Hi guys... thanks for being here.

I've been using Tunecore (which is great!). I'm curious if there's hope for a shorter delay between submitting an album for iTunes and the day it's up on iTunes. I'm assuming the hang up is on Apple's side... still 6-8 weeks is a long time for those of us who like to finish something and get it up to sell.

Thanks!

We have your music at iTunes and the other stores you choose within HOURS, Stick. And often, iTunes has it up in mere days, sometimes a week or two, but there's always a chance the store could take longer. It's their store, we can't guarantee when.

So we say 6 to 8 weeks because, historically, that's as long as it's ever taken. Any more than that indicates a problem.

But generally, it's a LOT faster than that.

--Peter
[email protected]

Ah, that's cool to know Peter.

Seems like the two I've submitted (two more in the hopper waiting to show up) were 4 weeks and 5 weeks, I think.

Glad to hear it's fast on your end.

Thanks for the great service!

Ditto for CD Baby.

I think the CD Baby web site still says 3 months or something, to scare away the panicky-types.

Better to underpromise and overdeliver.

But really we do same-day encoding and delivery, and iTunes gets everything added every week. We email you the exact URL to your album as soon as it's added.

CD Baby: Digital Distribution <-- more info here

Nice... thanks Derek.

I passed you in the hall at the Road Rally, but didn't get a chance to say 'hi'. Maybe next year!

To all:

I've read comments in other threads extolling the benefits of precisely coordinated release/promotion efforts.

Why is a scheduled release (ala major label's Tuesday releases) not available to indie artists? Not being able to schedule a release throws a wench in the plans of the little guy with little clout planning events even more than those of the majors who can muscle their way into venues.

Any plans in the works to correct this?

I gotta say I was wondering this exact thing just this morning...

R.

It is. You just have to ask.

It's not the default setup for obvious reasons : most independent artists aren't working on that kind of big-coordinated-release-date approach.

But if you are, just tell us what date you need it to appear on iTunes, and we take care of it. That's our job.

Scheduled releases can happen, but they can't be guaranteed. When TuneCore first started, we discovered anything more specific than a range made people feel their album would be up ON THAT DAY, and though at times the stores have been happy to oblige, the've sometimes been delayed, or even get the wires crossed and put things up too early.

Since we can't guarantee, it's safer not to set expectations. But as always, write our support team ([email protected]), they can do tremendous things!

--Peter
[email protected]

Not to start a fight but...

Is it possible to set a firm release date or isn't it?

R.

From my experience, yes. It takes some serious special-favors and we can't do it that often, but we can call our contacts at Apple and tell them it has to be active on a certain day.

The more reliable method is to tell your distributor it has to be up a week BEFORE the date you really want, so that you can see it with your own eyes, download it yourself, make sure everything works, before telling the world.