Dart Music Forms to Democratize Distribution for Classical Music

Dart Music, the first fully automated digital distribution platform for classical music has opened its doors, giving classical musicians and labels an effective, affordable option for making their music widely available and discoverable.

For more than a decade, independent artists have had multiple distribution options to get their music onto streaming or download services by paying a flat fee and keeping 100 percent of their royalties. This did not hold true for the classical genre. The same avenues were just not available to classical artists whose only option was to use specialized distributors who either can't offer distribution to independent artists or take a large percentage of royalty revenues for their services. By focusing on the complex metadata associated with classical music, Dart Music solves the problem of finding classical music on services such as Apple Music, iTunes and Spotify.

Dart founder and CEO Chris McMurtry is a veteran of Apple and was head of a classical music label before starting Dart Music. Additionally, he is a classical composer and rock guitarist. Experiencing the disparity between distributing classical music and music from other genres firsthand led him to ask the question, 'why isn't there a better way?'

"Music metadata is much more complex for classical music and in many cases classical distributors have to enter music metadata manually, utilizing experts known as musicologists, to meet the data standards of digital service providers. This complexity is also the main reason why streaming and discoverability in digital stores is such a poor experience for classical music," McMurtry said.

Metadata is the Key

Dart Music is designed to handle the complex metadata of classical music. Now classical artists can pay a flat rate to distribute their music worldwide, just like other genres, without giving up a percentage of their royalties. The long-term vision of Dart Music is to become the leader in complex metadata so the important information traditionally found in liner notes of physical recordings can be a part of the digital experience.

"All most of us musicians need is someone who says they want to listen, and we will drop whatever we're doing and make some music for them. And that's why I love these guys," said composer Tracy Silverman. "They are actually listening to me and to any independent musicians, classical or otherwise, who just want to get on the playing field." You can read more about Silverman's experience here.

In honor of the launch of the platform, Dart Music is distributing the first album/first year for free for those who sign up at www.dartmusic.com through October 31. After that, it's $40 per album per year. And with Dart Music, 100 percent of royalties goes back to the creator.

Learn more about Dart Music at dartmusic.com or follow us on Twitter @hellodart or facebook/hellodart.

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