Everything you need to know about music distribution — from choosing the right platforms to submitting your first release and collecting your royalties worldwide.
Getting your music onto Spotify, Apple Music, Boomplay, Audiomack, and more than 150 other platforms worldwide is no longer reserved for artists signed to major labels. In 2026, independent African artists have the same access to global distribution infrastructure as anyone else — the difference is knowing how to use it.
This guide walks you through everything: what distribution actually is, which platforms matter most for African artists, how to submit a release, and what happens to your royalties once your music goes live.
Music distribution is the process of getting your recordings from your hands into every streaming platform, download store, and digital shop in the world. Before streaming, distribution meant pressing physical CDs and getting them into record stores. Today, it means uploading your audio files and metadata to a distributor who then delivers them to Spotify, Apple Music, and hundreds of other platforms on your behalf.
A distributor does not sign you to a record deal. They do not own your music. Their job is logistics — making sure your track appears in the right place, with the right metadata, at the right time.
The answer depends on where your audience lives. Here is a breakdown:
Spotify is the largest streaming platform in the world and essential for reaching listeners in Europe, North America, and South America. It also matters for playlist pitching — Spotify for Artists lets you pitch your upcoming releases directly to Spotify's editorial team for playlist consideration.
Apple Music has strong penetration in markets where iPhone ownership is high — including Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa — and tends to attract listeners who spend more per stream.
Boomplay is the dominant streaming platform across Sub-Saharan Africa, with over 100 million users. If your primary audience is in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda, Boomplay streams are just as important as Spotify.
Audiomack is huge in West Africa and among African diaspora communities. It has a freemium model that favours discovery, and many African artists have broken through on Audiomack before crossing to Spotify.
YouTube Music matters because YouTube is still the primary way most African listeners find new music. A distributor that delivers your audio to YouTube Music also typically enables Content ID, which captures royalties when your songs are used in videos.
Tidal, Deezer, and Amazon Music round out the major platforms. Tidal pays the highest per-stream royalty rate. Deezer is popular in Francophone Africa.
Before you upload anything, make sure you have the following ready:
High-quality audio files. Most platforms require WAV files at 16-bit or 24-bit, 44.1kHz. MP3s are not accepted by the majority of major platforms. Export your final master in WAV format.
Artwork. Your cover art must be a square image, minimum 3000 × 3000 pixels, in JPEG or PNG format. It cannot contain any platform logos (no Spotify logo, no Apple icon), social media handles, or website URLs — these violate platform guidelines and will get your release rejected.
Metadata. This includes your track title, artist name, featuring artists (if any), songwriter and producer credits, the release date, and the ISRC code. Your distributor typically generates ISRC codes for you if you do not already have them.
A UPC/EAN barcode. This is the code assigned to your album or EP as a whole. Again, your distributor handles this.
Rights clearance. If your track samples another song, you need a sample clearance before distributing. Uncleared samples will get your release taken down — and the takedown can damage your artist account on some platforms.
When you submit a release through OrinlabÍ Records, here is what happens:
1. You fill out the release form. You provide your audio file, artwork, track metadata, and your chosen release date. We recommend setting your release date at least 3–4 weeks in the future — this gives Spotify enough time to process your pitch before your song goes live.
2. We review your submission. Our team checks your audio quality, artwork compliance, and metadata accuracy. If anything needs correcting, we contact you directly so nothing holds up your release.
3. We deliver to all platforms simultaneously. Once approved, your release is pushed to Spotify, Apple Music, Boomplay, Audiomack, Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and 140+ more platforms at the same time.
4. We pitch your release to Spotify's editorial team. For eligible releases, we submit a playlist pitch on your behalf through Spotify for Artists. This is a genuine editorial pitch — not a guarantee of placement, but a real opportunity to get in front of Spotify's curators.
5. Your music goes live on your chosen release date. From that point, your streams generate royalties that are tracked and reported back to you.
Every time someone streams your song, a small royalty is generated. Rates vary by platform:
These amounts accumulate across all platforms and are reported to your distributor, who then pays you after deducting their agreed commission or fee. At OrinlabÍ Records, your earnings are reported transparently in your artist portal, where you can see your streaming numbers and royalty statements at any time.
Royalties typically take 60–90 days from the end of a reporting period to appear in your account — this is standard across the industry, not a delay specific to any distributor.
Missing metadata. If your track credits are incomplete — no songwriter listed, no producer credit — you may miss out on publishing royalties that belong to you.
Low-quality masters. Distributing a badly mastered track is the fastest way to lose a listener's attention on the first stream. If your mix is not professionally mastered, invest in that before you distribute.
Too-short release windows. Uploading a track and setting the release date to tomorrow means you cannot pitch to Spotify and you will not appear in Spotify's New Music Friday consideration. Give yourself time.
Wrong release date after submission. Once a release is live, changing the date is complex and can affect your chart eligibility. Plan ahead.
Letting your music go unreleased. The single most common thing that holds independent African artists back is waiting for the perfect moment. The music you have already recorded is worth distributing now. You can always release something better later.
OrinlabÍ Records was built specifically for independent African artists who want professional global distribution without giving up ownership of their music. We handle delivery to 150+ platforms, playlist pitching, and royalty reporting — so you can focus on making music.