Lofi BugHow to distribute
your lo-fi music
Getting your beats from your bedroom onto Spotify is simpler than it looks. Here is how lo-fi music distribution works, what it costs, and how to keep every right to your sound.
What is lo-fi music distribution?
Distribution is how a finished track travels from your hard drive to the places people actually listen: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and every other store and streaming service. You cannot upload directly to most of them yourself, so your music goes through a distributor (sometimes called an aggregator) or a record label that delivers it for you and collects your streaming royalties.
For lo-fi specifically, distribution is also about landing in the right context: the study playlists, the late-night focus mixes, the chillhop corners where listeners go looking for exactly your sound. Getting the files out there is step one. Getting them heard is the rest of the work.
How to distribute
your lo-fi music
Three steps take you from a finished beat to a release that is live everywhere.
Get your release ready
Master your tracks, finalize square artwork at 3000 by 3000 pixels, and write your titles, credits and release date. Clean metadata now saves headaches later.
Choose how you distribute
Go the DIY route with an aggregator, or release with a lo-fi label that handles delivery, playlisting and rights for you. More on both below.
Release, then grow
Deliver about three to four weeks ahead so editors can consider you for playlists. After release day, the real work is promotion and pitching.
Do it yourself, or
release with a label
The DIY route
Upload your own music through an aggregator for a yearly fee or a cut of your royalties. You keep full control, and you do every job yourself.
- The cheapest way to start
- You keep all of your royalties
- Full control of your timing and creative calls
- You do every job: metadata, artwork, scheduling and admin
- No playlist relationships or industry contacts
- You pitch, market and promote entirely on your own
- You chase your own royalties and handle any takedowns
The label route
We do the delivery and the busywork, then actively push your music to listeners, while you keep your masters.
- We handle delivery, release scheduling and the admin
- Real playlist pitching and marketing on every release
- Rights protection, and you still keep your masters and publishing
- A team that actually knows lo-fi championing your sound
- More time to do the part you love: making music
- Real human support, no ticket queues
- We take a small cut of the royalties
- We are selective, so not every demo makes the cut
Where your music
gets distributed
Through us, your release lands on every major platform, plus more than 150 stores worldwide.
Keep your masters,
keep your royalties
However you distribute, read the terms before you sign anything. With us, you keep your masters and your publishing, and your copyright stays yours. We take a small cut of the royalties for the work we put in, and the rest is paid out to you. We help your music reach more ears, and we never take your music from you.
Lo-fi distribution,
answered
Master your tracks, prepare your artwork and metadata, then deliver the release through a distributor or a label. They push it to Spotify, Apple Music and the other stores and collect your royalties. With us, you send your demo and we handle the delivery for you.
A mastered audio file (WAV is ideal), square cover art at 3000 by 3000 pixels, and your metadata: track titles, artist name, credits and a release date. Have these ready and the actual distribution is quick.
No. You can distribute on your own through a DIY aggregator. A label like us is worth it when you would rather spend your time making music while we handle delivery, playlist pitching, marketing and rights for you.
DIY aggregators usually charge a yearly fee per release or take a percentage of your royalties. We keep it simple: we take a small cut of the royalties for the work we do, with no hidden fees. The exact arrangement depends on your release and your goals, so get in touch and we will find a fit.
A small cut, in exchange for distribution, marketing and rights protection. You keep the larger share and full ownership of your masters and publishing, so we only earn when your music does.
Some aggregators offer free tiers that take a larger cut of your royalties instead of an upfront fee. Free is rarely truly free, so always check how much of your earnings you actually keep.
Pitch your release through Spotify for Artists at least a week before release day, grow your own playlists and followers, and lean on a label or network with playlist relationships. Releasing consistently in a clear lo-fi style helps editors know where you fit.
Only if the samples are cleared, royalty-free, or your own. Stores can take down releases that use uncleared samples, and you could owe royalties to the original owner. When in doubt, replace the sample or get written permission first.
Delivery itself is quick, but plan to send your release three to four weeks before the release date so stores can process it and editors have time to consider it for playlists.
Always. You own your masters and your publishing. We simply help your music reach more listeners and protect what is yours.