Registering, royalties and your own works
When registering is worth it and how royalties are distributed. Practical experience, not legal advice, contracts or disputes go to specialist lawyers.
Release guidance at Tonstudio Leipzig, so you can release your own music independently.
Release your own music.
Release your own music.
Release guidance at Tonstudio Leipzig.
You have a finished track and open questions: collecting societies, distributors, single or EP. I take you from the first question through to the finished release, so afterwards you can do it all yourself, no label, no manager. Practical advice, not legal advice.
From 3 hours
a fixed session, no short formats
Fixed price
270 euros, like a workshop
Six topics
Collecting societies, distribution, covers, release, promo
Online first
looking at it together on a shared screen
Release guidance from start to finish, so you won't need anyone else afterwards.
Anyone releasing music for the first time usually ends up in forums and contradictory half knowledge. At Tonstudio Leipzig you get real guidance instead, drawing on my own experience. The goal: you can handle your next release yourself.
The advice always runs as one fixed session from 3 hours, at the same price as a workshop, 270 euros. You tell me beforehand where the focus should be, and I cover the topics that fit. Online first, on site is possible.
Topics
Six areas, from collecting societies to social media strategy.
The advice covers six topics. You can concentrate on one area or combine several. Just describe in your enquiry what you are stuck on.
Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and the rest
How tracks get onto the platforms, and how playlists really work, beyond the myths.
When you release songs by other people
How the licence works in Germany through the collecting society, and when a specialist lawyer is needed.
DistroKid, CDBaby, Tunecore, which one fits?
DistroKid cheap with many releases, CDBaby solid with a one-off payment, Tunecore in the middle. Brand neutral, no affiliate commissions.
Single, EP or album, timing & pre-saves
A single every two to four months, an EP with a concept, or an album as a statement, fitting your goals.
Which platform suits you, and which does not?
Which platform suits you and your genre, and when a newsletter plus Bandcamp beat three half-hearted accounts.
Price
One fixed price, exactly like a workshop.
One session from 3 hours, your marketing questions, one price. Which topics should be the focus, we settle briefly by email beforehand.
From 3 hours
One session, your marketing questions, 270 euros
You describe your topic briefly beforehand and book a fixed session from 3 hours, no contract.
What sets my advice apart
Three things that set this advice apart from YouTube and forums.
Anyone searching for marketing advice mostly finds YouTube promises and outdated forum answers. Three things make this advice different.
Practical experience from my own releases
My own releases over the years, registrations handled first hand, and real streaming experience. That sets it apart from YouTube content, which often stays theoretical.
Clear limits, no legal advice
It is said clearly where practical experience ends. Contracts, international licences and disputes belong with a lawyer specialising in copyright and music law.
Brand neutral, no commissions
No affiliate deals with any distributor. What gets recommended is what suits your situation, even if that is the cheapest option.
That is the difference between advice that reassures you and advice that genuinely helps.
What stays
What good marketing advice changes, beyond your first release.
Good advice does not only work once, it changes how you plan future releases. This is what typically changes.
01 Before the consultation
Confusion from browser tabs and forum threads
Thirty open tabs, contradictory opinions, more terms in your head but no clarity on what to do.
02 During the consultation
Clarity about the first steps
Ten open questions become two or three concrete next steps within the first half hour.
03 While putting it into practice
Registration and distributor setup simply run
Registering your works and the distributor account become specific clicks instead of abstract hurdles.
04 At the first release
The track is on Spotify, and nothing has exploded
The track is live on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music, you are an artist with a release.
05 After several releases
A release routine of your own
Pre-save, Spotify pitching and release day run relaxed after the second or third time.
06 Over time
Your own judgement develops
With a new distributor or rule change, you trust your own experience instead of every YouTube recommendation.
Preparation
How to make your consultation genuinely productive.
Good preparation is especially valuable here, because many questions depend on where you currently stand. Six points help.
1
Release plans
What do you want to release, and when?
Single or EP, how many tracks, roughly when? The more concrete your planning, the more precise the advice. Nothing concrete yet is fine too, then we start with the strategy question.
2
Your experience so far
What have you already done with registration, distributors or streaming?
Already a collecting society member, already a distributor account, earlier releases? I build on that instead of starting from zero.
3
Artist name & brand
Which name do you release under?
Real name or artist name, already taken on Spotify? Settling this matters before the first release, since changing it later is laborious.
4
Audio status
What state is the recording in?
Already mixed and mastered or still in progress? Advice is most worthwhile with a finished file, otherwise I also cover the preparation for it.
5
Budget
A realistic budget for distribution and promotion
Distribution costs money, usually 10 to 30 euros per year or release, marketing budget ranges from nothing to several hundred euros. Be realistic about what you want to invest.
6
Realistic goals
What do you want the release to achieve?
Streaming income, an artist identity, something bookers can hear, or personal fulfilment? Every goal is legitimate, but leads to a different strategy.
How a session runs
How your consultation works actually goes.
So that you know what to expect, four calm steps from the enquiry to a concrete strategy.
01
Enquiry & material in advance
By email you describe release plans, experience so far, budget and the focus for the session. I answer the same day confirming a session at the fixed price of 270 euros.
02
The session itself, from 3 hours
We meet by Zoom or on site and go through your situation: collecting societies, distribution, cover songs, release strategy or social media, whatever is on the table. No packages, no contract.
03
A concrete list of steps
At the end there is a clear list: settle registration status, set up the distributor account, finalise the cover, set the release date. You leave with a plan, not more open questions.
04
Putting it into practice & carrying on
You carry out the steps on your own. For another topic or your next release, simply book another session, without any obligation.
Getting here
Where the studio is although marketing advice runs online first.
Marketing and music rights work best online, on a shared screen with your streaming data. Appointments on site make sense when you combine the advice with a recording.
Leipzig south
Appointments on site in Zentrum-Süd
Artists from Connewitz, Südvorstadt, Schleußig, Plagwitz and Lindenau like to combine advice in the morning with recording or coaching in the afternoon.
Leipzig north
Online makes more sense than travelling in
For artists from Gohlis, Eutritzsch, Möckern or Wahren, online is more efficient, we look at accounts and streaming data together on screen.
Halle and around
From Halle (Saale) and the surrounding area
Halle, Merseburg, Schkeuditz: on site for combined days with a recording, otherwise just as effective online. Halle has an active indie scene.
Saxony
From the Leipzig region and Saxony
From Borna, Grimma, Wurzen, Torgau, Riesa, Chemnitz and Dresden almost always online by Zoom, travelling in for advice alone is rarely worth it.
Online, anywhere in Germany
By Zoom or Teams from anywhere in Germany
From Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Hanover and Bremen, the session works online just as well as on site.
Address
Bernhard-Göring-Straße 17 in Zentrum-Süd
The studio is at Bernhard-Göring-Straße 17 in 04107 Leipzig, within walking distance of the Karli and the city centre. Parking in the courtyard, step-free access on the ground floor.
Frequent questions
Questions about marketing and music rights at Tonstudio Leipzig.
Here you find the most important answers before you enquire about your consultation. Marketing advice is always one fixed session from 3 hours for 270 euros. You book an initial consultation separately, directly in the studio shop.
No. On this page I share practical experience from my own releases: how registering works, which distributors suit which situation, cover song questions, release planning.
For legal questions, contracts or disputes, I point you to lawyers specialising in copyright and music law.
For hobby artists facing their first release or with a small catalogue, also for people returning after a break.
For professional artists with a label deal or marketing budget there is the separate business page.
In 3 hours a release question can actually be worked through instead of just touched on.
I deliberately do not offer shorter formats.
From a practical point of view, it makes sense before your first release in which you are the author yourself. Registering is free, and the society later passes on royalties when your music is played.
This is practical orientation, not legal advice, for detailed questions a specialist lawyer or the society itself are the right places.
There is no objectively best one, it depends on how often you release and your budget. DistroKid is cheap with many releases, CDBaby solid for solo artists, Tunecore sits in the middle on price.
I recommend what suits your situation, with no affiliate commissions.
From a practical point of view, in Germany you need a licence from the publisher through the collecting society before you release. Most distributors offer this as an extra.
With altered arrangements, translations or commercial releases, a conversation with a lawyer specialising in music law is the safest way.
The ISRC identifies the recording, the ISWC the composition.
Both are usually assigned automatically, by the distributor or by the collecting society. For your first release you do not have to deal with either actively.
Honestly: as a hobby artist, usually very little. Spotify pays roughly €0.003 to €0.005 per stream, so about €3 to €5 for a thousand streams.
For most hobby artists streaming income is not a living, but rather symbolic, important to know clearly before you start.
From a practical point of view, for most hobby artists a single strategy makes sense: a new single every two to four months. That keeps you visible on the platforms.
EPs make sense with a coherent concept, albums are these days more an artistic statement.
From a practical point of view, yes, but not everywhere. One platform you feel comfortable on is enough.
More important than the platform is consistency. Which one fits you best, we discuss in the consultation.
From 270 euros, a fixed price for a session from 3 hours, exactly like a workshop.
In that session you cover whatever you need: collecting societies, distribution, cover songs, release strategy or social media. Want to carry on, you simply book another session, including as a gift voucher.
Yes, and in fact it comes first. We share the screen and look together at your distributor account and streaming data.
On site makes sense when you want to combine it with a recording.
This page is for hobby artists. With a record deal, a major label deal or an international release, you will find suitable formats on the separate business page.
Ready to get your first single onto Spotify, without half knowledge from tutorials?
Write to me about what you want to discuss.
Write me a short note about where you stand: track status, experience so far, artist name, budget and goals. I confirm a session from 3 hours at the fixed price of 270 euros, exactly like a workshop. For a separate initial consultation, book directly in the studio shop.