# MelodicMind > MelodicMind covers music distribution, music promotion, and Spotify promotion — independent reviews, news, and how-to guides for working artists. MelodicMind publishes independent, hands-on reviews and guides for independent musicians: Spotify promotion services, music distributors, playlist pitching, and release marketing. Reviews are based on real campaigns with real spend. Each review and guide below links to the full article. ## Reviews - [SoundCampaign Review: The Truth About SoundCampaign](https://www.melodicmind.co/reviews/soundcampaign-review): If you're an artist trying to figure out how to promote your music, here's an honest, first-hand SoundCampaign review: the good, the bad, and the playlist-worthy. - [Best Spotify Promotion Services of 2026](https://www.melodicmind.co/reviews/best-spotify-promotion-services): We tested 23 Spotify promotion platforms with real campaigns across 6 genres. Only 5 delivered placements that actually held up 30 days later. Here they are, ranked. - [Best Music Distribution Services in 2026](https://www.melodicmind.co/reviews/best-music-distribution-services): We uploaded the same catalog through eight distributors in January 2025 and tracked royalty payouts every month for 18 months. Here's who actually keeps the most of your money. - [DistroKid vs TuneCore vs CD Baby, which keeps more of your money in 2026?](https://www.melodicmind.co/reviews/distrokid-vs-tunecore-vs-cdbaby): Three distributors, the same catalog, 18 months of royalty data. Here's who actually came out ahead, and the case for each one. - [SubmitHub review: flexible pay-per-pitch, but watch the auto-renewals](https://www.melodicmind.co/reviews/submithub-review): SubmitHub is the OG of music pitching, and it still works. We ran 60 credits through it and tracked exactly what hit and what didn't. - [Playlist Push review: big TikTok numbers, mixed quality](https://www.melodicmind.co/reviews/playlist-push-review): We ran a $300 Playlist Push campaign and a $300 TikTok creator add-on. The reach is real. The cost per genuine listener is the question. ## Guides - [How to distribute your music to Spotify in 2026 (the right way)](https://www.melodicmind.co/guides/how-to-distribute-music-to-spotify): Everything you need to know before you upload your first track, picking a distributor, preparing your files, setting metadata, claiming your artist profile, and avoiding the mistakes that cost you streams. - [How the Spotify algorithm actually works in 2026](https://www.melodicmind.co/guides/how-spotify-algorithm-works-2026): There isn't one Spotify algorithm. There's a stack of them, and each layer rewards a different listener signal. Here's what each one does and how to feed it. - [Indie music marketing budget: how to allocate $500 in 2026](https://www.melodicmind.co/guides/music-marketing-budget-for-indies): A real $500 release budget, split across the channels that matter. No theory: just where to spend, where to skip, and what to expect back. - [How to pitch Spotify editorial playlists (and what actually works)](https://www.melodicmind.co/guides/pitch-spotify-editorial-playlists): Spotify editors read every pitch. Most don't land. The few that do share specific traits we've reverse-engineered after a year of tracking what makes the cut. - [TikTok music promotion explained: what actually drives Spotify saves](https://www.melodicmind.co/guides/tiktok-music-promotion-explained): Most TikTok music advice is recycled myths. Here's what real attribution data tells us about which kinds of videos actually drive Spotify saves, and how to spend on creators. - [Pre-release marketing checklist for indie artists (8-week countdown)](https://www.melodicmind.co/guides/pre-release-marketing-checklist): Eight weeks out to release day. What to do, in what order, and what to skip. The exact checklist we run for our own releases. ## News - [Spotify expands Discovery Mode to back-catalog tracks in 2026](https://www.melodicmind.co/news/spotify-discovery-mode-2026-update): Spotify is letting artists opt back-catalog tracks into Discovery Mode for the first time. Here's what changes and who it actually helps. - [DistroKid raises pricing for 2026, what it means for your catalog](https://www.melodicmind.co/news/distrokid-raises-pricing-2026): DistroKid's base plan is going from $22.99 to $24.99 a year. Small bump on the headline, but the add-on changes are where the real story is. - [TikTok launches direct Spotify attribution for music creators](https://www.melodicmind.co/news/tiktok-spotify-attribution-launch): Artists can now see how many TikTok video views actually converted to Spotify saves and follows. It's the data we've been begging for. - [Apple Music Classical expands to neoclassical and ambient in 2026](https://www.melodicmind.co/news/apple-music-classical-expands): Apple Music Classical's catalog rules are loosening. Neoclassical, ambient, and contemporary composer releases can now distribute into the dedicated app. - [Spotify's 2026 Loud & Clear report: the numbers that matter for indies](https://www.melodicmind.co/news/spotify-loud-and-clear-2026): Spotify's annual payout transparency report dropped. We pulled out the stats that actually matter for working indie artists. - [Meta tightens music ad targeting, what indie advertisers lose](https://www.melodicmind.co/news/meta-music-ads-targeting-changes): Meta removed several interest-based targeting categories that indie music advertisers relied on. Here's the workaround. - [Bandcamp's ownership update: what it means for indie sellers](https://www.melodicmind.co/news/bandcamp-acquisition-update): Bandcamp changed hands again. Here's what's actually different for indie artists selling on the platform, and what we'd watch for. - [TuneCore is paying out faster, here's what changed](https://www.melodicmind.co/news/tunecore-payouts-faster): TuneCore quietly cut its payout cycle from quarterly to monthly for most platforms. We confirmed it across two test catalogs. - [YouTube ties Shorts views to song saves on YouTube Music](https://www.melodicmind.co/news/youtube-music-shorts-attribution): YouTube's new attribution data shows artists how Shorts impressions actually convert to YouTube Music saves. The numbers are surprising. ## Top Picks - [Best Spotify Promotion Services](https://www.melodicmind.co/top/best-spotify-promotion-services) - [Best Music Distribution Services](https://www.melodicmind.co/top/best-music-distribution-services) ## About - [About MelodicMind](https://www.melodicmind.co/about) - [How we test](https://www.melodicmind.co/methodology) - [Contact](https://www.melodicmind.co/contact)