Liverpool-based music distributor Ditto have been around since 2005. In that time, they have served over 1.3 million artists, including early Ed Sheeran, as well as a Guinness World Record entry – Koopa's "Blag, Steal & Borrow." Ditto is no doubt a significant player in the music distribution industry. Their recent pricing update includes an additional tier with new features that might suit you. Let’s investigate, shall we?
First things first, Ditto offers a variety of plans to suit different needs. The highlight for us would be their new Pro plan (€59 per year), which features the ability to release music by two artists. This means you can manage two separate projects, almost like a small label. It's an affordable option, especially compared to “standard” label subscription offers.
If you have two projects or an artist friend to split the cost with, this could be a really cost-effective and feature-packed option.
You don’t have to go Pro, though. Ditto offers a simpler and highly affordable Starter package for one artist at €19 per year, which you can test for the first 30 days for free. For managers or labels with multiple artists, the Labels plan provides all the Pro features plus additional management and promotion tools, including a contract creator coming soon.
With any of the available plans, you'll appreciate keeping 100% of your royalties as well as the quick royalty payments that go straight to your bank or PayPal, depending on your preference. And regardless of the plan you choose, you can still add multiple primary artists when releasing a collaboration – the only condition is that your account's primary artist must be present on the song.
Flexible options for releasing various types of songs
One unique aspect of Ditto we actually loved is the flexibility in where and how you distribute your music. You can pick countries to include or exclude, choose from over 150 stores to deliver your music to (or not), and even opt for Downloads only or Streaming only. This flexibility is beneficial for labels or established artists with specific deals or strategies.
Because of this amount of flexibility, we found Ditto to possibly be the easiest and cheapest way to release cover songs. If you opt for streaming only, you don’t need a specific license, just the right capitalization and matching credits of the song you're covering, making releasing a cover pretty much free. If you want your songs available for downloads too, you will need to obtain a mechanical license and upload it to Ditto during the distribution process. More details on releasing cover songs through Ditto can be found here.
More highlights
FYI, you can pick a release date with any subscription plan. A pre-release or an ASAP release will cost you extra, though.
Ditto’s stand-out features
… are, for us, the unique aspects of the new Pro tier, one of the most standing out being their sync opportunities (pitching your music for movies, series, ads, and more). Ditto has an in-house sync team and clients reaching out to them. With the Pro account, you can register any and all of your songs for sync very easily. They will be reviewed and, if suitable, approved. Opportunities to apply will be displayed in your Sync dashboard, you just need to keep an eye on it regularly and apply wherever the requested vibe aligns with your music. The simplicity of this process makes it stand out, as the sync world is usually very complicated.
Other useful features of the Ditto Pro plan include YouTube Content ID at no extra cost (usually at an extra cost with most distributors), and ever-evolving perks – discounts, offers, and materials – available to you in your dashboard. This also includes a database of influencers to reach out to, and a music festival or funding map you might find useful, too.
But what if you decide not to use the Pro anymore? No stress – your songs won’t get removed. The tracks will stay up even if you stop, miss a payment, or downgrade, which is, again, a feature not all distributors offer for free (or at all).
So, who would Ditto be most useful for? With the new Pro plan, we feel Ditto suits upcoming and/or established artists with a bit of a budget, especially those with two projects or two friends sharing the account. Artists whose goal is to land some syncing opportunities will benefit greatly, too. And Ditto is also fantastic and probably the easiest way to release cover songs that don’t need downloads. If those are the areas you’re active in, this distribution platform may be one of the best for you.
Also, since we’ve partnered with Ditto and truly believe in their service, you can now get 25% off any Ditto Music plan with the discount code: SUBMITHUB26. Release unlimited music to over 150 platforms – including Spotify, Apple Music, and TikTok – and access powerful tools like sync pitching, listener data, free pre-save links, and more, while keeping 100% of your royalties, now for just three-quarters of the price.