For a full and comprehensive explanation of EVERYTHING to do with Ditto, check our new Welcome Pack HERE

What are the costs involved?

All Ditto distribution costs are based upon 30 pence per track per store. That means it would only cost you 30 pence to send a single track to iTunes. This covers each specific release and includes free barcodes and ISRC codes. Further than that we have a storage, accounting and maintenance charge of £5 for one track, £15 from 2 – 12 tracks and anything above 12 tracks is £25, these payments are annual.

What percentage of my earnings does Ditto take?

We do not take any money from your earnings; you keep 100% of all royalties, of which can be increased to 110% if you sign with our Publishing Partner.

How long until my music goes online?

We deliver your music to the sites straight away. Sites like iTunes and Spotify are constantly ingesting a lot of content so it generally takes 4/5 weeks for us to get your content live.

Four weeks can be very tight , depending on how many tracks digital stores are ingesting that week. If you are promoting towards a specific release date we advise you to leave 5 weeks + before release date.

We let you specify your own release date, so if you want it available ASAP simply put down the present date and we will get it live for you as soon as we can.

If you want to specify your release date for 5 weeks, 8 weeks, 16 weeks, whatever you wish, then you can specify that and we will make sure it doesn’t go live until that date.

How much do I get paid per download?

We give you 100% of whatever we receive from sites with completely transparent accounting via Royaltyshare.  You can earn up to 110% of net royalties with Ditto Music as well by signing up to our ‘Your Music:Your Career’ option.

If I take 60% of gross of my sale home, where does the rest go?

The remainder of the money is split between V.A.T, MCPSPRS, banking charges, bandwidth charges and profit to the store.

How much do I get paid from streaming sites like Spotify?

Spotify pay very small amounts for each play, however as Spotify is mainly a promotional tool but if you can keep the plays coming the money will stack up.

What happens if I want to take my music down?

`This is free with Ditto Music.  You will notice that other distributors charge you for taking your music down. We rarely have artists wanting to remove their music from Ditto and it’s usually due to them wanting to change their release, they have been signed or maybe that particular sound does not represent them anymore.

Well if that’s true, we don’t see why you should have to pay us just to handle some small paperwork for you. So we do this for free.

With you being a UK company, how does it affect me if I am outside of the UK?

The barcodes that we assign you are international so it doesn’t make any difference to your release. We can make you chart eligible in UK, US, Canada and Ireland.

What if my release is not live in certain stores?

Our automated systems give retailers your music within around 48 hours of receiving it.  It then takes them 4-5 weeks to process your release due to the large amount of content they have.  If 4-5 weeks have passed and your release is STILL not live in certain stores then we can chase this for you.  If it’s only a couple of weeks then please be patient, the stores are dealing with your music.

What format of music can I upload?

Our new upload system means that you can now upload several formats. For MP3s they should be high quality, preferably at 320 Kbps and WAVs can be upload in several formats including:

WAV – 16bit – 44.1kHz
16bit – 48kHz
16bit – 96kHz
24bit – 44.1kHz
24bit – 48kHz
24bit – 96kHz

What dimensions should the artwork be in and what kind of thing do you want?

Firstly, it needs to be 800×800 pixels or above. Your artwork represents your album cover and shows up as the size of a postage stamp. So it’s not necessary to have barcodes or any other information other than your artist name, should you wish.

Remember that this represents your music and is encouraging people to buy into your product, so make sure it is of good quality. Also please be aware that web address, contact details and incorrect spelling of artist name or release title then your artwork will not be accepted by sites and this could hold up your whole release.

What is pre release?

Pre ordering means that customers can order your music before it officially goes on sale. They will be able to re-claim and download it on your official release date.

This means that all the sales you have gained during your pre release period will count towards your sales during week of release – which is excellent for chart positioning.

If you are waiting 4/5 weeks for your music to be available to purchase and have a string of gigs lined up, this is a great way of making sure each fan can purchase instantly, rather than waiting until its official release date. We can get your release live in a couple of days on our pre-order site, www.dittomusic.net however other pre-order stores such as 7Digital will still take around 4 – 5 weeks to make it available for pre-order.

I have my own label and barcodes, how does this affect me?

As you sign up you can enter your own barcodes and ISRC codes and we will use these with your release. If you have your own ISRC codes you can use your own label name for free.

What happens if a label wants to sign us?

Ditto Music is totally non-exclusive and you are free to opt out at any time. All we need is written confirmation and we will request removal of your music within 24 hours from all stores.

My music is already on a download store, can I use Ditto Music as well?

You cannot distribute the same music to the same store twice. So if you want us to deliver your music to iTunes rather than your current distributor, then you will have to ask them to first remove your music.

If you would like to use your current distributor but take advantage of the extra stores that Ditto provides then that is no problem and we can either use your existing barcodes, or issue you new ones, during the store selection process just select the stores you are not on.

If I sign up for a few stores can I upgrade to more sites later?

You can upgrade at any time.

Can my music go solely on Dance Sites?

Yes during the store selection process just select from our vast selection of Dance stores.

What does it mean when I set a label up with you?

We register a label name of your choice with the PPL. We then use this for all of your releases as it is connected to your Dittomusic.com log in. If you set up XXXX records, then all of your releases will show up as being released by XXXX records.

How many sales do I need to get into the UK top 40 singles charts?

This varies quite drastically, check out the blog section where there is a great article with year round figures and laws of how many copies you can legally purchase.

What do you mean by ‘110% royalties’?

Through our partners Sentric Music we claim back for you what is rightly yours.  This is an extra 10% of net royalties that you are entitled to which we claim back for you.  For other benefits see below:

How can I get paid to play gigs and working as a film/tv composer?

Once you have registered with the Ditto site you can sign up for our ‘Your Music:Your Career’ program.  It’s free to sign up and you will get anything from £6 for an open-mic night to thousands for a large gig.  It’s your money – why not claim it?  Once signed up your music will be actively promoted to tv/film companies for placement.  Previous clients have been featured in shows such as Hollyoaks, The Hills and TV ads such as Lexus and GHD.

Can I release cover versions?

You can release a cover version as long as it does not stray too far from the original.  Download stores will pay the MCPS/PRS to the artist who wrote the song, it works out at around 9 pence per sale. This does not affect how much you get paid.

Which iTunes territories does Ditto cover?

We cover all territories individually and this is the same with all of our download partners. Whichever country your fans are in, they will be able to log into their local iTunes and find your music.

Can I give away my music for free on sites like iTunes?

No. Download stores have to pay VAT and PRS for every track that is sold, even if it does not have a price attached. So it would not make sense for them to give music away for free.

On iTunes my single is displayed as “My Single – EP”

iTunes are very strict on the way they display releases. If it is a single with 4 or more tracks they will display it as an EP, any less and its a single. This is the way iTunes operate and unfortunately there is no way around it.

What are the subscription charges?

You may notice that our prices are a lot lower than our competitors. Once you have paid for your package we have to store your music for as long as you would like it available. We also have to contact all of the sites and make sure that they report sales reguarly and concisely. We then have to pay artists individually as well as provide any ongoing support and help along the way. We added up all of these costs and it costs £5 for one track, £15 from 2 – 12 tracks and anything above 12 tracks is £25, this payments are annual.

That includes your 24 hour access to our fantastic online accounting system Royaltyshare. Royalty share take a small percentage of every royalty we receive, we believe our clients are entitled to all of there money so as your distributor we cover this cost and do not pass it on to you.  Most distributors take around 45 days to provide you with accounts once they have received them. At Ditto we have a team who work full time to make sure that as soon as an account comes in, it is added within 24 hours of receiving . We usually receive accounts around 2 – 3 weeks after the end of the sales month, however during busy times these can be delayed.

And don’t forget that Ditto take 0% commission. Everything you earn is yours.

Which artists have Ditto worked with? How do I know I can trust Ditto?

Ditto music grew organically from a few people who loved music and wanted to release it on their own terms. After we launched the first unsigned artist into the UK top 40 singles chart we were confident we could do it again, and again, and we did. Larger artists were leaving their labels to work with Ditto and we work with tons of artists worldwide.

We have released music for Tupac, Lil Wayne, The Streets, Finch, Samantha Fox. The list goes on. At Ditto, everyone is treated exactly the same and you are on the same platform as all of these world-renowned artists.

We produced and presented our own Sky TV show for over 12 months, giving unsigned artists the chance to perform alongside established bands such as Feeder, Travis, Biffy Clyro, the list goes on.

We are regular exhibitors at events such as Midem, Music Live, Popkomm, SXSW, and Canadian Music week. We are members of AIM and the BPI.

Ditto Music have spoken at universities such as Oxford, Manchester, Birmingham Business School, Hull University as well as working alongside New Deal for musicians, Access to music, UK Trade and Investment and a host of other initiatives.