360 PROMO.

03/10/2026

Why Artists Should Export MP3s at 320kbps for Radio

If you’re sending music to DJs or radio stations, the quality of the file you deliver matters more than many artists realize.

One of the most common mistakes artists make is exporting their music at 128kbps. That might be fine for casual sharing, but it is not acceptable for broadcast.

Many DJs will refuse to play a 128kbps file outright. Others might play it, but it will sound noticeably worse on the air. Either way, low bitrate files make your music look unprofessional.

If you want your track to sound right when it hits the airwaves, you should always send a 320kbps MP3 for radio.

What Bitrate Actually Means

Bitrate refers to how much audio data is stored in each second of a digital audio file. The higher the bitrate, the more audio information is preserved.

Think of bitrate like image resolution. A low-resolution image looks blurry and compressed. Audio works the same way.

128kbps — low quality, heavy compression
192kbps — moderate quality
256kbps — good quality
320kbps — highest MP3 quality

At 128kbps, a lot of the original sound information from your mix is removed. High frequencies, stereo detail, and dynamic depth get reduced.

The result is a track that can sound flat, harsh, or thin when played through professional speakers or broadcast systems.

Radio stations and DJs use high-quality sound systems. Compression artifacts become obvious immediately.

This is why DJs strongly prefer receiving a 320kbps MP3 for radio.

Start With a WAV Master

Before exporting an MP3, you should always start with your final WAV master.

A WAV file is an uncompressed audio format. It contains the full quality of your mix and master without any data loss.

Your typical workflow should look like this:

Mix your song
Master the final version
Export the final master as a WAV file
Convert that WAV into a 320kbps MP3 for radio

Every time you convert audio into a compressed format like MP3, you lose some information.

If you convert a low-quality file again, the quality only gets worse.

For example, if you export a 128kbps MP3 and later convert it to 320kbps, you are not restoring quality. You are just making a larger version of an already degraded file.

Whenever possible, always start from the WAV master.

What If You Only Have an MP3?

This happens more often than artists expect, especially with older releases.

If you no longer have the WAV master, start with the highest quality file you have available.

If it is 256kbps or 320kbps, use that.
If all you have is 128kbps, it can still be converted for compatibility.

Converting a 128kbps file to 320kbps will not improve the audio, but it can make the file easier for DJ software libraries to handle.

If possible, try to recover the original WAV master from your producer, engineer, or studio archive.

How to Export a 320kbps MP3 Using Apple Music

One of the easiest ways to create a 320kbps MP3 for radio is using Apple Music (formerly iTunes), which many artists already have installed.

Step 1: Open Apple Music

Launch the Apple Music application on your computer.

Step 2: Open Settings or Preferences

From the menu bar, open Settings or Preferences.

Step 3: Open Import Settings

Navigate to the Files section and click Import Settings.

Step 4: Choose MP3 Encoder

Under “Import Using,” select:

MP3 Encoder

Step 5: Set Quality to 320kbps

In the settings dropdown, choose:

Higher Quality (320 kbps)

This ensures the MP3 file will export at the highest possible bitrate.

Step 6: Convert the File

Import your WAV master into Apple Music.

Right-click the file and select:

Create MP3 Version

Apple Music will generate a new 320kbps MP3 for radio ready to send to DJs, radio programmers, or promo pools.

Best Practices When Sending Music to DJs

If you want DJs to actually play your track, a few simple practices go a long way.

Always send a 320kbps MP3 for radio
Label your file clearly (Artist – Song Title)
Include clean or radio edits when possible
Avoid sending low-quality streaming links

DJs receive hundreds of tracks every week. Sending professional-quality files increases the chance your music actually gets loaded into their library.

Small details like bitrate signal that you take your release seriously.

Ready to Promote Your Track to Radio?

If you’re ready to take action on this kind of strategy, check out our campaigns and services that address just this issue —

https://360promo.net/ -Promotion

360 Promo is a full-service music marketing, promotion, distribution and admin company. Learn more about us and what we do at https://360promo.fm, follow us on https://instagram.com/360promo and contact us at [email protected] to tailor a plan that works for you.

03/06/2026

The Lie Behind “100% Royalties” in Music Distribution

Independent artists hear the same pitch over and over again:

Upload your music.
Pay a small annual fee.
Keep 100% of your royalties.
DIY distributors like DistroKid built their brand around this message.

For independent artists, it sounds perfect. No label. No middlemen. No percentage taken out of your streaming income.

But the phrase “100% royalties” is one of the most misunderstood claims in the entire music distribution business.

Because it does not mean you are receiving 100% of what streaming platforms actually pay.

To understand why, you need to look at how streaming money actually flows.

Table of Contents
What “100% Royalties” Actually Means
The Hidden Layer: Licensing Deals
The Collective Most Artists Never Hear About: Merlin
Direct Deals vs Collective Deals
The Part Most Artists Miss: YouTube Content ID
Why Many Artists Avoid Percentage-Based Distributors
DIY Distribution vs Real Distribution Support
What Happens When Something Goes Wrong
The Real Question Artists Should Ask
What “100% Royalties” Actually Means
When a DIY distributor says you keep 100% of your royalties, they are not claiming that you receive 100% of the revenue generated by your music on streaming platforms.

What they actually mean is this:

You keep 100% of the money the distributor receives.

That is a very different statement.

The real payment chain looks like this:

DSP (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc.)
Distributor
Artist
If the distributor receives $100 from a DSP and keeps none of it, then the artist receives the full $100.

But that raises the real question most artists never ask:

Why did the distributor only receive $100 in the first place?

That number is determined by licensing deals negotiated long before the money reaches the distributor.

The Hidden Layer: Licensing Deals
Every digital streaming platform operates under licensing agreements with distributors and labels.

Those agreements determine things like:

revenue share structures
advances and minimum guarantees
promotional commitments
access to platform marketing tools
catalog leverage in negotiations
So the real economics look more like this:

DSP revenue pool
Platform licensing agreement
Distributor economics
Artist payout
A distributor taking 0% does not automatically mean the artist receives the highest possible payout.

The upstream deal matters just as much as the downstream percentage.

The Collective Most Artists Never Hear About: Merlin
Many independent distributors do not negotiate directly with streaming platforms.

Instead, they participate in licensing agreements negotiated by an organization called Merlin.

Merlin represents thousands of independent labels and distributors when negotiating deals with digital platforms like:

Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube
Amazon Music
Because Merlin represents a massive portion of the independent music market, it effectively acts like a fourth major label in the digital licensing world.

Many DIY distributors rely on Merlin-negotiated deals instead of negotiating their own direct platform agreements.

Direct Deals vs Collective Deals
Some larger distribution and label-services companies negotiate directly with DSPs.

Examples include companies like:

The Orchard (Sony)
AWAL
Believe
EMPIRE
Stem
Because these companies control large catalogs and successful artists, they have significantly more negotiating leverage.

Direct licensing relationships can include:

better platform economics
large advances from DSPs
marketing commitments
editorial and algorithmic opportunities
closer platform relationships
This does not mean that one stream is automatically worth more than another.

Streaming platforms do not assign a fixed price based on distributor.

But stronger upstream relationships can influence how revenue and opportunities flow downstream.

The Part Most Artists Miss: YouTube Content ID
Another major hole in the 100% royalties music distribution claim appears when you look at YouTube.

Most DIY distributors charge additional fees for YouTube Content ID and still take a percentage of that revenue.

Content ID is the system YouTube uses to track and monetize music across the platform.

It allows artists to earn money when:

their music is used in other people’s videos
their music appears in user-generated content
their own videos generate views before their channel is monetized
For example, an artist can upload videos to their own YouTube channel that contain their music and still earn Content ID revenue even if the channel itself is not monetized yet.

But with distributors like DistroKid, artists must opt into Content ID as a separate service, and the distributor typically keeps around 20% of those earnings.

So even within the same distributor system, the idea of 100% royalties music distribution immediately starts to break down.

Learn more about Content ID here.

Why Many Artists Avoid Percentage-Based Distributors
Many artists automatically reject distributors that take a percentage.

The logic seems simple:

Why give up 10–20% if another distributor claims you can keep 100%?

But that logic only works if the 100% royalties music distribution claim were actually true.

Once artists understand that they are never truly receiving 100% of the streaming economics, the conversation shifts.

The percentage becomes just one factor among many.

DIY Distribution vs Real Distribution Support
DIY distributors serve a very specific purpose.

They offer:

cheap distribution
fast uploads
unlimited releases
simple royalty splits
If you are a brand new artist and no one knows who you are yet, that simplicity can make sense.

But once an artist starts getting traction, the needs change.

At that stage, distribution is no longer just about uploading music.

It becomes about:

marketing support
DSP relationships
playlist pitching
campaign strategy
real human support when issues happen
Those are things DIY platforms typically do not provide.

What Happens When Something Goes Wrong
If a DSP suspects streaming manipulation or platform abuse, the artist can get flagged.

And this happens more often than people realize.

Artists can get caught in these situations even when they did nothing wrong.

For example:

their song is added to a questionable playlist
someone uses their music in spammy content
third-party promotion services generate suspicious activity
To a DSP or distributor, this can look like artificial streaming.

When that happens, many DIY distributors will simply shut down the account.

Platforms like DistroKid or TuneCore are known for terminating accounts quickly when problems arise.

There is rarely a conversation or investigation.

Larger distributors and label-services companies typically approach these situations differently.

Because they have direct relationships with platforms and internal teams, they can often investigate issues, communicate with the DSP, and advocate for the artist.

That kind of support can make a major difference when something goes wrong.

The Real Question Artists Should Ask
Artists often search for the “highest paying distributor.”

But that question misses the bigger picture.

Streaming payouts depend on multiple factors including:

listener territory
subscription vs ad-supported streams
platform economics
licensing deals
catalog leverage
The distributor’s percentage is only one piece of a much larger system.

And once artists understand how 100% royalties music distribution actually works, the conversation shifts from:

Who takes the smallest cut?

to

Who can help generate the most revenue and protect my catalog?

10/28/2025

No Monetization? No Problem. Get Paid.
If your music’s in Content ID, you can earn money even if your YouTube channel isn’t monetized. YouTube scans the whole platform—if someone else uses your song, you still get paid. UGC becomes income.



💸 Want your music tracked? We’ve got the system.

10/21/2025

Face. Contrast. Crop. Click. Boom.
Good thumbnails don’t happen by accident. Show your face, make it pop, crop it tight, and keep it clean. If it’s blurry, cluttered, or lazy, people scroll right past. One person, one action. Simple wins.



📸 We help artists build systems that work.

10/15/2025

Shoot Once, Post Twice. Save Your Sanity.
Film vertical and landscape at the same time—just mount your phone above your camera and hit record on both. You’ll get Reels and YouTube content from a single take, no reshoots, no crop headaches. Vertical sells. Horizontal builds. Do both.



🎥 We build systems like this all day.

10/13/2025

Your catalog is gold. Learn how to use old songs, analytics, and new content to revive your best music and grow your audience all over again.

10/09/2025

Duplicate Spotify profiles hurt your search visibility and tagging. Learn how to find and fix them fast.

10/08/2025

Step-by-step guide to optimize your Spotify artist profile with images, bio, Canvas, playlists, and more.

09/08/2025

Why YouTube > Spotify for artists

- More Listeners — 2.6B music listeners vs. Spotify’s 626M.
- More Money — $6–10 per 1,000 views, about 2x Spotify.
- More You — any video with your song = monetizable.
- More Searchability — YouTube is the world’s #2 search engine.
- More Analytics — know your audience inside out: age, location, drop-off rate, click-throughs, what they watched next.

🚀 5X the listeners. Double the payout. Endless video opportunities.

At 360Promo, YouTube isn’t just what we do — it’s what we’ve mastered. From channel management and content creation to ad campaigns, monetization, and building entire channel networks, we help artists unlock YouTube’s full power.

If you’re serious about growing on the world’s #1 music platform, it’s time to talk to us.

01/31/2024

How to not become the next victim of this guy.

Facebook is fertile ground to market your music. It's also a hotbed of scams. Follow these rules and avoid Facebook scams forever.

01/11/2024

Artists & musicians: use this handy checklist to help your Reels, Shorts and Tiktoks avoid the Attention Span Ski Slope of Doom.

Artists, we know creating Reels is time-consuming. Use this checklist to boost your Instagram Reels views, and make your time count.

08/07/2023

How To Request AND Accept Facebook Admin Access 2023 – The Easy Way
https://blog.360promo.net/facebook-page-admin-access-2023