If you’re a musician or a producer, you’ve probably heard of Avid before. This is the brand behind some of the most powerful production tools out there. Pro Tools, their industry-leading DAW, is used in studios around the world. Sibelius, their software instrument, is a hit among movie composers as well as popular and classical musicians.
The brand has always been about pushing boundaries, and now, you can take advantage of AvidPlay, their platform to get Dolby music pushed out to the masses. So, how does AvidPlay work, and is it worth it for the average musician?
Distribution to the Masses
As the world of music has taken a more DIY approach, and there have become many more platforms to reach your fans, this type of distribution service has started to regularly crop up. There are a few companies who work with labels and even independent musicians to get their music onto Apple Music, Spotify, and more.
Often, there is technically nothing to stop you from uploading your music to those places yourself, but it can be a long and arduous process, especially due to the fact that all of these companies have their own criteria and specifications for your uploads. Some of them will also give speedier approval to distribution companies they know they can trust.
AvidPlay is one of the first such services to specialize in Dolby Atmos. You can upload your Atmos music and start selling and streaming via Apple Music, TIDAL, Amazon Music, and more.
How it Works
To sell your music using AvidPlay, simply create an account, sign up to one of the membership plans, and start to upload your songs. They’ve made it relatively easy with a drag-and-drop model.
The platform allows you to upload up to 24-bit, 192 kHz audio, with files up to 5GB supported. There are simple video tutorials to walk you through the steps of uploading, and some very cool added features.
You can view your streaming stats and revenue in the same dashboard. Royalties from streaming are paid via PayPal, and you can even choose how much money goes to individual band members.
The Dolby Atmos Unlimited Plan lets a musician upload as much Atmos music as they want over the course of a year, and they pay $49.99 for the privilege. If you have one-off releases, it can cost as little as $4.99 for the year.
AvidPlay also gives you an excellent toolbox of useful marketing and admin options, including:
- Custom QR codes for releases to allow easy linking.
- A free UPC or ISRC (needed for selling on many platforms) with every release.
- Analytics to track your listens and sales.
- A choice of up to 150 platforms for selling and streaming your music. Only sell where you want to.
Summary - Is AvidPlay Worth It?
If you are an independent musician with a passion for taking a DIY approach, tools like this make it so much easier to manage your releases. AvidPlay is great value, assuming you’re making some sales or turning a profit on your streaming, and it is one of the simple ways to get your music heard on a variety of platforms that support Dolby Atmos (which are currently few, but starting to increase).
AvidPlay is far from perfect. Some immersive audio artists have found it tough to navigate the interface, and there's virtually no customer support at the moment. The system is brand new, so it is likely that this will be addressed, but there is no guarantee of this.
Immersive Audio Album provides you with a way to sell directly to customers, and we support Atmos downloads. In the future, it’s likely that AvidPlay will start to distribute to even more outlets supporting Dolby Atmos, which will enable further expansion of the market. In the meantime, if you’re looking for additional ways to have your Atmos music reach more customers, we recommend making use of AvidPlay as well as IAA directly.
