We are the music makers https://wearethemusicmakers.co/latest Music tech and AI in music: the news that matters, what we think about it, and a directory of the tools. en-us Sun, 25 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/spotify-discovery-mode-explained Spotify Discovery Mode explained: how it works, what it costs and why it is criticised https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/spotify-discovery-mode-explained Discovery Mode lets an artist team flag songs for some of Spotify's algorithmic listening, in return for a 30% commission on recording royalties from those streams. This guide sets out the mechanics as Spotify's own help pages describe them, a simple way to judge the trade-off for one song, and the criticism, as we read those pages on 24 Oct 2026. Sun, 25 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers spotifystreamingroyaltiesrelease-planning https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/spotify-for-artists-pitching Spotify for Artists pitching: the deadlines, the rules and what a pitch can and cannot do https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/spotify-for-artists-pitching Spotify for Artists lets your team pitch one unreleased song at a time to Spotify's editors, and video pitching is rolling out too. Here is every rule Spotify itself publishes: the 7-day deadline, who on your team can pitch, what the form asks, how Release Radar and This Is pins work, and the things a pitch will never do, as we read Spotify's help pages on 24 Oct 2026. Sat, 24 Oct 2026 06:30:00 GMT We are the music makers spotifyplaylistsrelease-planningworkflows https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/release-timeline-checklist A six-week release timeline: pitching editors beyond Spotify through your distributor https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/release-timeline-checklist Spotify lets you pitch yourself a week before release, but Apple Music, Amazon Music and Deezer editors mostly hear about your song through your distributor, and distributors want weeks of notice. Here is a six-week plan built backwards from the deadlines distributors publish, as we read them on 24 Oct 2026. Sat, 24 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers release-planningworkflowsplaylistsdistributionspotifyapple-music https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/bandcamp-fridays-2026-plan-release-around-them Two Bandcamp Fridays left in 2026: how to plan a release around 6 November and 4 December https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/bandcamp-fridays-2026-plan-release-around-them Bandcamp waives its 10 to 15% revenue share on 6 November and 4 December, but payment processor fees still apply and the window runs on Pacific Time. A step-by-step plan for timing, merch and bundles, with the sums worked out and a note on where the Stripe payout switch stands. Sun, 18 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers workflowsbandcamprelease-planningmerchpayments https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/2027-release-checklist-guides-in-one-page Your 2027 release checklist: every guide from this run on one page https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/2027-release-checklist-guides-in-one-page We spent a month writing practical guides on releasing music, from registering a song to reading the statement that pays for it. This is the short version, in the order you will need it, with each step pointing back to the guide and the official page behind it. Tue, 25 Aug 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers workflowsrelease-planningmetadatamasteringspotifyapple-musicroyalties https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/pitching-spotify-editors-500-characters Pitching Spotify's playlist editors: what to write in the 500 characters https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/pitching-spotify-editors-500-characters Spotify lets you pitch one unreleased song at a time to its editors, and a pitch made 7 days out puts that song in your followers' Release Radar. Here are the rules as Spotify states them, the fields that matter, a template and three invented example pitches. Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers workflowsspotifyplaylistsrelease-planning