AWAL DISTRIBUTION - REVIEW & WALKTHROUGH (SWITCHED FROM DISTROKID)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- AWAL is not like other distributors because they don't let every artist join. After getting banned from Distrokid, I applied for AWAL distribution and got accepted as an AWAL Core artist.
In this video, I show you what AWAL distribution has to offer as a music distributor and take you inside my back-end portal so you can learn everything that AWAL has to offer independent artists. Since AWAL is run by Kobalt Music Group and Kobalt Publishing, there is a lot of room for upward growth compared to other music distribution services.
Enjoy my AWAL Distribution review as I walk you through the entire portal and explain why I switched to AWAL from Distrokid.
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Links Used In This Video
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Just three blocks away from my house, there used to live a girl. She has moved away now, but visits sometimes. My dad knows her stepdad, even got some records from him. She got signed to awal. Her name is girl in red.
Really cool story. Is this the artist? instagram.com/girlinred/
Indie Music Academy yes! I don’t know much about her, but she used to live in my town, and went to the same elementary and junior high as me. We’re only about 20000 in the town, so most people know each other
Wow.
Damn
Damn she got that famous from Awal that's crazy
Great intro to Awal. REALLY interested in seeing a video about trajectory! Thanks again for sharing this info!
Sure thing! Thanks for letting me know!!!!!
Indie Music Academy really looking forward for one ☝️
All the best Ryan ❤️❤️
Hey Taz! Sorry for the late reply! Here is the video here: th-cam.com/video/CoPH28HJV6A/w-d-xo.html
@@IndieMusicAcademy Better late than never! I’ll check it out. THANKS! 🤓
Dude, thanks for making it so easy.
Been trying to wrap my head around this stuff for years. So much chaff to sort through. Really appreciate you putting the time and effort into making it easy for an artist to understand what to do, and also making it fun!
For me it makes it a lot less intimidating and makes it seem doable so, keep up the great work, and you've earned yourself one more sub!
Cheers - Fellow musician.
Good luck with music bruh
Hey, I loved this comment. It's great to see artists like you taking the initiative to understand the intricacies of managing your career. An artist's determination to sift through the noise and find effective strategies is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I'm doing some research on how to make this process even more streamlined and accessible for musicians. I’d love to buy you some lunch over a phone call to talk more about this!
Perfect timing I was really curious on them, I got accepted this year after getting denied 2 years ago and I released my recent release with them. They haven’t really helped pushed me yet but I’m sure they will in the future I just gotta keep pushing and releasing content! So excited to be on their major roster one day!
Congratulations! In due time my friend. I'm glad you're releasing content, you're on the right track!
1 question Once they accept you.......you can release all your future music with them? Or is it just for that 1 song.
So they accept you but don't push you ?? Weird
Pickarius release all future
Franklin Freshman yeah it is what it is though, the bigger you get on their radar the more priority they place on you as well as other opportunities
Saying they don't just let anyone in is just a sales ploy by them. The question is and the most important is: Do they give you the artist the email addresses of fans and buyers of your music??? Because in the end "Your email List is King" anything less is bs, and "all" for them and "nothing" for you regardless of who or what distributor or company it is! - Thank you so much Ryan!
Nice informative video! I am actually looking for another distributor right now. I was in Distrokid before but they actually take 30% of your earnings due to withholding tax if you're not based in the US. This is something that they never highlighted when I joined a few years ago. Anyway, I called them out on the fact that they actually returned the money to another distrokid member after he caused a stink about it, only because he had a huge following on TH-cam and his video about it spooked them enough to return the money. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of pull online, and the money due to me is miniscule compared to his, so they didn't see a need to entertain my protest.
I saw in your previous video that Distrokid was unfair to you as well, so I'm glad you're out of that.
Withholding tax?? Wow this is interesting because I'm in Canada.
omg I didn't know this wtf!!!! 30%!!!!! I am in Europe so they steal some of my income too whaaaaaat
Hey, I loved this comment. It's so important to understand the details of distribution agreements and the issue of withholding tax is a key one. I’m doing some research on how musicians weigh the pros and cons of different services, and how they respond to unexpected issues like this. I’d love to buy you some lunch over a phone call to talk more about this!
That user interface for the statistics and analytics is beautiful
Hey, I loved this comment. The importance of user-friendly interfaces and clear analytics is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. I'm doing some research on how these factors influence an artist's choice of distribution service. I’d love to buy you some lunch over a phone call to talk more about this!
Thank you for the information. I’m YESUWHA’s manager & I appreciate the warning video about Distrokid. I’ll head over and get your free books as well. As a newbie I appreciate this! Thank you 🙏🏻
In my experience, they have taken about $2500 for doing nothing different than other distributors. They do give you an option to submit to their team at the very beginning but that is it. My track with them has about 2.3 million streams, but that is not enough to get their attention. I think? this distributor makes sense if you are a very big artist.
Hey, I loved this comment. Choosing the right distribution service is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. Your perspective on needing a high level of popularity to get attention is particularly interesting. I’m doing some research on how musicians weigh the pros and cons of different services tailored to help them. I’d love to buy you some lunch over a phone call to talk more about this!
Thanks a lot for this video! I was eagerly waiting for this one. Thanks for the in-depth review!😊
My pleasure 😊
bro your a god ive only watched 2 videos and you and ive learnt so much
Thank you! Your videos have helped me out so much!
Edit: Some of you asked how I got accepted into AWAL. So to help you prepare, I made a video guide explaining what you need to do to actually get into AWAL. Most artists get rejected, but I want you to have the best chance possible. Watch the step by step guide to prepare your music career before applying: th-cam.com/video/CoPH28HJV6A/w-d-xo.html
Sir
I am from India 🇮🇳
BMI can help me for music licensing issues Internationally? Or it's only for U.S artist
You might not be able to complete the BMI registration if you don't have a US address and bank account. So I highly suggest using the Performing Rights Organizations in India.
@@IndieMusicAcademy thank you for helping 👊 sir
@@IndieMusicAcademy actually he can. theres just bunch of work for getting the taxes out the way with paper work and the rest is easy
@@jurassicthunder Good to know that it's possible!
I'm a simple man. I see AWAL in the title, I click.
Yet another useful video. I am looking forward to the one exploring trajectory...
Here it is! th-cam.com/video/CoPH28HJV6A/w-d-xo.html
What are your top reasons for being ok with AWAL taking 15%? Analytics are super important to me!
One reasin is probably because he was removed from distrokid ...so his next best option i guess was awal... I wondered the same thing in another video🤷🏾♀️
ikr thats pretty much why im here in the first place. 15% is an insane amount if youre bigger
@@OVXX666 i take it like this if ur not big enough to get 20 dollars for distrokid might aswell let them take it
I’m starting to like AWAL after this video ❤ for music 🎵 distribution thank you and gracias!
Hey! Great video! It was very informative! A fun fact that you might be interested in is that AWAL uses Chartmetric to provide the analytics in their platform. Just thought you should know. I think that your videos and the finformation that you provide is awesome! Keep up the great work!
That explains so much! Thanks for that info my friend :)
Great Video.. Do One About United Masters.. Im Sign With Them.. !!
I wouldn't recommend these peeps deleted my tracks then after sometime l couldn't upload my tracks they didn't allow
Ok so basically.
For Music Distribution: Distrokid, Tunecore, Awal, The Orchard.
For Performance Royalties: ASCAP, BMI...
For Publishing/Mechanical Royalties: SonyATV, Tunecore Publishing...
For Non interactive streaming royalties: SoundExchange.
Am i missing/confused something?
And songtrust for mechanical and overseas performance?
Yeah! Let me make a tiny edit and re-paste for you:
For Music Distribution: Distrokid, Tunecore, AWAL, The Orchard.
For Performance Royalties: ASCAP, BMI...
For Publishing/Mechanical Royalties: SongTrust, SonyATV, Tunecore Publishing, CD Baby Pro Publishing
For Non interactive streaming royalties: SoundExchange.
And Y4NN is correct that SongTrust handles overseas performance royalties 👍
Thanks so much, but can I register to all of those services/companies e.g. ASCAP and SoundExchange if I live in Italy (or any other country)?
@José Colón if I register myself to an American PRO what happens? Since these organizations collect Royalties even from other coutries, am i obliged to register myself in a local one? Since here in Italy doesn't work nothing xD. Our PRO (SIAE) are just a pair of thiefs. Even a lot of Italian artists (famous) say that it's shit.
@@prodbypreet you can register to BMI or ASCAP even if you're non-us citizen. You only have to deal with taxes with some paper work and the rest is easy.
this was super helpful! i think i'm going to make the switch :)
Hey, I loved this comment. Choosing the right distribution service is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. It's a big decision and it's great to hear that you found the information helpful. I’m doing some research on how musicians weigh the pros and cons of services tailored to help them. I’d love to buy you some lunch over a phone call to talk more about this!
Well done. Good info for artists with promising potential. Looking forward to your next episode
It’s the same like the labels but online 🤷🏾♂️
AWAL owes u a check for promotion. Never heard about them until you sir 👏
Can you please make a tutorial on how to release or transfer a release regarding the new dashboard that AWAL has updated. It is a bit confusing and it would be greatly appreciated if you could :))
The most important question is: Awal pays you when you have a lot of streaming?
Brother, I Use AWAL.
But I Don't How Many Stores Have AWAL?
Can you Tell Me???
Thank you sooooo much for this!
I dont understand the difference between the orchard and awal
I mean, I have awal, and I can Connect into the orchard, but its the exact same UI, except the logo and colors, thats exactly same workspace parameters etc.. uploading song on awal or on the orchard doesnt change anything and they are both synced
So, whats the differences ?
any benefit on awal vs normal indie distribution?
Thank you so much Ryan, great video. I'm just starting out in a gospel christen genre, is that popular in your record label? Some of your lyric's are next level telling a great story and message that sure will inspire. OK yes I will check out all your info below, chat soon my friend, blessings Steve D.
Can you talk about how they collect your royalties ? You still need a PRO, a publisher ?Soundexchange and copyright. ? Or they handle everything for you ?
Given up on awal completely i really wanted to get into their stuff. Worked my ass off to get my 19k streams and 15k monthly listeners got a manager and performed before yet im still declined so cba for their shit now
You sir have been so valuable to me🙏🏾
Can we get more content like this? I’m keen to learn more bout distributors, maybe a video on ingrooves, ada, believe, orchard and other major distro companies
If you’re already on a trajectory to success, it ain’t worth sacrificing 15% of your revenue. It seems like they only want to jump in on your career if you’re about to blow up. Correct me if I’m wrong..
Literally this. They want no part in the grind nor do they want to help. They wa nt to pick those type of artist rhat are bubbling and ready to blow.... if you reas their requirements youll realsie at that point you dont even need them because your basically established at that point.
Really informative video. Many thanks from the Philippines
amazing video! I just got accepted by awal and put out my first song. Its been about 2 days and it says "submitted" any idea how long it takes to reach stores?
Within 6 months or 1yr
mate honestly i managed to get to the second level of approval yet they haven't got back to me yet so I am very scared I might get rejected but thats kinda ok
And here I was about to switch to DistroKid LOL! I am with Catapult Distribution, but they are way behind with features and analytics.
Great I have a friend who really wants to get on awal so I sent him the video. Lol
You're the best!
do they only show some analytics in exchange of the 15% cut?
seems like it unless they decide they see something in you and move you up
Very informative! Thanks a lot 💖
Ryan, how do you know what tier you're in with AWAL Core or AWAL+? We got sent over a portal and a contact for AWAL. Nowhere does it say we're apart of a certain AWAL tier.
Was also wondering this as I was accepted as well - did you end up finding out?
Please can you make a video on how to distribute music videos on apple and TH-cam, VeVo , with awal that will be much appreciated. THANKS🙏
Fantastic video! Thank you very much!
P.S. I just wonder why only 777 (+myself) people out of almost 21K hit that Like button? I'd understand it the video would be of an average informative/presentation level, but this is definitely not the case.
Hi, I recently just got into AWAL, and was wondering how to get started in terms of marketing and releasing the first song through AWAL
How Can I Get TH-cam Content ID From AWAL????????
How come songs songs don't release to instagram ?
just submitted a req, hope i get in
Is Amuse pro is good please help?
I wonder how long takes Awal to answer, I applied couple weeks ago, friendly waiting for their answer.
I'm also waiting to switch to their site😂🤦 still waiting for next release with awal ?.
@@vxlmusic not really, they answered after 1 month I wasn’t selected this time, but I’m doing it other ways
@@nyzarmusic7483 so bro tell me the another distributor if u can I really need that ! Coz I'm banned from distrokid also need help!
@@vxlmusic distrokid seems to banning artists...🤔🤔🤔
Just got accepted to AWAL, anything i need to do different from distrokid?
If I post a song on. How early was that band debuted? I want my music released within 2 days of posting? Which distributor can do this?
thank you bro..👍
Welcome 👍
its high time we dont talk about these distributors but talk about their bad sides and their disadvantages and know what to do from there.
Thank you so much❤️
I've been with AWAL for more than 10 years now. I got in when they weren't owned by Kobalt and you had to send your music via snail mail. Eventhough I had to apply and send one or two songs for them to decide whether to accept or reject me, I guess it wasn't that hard to be accepted back then since I got in with my debut EP record. I'm not a mainstream or famous artist, but over the years I've seen AWAL get better every year. Compared to other distributors, I feel they excel in many aspects, ranging from the amount of stores my music gets distributed on, to Content ID, Shazam, etc. They also have rules on how you write the titles of your songs and artwork quality. The review these things and I'm sure they even check if audio quality is good in order to distribute the music you release.
I haven't been with other distributors, but I've always been comfortable with AWAL.
rules for titles?? i am an artist they should let me do whatever i want to name my song
@@jurassicthunder What I meant is that you should write titles accordingly. For example, not all the title in capital letters. Where they are strict is in the extra information a title carries, for example, where you insert "bonus track" or "live". They do this in order for your releases to be as professional as possible and with no misstypes or mistakes.
Do they assist in the promotion of your music or music sync licensing in any way?
@@SMEL If you're in the lower rank of artists, the only thing you can apply for is that the hit song of your album is considered for playlist aggregation. In order to be elegible, you have to fill and send the form 6 weeks prior the release of the album. They don't do sync licensing. You have to work with companies that are focused on that.
@@leechmasterproject thank you 🙏🏾 very insightful
Awesome work I’ve been looking for something like this
Glad I could help
What about promotion they have
I wouldn't advise switching to AWAL a real waste of time and they control what music you can release.
How would it work if your an artist overseas. Here in Sweden , I'm aware of two organisations that register (Sami) and collect royalties (Stim). Still looking into the copyright at the moment. But just curious since I'm about to release some music, if I should follow the drill as you have- AWAL, BMI, Soundexchange, US copyright etc
Btw, well consolidated information on your channel. Great job man!
Tjena! såg din comment, vad kör du? : ) Tusen tack på förhand! /David Keys
I’ve had issues with CD Baby’s capacity to properly credit artists/producers involved with my releases. Is AWAL better at this?
Thanks for this info. It's an eye opener
Appreciate your videos. Full of great info. Could you recommend a platform for film music (soundtrack) distribution? I can't seem to find one.
Greatwork man! Learned a lot from you :)
I just need a distributor for TH-cam content id purpose. Could you please guide me What distributor should i go with?
You can always add SongTrust to ANY distributor. SongTrust covers TH-cam content ID if your distributor does not.
@@IndieMusicAcademy I'm currently not using any distributor. So should i just go with Songtrust? Or should go with awal which might cover everything ?
Thankyou :)
@@XSTUDIOS Songtrust is not a distributor. You would have to choose with the options like CDBaby, Distrokid (Which I really don't recommend), Tunecore, etc... (even AWAL if you get accepted)
@@Figah thanks man!
Like I got a lot of tracks to put on TH-cam. Wont tunecore would be a bit expensive in that case? Or if you could suggest something, would be a lot of help :)
@@XSTUDIOS Tunecore is a great option if your numbers are so high that the sum of all yearly fees per song is less than 15% of your gross earnings.
If you only have to put your tracks on TH-cam and not spotify, apple music etc, you can just upload them to TH-cam and then use songtrust as a youtube content id manager
why is it with all these endorsement videos or suggestive sales vids do you all always leave out the PRICES?? like that shouldve been in the opening.
I recently got a contract with Symphonic Distribution. I'm enjoying the services for now
Hey, I loved this comment. Hearing about your positive experiences with Symphonic Distribution is really interesting. I've been doing some research on how musicians weigh the pros and cons of different services tailored to help them. I’d love to buy you some lunch over a phone call to talk more about this!
*Thank you for showing us the user interface of this distributor. A lot of them have such an unusable and ugly profile (e.g. CD Baby, etc).*
how can you get approved to awal
Check out this video on how to get into AWAL: th-cam.com/video/CoPH28HJV6A/w-d-xo.html
Hi! :-)
Is the video "How to show trajectory" ready?
Many thanks,
Matteo
Yes!! Just released today! Here it is: th-cam.com/video/CoPH28HJV6A/w-d-xo.html
Curious. Were you on their core plan in this video? Or were you on a higher tier?
Is it difficult to witch from distro to AWAL? I got more than 50 singles 😂
50 singles let's goooooo!!! AWAL does have a process of examining your track record as an artist and other standards to see if you will get to join. If you have that many singles, feel free to check out the free work shop we offer on growing your fan base >>>www.indiemusicacademy.com/workshop
Bro Review, The Orchard Music,Believe Music, Plz,bro, thank you your videos are great an very helpful.
Great video !. However people still need to work on their marketing allthough they can upload endlessly music onto plattforms. This in order to get known by a particular audience or audience in general. Ohterwise they never gonna be heard. The pros of a real record company is that a record company has the big money to invest in for example marketing and merchandise. Nowadays its easy to distribute music, but other topics are left.
I'm tryna get into awal. I got a 16k streamed song on spotify with 11k monthly listeners + a manager and got declined
Check out this video on how to get into AWAL: th-cam.com/video/CoPH28HJV6A/w-d-xo.html
Here's the problem with AWAL,.. for me, they have been IMPOSSIBLE to make contact with or to 'sign in' with. The username and and password I created did not work. Then, checking 'forgot password' a password email link never came.
If me and my friend are dropping a song together but we are separate artist and this will be the first time we drop music would we need 2 separate distrokid accounts or just one ? So in the artist name we put each other with the & symbol ?? Anyone help??
Great video. Do you think that I have any chance of getting into AWAL or Symphonic Distribution for a new project (new alias) with no releases (obviously as it is a new project)? Or should I just start with other distros like Distrokid or CD Baby and then apply for those?
You have to be an established artist to apply for AWAL, I'm doing final edits on a video covering this topic, I'll be releasing it soon. It's your personal choice on the distro platform you use, whichever one is the best fit for your needs right now. My video will explain things further.
@@IndieMusicAcademy Thanks for the reply. I'll check out that video for sure. I'm kind of relieved after watching your video transferring your tracks from Distrokid to AWAL. The possibility of changing whenever I want from one distro to another reduces the amount of pressure :)
Perfect 👍👍
I can’t find an answer to the following question. If we distributed through reverbnation, do they register the work through our PRO? BMI and ASCAP. If they do then great, if they don’t then I need to register through BMI and then they will ask who the publisher is and what percentage, so is reverbnation the publisher? and do they get 100% of publishing, or do I just give myself the publishing?
I'd say, AWAL is cool for distribution if you are a small artist and you get accepted but you don't really have much budget because they distribute your music without fees. And even if you make money, if you get to climb up the core, there is way more advantages.
AWAL distribute your music without fees?
@@BabyfaceMilan99 They say that they do not need you to pay to distribute music on their website.
@@Figah oh that would be great if they accept you.
Hi im thinking of applying to awal but i have some questions about awal that i cant find the anwser to in ther FAQ . 1. can i release under multible artist names? 2. can i make the release have multible MAIN artists. 3. can i split the revenue with a person i made the song with, without them being "signd" to Awal, and if so how would i go about doing that? Really would appreciate help! thanks in advance!
nice
How many songs do you have to upload to AWAL to have a chance to get chosen?
I am super interested I would love to be with awal but the type of artist I am is that I want to be unique and different idk lol
Yo. Bro which microphone do you use to record your audio for your songs and videos and which microphone would u recommend for recording rap vocals at home. Ya, and talk about budget microphones
Can you release songs with synced lyrics with AWAL
I've been with AWAL for 3 years almost - Nctrnm
It is advisable to apply to away if I do not have any fan base or published songs, but I have a marketing plan and the album already created
Hi Ryan,
I see that Kobalt, a giant music publishing company works with Awal as well. After you choose Awal for your distribution, is there any chance that you can work with Kobalt for publishing (not just admin publishing, but like complete music publishing)? I also read that both Awal Records and Kobalt Publishing do not own your copyright ownership of masters and composition, when working with them, they only take some percentage of royalty revenue. So that means the songwriter(s) and artist(s) still owns 100% of the work?
They (AWAL ,Kobalt) have been taken over by Sony Music.
My distributor claims there are no downloads. But there are downloads. Could it be that if I changed distributors would I be able to recover these lost downloads?
But what if I am a record label and want just a distribution deal ....and want no interference in my artists work plan or music....just want to distribute through them ..
And wait they take freaking 15 ℅ of what I made wtf
So if you are a brand new artist with a music to be released for the first time soon, this would not be an option - correct?
Because they (AWAL) do not have anything to base you from in order to accept you?
Seems I would need to use a different distributor first, prove growth - and later try to apply with AWAL.
Am I understanding this correctly? Just want to make sure.
After getting banned from Distrokid? the hell happened? Im currently sorting out my music as I have got it by a copyright troll and amuse have been rubbing salt in the wound. they have reinstated my account but pulled all my releases. So I can't get any listeners and so can't get over the tenner mark to then be able to withdraw my money. this happened only a year after. distribution companies need to up their game against these kind of trolls.
I want to release my first project. So I don’t have any social media accounts with 50+ followers. How can I with no releases? I heard Awal requires at least 50 followers on 2 or more accounts. This makes absolutely no sense because if I had a release already, it would mean I had already registered with another distributor.
Ryan does AWAL also work in with Songtrust to collect all royalties globally ?
Hi, I made a lot of music 20 years ago, burnt it on cd and took it with my to the pub/disco. Although I never finish anything anymore it's still one of my great hobbies. I saw your video about distrokid and this video. I'm not sure if I will make more finished music, I hope so. But I think I need a distributer who 'accepts anything'. Do you have a third option next to distrokid and awal?
Does AWAL accept artist that makes only beats and background music?
Hello Ryan, well i represent a label based in algeria, i am a big fan of you and your content, i am strugling with youtube content id programme ( i am using bbtv for distribution ) and i am searching for a distributor that give me the BLOCK option in youtube content id ( like when i upload a music video in my channel no one can re-upload it ), is there any distributor that you find it good and you can suggest it to me ?? thank you again for your hard work 💖
AWAL pays you for TH-cam playing your song on other people’s channels.
Kerry Furlong does it have a block option?
TRADIN’ WAR STORIEZ I don’t know but if AWAL has a block option. But I do think blocking is a bad idea, unless you’re trying to get youtubers to pay up front usage fee directly to you. U get paid on the spins either way.
BBTV ARE SCAMMERS! do not use them!
I’d think it twice since the video is using one of your songs, money is going to your account
I have been indecisive about which distributor to go with for months now. Would you recommend AWAL over CDBaby or TuneCore? I am a neo-classical composer featuring piano. I have 7 world class recordings. I am way behind in my home work and getting this distributor job done. My original distributor is Orchard, but I want to get off of Orchard. Each distributor has so many pros and cons and for my genre, I can't quite get clear which path to choose. Thank you so much.
Hey Lori, Orchard is probably most similar to AWAL (would be interested to know why you want to move away from Orchard). But as you said, there are so many choices. If you list out what you are looking for specifically in a distributor I can help you out (like "no yearly fees," etc). Let me know!
Hi Ryan, thanks for your reply. Fees and royalty splits are a concern. CDBaby seems best to me, but I'm not sure if that is simply because so many of my colleagues are on it. I heard since the founder left, that it is just not as good as it used to be. What are your thoughts? Thank you.