What does music management software do for a composer?
Updated · By Marc Aaron Jacobs
It keeps your catalog, metadata, pitches and listener stats in one place. DropCue does this on Artist, Pro and Studio, from $8 a month billed annually, and Pro and Studio, from $15 a month billed annually, add per-listener stats, alt mix nesting and a portfolio.
Watch: Organize your catalog and share tracked playlists (1:01)
A one minute tour of DropCue: the dashboard, the media library, track pages, albums, playlists, the playlist editor and tracked share links.
A one minute tour of the media library, track pages, albums, playlists and tracked share links.
Video transcript
This is DropCue. Your dashboard shows plays, downloads and your warmest leads the moment you sign in. Media holds your whole catalog, with search and filters for genre, mood, key, tempo and more. Every track gets its own page for metadata, rights, files, stems and income. Albums group your releases, each with its own artwork. Playlists are how you pitch. Build one for every client, brief or mood. Inside a playlist, set the artwork, pick a share page template and arrange your tracks. Then share it. Every person gets their own tracked link, so you know exactly who listened. Your music, organized and pitched in one place. Start your free trial at dropcue.app.
How to set it up
- Upload your catalog. Drag your files into Media. If BPM and key are in the file tags they are copied in, or open AI Tools on the track page and click Detect BPM & Key.
- Group your versions. On Pro, alt mixes and instrumentals nest under their main track, so each cue is one row.
- Build a playlist per pitch. Make a playlist for each brief or client, with sections if you need them.
- Share and track. Send each person a tracked link. On Pro you see who played what.
- Take in submissions. Create an inbox so collaborators can send files straight into your account.
How many tracks can I keep on each plan?
Artist has no track limit, from $8 a month billed annually. It suits a large catalog that mainly needs organizing and private links. Pro and Studio are priced by how many tracks you keep, from 1,000 up to 20,000, starting at $15 and $29 a month billed annually.
The limits that grow with the plan are the people side. Artist holds 100 contacts and Pro holds as many as you need. AI Metadata, which fills in genre, mood, keywords and use cases, covers 100 tracks a month on Artist and 2,000 on Pro and Studio. Each uploaded file can be up to 1 GB on every plan.
How do collaborators send me files?
Open Inbox and create one. You give it a title, a description or brief, and a deadline, and you can cap Max total submissions and Max entries per person. Turn on Allow document uploads if you also want zip, pdf, doc, txt or xlsx files with the audio.
Size is set per submission, not per file. On Artist each submission can be up to 500 MB. On Pro a new inbox starts at 1 GB and you can raise it to 3 GB. Studio goes up to 5 GB. The person sending does not need a DropCue account.
Can I work on many tracks at once?
Yes. In Media, Shift click a row to select a range and Cmd or Ctrl click to pick single tracks. A bar appears with actions for the whole selection, such as adding it to a playlist.
Click More, then Convert, to turn a selection into WAV, AIFF or MP3 in one pass, which helps when a client asks for a delivery in a set format. It is on Artist, Pro and Studio. Converting one track is open on every plan through Download. Only audio converts, so videos in a selection are left as they are.
Good to know
- ●Listeners do not need an account to play what you send.
- ●Studio adds the Business Suite, including Pitch Pipeline, Royalty Tracker, Agreement Generator and the Clients and License Tracker.
- ●Artist includes 3 inboxes. Pro and Studio have no inbox limit.
“Lets me compose more and do less file management. It has a great interface and it is very easy to navigate. Customer support is top notch with quick responses and direct answers. Great value for the money!!”
Questions
Is it the same as a music distributor?
No. A distributor sends releases to streaming services. Music management software is where you organize, share and pitch your catalog.
Which plan do I need?
Artist covers the catalog, private links and passwords. Pro adds per-listener stats, alt mix nesting and the portfolio.
