BandLab Unveils BandLab Distribution and artist-to-fan subscriptions

01 September 2021 - Press release

 The full-stack social music creation platform adds new monetization features to help artists build a sustainable life in music, backed by leading B2B services

BandLab put the power of a full-on recording studio onto phones worldwide, and now it's bringing creators' work to music fans everywhere, giving artists the means to earn more from their music and fan engagement. The social music creation platform is rolling out a set of services for key creators, eventually extending them to its 40 million users: BandLab Subscriptions, which will allow fans to gain access to exclusive tracks, videos, and posts from their favorite music makers, and BandLab Distribution, which will allow creators to distribute their tracks to leading music services worldwide. 

"We want to help artists monetize more. We're creating a regular income stream, recurring revenue that can help them build a living based on their music," explains Meng Ru Kuok, BandLab CEO. "We already offered creators a Tip Jar feature, to let fans reward creators they loved, and Albums, which let artists sell tracks directly to their fans, but these are one-time opportunities. Now we're building out a sustainable way to guarantee regular revenue streams and thus support a stronger creator economy."

Subscriptions will allow artists to offer exclusive material, such as posts, videos, and audio tracks, to fans in return for a monthly fee. Once they select their subscription price from an available range, artists can decide what to offer their fanbase and they'll receive regular monthly payouts from BandLab, which allows artists to keep 100% of the subscription fee. This feature is currently entering early access, with a list of BandLab artists offering Subscriptions to kick off the launch. Interested BandLab users can sign up, with plans to expand in the coming months.

With BandLab Distribution, artists will now also be able to use BandLab to distribute the music they make on and off-platform directly to every major music platform like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TikTok, Tidal, Deezer, Pandora, and more, thanks to a partnership with leading music service provider Revelator. After an initial early access period, the service will open up to the BandLab community, bringing accessible, affordable distribution plans to independent artists worldwide via both desktop and mobile. Though music pros use the platform, BandLab is also home to millions of the world's underserved mobile-first music makers, creators whose work will likely be reaching global services for the first time. 

"Many of the services we provide are offered a la carte by different platforms, with cost-prohibitive fees or big revenue shares. Our vision is to unite the entire creator journey in one place, from making a track to finding the people it resonates with, and finally to taking it out into the world, which will allow many creators to begin to earn a living for the first time," says Kuok. "We want creators to have one place they can go to make music, with professional-quality tools and services, but at a price point and with terms that reflect our truly international user base."