How does it work?

Your music will be available on streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Qobuz, Tidal, YouTube Music…) with no subscription and no lengthy or complicated process. And with something that remains rare in digital distribution: at TQIDr, every release is actually listened to before distribution – real ears attached to a real human being – to make sure everything is in order.

The Queen Is Dead Records and digital distribution

In its early days, The Queen Is Dead Records relied on AWAL to distribute releases by its artists. At the time, the label worked exclusively with projects selected on the basis of artistic affinity: we would produce a single, EP or album together, then distribute it across streaming platforms. Royalty splits depended on the type of agreement signed with the artist.

Until September 2021, this service was therefore reserved for artists working with the label. If you had already completed your project without going through The Queen Is Dead Records, you could not simply entrust us with its distribution. And that was a shame!

In September 2021, The Queen Is Dead Records officially opened its digital distribution service to all artists. Then, in September 2022, we became an independent digital distributor, with a deliberately artisanal, human-scale approach.

Is this offer right for you?

Will the revenue generated by streams of your music cover the costs involved in distributing it? Does your production meet the technical and sonic standards expected on platforms such as Spotify, Deezer or Apple Music?

Depending on your goals and needs, three main types of artists can be distinguished:

– You are primarily looking to maximise your revenue.
You are prepared to invest more, and you already know that your audience will allow you to quickly recover the costs involved. In that case, an offer designed for artists with strong existing reach may be more suitable than The Queen Is Dead Records.

– You are independent, but ambitious.
You develop your music on your own, without a label, agent or other contact to listen to and assess your work. If you want to grow your project while benefiting from an outside perspective on the quality of your production, The Queen Is Dead Records can support you, point out any issues that may need correcting, and confirm that your music meets the expected standards before distribution.

– You mainly want your music to be available on streaming platforms.You see Spotify,
Deezer, Apple Music and other platforms as tools for distribution and visibility, without necessarily expecting significant income from streaming. If you are a non-professional artist, have limited promotional resources, or simply want your music to remain available over time, The Queen Is Dead Records’ no-subscription model helps keep recurring costs down: you pay for distribution once, with no annual renewal fee.

PRICING

UNDERSTANDING OUR OFFERS

The different offer levels allow you to adjust the upfront price, the amount of the advance to be recouped, and the share of royalties paid to the artist.

– LOW-COST has the lowest upfront price. In return, the amount to be recouped is higher, and the artist receives 50% of the royalties once the advance has been recouped.

– BASIC offers a middle ground: the amount to be recouped is lower, and the artist receives 70% of the royalties.

– AMBITION allows the artist to start receiving revenue sooner thanks to a smaller advance, while paying 80% of the royalties to the artist.

Streaming revenue remains relatively low and, above all, highly variable. There is no fixed rate per stream: the amount depends on factors such as the platform, the listener’s country, their subscription type and, in some cases, the programme through which the stream was generated.
If we nevertheless had to give a single indicative figure, for Spotify we would use an average of approximately €0.0021 per stream. However, this figure should not be treated as a fixed or particularly meaningful rate, as individual streams can generate amounts that vary considerably.

In our analysis of data collected by The Queen Is Dead Records, we found significant variations, including within the same platform. It is therefore impossible to determine precisely in advance how many streams will be required to recoup an advance or generate a given amount of revenue.

What matters most is making your music available to as many people as possible – for your own satisfaction, but above all to find and grow your audience.

Pros and Cons

The royalty rate offered by The Queen Is Dead Records is lower than that of some plans offered by major distributors. If an artist already has an audience capable of generating a significant number of streams, it may be more advantageous to pay a higher upfront fee in exchange for receiving 100% of their royalties from the very first stream.

However, when an independent artist does not know whether their streaming revenue will be enough to recover their investment, The Queen Is Dead Records offers access to a wide range of platforms for a limited upfront cost, with one payment per release and no subscription or recurring maintenance fees from us.

But The Queen Is Dead Records is not only about affordable pricing: your tracks are actually listened to, checked, analysed and commented on before distribution. This means you can either be reassured about the quality of your production or, when necessary, receive guidance on a few adjustments before your music goes live.

Votre musique sur

Amazon, Apple Music, Beatport, Deezer, Facebook, Google Play, iTunes, Napster, Pandora, Qobuz, Shazam, Spotify, Tencent, TikTok, TIDAL, YouTube Music

et plusieurs dizaines d’autres plateformes.