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Digital
Ditto cause debate on iTunes upload times for unsigned bands
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 30 July 2010
So, when we recently reported that digital distribution people Ditto Music were now offering the independent and unsigned artists they represent 24 hour turnaround on iTunes uploading, and the option to take pre-orders via the Apple platform, at least three of the company’s competitors emailed in to say that they also offered such services to their artists and that Ditto were therefore wrong to imply that they were the only or first company to do so.
To be fair to Ditto, they didn’t specifically say that they had any exclusivity arrangement with Apple to offer independent artists high speed uploading or pre-order facilities, even if their spin did imply they were offering services that perhaps couldn’t be found elsewhere. And it is probably fair to say that, while Apple have been offering these services to all indie distributors for a while, Ditto are the first one to actively start making promises regarding upload times to their artists.
Anyway, the debate about Ditto’s claims went public over on Hybebot thanks to an interview with the boss of one of the distributor’s key competitors, TuneCore. Alluding to Ditto’s 24 hour promise to its artists, the often vocal TuneCore chief Jeff Price questioned how his competitors could do any such thing.
He told Hypebot that, whereas it used to take weeks for independent artists to get their content onto iTunes, now TuneCore and most of its competitors could get music live on there within hours, and maybe minutes. However, doing so relied on Apple doing their end of the process speedily and that, Price reckons, isn’t something he or any of his competitors can guarantee will happen.
Price said: “The more established entities like TuneCore and CD Baby know better than to make claims like this to the market. Sure, we both run businesses, but misleading artists to take advantage of them is not how we operate. To make claims of guarantees you know you cannot keep preys on the hopes, dreams and aspirations of musicians. It’s not right. It needs to stop. Musicians work too hard”.
But Ditto Music founder Lee Parsons reacted angrily to the suggestion his company is somehow taking advantage of artists. In reply to Price’s interview, he wrote: “TuneCore were the first ones to shout about your new delivery times, the only difference is that you took full credit for it, without giving praise to iTunes like we did. When Ditto Music received massive press momentum by putting our necks on the line and giving a guarantee, you backtracked. I realise the press momentum Ditto Music received was frustrating for you. I did not expect so many TuneCore customers to contact us who were unhappy with your service. [But] artists are savvy”.
Adding that his company didn’t directly compete with TuneCore, because Ditto offer other services for unsigned artists, Parsons concluded: “My brother and I, who started Ditto, have been in bands our whole lives and know the constraints and difficulties artists face. Having their music on iTunes is just one part of a puzzle and not something we should be taking a pat on the back for. I will take a pat on the back when unsigned artists have the same infrastructure given to signed artists. And we at Ditto are working towards that until it is there”.
You can read the full exchange at:
www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2010/07/interview-jeff-price-ceo-of-tunecore.html
