Streaming Platforms for Musicians

Spotify is for fans.
DropCue is for the industry.

Streaming platforms for musicians come in two layers. Consumer streaming (Spotify, Apple, Soundcloud) reaches fans. Professional B2B streaming (DropCue) reaches the supervisors, A&Rs, and labels who book the work. Most pros use both.

Consumer vs. professional streaming

Same word ("streaming"). Completely different jobs. Consumer streaming reaches millions of fans, pays pro-rata royalties (~$0.003/play), and is public by default. Professional B2B streaming reaches 10-100 specific industry decision-makers, supports sync placement deals ($500-$50,000+ per cue), and is private by default. Most working musicians use both: Spotify for fans, DropCue for industry pitches.

When to reach for DropCue (not Spotify)

• Pitching unreleased music to a sync supervisor
• Sending a demo to an A&R or label
• Sharing rough mixes with a co-writer or producer
• Building an EPK for industry outreach
• Tracking who opened a pitch and who ignored it
• Sending a curated playlist to multiple supervisors with per-recipient analytics

How is DropCue different from Spotify or Apple?

Spotify and Apple are consumer streaming — anyone can listen, they pay tiny royalties per play, and your music sits in a public catalog with hundreds of millions of others. DropCue is professional B2B sharing — you send a private branded link to a specific person (a music supervisor, an A&R, a label), they press play, you see exactly who listened to what.

Related

• WeTransfer alternative for musicians
• Music management software for working pros
• Music licensing platforms — three categories
• Build a hosted EPK in 15 minutes

Two layers. Use both.

Keep your distributor pushing music to Spotify and Apple for fans. Use DropCue to pitch the same music to the people who book the work.