Chambermusik Distribution: The Basics
Since 2004, Chambermusik has been availing well-known underground hip-hop artists to our distribution network. With our new business model, Chambermusik Net 50, we are now extending our network to be available to all artists for just a modest setup fee of $75. Our goal has always been to help the independent artist to get their music out there in a professional yet affordable manner. Chambermusik wants you to make a profit, no matter how many units you sell. We know what it takes to get that done, and we now welcome you all to draw from the well! This is our basic, tier one model. We offer you what is essentially what is known in the industry as a sub-distro deal. This means that we can either make your product look like its directly on our label, or we can brand it under your own record label as well. We offer physical retail and/or digital distribution, to all major venues within your genre of music. We have deals with the finest distribution companies, such as Traffic Entertainment Distribution, City Hall Records, Empire Distribution and finally the absolute most robust of all digital distribution companies, Sony Orchard. Of course, we also sell your product within the Chambermusik Store, direct to customer.
What are some of the details?
- 1. Within the Chambermusik Store, you can set your own price, for physical and digital versions of your product, however when it comes to outside venues or distributors, they have more control over price.
- 2. Tier 1 distribution is a non-exclusive deal, meaning we handle your digital and a few physical outlets, but you can still sell to local stores in your area, or on bandcamp or your own site. The term Net 50 is pretty standard nowadays for indie distribution, and means we split the profits in half with you after expenses. We take absolutely no publishing nor writers rights, nor any rights to your master, and you get paid performance royalties directly from ASCAP or BMI. We also provide you with a free barcode if you don’t have your own.
- 3. We press physical units for you at a chargeback rate of $2 a unit, and you don’t have to pay upfront, it’s built into the price! The type of CDs we press in-house are duplicated Pro-CDRs, which are in some cases, better quality than mass-manufactured replicated CDs. Our units are generally in full jewel case format with full color laser printed covers and color inkjet CD faces.
- 4. The cost for setup for tier one distribution is $75. This is a one-time fee per project (album). There are no recoupable surprises. If you decide to have us handle cover art or other special setup fees, then they would be charged separately. In some cases Chambermusik may wish to partner with you or your company for certain opportunities, in which case, we will discuss any expenses upfront before proceeding.
- 5. Our in-house graphic designer will create professional looking cover art for only $125, in the standard jewel format: front/flipside/back/cd-face. If you want more than that done, we ensure that our rates are still affordable to artists. Hiring us to handle this is not mandatory, but we do insist that the template and format is correct for our standards of physical CD distribution. If you prefer your own artwork and need us to handle proper formatting and adaptation, we can do that for a fee of $30.
- 6. We provide you with the option to have the official “Chambermusik Special Products” logo on your jacket, which automatically gives you a serious brand/network cosign.
- 7. If we feel you can sell more than the average artist, we may kick you upstairs to Tier 2, which adds full retail physical distribution!
What do we need from you?
- 1. A High Resolution jpeg of your front cover (3000 x 3000 dpi, 300 resolution RGB colors). This is mandatory for digital distribution.
- 2. For Physical: If you are providing your own artwork, best format would be psd, but we will accept high resolution jpegs as well.
- 3. A paragraph that describes your album. The less we have to edit, the better, but your description should capture what is unique about your project, remember this is for marketing purposes. Help us understand how to work your record.
- 4. A tracklist, in text or rich text format, with titles, features, writers, and producers. Writers should be credited as their real names, not professional pseudonyms.
- 5. Your audio files should be in WAV or AIFF file format, NOT mp3 please. They should have a sampling rate of 44000 at 16 bits. If you absolutely only have mp3 files we can convert them, but we cannot guarantee the best sound quality for your music. In the case where you need mastering, we absolutely provide expert professional mastering services for an additional, but. very reasonable fee, as presented under Artist Services.