So I have a strange one for you. I found out this past week that composers of classical music are not allowed to be their own primary artists for digital distribution. Say what?

The digital music distribution industry is set up thinking that composers are not the owners of their own music since they are not the performers. Yet, in other genres, if a singer/songwriter has a guest artist doing their song, this is not a problem.

In order to get around this problem, my team listed the composer’s works in a different category, suggested by CDBaby. Unfortunately, the category is New Age, and although it offers a work around for this platform, Apple Music is blocking this option. It is saying that the music is not New Age, but Classical, and the composer should not be allowed to have his own artist page.

It seems that Apple Music is functioning under the assumption that all classical music composers are dead. Since they feel composers are dead, they have the listings under the performers/ensembles instead. Or, do they feel composers should not play a primary role in their own albums?

This is so ridiculous, and I am wondering how other living composers in classical music are working out this situation. Ultimately, we would like all the composer’s albums under their own name, not dispersed throughout the digital distribution world under each ensemble. How the heck are we supposed to market their music as a whole?

If you are a composer, please let me know how you are handling this situation.

I do hope this unfair treatment of classical music in general changes.

Cheers to better classical music placement and distribution rights,
Shoshana

Shoshana Fanizza
Chief Audience Builder, Audience Development Specialists