A Market Analysis on TuneCore

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A Market Analysis for
TuneCore
Charlie Bolling
Full Sail University
Project & Portfolio II: Business and Marketing
05/01/22

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This market analysis looks at TuneCore’s current market position in music distribution,
with a focus target market growth through the new social media distribution product. The report
discusses TuneCore’s current marketing progression and current target market and discusses new
ways to enhance the marketing model. A financial analysis of TuneCore’s parent company,
Believe SA, is included to share how funding can affect current trends. The report includes a
current standing of TuneCore against its direct competition, as well as those not in the niche
market. The report includes recommendations on how to adjust the marketing of their current
products, in order to promote the new product before a competitor can replicate the product. This
analysis has been conducted to promote growth in TuneCore’s current target market and find
innovative tactics to promote music distribution.

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(TUNECORE INC., 2015)
OBJECTIVE
Identify potential partnerships that would assist in marketing to Generation Z (born
between 1998-2007), and how these partnerships can assist in target market growth in various
genres of music in the independent scene.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Over the last month, research has been collected through internal and external sources,
using TuneCore’s blog and website as a firm source of information. External sources are used to
support or contradict the information found through internal sources. Sources collected are from
the past 2-4 years. Financial records were recorded at the beginning of last month, pulling
monetary records from TuneCore’s parent company, Believe SA.
RESEARCH AND KEY FINDINGS
TuneCore is a New York based distribution, publishing, and licensing company that
caters to the independent artist market.
TuneCore current target market is
focused on independent hip hop artists
and R&B artists. In 2015, TuneCore was
purchased by Believe SA, a French label
conglomerate that focuses on
Figure 1 (STASSEN, 2021)

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partnerships and independent artist growth. Together, the two quickly launched their “Signed
By” program, in which the two companies work to promote independent artists across all their
digital platforms. This program saw substantial growth in streaming for artists and has helped
over 400 artists get millions of streaming royalties (“PR Newswire”, 2021).
Believe SA has a relatively weak position on the open Paris stock exchange. Over the
past year of trading, the stock price has decreased by nearly 4 euros showing a percentage
of -21.99% compared to EuroNext100’s drop of -1.59% (Yahoo Finance, 2022). Believe SA’s
net income is listed at -26,845 euros. While the parent company seems to be failing
financially, much of their debt is due to partnerships and purchases of new brands. Believe
SA still owns more more assets than the total of their accrued debts with a ratio of 0.77.
TuneCore’s competitive edge is their choice to market to independent artists. In a
market flooded with competitors such as Univeral Music Group and Sony Music
Entertainment, TuneCore has managed to grow to be known as the most successful music
distributor that allows artists to maintain an independent status (Appendix A). In
comparison with other
independent-focused
distributors, such as
BandCamp or CDBaby,
TuneCore has proven to
provide more than twice as
much payment to their artists
through streaming royalties
(“TuneCore Fact”, 2022) .
Figure 2 (BUZZANGLE AND MBW ESTIMATES,2017)

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As TuneCore continues to grow their share of the market, they have begun utilizing
partnerships and social awareness among potential target markets. TuneCore already has many
partnerships with technology-focused companies that aim to enhance the user experience (PR
Newswire, 2017). TuneCore’s next step is to grow their target market view through social media
platforms. After the somewhat successful launch of a social media management application in
2016, TuneCore Social, the company’s CEO Andreea Gleeson worked to develop a new program
that further incentives potential new
clients. Late into 2021, Gleeson
announced the company’s plan to
launch a free music distribution service
that allows independent artists to gain
discovery and virality by having their
music on major social media discovery
platforms. TuneCore has already
partnered with the big names in social
media discovery: TikTok, Facebook,
and Fwaygo (PR Newswire, 2021).
Despite TuneCore’s many
partnerships, the company shows a
weakness in promotion of their new
product. Scrolling through TuneCore’s social media pages, there are many blog posts, videos,
and articles related to artist success in using the primary music distribution product. However,
there are very few posts related to the new social media music distribution product. As Globe
Newswire states, TuneCore has introduced “distribution to Social Platforms, a first of its kind,
Figure 3 (TUNECORE - FACEBOOK, 2022)

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new distribution service, whereby music can be uploaded to social media networks as a pre-step
to releasing music to streaming and download platforms” (‘TuneCore Launches Social
Platforms’, 2022). As this product is the first of its kind to enter the market, promotion of the
new product is vital to target market growth.
CONCLUSIONS
TuneCore has a very strong position in its market share against other independent-artist-
focused distribution companies. It appears that the marketing team has a structure in place that
uses the success of artists to market to potential new clients. While this shows valuable
information of potential success as an independent artist, TuneCore has not adapted this
marketing process to promote their new social media distribution. Due to the lack of maturity of
the new product, TuneCore is likely still waiting to find incredible success stories from artists
using the social media distribution. TuneCore must adjust their current marketing position in
order to reach new target markets while they wait for success. If the company waits too long to
properly market this product, a competitor will enter this untapped market in a matter of time.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the research and the findings, TuneCore needs to revamp their marketing styles
in a way that reaches Generation Z through social media platforms. Generation Z has already
discovered the way to find virality and success in marketing on social media. TuneCore could
hire paid interns that already have a following on TikTok or Instagram. They could utilize the
interns’ influencing abilities to adjust their marketing to focus on sharing the new product in a
way that will grab the attention of the younger generation. This is a strategic, operational
recommendation as it would affect the day-to-day operations to create a new marketing scheme.

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As TuneCore’s new product gains traction, it should drive more independent artists to
want to use the full music distribution product and rely on TuneCore for all their music
management needs. In turn, this will continue to increase TuneCore’s share in the streaming
royalty market. TuneCore will likely be unable to find the same success as the major labels in the
industry, however, they will corner the niche market of independent musicians.
In the following months, TuneCore should hire at least five paid influential interns, with
the focus of creating new content that connects to the younger generation. Their daily tasks
should include trend research, content creation, a minimum of 3 social posts a day, and analysis
of social media posts. This will allow TuneCore to find the new target market of young,
independent musicians and begin using their current “successful artists” marketing model.

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REFERENCES
Hogan, M. (2020). This Is How Much More Money Artists Earn From Bandcamp Compared to
Streaming Services. https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-much-more-money-artists-earn-
from-bandcamp-compared-to-spotify-apple-music-youtube/
Ingham, T. (2021). CD Baby generated $125m from Spotify, Apple Music and others in 2020.
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/cd-baby-collected-125m-from-digital-
platforms-like-spotify-apple-music-and-youtube-music-in-2020/
PR Newswire. (2017). TuneCore Expands Partnership With Aftermaster To Offer Independent
Artists Revolutionary Instant Mastering Technology. PR Newswire US. https://search-
ebscohost-
com.oclc.fullsail.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=201709260900PR.NEWS.U
SPR.NY98439&site=ehost-live
Canada Newswire. (2017). TuneCore Revolutionizes Social Media Management For
Independent Artists And Rolls Out Educational Resources. Canada Newswire.
https://search-ebscohost-
com.oclc.fullsail.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=201704270900CANADAN
WCANADAPR.C2509&site=ehost-live
PR Newswire. (2021). TuneCore and Believe Partner on Signed By Program. PR Newswire US.
https://search-ebscohost-
com.oclc.fullsail.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=202106230230PR.NEWS.U
SPR.UN20123&site=ehost-live
PR Newswire. (2021). TuneCore Launches Social Platforms to Accelerate Music Discovery for
Independent Artists. PR Newswire US. https://search-ebscohost-

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com.oclc.fullsail.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=202111160200PR.NEWS.U
SPR.UN76419&site=ehost-live
Shieber, J. (2018). SongTrust has signed up over 150,000 songwriters for royalties’ management.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/10/songtrust-has-inked-deals-with-over-150000-
songwriters-for-royalties-management/
TuneCore - Facebook. Facebook.com. (2022). https://www.facebook.com/TuneCore/
TuneCore (@TuneCore) / Twitter. Twitter.com. (2022). https://twitter.com/TuneCore
TuneCore (@tunecore) Official TikTok | Watch TuneCore's Newest TikTok Videos. TikTok.
(2022). https://www.tiktok.com/@tunecore
TuneCore Blog. TuneCore.com. (2022). https://www.tunecore.com/blog
TuneCore Fact Sheet. (2022). https://www.tunecore.com/wp-content/uploads/TUNECORE-
FACT-SHEET_4.26.18.pdf
TuneCore Launches Social Platforms to Accelerate Music Discovery for Independent Artists.
GlobeNewswire News Room. (2022). https://www.globenewswire.com/news-
release/2021/11/16/2334973/0/en/TuneCore-Launches-Social-Platforms-to-Accelerate-
Music-Discovery-for-Independent-Artists.html
TuneCore Pens Partnership with Fwaygo to Become the Preeminent Global Mobile Music
Discovery and Distribution Platform. Prnewswire.com. (2022).
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tunecore-pens-partnership-with-fwaygo-to-
become-the-preeminent-global-mobile-music-discovery-and-distribution-platform-
301482014.html.ces

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IMAGE REFERENCES
BuzzAngle & MBW Estimates. (2017). Market Share of Music Distribution Companies [Image].
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/universal-and-sony-neck-and-neck-in-us-
video-streaming-market-share-as-tunecore-leads-the-indies/
Stassen, M. (2021). TuneCore x Believe Signed By [Image].
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/340-tunecore-artists-have-been-upstreamed-
to-believe-labels-as-part-of-signed-by-program/
TuneCore - Facebook. Facebook.com. (2022). Screenshot of Sample Post [Image].
https://www.facebook.com/TuneCore/
TuneCore Inc. (2015). TuneCore Logo PNG [Image]. https://www.tunecore.com/wp-
content/uploads/sites/12/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2015-01-08-at-11.29.39-AM-1-
600x315.png

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APPENDICES
APPENDIX A – Related to TuneCore’s current share of the Music Distribution Market.
TuneCore is ranked number 6 among competitors that do not target the niche independent
musician market.
APPENDIX A (BUZZANGLE AND MBW ESTIMATES,2017)