite efficient with your releases and getting your music distributed.

Where iTunes is concerned, Soundrop manages to gain placement in 3-5 days. As for Spotify, your music will become available in 3-5 days as well. The remaining stores may vary from the times above. However, for more information on Soundrop’s speed to stores you can click here. https://support.soundrop.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005410406-How-Long-Does-Distribution-Take-

General Features

Access To Marketing Tools With Show.co

One of the additional benefits of being a Soundrop artist is that you get to utilize the marketing tools of Show.co. These tools help you to:

• Build email lists
• Get more Spotify followers
• Boost YouTube views, subscribers and more!

For being a Soundrop artist you get to utilize a maximum of two of Show.co’s services for free. These services can include campaigns related to Soundcloud, YouTube, Email Gates and Social gates.

Cover Song Licenses

With their strong ties to Loudr and CD Baby, Soundrop is able to provide easy access to mechanical licenses for cover songs. They charge you a rate of $9.99 to get your cover song cleared so you can easily upload it to stores.

Analytics & Reporting

One area that Soundrop struggles in is the relams of analytics and reporting. This is something that is very important for artists to leverage when making decisions about their careers. The data they provide is not very strong in comparison to other platforms.

Considering that this company has connections to platforms like CD Baby you would think they would be able to come through in this area. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Artist Payout

One of the key ways Soundrop strives to make things easier on you as the artist is through their payout options. I say this because of their emphasis on payment splitting from the get-go and allowing you to determine publishing percentages during the upload process.

Note: this process is not fully automated as you will need to send them an email to initiate the process of payment splitting for each release. Click here for more information. https://support.soundrop.com/hc/en-us/articles/217036906-Loudr-Revenue-Splits-Still-Active-

It is surprising to me that more distribution companies do not employ this service on their platforms. At the end of the day, it just makes sense and makes life so much easier on the artist. Lastly, Soundrop does have a payment threshold of $20 before they will allow you to withdraw your funds. Your withdrawl options are through Paypal or via a bank check.

Ease Of Use

Where does Soundrop rank in terms of ease of use? Well I must say simplicity is certainly the key here and you shouldn’t have any issues navigating the platform. I would compare Soundrop to Distrokid in that both platforms are very minimalist. However with that said, Distrokid still takes the cake on how simple their platform is to navigate.

Customer Support

Soundrop is not the strongest in the area of customer support. They do provide you with a solid F.A.Q. section which is a plus but this seems to be the extent of their support systems. Aside from this, they are best to reach via email and you will need to submit a request to have your questions answered. The response time will usually take a couple of days and they do not offer phone or live chat options for contact.

Final Verdict On Our Soundrop Review

Soundrop is a great platform for those with small budgets and who do not require a ton of features. If you are looking for a quick and straightforward solution to get your music distributed to the main platforms in the industry, then Soundrop is a solution. At the end of the day, they do a great job of delivering on the services and capabilities that they currently have.

I expect that Soundrop will grow and add more features over time however this is just speculation and you may be better of with a stronger option depending on your needs as an artist.