A&R on DISCO: your quick start guide

DISCO is built around three things A&R teams do every day: finding music, sharing it, and receiving it. This guide covers each, plus how to keep everything organised.
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CONTENTS

Getting your music in

Start by getting your catalogue into DISCO. A few ways to do it:

Playlist Creator - drag files in from your desktop and they're ready straight away.

Bulk uploader / Dropbox import - if you have a large existing catalogue, use the bulk uploader or connect your Dropbox to bring everything in at once.

Inboxes - share your Inbox link with collaborators, managers, or session partners and they drop tracks directly in. No downloading, no re-uploading.

Save to the DISCO app - when a file lands via email, WhatsApp, or WeTransfer, save it to a Playlist in a couple of taps. Listen to your Playlists offline and share tracks on the go. Download here: disco.ac/downloads

Search & find music

DISCO's search is designed to surface tracks fast. Type an artist name, title, genre, BPM, key, or any combination. If you're on Discovery Suite, Similarity Search lets you find tracks that sound like a reference - useful for matching demos or surfacing buried catalogue. Auto-Tags adds descriptive labels automatically, so music you forgot you had becomes findable again.

Use Tags and Colour Codes to build a consistent system across your team. Yellow for demos, red for unreleased - whatever works, just keep it consistent.

Metadata (artist names, genres, release dates) is editable directly in DISCO. Publishing A&R: browse by Composer rather than Artist for a more relevant view.

You can also nest tracks - useful for grouping different versions, stems, or alternates under a single entry.

Sharing music

Playlists

The quickest way to share tracks with anyone - a collaborator, manager, label, promoter, or sync contact. Add tracks in the playlist creator, save and send a link.

Artist / Album Pages

Think of these as digital one-sheets. Set one up with a bio, cover art, social stats, and press materials, then share the link. No manual formatting, no PDFs - just a clean page that does the job.

Watermarking

If enabled on your account, any playlist you share through DISCO can be watermarked. Use a specific share link (not a generic one) and it applies automatically - including to emails sent via the Email Creator. Good practice any time you're sharing unreleased material. Receiving music

Inboxes

Share an Inbox link with anyone submitting music to you. They drop tracks straight in - no downloading, re-uploading, or chasing files. Set up project-specific Inboxes for writing camps or particular briefs so submissions land in the right place.

Drag & drop / integrations

Drag tracks from your desktop directly into the Playlist Creator. DISCO also connects with Box and Dropbox if that's where files come from.

The DISCO app

When a track lands via email, WhatsApp, or WeTransfer, save it to DISCO in a couple of taps. Playlists are also available offline, so you can listen anywhere. Download here: disco.ac/downloads

Shared Channels

Build a direct Channel with an artist (if they're on DISCO) or connect your team with Sync, Marketing, or whoever else needs access. Submissions flow in, nothing gets lost in email.

Organising your catalogue

The cleanest setup most teams land on:

  • One Catalog Channel to house all your artists / composers
  • A folder inside Catalog for each artist
  • Sub-folders inside each artist folder for audio, media, and press assets as needed
  • A separate Channel for unsigned / unsolicited submissions
  • A Pitch Log Channel if your team pitches externally

Resources

Case studies

Questions answered