No, then you’re not getting credit for your music sales, record labels will never know who you are, and you’re never going to be listed on the Billboard chart pictured above. Record labels, Billboard Charts, MTV, BET, VH1, CMT, and the like get their numbers from Nielsen SoundScan. Nielsen SoundScan will not track your music sales if …
1) You don’t have a UPC barcode AND
2) You don’t register the UPC barcode with Nielsen SoundScan.
Don’t believe me check their website FAQ page. One of the questions on their FAQ page is:
If a title is sold before it is registered with Nielsen SoundScan, will those sales be applied?
No, we are a weekly tracking service, collecting data sold from the previous Monday through Sunday.
Another Reason Why You Have Not Been Discovered
There are a lot of independent artists that have successfully sold music online, but cannot figure out why they’re not getting calls from record labels. It’s because Nielsen SoundScan did not track their sales. Nielsen reports sale numbers and the music industry lives by these numbers. They wait for them like the second coming.
Barcodes Must Be Registered With Nielsen SoundScan
Independent artists it’s not enough to have a UPC barcode for your digital music. You must register that UPC barcode with Nielsen SoundScan. This brings me to my next question. When you sell music online through digital distributors what is Nielsen SoundScan seeing? Does the distributor get credited with your sale or do you?
Protect Your Music Sales
This is a potential danger zone people. This explains why a lot of talent is not getting discovered. Many independent artists are unaware that UPC barcodes are needed to track digital sales (and that they must be registered with Nielsen SoundScan). If an online music distributor does not discuss UPC barcode policy and Nielsen SoundScan registration in their FAQ page don’t upload your music. They could be stealing credit for your sales, no not your money (they’ll still send you the money). Just because they give you the money for your music sales does not mean you get credit with Nielsen SoundScan and the music industry. Let’s look at an example:
SnoCap is a company that allows artists to sell music on their website and MySpace pages. On their FAQ page they state:
Q: Must I have a UPC and/or an ISRC for the audio content I intend to register with SNOCAP?
A: You only need a UPC code if you intend to distribute your sound recordings as an album (rather than individual tracks). For individual track registration SNOCAP does not require a UPC or an ISRC.
Not True SnoCap
If that were the case Nielsen SoundScan would not report single sales to Billboard. Remember that big chart on Billboard Music that says Top 100 selling SINGLES? Um Here’s the website for Billboard Top Selling Singles and Nielsen SoundScan reported the numbers.
If you don’t have a UPC barcode registered with Nielsen SoundScan….
You will never be on the Billboard charts. It’s physically and technologically impossible. Even If you only plan on selling singles, still get a UPC barcode(s) and register with Nielsen SoundScan. True, a UPC barcode can count for a whole album, but you can purchase UPC barcodes individually for singles as well. If you go to Nielsen SoundScans’ website to register your UPC barcode, they have a ‘Singles’ option on the registration form, here’s the link again. Just download the form and take a look. It does not make sense not to register a UPC barcode with Nielsen SoundScan, especially if you want to be a major recording artists. If you never want to be discovered it makes sense, I understand.
Who Can You Use?
I still recommend CDbaby. In fact that is about the only site I recommend. They allow their members to purchase a UPC barcode for only $20.00, they explain their whole UPC barcode process, and they register you (your name with your music and song titles) with Nielsen SoundScan so you get credit for your sales. Here’s a link to CDBaby’s UPC barcode policy. I am not sure if they allow you to buy barcodes for singles. I believe they do. Email them to confirm. I recommend demanding that you want to buy multiple UPC barcodes. I doubt they’ll turn down your money at $20.00 a barcode.
Yourself. You can always sell it yourself on your own websites. I always recommend this. It can be a bit pricey and time consuming. It cost $750.00 to get UPC barcodes independently. I know what you’re saying, “I thought you said it was $20.00?” It’s only $20 with CDBaby because they paid the $750.00. They only charge their members $20.00.
If you have the time and the money I highly recommend doing it yourself. This is what the music industry is heading for in the future. People will be their own music stores. Remember Sam Walton’s theory, the creator of Wal-Mart. “Cut out the middle man, buy directly from the manufacturer/wholesaler”. In this case the manufacturer/wholesaler is you. You’re the one making the music, you’re the one who should be getting the credit, you’re the one who should sell it.
Till Next Time
By Jamille Luney
Music Analyst
Filed under: How To Sell Your Music Online | Tagged: Nielsen SoundScan, How record labels track your music sales, register barcodes with Nielsen SoundScan, Getting Barcodes for your music, Registering barcodes for your music, Nielsen SoundScan and independent artists, How to register with Nielsen SoundScan, tracking your music sales, How to track your music sales, CDbaby barcodes and Nielsen SoundScan
[...] Got Barcodes? Got Registered [...]
This is a great article and answered most, if not all of my questions. This is assuming of course that iTunes and Rhapsody also allows singles and submits info to Neilsen SoundScan?
Thx.
Hey Jerry, great question. I’m answering here and also in one of my posts responding to readers.
itunes and Rhapsody are legally required to submit each sale, including single sales, to Nielsen SoundScan. Do they? Hmmm, we’d honestly have no way of knowing, but according to recent articles they do, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Here’s the real problem, people think when they put their music on itunes or Rhapsody a barcode is automatically created for their music. THIS IS NOT TRUE!! You still have to buy a barcode and you cannot buy one from Rhapsody or itunes. You can buy one from CDBaby and some new online distributors like tunecore and songcast are offering UPC barcodes for free (check their faq pages).
So how are barcode sales charted from itunes and Rhapsody to Nielsen SoundScan? Just like when you buy a CD at Wal Mart, the sales clerk scans the barcode and you pay. When somebody buys your music form itunes or Rhapsody the barcode is scanned, just like at a register during check out. The problem is many indie artists do not have registered barcodes and are not getting credit for their sales.
You (the indie artists) are responsible for registering your barcode and music with Nielsen SoundScan. Just because tunecore gave you free barcode does not mean it’s registered properly with Nielsend SounScan. You need to verify it yourself and get it in print!
You can register your album as a whole or as a single. If you’re low on cash register the album as a whole. I also recommend registering the album as a whole because it looks like you move more units. Also Nielsen SoundScan, according to USA Today, now counts ten digital track sales as one album, so it really does not matter (read the USA Today article here http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2008-01-03-digital-sales_N.htm ). However, you do need a new barcode for each album, don’t use the same barcode you used on a different album you produced over a two years ago.
Rhapsody and itunes report all their sales to Nielsen SoundScan almost daily/weekly. To ensure that Nielsen SoundScan can identify your itunes and Rhapsody sales indie artists must do this:
When registering your music with itunes or Rhapsody indie artists must title their music the same way they titled when they registered their barcode with Nielsen SoundScan. If you bought your barcode through a distributor like CDBaby, you must title your music on itunes and Rhapsody the same way you titled it on CDBaby. So when your music sells on itunes and Rhapsody, itunes and Rhapsody report their weekly/daily numbers to Nielsen SoundScan. Once Nielsen SoundScan received the data they line it up with their barcodes they have registered and record the sale under the proper barcode.
This is a brief summary of the overall process. If you’ve done all this and you still don’t see your sales on Nielsen SoundScan do the following:
Find your receipt from your barcode purchase (a receipt showing your bought a barcode for your music). Find your paperwork showing that you registered your barcode and music with Nielsen SoundScan. Next, print and save your sales reports from CDbaby, itunes, Rhapsody and any other online retailers and distributors selling your music (with that barcode). Email your complaint to Nielsen SoundScan, tell them you have proof of sales and barcode registration and then submit copies (keep the originals) of all of the above mentioned.
Stay on it and keep contacting them until they update the information. Also keep us informed here at jamilleluney.com. We’re glad to help anyway we can =).
[...] More About Barcodes For more on barcode registration I recommend reading my article Got Barcodes? Got Registered? It cover the basics, the history of Nielsen SoundScan and use of barcodes to track singles sales as [...]
[...] Another Way To Get Your Barcode I’ve given numerous lectures on the importance of having your own registered barcode for digital sales and physical sales. I’ve also told all my fellow indie artists how to purchase one. If your new to the site and have now idea what I’m talking about read the following post to catch up Got Barcodes? Got Registered? [...]
Great article and very very informational!
I found this great web site to buy upc bar codes and wanted to share it with the community! You can either spend $750+ and buy bar codes directly from GS1 or you could buy upc bar codes at 1/10th the rate from this company called – Simply Barcodes – http://www.upccode.net. These guys are great with the services – I got my upc bar code within an hour and they also go out of their way to explaing the entire process for someone who is buying upc codes for the first time and is not that familiar with the entire process!
Thumbs up for these guys!! Site: http://www.upccode.net.
Cheers!
Can someone highlight on the entire process on how can I get registered with soundscan?
Any thoughts on how to go about registering the upc codes with Nielsen Soundscan? I still need to buy the barcode but just wanted to know some more about the entire process.