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Streaming, Downloads and Digital Sales

Many artists did not agree to stream their music at first. Many music fans even had to digitalise every CD they had. Some bands and artists even tried to withhold their music from being digitalised, Tool are a prime example, but many quickly realised the new … Keep Reading

Article 50

Today the United Kingdom triggers the Lisbon Treaty Article 50 mechanism to leave the European Union. On a personal level staying in the European Union seemed the only sensible way forwards for both business and protecting our human rights. The campaign on both sides for the referendum … Keep Reading

The World of Soundscaping

A lot of musicians are on their way to enjoying success. With that success comes a time when you start thinking about publishing options. There are specific things you could do as a musician in publishing – Soundscaping is just one of them. What is … Keep Reading

What is SoundScan?

A lot of artists are ready to take the next step in their musical career, with that career there are a number of factors you need to know before you can rise and take over the world with your music. One of those things is SoundScan.

What is SoundScan?

SoundScan signs up stores and has a tracking system that is operated by ACNielsen (sounds familiar?) Nielsen tracks your music and music video sold in retail in America and Canada. Billboard uses these numbers for their charts that you can check regularly on their website.

How does it work?

Any song, video or album or any music product carries an UPC or EAN and a ISRC (barcode). This code is needed to track your music in sales with this system. Their sales numbers get collected weekly so it gets updated very often. Which is a good thing because sales don’t stand still. It is not used or royalty payments, but instead tracks song data for use in the charts.

Is this just for physical sales?

No, it isn’t just for physical sales. It also counts the music that sells in digital stores (like iTunes), but since 2014 they also include streaming into their tracking list. This makes it really easy, because everything comes from one source.

Are these numbers accurate?

In theory all the digital sales (streams and digital downloads) are completely correct. Because when labels and artists license digital rights to the seller, they need to report their sales to SoundScan. Digital is completely covered as you can’t really make up the streams or downloads that are shown.

There are a lot of independent stores that aren’t signed up to SoundScan. If they are not signed up, there is no way in knowing how much of your CDs or vinyl gets sold in that store. Which means there is a blind spot in the industry sales on physical music. Unless you want to contact every store one by one, this is the most accurate sales list you’ll get for in America and Canada.

How do I use it?

To start using SoundScan to track your sales data, you need to register your tracks with Nielsen and wait for them to be approved.

Anara Publishing Officially Launches

Remember in June when Horus Music’s Director of Publishing, Deborah Smith, announced they were expanding our sync network? After almost eight months of endless hard work, we can now proudly announce that Anara Publishing has been officially launched. More About Anara Publishing Anara Publishing is … Keep Reading

Is DIY the Way To Go?

Many artists are turning to labels in the hope they’ll become the superstars they dream of. But sometimes going for a label isn’t the best option. That’s what singer-songwriter Milow thought before he jumpstarted his career. He made the very wise decision to go DIY … Keep Reading

Optimising your YouTube channel

YouTube is arguably the most important video platform for artists to share their promo material, music videos, live shows and behind the scenes footage. However, with an optimised YouTube channel, it can be a lot more effective. In this article we will give some more … Keep Reading

An Introduction to the Music Industry – Part 2

Catch up on part 1 here and find out how you can make money from the rights you own. Live Performance Unlike copyright, which can be harder to understand, the are two other forms of revenue streams that artists will use. These two forms of … Keep Reading

iTunes Store Artist Image Guidelines

Did you know you can set your own artist photo on iTunes? Here’s are the artist image guidelines so you can add yours. Send us your photo to add yours. When you click onto an Artist’s page on iTunes or Apple Music, a photo will … Keep Reading

An Introduction to the Music Industry – Part 1

The music industry can be a mysterious place. It’s important to what what each area of the industry does and how you can earn a living. Intellectual Property Intellectual property is based around Copyright. Copyright is present in all forms of intellectual property, from film … Keep Reading

Why Is Artwork So Important?

Before online streaming, artwork was a sacred object many music lovers cherished and collected. This square image painted a picture that reflected the song you were listening to. Now it has all changed. Album artwork has been reduced down to a small square that’s hardly … Keep Reading

Get your Profiles Verified

Getting your profiles verified offers more than just validation, but it definitely does feel exciting! Generally, the main networks to be looking at getting verified on are Apple Music, Spotify, Facebook and Twitter. In this article we’ll give you a brief but informative guide on … Keep Reading

Why Should I Self Release my Music?

Sharing music has become increasingly popular as technology has made putting media into the public domain considerably easier. Most releases in the past couple of years can be found on Soundcloud, iTunes and Spotify sooner than they will be in a physical store (if in … Keep Reading

8 Tips to Get Your Music Heard

There are many ways in which you can get your music heard. This can be achieved through CD’s, radio, TV and many online distributors. Your music can be uploaded to different online platforms free of charge such as YouTube, Soundcloud and Vimeo. However getting your … Keep Reading

How to Use YouTube Playlists

Whether it is on YouTube or on your favourite streaming service, playlists can be an invaluable form of promotion and engagement for artists. YouTube Playlists can be sorted in almost any way you need, and provide continuous play, cross promotion or a visual mixtape for … Keep Reading

How to Pitch your Music to Influencers

So, you’ve got some killer tracks laid down in the studio and produced by a top quality engineer. You’ve been gigging regularly and have built up a respectable fanbase on your social media pages too. You’re looking to take the next step and get a … Keep Reading

Luke’s Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Songs

As we near the end of the year, we have the final instalment of our guilty pleasure series. Here we have Luke sharing his top choices. Listen along on Spotify. 1. Robbie Williams – Bodies Hardly the highest point in his career but I can’t help … Keep Reading

10 Most Viewed VEVO Channels

It’s been a long journey this year, but here we are at the final edition of our 10-themed lists. In celebration of our 10th birthday this year, we have been counting down all things around the theme of ’10’ and taking a look back at … Keep Reading

Marketing in the Streaming Age

Cutting through the noise has always been a problem when trying to promote and market your music. The questions has always been how to influence the public and get your music out there and seen by them. When it comes to marketing in the streaming … Keep Reading

Catherine’s Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Songs

Thanks to Catherine for sharing her guilty pleasure list with us, we enjoyed this one. Listen along on Spotify and subscribe for all the latest from us. 1. Maroon 5 – Moves Like Jagger I find it impossible to whistle, but I keep trying, like a game … Keep Reading

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