Ditto Music

Ditto Music (stylized as DI++O) is an online music distribution company. It distributes music to 160 digital music stores, including Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, VEVO, Apple Music, Beatport, Deezer and Shazam^[1][2]

Ditto Music currently operates from its head office in Liverpool, with other offices based in London, Nashville, New York, Melbourne, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, India, Mexico, Brazil and the Philippines. ^[3]

History

Ditto Music was started by Matt and Lee Parsons who were previously in bands themselves. Ditto's first artist was released on December 25, 2005.

In January 2007 Ditto Music distributed “Blag, Steal & Borrow” by Essex band Koopa, which entered into the UK Top 40, making it the first chart hit by an unsigned band,^[4] this achievement is in the Guinness Book Of World Records^[5] Ditto Music have achieved 11 UK Top 40 hits with unsigned artists to date,^[6] founded 6,000 record labels, were the first to put an unsigned band on Spotify and have openly spoken out supporting artists' rights.^[7][8][9]

Ditto Music opened their US office in Nashville Tennessee in February 2011^[10] and have subsequently been nominated for awards at the International Trade Awards ^[11] and 'International Business of The Year'.^[12] Ditto opened their Australian office in Melbourne in May 2013. Other accolades include RECSS Customer Support Award for 'Best Online Service Provider'^[13] and a nomination for 'Best Distribution Team' at the 2013 Music Week Awards.^[14]

In August 2015, Ditto Music launched Record Label in a Box, a product containing the digital and physical tools needed to set up and run an independent record label.^{[15] [16]}

Ditto Music was also nominated for Best Label/Artist Services Company at the Music Week Awards in 2017 and 2018. ^{[17] [18]}

Following rapid growth and the opening of new worldwide headquarters, Ditto Music was named as one of Britain's fastest growing companies on The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list for 2017 ^[19] and SME Export Track 100 list for 2018. ^[20]

Services

Ditto’s main distribution service offers unlimited releases to all major online stores on an annual subscription basis starting from £19 per year. The company operates non-exclusive deals with artists keeping 100% of their royalty earnings. ^[21]

Alongside its core music distribution service, Ditto Music also offers record label services including PR, social media and playlist pitching to independent artists. ^[22]

Notable musicians

Ditto Music distributes music for more than 150,000 independent artists globally, working with artists at all stages of their careers and across all genres. Notable artists who have released music through Ditto Music include Ed Sheeran, Dodie, Sam Smith, Royal Blood, Yxng Bane, Stormzy and Chance the Rapper. ^[23]

Criticisms

In a 2014 article titled "We Asked Ditto Music If They Pay Mechanical Royalties. This Is What They Said…" published on digitalmusicnews.com^[24], writer and musician Ari Herstand published claims that Ditto Music has failed to pay mechanical royalties owed to artists who have used their online distribution services. The article included excerpts from an email allegedly sent to Ari from Lee Parson's that ignored Ari's inquiry into Ditto Music's failure to pay artists, instead threatening Ari with a libel lawsuit.

Responses to the article included numerous commenters and Ditto artists who had failed to receive payouts from album sales, as well as users who had had bad experience with Ditto's staff and support team and a lack of professionalism. In a matter of months after the article was published, both Parsons brothers had responded to various claims in the comment section with abuse and threats.^[25]

References