Information you'll need regarding releases

We split profits 50/50 with our artists... but we believe in showing our maths. 

Digital Release

We'll use an example of a track selling at £1.50 on a store like Beatport, Juno or Traxsource.

Digital stores retain a percentage of each sale before distributor and label costs are deducted. That leaves roughly 75-80p.

Distribution fees come off next... this is what puts your music on Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok and beyond. Platforms like Landr and Distrokid can take a further 15-20%, leaving around 55-60p.

Mastering and admin costs can shave another 5-10p off. The more successful a release becomes, the more those costs spread... but they never disappear entirely.

What's left is the actual profit. That's what we split.

On a £1.50 sale, your realistic share is around 20-30p.

Physical Release — Vinyl

Vinyl is a different beast.

For on-demand pressing, a single record typically sells for £27-£33. The pressing and fulfilment company prints, cuts and mails it, then returns the difference to the label... usually monthly or quarterly. 

On a £30 sale, the label might receive around £6 back after pressing costs.

Artwork and admin take a small cut from that, leaving roughly £5 in real profit. Split 50/50, the artist receives around £2.50 per copy sold.

If demand grows enough to justify factory pressing, like runs of 100, 250 or more,  the economics improve. A run of 100 copies might cost the label £750-£1,200 upfront, but records can then sell for £15-£20 each with better margins for everyone.

The honest summary

Artists get a fair share of the profits. But the profits themselves are smaller than the sale price suggests... and we'd rather you know that before you sign anything than find out afterwards.

At Syko Records there are no hidden deductions or surprises.

Our catalogue continues to grow, and every release teaches us something new. Artwork, permissions, composer credits, metadata... building a label is a fun but constant learning process, and we're committed to getting every release right.

Our releases are distributed to Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, Tidal, Amazon Music and more. Beatport and Traxsource availability is currently being finalised.

Not everything makes it through to TikTok, Instagram and Facebook... each platform has its own acceptance policies... but the main streaming platforms are covered. 

Artwork. If you have a logo or text you like to use, you can send to us and we'll use it where needed.

Mastering assistance. We prefer you send us tracks already mastered as mentioned in the top section ot this page, however we do provide mastering if needed, this service can affect what you get paid. 

Promotion. There will be email lists and social media posts with details of your releases.

Radio support. Your tracks (and DJ mixes if you'd like) will be added to our 24/7 radio station. As a label artist, you will get access to the radio server to do live sets if you wish, slots will be agreed and scheduled.

Discogs entry. Each release will be added to Discogs, if your artist name is not on there, it will be created and we will update it for you.

We cannot guarantee:

Playlist placement on external sites

Streaming numbers.

Social media audio approval.

Beatport acceptance. 

Social media audio approval is extremely strict on what they accept. Your track may be your own original, but it may contain something with a similarity to a major release, or a sound might flag up as Ai assisted. There is nothing wrong here, it's just the internal systems and out of our control.

Beatport has its own acceptance policies and quality requirements. Most tracks should be accepted, but occasionally releases can be flagged for review. If that happens, we'll work with our distributor and Beatport support where possible, or make the release available through other platforms.