RHAPSODY

Here is a famous exemple of a contract-like music distribution. Only available in the U.S, for $10 a month, you can access to all the music Rhapsody has. The down side, and what made the polemic, is that it is not DRM free, which means that you are limited in the use of the tracks you have downloaded. It is a model that needs to be developped and can be promising with the help of technology (c.f Rick Rubin).

Source: RHAPSODY

BUZZDECK

Open to all AWAL clients, it offers acts and labels a variety of real-time analytic tools to help refine and target marketing and promotion campaigns.
It will track the online buzz building globally around an act across social networks and has already been used by Warner acts including Plan B and Sony Music acts including the Hoosiers.
A basic version is available for free to all AWAL clients while a Pro version, with more tools and functionality, requires a monthly subscription.

Source: BUZZDECK

AWAL

The function of AWAL is logical and simple. Large record companies have direct deals with iTunes and other digital stores, however these stores cannot deal directly with the hundreds of thousands of small labels and independent artists who want to sell their music online. Consequently AWAL acts as a conduit, uploading and encoding the music into the stores then accounting to and paying its clients.

Source: AWAL

TUNECORE

If you make music and you have mp3 files that you wish you could distribute via the big digital distributing channels, I am happy to tell you not to wish anymore, because you can! And you want to hear another good thing? They will not ask you for anything. No charge, no rights, no copyrights and no masters... Everything that is sold will get back to you. Interested? Click on the link below.

Source: TUNECORE

REVERBNATION

This is a tool that a lot of people might be interested to use. As you can see it on the website, not only artists and fans are involved, but also record labels, artist management companies and venues. This website is basically a platform for marketing music. The idea is to build a community of music-aficionados and professionals, and to be kind of a help center for the parties mentioned above. The admission is free of charge, so be sure you register yourself too!

Source: REVERBNATION

CD BABY

A solution for independent or unsigned bands to distribute their music. The principle is simple: preview any track, or all of them, of an album, if you like it you can either decide to buy the CD (physical copy), download the whole album in mp3 files, or select which track you want to buy. Anyone can put their music on this distribution channel. CD Baby will take a part of the sale, the rest will go directly to the artist. Every CD will cost you a $35 fee though. But it has never been so easy to distribute music!

Source: CD BABY

GROOVESHARK

For those who don't like downloading a swoftware such as spotify, here is an alternative. Grooveshark is pretty much the same as spotify, but no software needed. Therefore, you can have access to free music where ever you are, as long as you have an internet connection, and you don't need your own computer with the software. The website streams 60 million songs per month.

Source: GROOVESHARK