A release is an album or single which is to be distributed, or has been distributed, by Symphonic Distribution
 

A single is a release containing 1 track.
 

A track is a music file from your computer which has a complete set of meta-data and is ready on to include in a release.
 

As defined within the Symphonic Distribution terminology, a music file is a file on your computer which you can upload, edit and add information to.
 

A territory is a particular geographical area in which your music is licensed.
 

Genre is a way of categorizing music into different types, each of which shares a common sound or heritage.
 

The term 'mechanical' and mechanical license has its origins in the 'piano rolls' on which music was recorded in the early part of the 20th Century. Although its concept is now primarily oriented to royalty income from sale of compact discs (CDs), its scope is wider and covers any copyrighted audio composition that is rendered mechanically; that is, without human performers: * tape recordings * music videos * ringtones * MIDI files * downloaded tracks * DVDs, VHS, UMDs * computer games * musical toys etc. The United States treatment of mechanical royalties is in sharp contrast to international practice. In the United States, while the right to use copyrighted music for making records for public distribution (for private use) is an exclusive right of the composer, the Copyright Act provides that once the music is so recorded, anyone else can record the composition/song without a negotiated license but on the payment of the statutory compulsory royalty. Thus, its use by different artists could lead to several separately-owned copyrighted 'sound recordings'.
 

These “returns” and/or "voided" transactions are songs that individuals choose to not buy, return, and/or are fraudulent transactions that were not valid to begin with.  Retailers may show these on every statement and they automatically deducted from payments to record label partners.
 

Check out our music business dictionary by clicking here!
 

A UPC is a “universal product code”, and is similar to a barcode or serial number. It gives your release a unique identity.  All releases are required to have this and we do take care of assigning them to releases.  Some distributors and aggregators may charge per release while we only have a one time sign up fee to cover the cost of creation and assignation.
 

An ISRC is an “international standard recording code” and identifies a particular recording of a track.  All releases are required to have this and we do take care of assigning them to releases.  Some distributors and aggregators may charge per release while we only have a one time sign up fee to cover the cost of creation and assignation.

Under law, you are in every sense liable for all the content you submit, this includes music, pictures, metadata and any other material uploaded by you. This means that Symphonic Distribution, our partners, or any other third party can take legal actions against you if you infringe any intellectual property right or any other right of the given parties.
 

Symphonic Distribution must guarantee to our partners that we have licensed the rights to distribute the content in the territories specified in the metadata, otherwise they cannot sell the music in the given territories. If you can’t guarantee that you are the rights holder then we cannot guarantee to our partners that we have licensed the rights and thereby they cannot sell your music in their stores.
 

Certifying that you are the rights holder when you are not is a criminal act and may result in legal actions against you from Symphonic Distribution, our partners and/or any other third party infringed by you.
 

If you have obtained all relevant consent from the artist, musicians, producers, mixers and other persons (or entities) involved in the production of the recordings you are fully liable to pay compensation to them. Otherwise they can take legal actions against you.
 

Yes. Any samples that you want to use in any way must be cleared with the rights holder before you are allowed to use it.
 

If your track is a cover version of a song/lyric for which you are not the author you need obtain consent from the author(s) to use it, otherwise legal actions can be taken against you.
 

If you have a legal binding and valid agreement with the artist to which the artist has granted you the all the necessary rights you have the power to enter into an agreement with Symphonic Distribution. Although, in case of termination of the agreement with the artist you must immediately terminate the agreement with Symphonic Distribution otherwise you are committing infringement. Note that termination of the agreement with Symphonic Distribution might take up to three months.
 

Per default, Symphonic Distribution licenses your music for purchase to the territory “world”, which includes all territories. However, if your music is already licensed in certain territories around the world, you have the option of excluding these territories. This will mean that your music will then not be available for purchase in these excluded territories.
 

Your music is not allowed to contain anything that might infringe the Criminal Act in any part of the territory. This includes, but is not limited to, infringement or instigation of rebellion, persecution of an ethnic group, child pornography or unlawful description of violence. Your music can neither include material that is obscene or defamatory of any person.

Symphonic Distribution is a digital content distributor and services provider aimed at providing the best in content delivery, customer service, marketing, education, and more for music industry artists, managers, and record labels across the globe. In addition to our services, Symphonic Distribution also has several distinct brands for the intention of expanding the reach of a client. We have a proven track record and currently provide services to hundreds of clients based in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Australia, Sweden, Bosnia & Herzegovina, India, Japan, USA, Canada, Portugal, and countless other countries and cultures around the globe. Symphonic Distribution is ran by experienced music producers, label owners, and artists thriving in providing the highest level of service.  In simple terms... you send to one place, we get it to everyone at one time and do all the work for you!
 

We offer Education, Marketing, Development, and Licensing.  We are your one stop shop for everything music!  Our main niche service is distribution however, through our brands and services (that you can view in the above menu), you will see the diversity in our services and how we can help you.
 

We receive a percentage of royalties made by your music.  Through Symphonic Distribution there are three contract options.  One of our options states that you receive 90% of royalties while we retain the other 10% of royalties to cover distribution costs (bandwidth, hosting, etc).  In our distribution, we always want you to make more money and always will ensure that you do.  If you are interested in retaining 100% of your royalties, you may visit www.SYMDIRECT.COM and register through our sister company. You will only have to pay per release you distribute and retain 100% of royalties. We also have other distribution options listed below to better serve you.  If interested in joining, please click here.  Our sales representative will send you our application and information for you to choose your contract option.
 

We will never claim that we are the best in the world but we will tell you that we work VERY hard for you.  The staff and executive of Symphonic Distribution comes from label backgrounds and being with other distributors.  We know full well what you want and what you demand in terms of service and we will always work hard to ensure that you get the best and most quickest service possible. 
 

To view a full list of partners we distribute to, refer to the menu above and select "Retailers".  The list of "Retailers" will constantly evolve to feature additional partners catering to specific needs.
 

Symphonic Distribution distributes to a diverse range of digital services providers, including online stores, mobile stores and streaming services. Some of these cater to all kinds of music, some focus around particular genres such as electronic and dance.

As a distributor with the same interests and needs of a record label we feel you should have options and when signing with us. We have developed four options to better help you decide how to run your distribution business. We feel these are not only the most competitive options a distributor can offer but are also the ability to allow a label to determine what will be best for them from the beginning of their distribution deal.  If interested in joining, please click here.
 

We understand that you may have agreements with other stores and thus don’t force you to give up those agreements when you join.  We are a non-exclusive distributor with a network of over 300 online retailers and our network is in constant growth.  When you sign up with you tell us where you want us to send your music, at that point we become the only distributor to send your music to the specific stores you chose.  If you have agreements with some of the stores we distribute, you may transfer over the responsibility to us.
 

You may cancel an agreement although we do not recommend it. Once you sign a contract with us, it will be for a specific term and if you wish to cancel we will enforce the penalties as per our agreement.
 

Yes, you still own every piece of music you send to us.  All we do is simply distribute music to retailers.
 

Retailers retain an average of 40% of royalties prior to a split with us.  We are always working towards providing label partners more and expect this number to decline to 20-30% of royalties.  This will give you more royalties and opportunities all the while saving you time.
 

No, we can take down the track or release if need be. It is your label not ours thus you have control of what you want to release, when you want to release it, and if you’d like to take it down for specific circumstances.
 

Nope, It does not cause problems with us.  The only hiccup that might occur is if this physical distributor would also like the digital rights.  In the case of this, we would ask for you to state that you currently have a digital distributor handling your distribution.

Yes, please deliver only top quality sounding material in the highest format possible.  The whole world will be hearing, purchasing, and playing your material thus, you want it sounding excellent!  If you need help mastering, we do have a brand dedicated to providing this service.  For more information, please click here.
 

No, there are no issues from our end as we understand certain tracks take a long while to be completed
 

We prefer quality over quantity however we want really top notch music that fits what is selling the best nowadays.
 

While we do recommend that you let us distribute to all of our retailer partners, we do have the ability to limit distribution to specific retailer partners.  If you do not want us to distribute, please let our sales department aware prior to signing agreement.
 

Symphonic Distribution requires your music to be uploaded in .wav format (16 bit, 44.1 kHz) and sent via our Content Portal using the instructions you receive via our welcome email. Symphonic Distribution will then convert your music to the requirements specified by each of our Partners.
 

In our "Welcome to Symphonic Distribution" email that is sent to you upon sign up, you will receive instructions on how to send in your music.  Unlike many distributors, we don't require you to send cds, instead, we provide you with a system to deliver your music quickly and effectively.  We have built our very own content portal that allows you to pick and choose which stores you would like to receive your release.

Please remember to send releases 3-4 weeks prior to your release date to ensure that it goes live on the release date you wrote. Ensure that you send your music in the following format listed below.  Email content@symphonicdistribution.comfor any additional questions and we will respond ASAP.
 

Yes, our content representatives provide support if you encounter issues and/or troubles during the content delivery process.  Additionally, on our intranet, we have a section containing instructional guides, and an instructional video for your use.  To visit this section, you may click here.
 

At times, there are errors when music has been submitted to retailers.  When errors occur, please do not be quick to point fingers at yourself and/or us.  At times, the stores make these errors and they can easily be corrected.  If your release or releases have errors, please visit the Symphonic Distribution Intranet to submit a ticket to get your release corrected at the specific store that shows the error.  You may also email content@symphonicdistribution.com
 

As your distributor, we distribute your release exactly as to how you have submitted it to us.  Once submitted using the details we are given by you, some retailers might make changes to the genre of the song or release if they feel they have to.  Reasons for these changes may be that retailers feel the release or song pertains to another genre, and/or they feel it is better for the product.  In cases like this, we try our best to change the genre of the song or release per your request but ultimately, it is up to the retailer we distribute to.
 

For some retailers like iTunes, it can take anywhere from 4-8 weeks for a release to show.  We do recommend for labels to send in content 3-4 weeks ahead of time to ensure that it can go live on the release date.  At times, the release might still be delayed but you can be assured that when you send a release to us, it will be sent out that very same day.
 

Yes, some of our partners are orientated towards specific music genres, such as dance or electronic music. We do not send music to these stores which does not match the genre they are specialized in.
 

Some stores prefer quality over quantity, therefore they enforce a 2 EP’s a month (3-5+ tracks a month in each EP is acceptable). We realize this is a slight inconvenience yet, these stores and us, want you to focus hard on marketing the releases and working hard to get the most out of every release that is distributed
 

For those labels that are accepted by Beatport there is a quota of $500.00 GROSS every quarter. The reasoning behind this new, higher benchmark is for several reasons.  They want to keep the quality and the relevancy of content available on Beatport as high as possible. They  acknowledge and understand that labels do take some time to build a brand, but They  also feel that a higher income minimum serves to separate the ‘hobbiest’ from the serious professional (or aspiring professional) producer and/or label manager.  Off the record, this figure is not necessarily hard and fast.  A label that shows continued growth, relevancy, and quality will be allowed to stay on by their discretion. The days of a label just throwing their music up on Beatport in hopes it will sell are over.  Sure, quality music is paramount but we need labels to be active in setting up their releases prior to release date and driving traffic to their fans once that release is available.
 

After we distribute and upload the content, it is up to the stores to receive, upload, and place live.  Unfortunately, not all stores feel that the content can go on and often times, they are selective as to what content is placed. Some retailers may have to approve the label in order to place the content live thus, the music is not always guaranteed to be on every single retailer partner.  As a distributor, we will distribute your music to the retailers but it will be up to them to place live if they feel it should be live on their store.  Additionally, some stores have different lead times.  For example, iTunes can take anywhere from 6-8 weeks to place live.

Via the front page of our website, we feature six new releases every week from one of our retailer partners. Additionally, SymBlog.com (one of our brands) is available for all labels to register and post information regarding their labels and/or releases.  With this also stated, Noiseporn.com, (our online magazine) may also choose to post this on Noiseporn.com for further recognition. Furthermore, we have other tools that you receive upon sign up (for marketing your label) that are also available via SYMINTRANET.COM. We recommend you use sources such as twitter, MySpace, Facebook and other sources. With us being a distributor, distribution is our main forte and our marketing services are purely there to help you and guide you.
 

The truth is, we can easily send your content to all promotional providers such as PromoOnly and ZIPDJ however, they have asked us to not do so. With this stated, via our content portal you can choose ZIPDJ as a promotional company to send material to and it will be up to them if they place it live.
 

Not all music that is distributed goes on the MobiSYM APP. We will try our best and add music from your label but is best if you additionally contact us so we may go forth and add content to the app. For more information and to download the APP, please click here!
 

Symphonic Distribution has marketing services that range from services that require a fee and/or are FREE to use. For more information on these services you may click here. Due to the high volume of releases and labels we represent, we cannot guarantee and/or do promotion for each and every one thus, why we have created on demand services to fit your needs.
 

Symphonic Distribution will continue to look for new online retailers to send your music to.  With this said, when we have established agreements with new stores, we will email you an “addendum” to add stores to your agreement.  When stores are added, please allow up to 1 mo. for music to show in the new stores. If there are stores you’d like to see your music in, please email us at support@symphonicdistribution.com