Horus Music: The Middleman Between Creators and Their Audience
Horus Music serves as a vital connection between creators and their audience, a role traditionally held by record labels. Offering a variety of services ranging from basic music distribution to marketing, promotion, and even music video production, Horus Music provides a comprehensive solution for artists.
Unlike record labels that often require long-term contracts, Horus Music operates differently. Artists pay a fee to keep their music live on the platform, and in return, they retain 100% of the revenue generated. Horus Music is designed to be a one-stop shop for artists' promotional and distribution needs.
What Is Horus Music?
Horus Music is an internationally recognized digital distribution and label service provider aimed at musicians and filmmakers. Established in 2006 by Nick Dunn, Horus Music is based in Birmingham, UK. The platform offers a wide range of services, including music synchronization, marketing, and promotion.
When the company was first created, it focused on artist management before expanding into music distribution. Horus Music’s first release in 2007 charted at number 20 on the Official Charts Company’s indie charts.
What Does Horus Music Offer?
While this article primarily focuses on the music distribution aspect of Horus Music, the company offers a lot more. Artists can visit their website for more detailed information.
Quality Control
The first step in getting your music online is sending it to Horus Music. Their team of professionals will review the music to ensure it meets quality standards. They also provide feedback on the submission to help artists maintain a high standard for their work.
Horus Music Distribution
Horus Music's distribution services stand out for their flexibility. With the ‘Artist’ package, musicians can release an unlimited number of tracks, which is an advantage over distributors that charge per release. Horus also handles pre-orders without additional fees.
Artists can distribute their music to over 200 stores in more than 100 countries. All necessary details like barcodes and ISRC information are included. Horus does not charge extra for distribution alone, and artists keep 100% of the revenue generated.
Music Mastering
Horus Music also offers a mastering service for an additional fee. This service ensures that the music is of the highest quality before release, making it consistent and professional.
Music Promotion
Horus Music offers various promotional services at reasonable costs, including helping artists pitch their music to appropriate playlists. This is especially useful for indie artists looking to get noticed on streaming platforms. Additionally, Horus can register songs for chart tracking for an extra fee, although its effectiveness depends on the song’s performance.
Video Distribution
Horus Music also offers video distribution services. They assist with both creating and distributing music videos to platforms like Tidal Video, iTunes, and VEVO. However, this service also comes at an extra cost.
Urgent Delivery
For artists in need of quick distribution, Horus Music offers an urgent delivery service for £75. This ensures that the music is delivered to stores within 24 hours, although the processing time at individual stores still applies.
Horus Music Pricing
Horus Music offers two main subscription packages: the ‘Artist’ package for individual musicians and the ‘Label’ package for those managing multiple artists. Pricing is competitive, with the Artist package costing £20 per year and the Label package at £30.
Additionally, individual release packages are available for specific needs:
- Single Distribution: £25
- EP Distribution: £35
- Album Distribution: £45
- Chart Registration: £25
- Music Mastering: Starting from £20
Horus Music also offers video distribution services, including:
- VEVO Video Package: £20
- VEVO Channel Package: £75
- iTunes Video: £100
Unlike many platforms, these are one-time costs, not annual fees. However, taking music down from the platform comes with a significant fee of £100 ($123).
Pros and Cons of Horus Music
Pros:
- Artists keep 100% of revenue.
- Distribution to over 200 stores in 100+ countries.
- A variety of promotional tools, including music and video services.
- Chart registration for singles.
- Access to global markets, including China and Asia.
Cons:
- Payouts are processed through Western Union.
- Additional costs for various services.
- High fee for removing songs from the platform.
- Charges for faster delivery to stores.
Competitors of Horus Music
Horus Music vs DistroKid
For artists based outside the UK, platforms like DistroKid may offer more cost-effective solutions. DistroKid charges $19.99 annually for unlimited uploads, and artists keep 100% of royalties. However, DistroKid’s support system may be slower due to its large user base, often relying on ticketing systems for queries.
Horus Music vs RouteNote
RouteNote offers flexibility with both free and premium distribution plans. Artists can start with the free plan and upgrade to premium if they begin generating enough revenue. RouteNote also has a global distribution network and offers affordable premium plans, ranging from $10 to $45.