The Ugly Truth About Music Distribution (And How to Protect Your Music)

Music distribution was supposed to be the great equalizer. Instead, it’s become a source of headaches, hidden fees, broken promises, and disappearing songs. Indie artists are asking: is the system itself broken? In this episode of Scratch Track, I pull back the curtain on the indie distribution industry I once believed in — from botched metadata and mismatched catalogs to predatory upsells, fake features, Content ID scams, and AI slop clogging the pipes. We’ll talk about Spotify’s crackdown on artificial streams (and why it disproportionately punishes self-releasing artists), the decline of real customer service, and the uneasy shift toward faceless automation. You’ll also hear some stories from my own life in distribution, plus four ways to protect your music in case things get even worse. If you’ve ever had a release delayed, pulled down, or outright sabotaged by your distributor, this episode is for you. This episode is part of Season 1: Muting the Noise — what actually works for grown-up musicians About to release some new music? 👉 Get the "Music Release Checklist Your Distributor Hopes You'll NEVER Read" → https://www.musicdemo.org/music-release-checklist Want help brainstorming a great lead magnet for YOUR music? 👉 Get the free list: "25 proven list-building ideas for musicians" -- https://www.musicdemo.org/list-building Thinking of removing your music from Spotify? 👉 Use our decision-tree first → https://www.musicdemo.org/leave-spotify Videos referenced in this episode include: 1. "It's not just you: Music streaming is broken now" by Venus Theory : https://youtu.be/plleJ0Zv0Ww? 2. "Which distributor is best for musicians today?" by Jesse Cannon / Musformation: https://youtu.be/ezgk_oMoq_E Subscribe to Scratch Track for honest conversations about building a fearless music career — without chasing trends, going broke, or burning out.