LoadingLiverpool-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
- A new Ditto feature that’s definitely worth trying out is their Instant Online Music Mastering. They use AI technology to analyze and master your song – and what really stands out about it is that you get a full-length audio preview, complete with an analysis of what changed, before even deciding whether you want to pay for it. And if you decide you like the mastered version, you can download (and use) it for just 5 bucks – or, if it’s not quite what you hoped for, you can simply pass.
- For electronic/dance music artists, Ditto’s relationship with Beatport provides a separate upload option to get your music on Beatport. The process doesn't really look different, it’s just a direct way to get your music on Beatport, too.
- If you have the budget, users seem to praise Ditto’s music promotion packages. The Promo and Promo+ in-house promotion options mean that Ditto’s marketing team will pitch your music to playlists, reach out to music blogs, and create a posting plan and content to help you get your music out there. This might be a cool (but not a cheap) option for those with limited time or energy to do all this by themselves.
- Another paid extra is the Official Charts Registration, making each release you believe could benefit from such a thing eligible for global music charts such as the UK Top 40, Billboard, and ARIA.
- A convenience you might find useful is Ditto's mobile app, allowing you to check the status of your releases and access analytics. You, however, cannot release music via the app.
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.