In this article

You’ll learn how to:

• get all your music and files into DISCO
• clean up your metadata, one release at a time
• present your music with a Page or EPK
• share your music and see who listened
• collaborate on sessions and projects
• run your live set from DISCO
• keep your work organized

Getting everything in

Most people upload their current project and stop there. DISCO works best when everything is in one place: finished masters, instrumentals, stems, session bounces, artwork, photos and lyric sheets. Images, PDFs and documents upload the same way as audio.

• Playlist Creator - drag files in from your desktop, or import from Dropbox or Box.
• Bulk Uploader - for a hard drive or an old laptop, use the Bulk Uploader. Each lowest-level folder of files becomes a Playlist, and it runs in the background.
• Inboxes - share your Inbox link with collaborators, managers or session players, and their files land straight in your DISCO.
• Save to DISCO - when a file arrives by email, WhatsApp or WeTransfer, save it in a couple of taps with the DISCO app.

The Artist plan includes unlimited tracks and two user seats.

Cleaning up your metadata

Metadata is what makes your files usable to everyone else. Don’t try to fix everything at once. Pick one album or EP, finish it, then copy the pattern to the rest.

For every track you share:

• clean Title and Artist fields
• your contact details in the Comments field, so whoever hears the track knows who to reach
• if you pitch for sync, writers and splits in the Comments field, with publisher and PRO for each writer

The Writers tab is for your own records. It doesn’t travel with the file and isn’t visible to other DISCO accounts, so anything someone else needs goes in Comments.

The Artist plan includes unlimited Lyric Transcription and auto-tagging, so you can find your own music by a lyric, a mood or an instrument rather than a file name. For the details, see How to manage and edit track info and metadata.

If you’re working with a sync agent, have these ready before you start: mastered WAV or AIFF files, instrumentals, stems, clean versions of any explicit songs, and full writer and publisher details. Leave out any song with an uncleared sample. For what to look for in the deal itself, see Pitching the pitchers: what to know before working with a sync rep.

Presenting your 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 share the link.
• Artist Page - set up an Artist Page once and keep it updated: audio, bio, press photos and links. Send one link instead of a stack of attachments and Dropbox, Google Drive and Spotify links.
• EPK - build an EPK as a Page with your bio, release info, stats, press quotes and supporting assets, so a journalist, booker or label has everything in one place.

You can make more than one Page, such as a press pack for a release, a booking pack, or a submission for a festival. To add your logo and colors, see Customizing account settings and branding.

Sharing and seeing who listened

• Copy link - the fastest way to share, but it doesn’t tell you who listened.
• Email from DISCO or Assign a URL - shows which tracks each person streamed and downloaded.
• QR code - generate a QR code for any Playlist or track from the share area, so people can open it from a poster, a merch table or a slide.
• Password protection - add a password to unreleased music and send it separately. Included in the Artist plan.

Every Playlist streams and downloads by default. Switch it to stream-only in Content Settings if you’d rather people listened without taking the files.

Collaborating

• Remote sessions - send stems, bounces and session files to collaborators in a Playlist. They stream or download from one link, with no file transfer service needed.
• Projects - share your Inbox link for a writing camp, a remix call or a session, and everything submitted lands in one place, ready to review, store and reshare.
• Nesting - nest versions, instrumentals, stems, sheet music and alternates under a single main track, so a session that generates a lot of files stays tidy.

Running your live set

Build a Playlist of your set in running order. Under each track, nest what the band needs on the night:

• the chart or lead sheet
• the backing track or click
• the instrumental
• a reference version of the arrangement you’re playing

One link goes to the whole band, including a player joining for a couple of shows. When the set changes, update the Playlist and the link stays the same. In the DISCO app, Make offline lets you listen to the set without a connection.

Keeping your work organized

A simple structure that works for most artists:

• one Catalog Channel for your full body of work
• Playlists for specific projects, releases and pitching packages
• Tags to mark status, such as unreleased, demo or pitched

Start there and add structure as your catalog grows. Color indicators for a quick visual status are on Pro plans and above. For more, see Organize your DISCO.

If you’re weighing up the Discovery Suite or a DISCO Catalog, read Do artists need a DISCO Catalog? first. Catalogs suit composers, producers and artists with a large body of work, and aren’t worth building for fewer than 100 tracks.

Resources

• Release preparation: compiling promo assets
• How to pitch your music to journalists
• DISCO Crash Course
• Download the DISCO app
• Questions? Chat in-app or email support@disco.ac

How other artists use DISCO

• Why singer-songwriter Charles Watson views DISCO as a “perfect solution” to music management
• How DISCO track nesting helps Ghost Funk Orchestra prep for live shows
• How Jordi Up Late expanded into sync and stays organized with DISCO

Wrap up

Get everything in, finish your metadata one release at a time, and send one link that does the job. Once your set list, Pages and session Playlists live in DISCO, the file you need is always a search away.