How to transfer my music catalog from another distributor?

To proceed with a catalogue transfer from another distributor to your MusicDiffusion platform, we recommend to follow these steps:

1 – Create the releases in your MusicDiffusion platform.
2 – Distribute the content.
3 – Wait for the synchronisation.
4 – Take down the content from the old aggregator.
Disclaimer: About using more than one digital distribution company

1) Create the releases in your MusicDiffusion platform

Create the releases in the platform by using the same metadata previously used. The most important data for the synchronisation are:
ISRC codes
Release title and track title(s)
Artist(s) name(s)
Audio master
UPC codes (the same ones can be used as long as the release is exactly the same as before)
This will increase the success of the track linking on DSPs.

2) Distribute the content

Set the release date 5 business days in advance of the set live date.
Distribute the releases that are being transferred to the new platform to all the channels where they were previously published.
This step can take a while, as releases have to go through Quality Control review, as well as the channel’s ingestion and publication.

3) Wait for the synchronisation

Wait until the content appears online on all channels and DO NOT Takedown the content from the previous distribution service before.

The transferred content will appear as duplicated (one from the former distributor and the other one from your MusicDiffusion platform)
The synchronisation can take up to a week.

4) Take down the content from the old aggregator

Once the synchronisation has been successfully done, you can request the Takedown to the previous distributor.
Take into account that synchronisation depends on DSPs. Channels never assure releases synchronisation even when all the previous metadata are maintained. MusicDiffusion suggests the above procedure since it has proven to be effective most of the time.

Disclaimer: About using more than one digital distribution company

Using more than one digital distribution company is allowed but not advisable.

Sending the same releases from different aggregators:
– Can trigger a conflict to channels, whom may take the content down for good without previous warning.
– Can create complications in the royalties payment, as it can lead from receiving mismatched reports to not getting a feedback from specific channels due to suspicious behaviour.
Sending different releases from different aggregators should not derive in royalties issues. However, only the ones that have been distributed through MusicDiffusion can be managed by the Support Team in case there is any issue regarding the channels.