Tips

We have always been focused on putting our clients first, and making sure that they have the information they need to make informed decisions. Through this, our clients are able to release their music and videos safe in the knowledge that they have everything they need right at their fingertips. Our Tips section provides many pieces of useful advice and how-to guides to help you and your music get ahead. You will find everything from how to use our system, and how to make the most of the key music platforms. Get heard above the noise.

This section is frequently updated, so make sure you come back for all the latest advice, and if you can’t find what you need, simply drop us a message and we can help you find what you are looking for.

Our 5 Top Tips For Networking In The Music Industry

We’ve all heard that one of the keys to long-term success in the music industry is ‘who you know’. If you’re a beginner in the music networking game then it … Keep Reading

Should Musicians Self-Promote?

Putting your passion into writing your own music or creating your own band is hard work. But, that’s just the start, particularly if this is your career choice. Even before … Keep Reading

What Are Merchandisers and Bootleggers?

So, what are merchandisers? You can compare a merchandiser to a label, in a way. A merchandiser has the right (once you sign a contract with them) to use your name on goods. So, in short, they manufacture your goods, they look into the sales at your gigs and, the most important part, they pay you royalties for each sale.

Keep Reading

Tour Merchandise Vs. Retail Merchandise

Tour merchandise and retail merchandise are very alike, but depending on what kind of artist you are there can be important differences. There are many ways to go and avenues to choose in terms of merch and often artists forget the opportunities that merchandise can offer. Let’s take a look at the differences between the two.

Keep Reading

Capturing Live Performance to Boost Engagement

Live streaming and live content is a game changer in the music industry. Artists are now setting up gigs just to so that they have content for their marketing campaigns. It is important to utilise every opportunity you have to get video content to boost your engagement, and here is why:

Keep Reading

Is Video Game Sync the Future?

Video game sync is getting more popular by the day.

More and more artists are becoming interested in having their music used in video games. It was announced earlier this year, for example, that a version of Ariana Grande’s track ‘Touch It’ would appear in the soundtrack of the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius game. On top of that, there would also be a character in the game based on her.

Ariana Grande is far from the first or only artist to become involved with video games. The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game is just one other games that is known for having some great tracks on its soundtrack. This includes Superman by Goldfinger.

Keep Reading

Music Video Commissioning – Pitfalls and Bear Traps

Music video commissioning is one the most important tasks of any promo campaign. A good video is crucial, and, as music video production is time-consuming and often the most expensive line … Keep Reading

How to Upload Releases onto MyClientZone

So you’ve finally finished your release and you want to release it through Horus Music and have it delivered to hundreds of download, streaming, mobile and radio Internet platforms around … Keep Reading

The Pros and Cons of Streaming

When building a music career it is important to not only evaluate yourself and your music, but, also to evaluate the market you want to be a part of. This … Keep Reading

5 Places to Find Great New Creative Talent for Your Next Release

There’s a lot of places to look for new creative talent across the internet – so many it can be bewildering! Here’s a quick guide to 5 key sites that … Keep Reading

Three Key Streaming Questions for Independent Labels and Artists

Streaming is now the main way of making money in the sale of music and this will probably continue to be the trend in the near future. Because of this, … Keep Reading

Independent Music in Film: Looking Outside the Obvious

With the explosion of the independent music and video industry in India, and the rise of independent bands, artists and producers, it is a great time for creators to collaborate … Keep Reading

What Digital Mistakes Are You Making?

There are so many digital mistakes that you may be making online without even realising it. Avoiding these will mean you have a better relationship with your fans. 1. Being … Keep Reading

How Important Are Streaming Playlists?

You can have a successful marketing campaign without playlist support from streaming platforms, but it is definitely something you should consider as a marketing tool for your next release. As … Keep Reading

Why is Protecting Your Music from Piracy Important?

It’s one big confusing world out there, especially with people doing the wrong thing and downloading songs illegally. People don’t always know what’s actually behind the music and how hard … Keep Reading

Why Album Artwork is Still Worth it

Everyone knows that appealing album artwork is more likely to catch a potential fan’s eye. That’s why you need to put a lot of thought into your artwork before you … Keep Reading

Release Checklist

When you’re ready to distribute your music, there are a few things you need to check to help speed up the release process. Metadata (Information such as the artist, release … Keep Reading

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 … 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 … 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.