Rhapsody have announced that as part of their latest update to their iPhone app users will now be able to stream music while in offline mode .

Real Networks ‘Rapsody to Go’ $14.99 a month subscription service allows customers to stream music directly to their iPhones, even in offline mode, accessing Rhapsody’s 9 million track library.

The app is still pending approval from Apple, but according to Rhapsody it should be available in a couple of days.

London, UK (PRWEB) February 9, 2010 — Ditto Music, the digital music distribution specialist for http://www.dittomusic.com [unsigned __title__ Unsigned music] acts, have launched a ground breaking venture so that independent artists can now qualify for US and Canada Chart placement and claim airplay royalties.

Suzi Quatro was the first artist to use Ditto Music for her US / Canada chart registration

Suzi Quatro, a major label veteran was the first artist Ditto helped register for the US charts, making her eligible for the Billboard hot 100. Suzi’s new single “Singing With Angels” has been released completely independently, with all the perks of being on a major label.

“We have had staggering chart success in the UK and Ireland but US and Canadian artists need help as well. We know that there are artists out there who http://www.dittomusic.com [sell music online __title__ Sell music online], with enough units to chart in the US. However, they are not achieving the placements they deserve as they are not registered with Nielsen Soundscan. Well, now they can be ” commented Lee Parsons of Ditto Music.

Artists looking to release music independently should visit www.dittomusic.com, where they can now http://www.dittomusic.com [distribute music __title__ Digital distribution] to hundreds of great stores like iTunes, Spotify, Android, Mog, HMV, and become chart eligible in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland.

About Ditto Music: Established in 2005, Ditto Music is the largest independent distributor of digital, mobile, ringtone and video content, supplying over 700 stores worldwide. In 2007, Ditto’s http://www.dittomusic.com [indie music promotion __title__ Unsigned music promotion] was responsible for the first-ever UK top 40 single by an unsigned artist (Koopa). Since then, Ditto’s distribution model has been posing a serious threat to the major labels. Ditto Music’s roster includes My Vitriol, Lil Wayne, Suzi Quatro, Tupac Shakur, Finch, Samantha Fox and Fairport Convention.

Press and Business Contact e: Lee Parsons – lee (at) dittomusic (dot) com

Telephone. +44 (0)121 551 6624
www. dittomusic.com

###

All stores are grouped together. Here is an example of where your track would go if you distributed to the Medianet package. ( 30p )

So for 30 pence per track you are going to 16 stores including HMV and Tesco.
If you are distributing to Rhapsody you will be going live on 7 sites as they distribute to the below.

Some other distributors charge you for separate itunes territories. Well the fact is that you are only distributed to iTunes once, and they then send you across their different platforms. There is no extra charge for us as a distributor to send your music to different iTunes territories. It is sent once. So we only charge you 30p for all iTunes territories.
Here is an example of a standard release

So For a three track release across those following stores , you would be paying £5.40. Lets look closer at how widely your music will be distributed for this price.

iTunes

itunes US , iTunes UK/ EU , iTunes Mexico , iTunes Canada

Spotify
Sharemyplaylists, Spotify.wearehunted, Specifyspot, Spotifylist, Spotifyfriends , Spotylist , Spotyshare , Yourspotify , spotifyparty, Spotifynd, Spotifyworld, Spotlightify, Spotifyplaylists

Napster
Napster.com , Napster.co.uk , Napster.de , Napster.jp , Napster.ca

HMV / Medianet
HMV , Tescodigital, Imesh, Google, Facebook, Zune, Orkut, ilike, Voicebox, Hi5, Hellomusic, Fyedownloadsunlimited , Hellomusic, Xenelope., Mog, Mixzing , Artistdirect

Rhapsody
Rhapsody, Yahoosearch, Tivo, Rollingstone, Realplayer, Bestbuy, Myearthlink

Amazon
Amazon, Android

So including all of the different territories your music is being distributed to over 40 stores. For Just £5.40

For independent artists, selling music on digital sites like iTunes or Amazon has meant paying out a percentage of every sale to the MCPS/PRS For Music.
Independent artists are quite often unaware of this, meaning that an income stream that should be seen as essential can often go overlooked.

Ditto Music, the independent music distribution specialists have teamed up with Sentric Music to claim back royalties for thousands of their artists.
As well as claiming back extra digital revenue, artists will be able to claim back performance royalties for gigs, TV and radio airplay, in some circumstances backdated upto 12 months!

As well as claiming PRS/MCPS royalties, Ditto will be working alongside Sentric Music to gain new sources of artist revenue. Sentric have recently placed music into TV shows such as “The Hills” and “Paris Hiltons Best Friend” as well as TV adverts for brands such as Lexus and will be working closely with Ditto to create new opportunities for artists, both financially and by way of exposure.

Lee Parsons of Ditto Music said “We ( Ditto Music ) want to dispel the myth that the music industry is a complicated structured organisation, and teach artists to become their own industry. Many artists aren’t aware that every time they sell music or play a gig, they are entitled to performance royalties. ”

All UK artists are eligible for this special promotion and if you have been selling your music through another distributor, you can now switch over to take advantage of this new opportunity.
Whether its £6 for tiny pub gig, or thousands for a festival appearance, Ditto Music will be helping their artists collect royalties.

By claiming this for you Ditto Music now has the highest payout of any worldwide distributor, giving artists 110% royalties.

Suzi Quatro is one of hundreds of artists using Ditto Music to self release music this christmas

Artists today can record something original and brilliant in their bedrooms, release through Ditto and shoot straight into the top 40 – all within a week.

Ditto Music – responsible for the first unsigned artists to break the top 40 – have made it possible for anyone to have a hit at Christmas – or any other time – thanks to their revolutionary distribution system.

Christian Aid’s charity single ‘God Rest Ye Joyful Racket,’ has already been distributed through Ditto Music and has even been given odds of 100-1 against making the Christmas number one spot by Paddy Power betting company. Such a release would have had no hope of attaining any kind of chart placement just a few years ago, when digital downloads weren’t included in chart rankings.

Ditto Music enables artists to sell music online, thereby becoming chart-eligible and all without the aid of a record company – or breaking the bank.

And it isn’t just unknown artists who are using Ditto Music to try and score a Christmas number one this year: Suzi Quatro, Samantha Fox and even Frank Sinatra have hopes of a Christmas number one, thanks to distribution through Ditto.

Lee Parsons, Ditto Music’s managing director, said, “Even in this digital age the Christmas number one remains dear to the hearts of the British people. For them, the digitilisation of music means that the major labels no longer have the monopoly on what can and can’t be released, so there’s much more talent and variety to choose from. Artists today can record something original and brilliant in their bedrooms, release through Ditto and shoot straight into the top 40 – all within a week. These really are exciting times for unsigned performers – and the legions of eager fans waiting to discover them.”

Lee emphasises that, even in the second week of December, any unsigned artist hoping to get a song into the Christmas top 40 still has time to try, as long as the song is ready to launch. Ditto Music can make any song and artist chart-eligible and sell music on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and hundreds more stores in as little as 48 hours.

Recently, Ditto has worked with Christian Aid for their Christmas release ‘God Rest Ye Joyful Racket’. The UK’s top two percussionists Evelyn Glennie and Shovell (M People) have collaborated with composer Pendle Poucher and earned odds 100-1 for the Christmas number one (Paddy Power).

In more current affairs, the recent affects of flooding in Cumbria has led to The Band ESP covering Somewhere Over The Rainbow for The Cumbria Flood appeal. Having worked with the NSPCC, Help for Heroes and a future release for Diabetes UK it seems the charity single is still a great way to promote awareness and raise money for good causes. We are glad to be a part of it.

* Ten weeks of homepage coverage
* Two weeks free advertising on we7
* Featured in the we7 newsletter & blog
* Social Network Promotion
* Banners to promote your we7 profile on your social network sites

How to get your act as Ditto Music Featured Artist…

Starting on Monday the 7th for December’s competition there will be a Featured Artist every 2 days so we can include more Ditto acts. Every act purchasing a Premium Distribution Package from Ditto will be considered, you just need to let your music do the talking. The Ditto staff pay close attention to all our artists and we believe this opportunity should go to those who really stand out and make an impact…

Our tips:

• Be professional
• Be pro-active and hardworking
• Have a dedicated fan base

Make the most out of this opportunity. Remember, every member of the Ditto Team has played in bands before. We understand how hard it can be to get your music heard, which is why we continually look at new ways to promote our artists. Once chosen you just have to get your fans to the front page of the Ditto site and simply click on the featured artist star ratings to vote.

To catch Lee speaking to Steve Purdham, CEO of we7, click here
To download the official we7 press release click here

The unplugged version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, to be released via Ditto Music on November 19th, has been recorded using gifts from the Present Aid catalogue. These include an array of unusual instruments such as squeaky shoes, sewing machine, bike spokes, chalk boards, seed packets, saws, and running water. A choir of animals including pigs, ducks, chickens, bees, and mosquitoes were conducted by composer, sound designer and fan of funny noises, Pendle Poucher.

The humorous Christmas Carol aims to highlight serious issues faced by thousands of people in developing countries such as Climate Change and HIV and encourage people to buy a gift with a difference this festive season.

Sting and Gurrumul this week teamed up to record a version of the song for the French television show Taratata.

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, who was born blind, is an award-winning musician whose voice has been described as ‘celestial’ by Q Magazine and ‘as sumptuously soothing as a log fire on a freezing night’ by The Times.

Currently on his European tour, Gurrumul also performed ‘Wiyathul’, a song from his self-titled solo album which has sold more than 300,000 copies. A shy, unassuming person Gurrumul, who is from Arnhem Lane in Australia’s Northern Territories, sings almost exclusively in his Yolngu dialect.

“There’s always something to learn from other musicians,” Sting said after the duet. “There’s always an exchange … They will surprise you with what they can do or what they can add to your own music. Or you can teach them”.

The performance will be broadcast on December 16 on Taratata on the France 4 network.