Artcore.com: A New Sanctuary for Independent Musicians and DJs

In the wake of SynthFest 2023, there’s buzz about a new kid on the block – Artcore. As an innovative platform dedicated to self-releasing music, Artcore has emerged as a possible beacon of hope amidst the uncertainty surrounding Bandcamp’s recent acquisition.

Designed with a keen focus on electronic music but welcoming all genres, Artcore is a fresh marketplace where artists and independent record labels can upload their tracks and set their own prices. It’s a digital agora that keeps control in the hands of creators and allows them to profit directly from their work.

Currently (November 2023) purchasing tracks is not yet available everywhere. But in the USA, already 2/3 of states are covered (AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MA, MI, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NY, NM, ND, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI). In chatting with artcore’s founder, Tom Burnell, these are some of the details being worked out. Hurry, Tom — I have something by Yseto in my cart!

The first thing that is striking about artcore is the beautiful UI, which places album artwork prominently.

Artcore also emphasizes DJ-oriented features. Metadata such as Beats Per Minute (BPM) and key are prominently displayed, making it an invaluable resource for DJs in search of new tracks. This attention to detail aligns with Artcore’s commitment to cater to the needs of its diverse user base.

Artcore’s feature-rich preview player includes pitch control, key commands and the ability to queue multiple tracks. The “Selected For You” tool compiles a list of tracks matching user-specified filters to aid discovery. The filter includes a seemingly endless list of genres and as soon as you select one, the song gallery changes to expose tracks within the selected genre. You can also just type in a keyword. It’s very cool!

The preview player inserts a voiced song id announcement at the beginning of each track and every two minutes throughout. It’s not meant to be a streaming service, it’s a place for artists to sell and promote their music, first and foremost.

Another standout feature of Artcore is its royalty split functionality. This allows labels to effortlessly manage payments to artists and collaborators. By taking the hassle out of financial logistics, Artcore paves the way for creative minds to focus on what they do best – making music. This is similar to how splits are handled on DistroKid.

The standard commission rate on digital sales is 20% which can be reduced via site promotions and customer referrals, meaning that artists are able to retain between 70-93% of their sales after Artcore’s commission and any PayPal fees. Artist and label pages are customizable with a bio, social media links and the capacity to embed their latest music video.

The referral aspect bears watching as it could prompt an added layer of networking and promotion between artists and labels. It’s an interesting twist I haven’t seen. Let’s hope it helps spread the word about great music.

Artcore’s approach is non-exclusive, inviting musicians to explore the platform without binding them to any restrictive contracts. Its user-friendly interface and artist-centric features make it an appealing option for both emerging and established artists, as well as independent labels.

Artcore has been designed with DJs and electronic music artists in mind, however it is open to all and welcomes bands, singer-songwriters and other music acts.

Early-Bird Promotion
To celebrate its launch, Artists and labels joining and uploading at least one release before the 20th December 2023 will benefit from a reduced commission rate of 7% until the end of March 2024.

In a landscape dominated by big players, Artcore is a testament to the power of independent music. It’s a platform built by music enthusiasts, for music enthusiasts. If you’re an artist looking to break free from the constraints of traditional music platforms or a DJ in pursuit of the next big track, Artcore is definitely worth a look.

Visit Artcore.