In general, MES distributes uploaded tracks to all stores worldwide we have contracts with. Using the distribution matrix, you can select for each country:

• Store your product gets delivered to
• If you want to offer the product for streaming and/or download
• Price level, not the actual price! The actual price is determined by the store
• Release date

 

If you do not set anything in the distribution matrix, MES delivers your product worldwide to all stores we have a contract with.

 

To open the Distribution Matrix, click on the blue box next to “Distribution Matrix”

 

Set release date

The release date is the date from which on your product is available in stores. It makes sure that your product is available at the same time in all stores, which makes promotion much easier. If the product was already released digitally, the release date can also be in the past. To set the release date in the distribution matrix for each country and store click on “Set Release date”.

 

Example:
You upload a Christmas song in August and set release date for 24^th of December. The song will be available in stores on 24^th of December.

 

Important:

Approval process varies for each store and can be complex and lengthy. Thus, the actual release can take between 7 to up to 14 days from the date of upload in MES. Please make sure that you upload your product in time and grant extra time (2 weeks before release date, around Christmas time even 6 – 8 weeks).

 

Note:

If the shop allows pre-listening and pre-order, the product might be visible before release date, however not in full length. Usually stores offer a 30 second audio sample. Find out more about pre-ordering at 6.6 - My release should be available as pre-order.

 

Set distribution for each country

Click on the blue box next to “Distribution Matrix” and a new window opens.

Select a country and click on the arrow to the right to open a list with all available stores for this country. You can choose if you want to offer download and/or streaming for each country separately. If a shop does not offer an option, it is grayed out.

For some shops it is not possible to separate streaming and download, activation and deactivation is automatically done for both. If you want to set streams and downloads for all shops within a country, click on the column title.

 

 

Price Code

You can define a price level under “Price Code”, but the actual price will be defined by each store. The law of unfair competition prevents us from influencing the price. You can choose from the following price levels:

 

• Automatic = country specific price level; usually between EUR 0.89 to EUR 1.19 per song. Experience shows that this price level is accepted best by consumers. If the price is higher, sales decrease, if the price is lower, they stagnate.
  
  
• Budget = lowest price possible; 50% of the common selling price set by each store
  
  
• Back = 80% of the common selling price set by each store
  
  
• Normal = common selling price set by each store
  
  
• Front Plus = highest possible price; 130% of the common selling price set by each store. Please consider that a higher price does not automatically mean higher income. Consumers might not buy, if the price is too high.

 

Depending on the market, price range can vary. For example, a song normally costs 29 Cent in China and India, higher prices are hardly accepted. We closely work together with local partners to determine the price range of a market.

 

	Product	Standard price
Single	Contains 1 to 3 tracks	0.99 – 2.00 EUR
EP	Contains 4 to 6 tracks	2.00 – 3.49 EUR
Album	More than 7 tracks	4.00 – 12.00 EUR

 

Release date

You can set the release date for each country here. Important: Some stores only allow a worldwide release date and respectively a worldwide price level. MES shows you this information.

 

 

Copy-Paste settings

• From store to store in the same country: click on the “Copy” symbol on the right
  
  
• From country to country: Click on “Copy to all countries on the continent” below the table. The settings are used now for all countries on the continent. Click on “Copy to all countries in this column” and the settings are used for all countries worldwide.

 

Important:

If you copy-paste settings after you’ve excluded a country or adjusted other settings, the previous settings will be overwritten. Thus, we advise you to check all settings at the end.

 

If you choose “No distribution in the selected country” your product is not released in this country.

 

Save settings

After you’ve set up your distribution matrix, please click on the “Save” symbol top left.

 

Set as default for new products

You can save your settings as default for new products by clicking on “Save as default template”.

 

Create and use as template
Create a template in “File” > “Save template as” and use it for new products by clicking on “Templates” > “Use template”.

 

 

 

 

Related Topics

Tab „Product data“