Can digital music promotion websites really give your music exposure?
I have simply been disappointed that they aren't what they purport to be. For instance, the one i am registered actually has a platform where as you can pay to have your song rated. This to me it is the same as buying stars, and I find that element of being asked to purchase stars abhorrent. I simply prefer to earn them genuinely. They also tell you post your music on the overrated Facebook. Ultimately, the question becomes what am I paying them for if i have to still do personal promotions. One of the worst money grabbing pitch for me was the fact hat they wanted a specified additional amount which would be applied when a new digital music store becomes available. So if a new music distributor never becomes available I would be out that money and they would line their pockets.
Ultimately, if you don't allow them to rack up extra money off of you, they dump you in the website with no search ability. For example you can never search for your song by its name only by artist name. Then they tell you to tell your friends and family to search for you by your name as if you made your song just for your friend and family. "You cant make this stuff up." Ultimately, I from my experience so far I have come to the conclusion that as is capitalism the music promotion website is the new neoliberalism frontier for those who came up with them to buy themselves mansions and yachts. In other words while profiting should benefit both the artist and the promoter, however, it seems to mostly benefit them.
Therefore, the music promotion website is really no different from those big recording companies who is used to keeping all the sales and royalties for themselves while giving the artist next to nothing for their creativity and hard work.