Customer support works like insurance. It's something you don't feel like you need, until you do. When something goes wrong and you're in a rush to get it fixed but find yourself frustrated chatting with a bot that keeps giving you the same wrong answers, you get it. When a release is held up because the distributor suspects copyright infringement, and you have to provide documentation that has to be reviewed before your release is approved, you get it. When you've been flagged for streaming fraud, know it's a mistake, but can't plead your case because they've closed all lines of communication, you get it. 

Scale

Arguably, the biggest problem music distributors have with customer support is scale. 

Scale: Increasing revenue at a much faster rate than adding new costs and resources. 

Distributors open to all have a scale problem. Imagine trying to suck up all the water in a river with a straw. Not some kind of specialty straw, but a regular ole fast food restaurant straw. Too Lost distribution, for example, it claims to serve more than 500,000 artists, but is listed as having only 100 employees. All of those employees aren’t customer support reps. They’re spread across different departments. Things are far more likely to be heavily outsourced and automated.

How a distributor scales is a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) for customer support.

Ai Chat support

AI Chat support is one way a distributor can scale through automation. An effective AI Chat assistant should be conversational and allow follow up questions. It should understand a distributor's operation and be able to find answers. Companies have to pay per usage with AI, so some cut corners by not having it fully educated on their operations. Instead of answers, you get directed to related articles. If we list AI Chat support for a distributor below, it's conversational and effective. 

Community

When a distributor has a community and effectively harnesses that community, it can be a major contributor to solving the scale problem. Some issues other users have experienced and found solutions for. They can share those solutions with you.

Tiers

Scaling through tiers often sees response times spread across plans. The cheapest plan will have you waiting the longest for a response. The most expensive plan will have you waiting the shortest time for a response. Note: a response isn’t a solution, but it does put you on a faster track to finding one. With the most expensive option, you’re buying priority over other users.

Dedicated Representative 

A dedicated representative is like a Primary Care physician. You don’t have to explain things repeatedly. They already have your chart and know your history. It’s easier to follow up on resolutions and prevent recurring issues.

Cost

Scale can be addressed through cost. A distributor with a high price will end up serving fewer artists. Most people looking for distribution want to pay as close to nothing as they possibly can. The easiest way to avoid competing for customer support attention is to use a distributor with a price tag that scares off most artists. 

Bottom Line 

The goal isn’t human support, dedicated reps, phone support, etc.; it’s getting problems solved fast. Human support doesn’t mean competent. The same goes for dedicated reps. They may be overwhelmed or lack knowledge. Instead of your primary care doctor, you could get a revolving door of medical practitioners. Phone support doesn’t mean someone will answer the phone or be helpful when they do. It’s important to understand that the type of support is only part of the story.

Distributors with the Best Customer Support

Venice Music

Scales through pricing and AI.

Price: $499 annually - high enough to send most artists running for the hills and leaving fewer people to compete with for attention.

Accessible team.

Venice Music has a Dedicated community platform that offers:

• Weekly live chats, feedback sessions, and Workshops.
• Live chatroom
• Social media feed for users to post

Problems get solved through a collective. If an artist posts a question, the support team may answer, or another community member may get to it first.

AI chat support

Venice Music has a tool called Co-Manager that’s well-versed in its system.

Emubands

Pricing

Charges per release, plus requires an annual fee for customer support features.

Dedicated support rep with an annual plan - Exclusive to Pro and Premium

11-50 Employees

Number of artists is undisclosed 

iMusician

Scales by charging per video chat with a customer support rep. The Plus plan offers unlimited video chats.

40+ employees

500,000 artists

Amuse

Conversational AI

Tiers - Artist: Fast | Artist Pro: Faster | Professional: Fastest

Dedicated reps - exclusive to Label services

Preventive tools

Features a tool called Stream Check that gives you a heads-up when a release is trending toward being flagged for fraud. It’s a preemptive strike.

201-500 employees

Serves 300,000+