Frequently Asked Questions
Music Distribution
What is ABC Digital ?
ABC Digital is music distribution service that musicians, labels & music companies use to distribute and monetize music into online & mobile stores & streaming services. These include iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon, Deezer, Saavn, and many more.
ABC Digital collects royalties & payments from these stores and distributes them to the right owner on a revenue share basis. ABC Digital is a brand, which operates under the business ABC Digital Distribution Limited, a company registered in the United Kingdom.
How long does it take for my music to be available on the stores ?
It can take 3-4 business days for albums to be reviewed, approved, and sent to stores. You can specify a release date for your album or choose to release it at the earliest possible. We also facilitate Pre Order in case of iTunes.
A very small percentage of albums go through manual review, which takes an additional week or so.
What stores will my music be distributed to ?
Your music will be made available on
iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Napster, Deezer, Saavn, Amazon, Google Play, Pandora, Slacker, KKBOX, Soundcloud, Yonder, Akazoo, PulseLocker, Electric Juke Box and 40 other stores. These stores account for majority of the revenue on digital distribution of music across the world.
If there’s another store you really want to be in, let us know and we’ll look into adding it.
How frequently and where will I get paid ?
ABC Digital reports all its revenues in GBP (Great Britain Pound Sterling)
It pays its partners every month between the 1st & the 7th of the month. The amount will paid to a bank account or a PayPal account designated by you. In normal circumstances, the amount is credited to your account within 3-4 working days.
We make all international payments in GBP. The amount you get in your account is subject to the exchange rate applicable on the day.
Can I create additional users for my account ?
Yes, you can create additional users in your account to help you manage various functions like uploading music, managing reports & using accounts.
The additional user will not be able to alter any accounting information related to banking or payment methods without authorisation of the main user.
Do I need to have my own ISRC / UPC Codes ?
Each track needs an ISRC code as a unique identifier to track sales. Every release also needs a UPC Code. We can also provide these for free, however if you have your own you are welcome to use them.
Which countries can I release my music in ?
Most of our partners’ releases will go to every store worldwide, but you can choose specific territories in which you’d like to release your music if you’d prefer.
You can also separately choose different territories for YouTube.
How do I submit my music using your platform ?
We offer a fully automated music submission system, with which you can submit a single or an album of your choice. In the near future we will also be offering bulk upload option for you to upload multiple albums at the same time.
You can view your full catalogue, edit it at any time & resubmit it to change details on the stores. You can choose a per order date (for iTunes) , choose your release date, choose to defer your release by a day in the far east.
We offer more details on each of these features once you have partnered with us.
What kind of reports do I get ?
We provide daily trend reports and monthly sales reports from various platforms. The reports are made available as soon as the platforms share them with us.
I am interested, what next ?
We are glad you are considering joining us. ABC Digital works on a revenue share basis. All you need to do is write to us on mailto:info@35.176.34.230 with the following details
Your Name :
Company Name : (If applicable)
Label Name : (If applicable)
Contact Number :
Your Catalogue Size : (Number of Songs / Albums)
Your Catalogue Language:
YouTube Services
Do you offer monetization on YouTube ?
ABC Digital Distribution is a YouTube certified company and can offer specialist services to partners with YouTube Channels. If you don’t have a YouTube channel, we can help you create one.
We advise you on promoting & marketing your YouTube channel in a manner which allows you to market & monetize your channel optimally.
We help you monetize your content on YouTube Video, YouTube Red (YouTube’s ad free subscription service) and YouTube Music (YouTube’s ad funded / premium audio service)
What is YouTube Content ID & how does it work ?
YouTube Content ID is a solution provided by YouTube, which allows you to monetize your content across the entire YouTube platform. YouTube Content ID allows you to claim royalties not just on videos you have uploaded, but from other user’s submissions too. You can watch a video on YouTube Content ID here.
Some examples of how you can earn revenues:
- Fan uploaded videos
- User Uploaded Live Performances
- Other users who have sampled or used your music
As a YouTube certified company, we use our expertise so you can be assured your content is being monetized to the maximum.
What is YouTube Music ?
YouTube Music is a music streaming service from YouTube.
On this service, your music and artwork will be combined to create an “Art Track,” which is a video on YouTube that displays your artwork & plays your song.
You’re paid for each monetized play of your music. A “monetized” play is when YouTube displays an ad on the video, or when a YouTube Music paying subscriber listens.
In case of a paid YouTube subscriber, you’re paid, pro-rata, based on how much he’s paying and what percentage of the time he listened to your tracks.
YouTube Music is currently available in limited countries, and will be available anywhere YouTube has a subscription music service as new territories are supported. If you’re trying to play YouTube Music Art Track videos from outside of these supported territories, you may see a message that the content is not available.We will distribute your music to all additional YouTube Music territories as they become available, unless you have removed the territory from your selection.
Where & When do YouTube revenues appear ?
They are part of the monthly sales report, labelled as YouTube reports. You can search your videos by Video Names & Artists.
ABC Digital pays out YouTube revenues every month one month in arrears. So for example, the revenue for January is paid out in March.
If you are also engaged with us for Digital Music Distribution, besides YouTube services, your YouTube revenues will be paid out as a part of an overall invoice, which includes revenue from all stores including YouTube.
Do you offer a YouTube only contract ?
We are glad you are interested in considering us for YouTube Services. Yes, we offer a YouTube only contract on a 80%:20% revenue share basis. However, we highly recommend that, to optimize your revenue potential across YouTube and all other platforms, you join us for both Digital Music Distribution and YouTube services both. .