We are so lucky to live in a world where we have options for our music distribution. After all, it wasn’t even that long ago that the prices were sky high with hardly any choice of options. Nowadays, with the advent of the internet, we can use various services to distribute our music in numerous ways. One such service is Amuse Music, and this article will be an Amuse Music distribution review. We will take a look at the services they offer, and their pricing and compare them to other services on the market.
Lack of distribution can push the pause button on an artist’s career, purely because they don’t have the money to cover their costs. This means that we could have missed out on countless talented artists and their music. Luckily we have services like Amuse Music, which are helping to launch the next generation of stars.
What Is Amuse Music?
So what is Amuse Music? Amuse Music is a music distributor that distributes music for free. They seek to find new, creative, up-and-coming artists to sign to their label with a licensing deal and aim for artists to get their music played on Apple Music and Spotify. This is why their distribution is free of charge.
They say: “Getting your music out there should be free, and getting it played should be a breeze. With Amuse you get access to all major streaming services, and if you upgrade to Pro your music can reach even further with TikTok and Instagram.”
Amuse Music is a Swedish company who were founded back in 2015 by Andreas Ahlenius, Diego Farias, Christian Wilsson, Guy Parry, and Jimmy Brodd. It didn’t officially launch until 2017, so they are a relatively new company.
What Services Do Amuse Music Offer?
So what services do Amuse Music offer to artists? And how can you use them to benefit your music career?
Amuse Music Distribution
Of course, the main benefit to your career is Amuse Music’s song distribution. You can get your music onto all of the major streaming platforms and music stores. This can gain you new followers and fans, lead you to work with industry experts, or even land you a recording contract. Only good things can come from distributing your music to the public, especially with Amuse’s free distribution.
Uploading your music only takes a few minutes, and then your hard work will be out there for the world to hear. You can also upload a photo to accompany your single, but the image needs to be between 3000*3000 pixels and 6000*6000 pixels in png or jpeg. This is a brilliant idea as your fans will be able to associate your picture with your music, and it will give your brand a recognizable identity.
Your Rights
With Amuse Music you will retain all rights to your tracks, and this is a big plus to their services. As we have previously mentioned, if they like what they hear then they can offer you a deal that’s based on licensing agreements. However you don’t have to accept their record deal offer, you could just continue using Amuse digital distribution.
Track Your Success
Amuse Music includes something called the Fast Forward option. It will analyze your data, including the streaming numbers and it will make some calculated guesses for the future royalties you will receive. You can then borrow this amount of money and utilize it to further your music career or use it to make new music or promote the music you already have uploaded.
Family Sharing
There’s an option for family sharing from the Amuse Music app. This means that up to six people can use your account, which is great for sharing your music with them.
How Much Does Amuse Music Cost?
The great thing about Amuse Music is that it is completely free to use! This is because they are constantly seeking out new artists to work with and offer a record deal contract. This will cover things like financing, marketing, promotional material, and more. Amuse Music Center covers the costs, and any profits earned will be split 50/50. Also, you will retain 100% of the royalties from the tracks that you upload.
Amuse Music is given payments from the music stores between two and three months after you stream your music. You can keep track of your royalties by using the Money tab in the app. You can collect your royalties through PayPal once they have exceeded $10. It is important to note that you can pay $5 per month to make use of Amuse Pro. It can provide you with YouTube Content Id, royalty splits, and multiple artist profiles. However, using this service is completely optional.
What Does The Industry Think Of Amuse Music Distribution?
So what is the industry opinion of Amuse Music? There are mixed opinions – the positives include the price, as it is completely free. It can also lead to artists landing a sync licensing agreement and this is great for their careers. The Amuse song distribution is great, but that’s where some reviewers believe it is lacking, as other services offer wider distribution onto other channels. A good way of reviewing Amuse Music is to compare its services to others on the market.
Distrokid
Distrokid is one of the most popular music distribution platforms out there. There are some key differences between them and Amuse Music, so let’s take a look at what they are. In terms of reach, they overreach the distribution of Amuse as they can place your music in over 150 stores. This includes Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, and Amazon Music. This isn’t to say that you can’t see success from Amuse Music, but if you want your music to reach the maximum number of people possible then go for Distrokid.
Another key difference between the two is the price. We know that Amuse Music distribution is completely free of charge, however, Distrokid will cost you $19.99 for a subscription for the year. In their higher tier feature, you can release music under your label name and use it for more than one artist. The commission from both services is equal, and Distrokid doesn’t offer any sync licensing deals.
Мusic Gateway
So what about us here at Мusic Gateway, how do we fare in comparison to Amuse Music? It’s so easy to use our free music distribution and sync licensing service.
Our incredible music distribution service gets your music onto all major platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. What’s more, you keep 100% of your sales and we don’t get a penny from you.
We also master your music for free to make sure that you sound the best you can before your release. With a free account, you get 2 free songs to start with and you get more based on your plan. Hopefully, you’ll love what we can do for your career and will want to use some of our other amazing services!
What makes distribution by Мusic Gateway so great?
- You can distribute your music for FREE!
- Keep 100% of your royalties!
- Get free mastering to ensure your track sounds the best it can before distributing it!
- Distribute your music to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and over 300 more DSPs!
- Instant set up, upload your music and go!
All of this and more allows you to successfully distribute your music through Мusic Gateway with no recurring annual fees.
Also, if you have songs released through other distributors, you may want to think about moving them to us!
Most other distributors will take a cut of your streaming and sales royalties. So, move your entire catalog to us and start receiving 100% of your revenue.
It’s simple to transfer a song and we’ll ensure that all your listens, downloads and stats remain. It is a no brainer!
Sync Licensing
So, as for sync licensing, all you need to do is create an account and upload your music for our creative licensing team to listen to. We will then pitch directly to clients and if successful – you get paid! If you opt for a Non-Exclusive Agreement then you will receive 75% of the sync fee while we retain 25%. For an Exclusive Agreement, you will keep 80% and our cut will be 20%. And of course, you retain 100% of the rights and royalties.
Мusic Gateway has worked with some of the biggest names out there, including Disney, the BBC, ITV, Universal, and many more. Amuse Music follows a similar pattern to this as they also offer artist-friendly contracts. However in this case the sync licensing fees are split 50/50, while artists will retain 100% of the rights and royalties to their music.
Is Amuse Worth It?
Pros
It is now time to weigh up our Amuse distribution review and decide whether it is worth it. Spoiler – we think it is! Most importantly because it’s free! You don’t need to pay any upfront fees to upload your music. This makes it a great service for independent artists. However, there is an option to use Amuse Pro if you wish. This is great for independent artists or artists that are on a tight budget as it will allow them to get their music out there with no hidden costs or extra charges.
Despite not being uploaded to all stores, Amuse song distribution is compatible with all of the relevant and big names, such as Tidal, Apple Music, Spotify, and many more. What’s more, you get to keep 100% of the rights to your music as well as your royalties. Plus the Fast Forward option can benefit artists looking to promote their music.
Cons
Of course, there are also cons to Amuse Music, the first being that it is purely app based. This means that artists who prefer to work on desktops won’t be able to, and some may not even have access to the app. Also, there’s no mechanical license for an artist’s music, meaning if you cover songs you will not be paid for it. However, overall we think that it is worth it, especially as you can land a record deal and a sync licensing agreement from the service. This can end up furthering your career to no end.
Thoughts On Amuse Music Distribution Review
Amuse Music isn’t the only option though, there are many more out there that may better suit your needs. We would recommend doing some research into what services will work best for you. And don’t forget us here at Мusic Gateway! Click here to schedule a call with our Head of Sync Licensing.