Beatport is where DJs actually buy and dig for electronic music, so getting your tracks on there matters more for you than it does for most artists. But you can't just upload to it. Unlike Spotify, Beatport doesn't take music straight from artists — you get on there one of two ways: through a label that distributes to Beatport, or through an approved distributor. Understanding that is the first step, because a lot of producers waste time looking for an upload button that isn't there.

If you're self-releasing, the distributor route is yours. Pick a distributor that delivers to Beatport and select it as a destination when you set up your release. Beatport's own listed self-service partners for independent artists are DistroKid, TuneCore and MusicHub. For electronic specifically, there are distributors built around the scene with strong Beatport ties — Label Worx, Proton, Symphonic, Identity Music — and the genre focus and support are often worth it. Whichever you go with, your music has to actually fit Beatport's catalogue. They curate by genre and publish genre examples on their site, so check your sound belongs before you submit.

Metadata is not optional here — it's the whole game. On Beatport, DJs search by genre, subgenre, BPM, key, label and remixer, so if your metadata's sloppy your track is invisible no matter how good it is. Get your genre and subgenre right, credit every remixer and featured artist properly, add your catalogue number, and deliver clean WAVs. Set your release date a few weeks out so you've got room to promote it. This is the boring part, but it's the difference between charting in your genre and vanishing on release day.

The other route is a label. Signing your track to an established label that's already on Beatport means they handle the distribution, and they've got a label manager relationship at Beatport that you just can't get on your own — which is how release features and editorial actually happen, pitched through your label or distributor a few weeks ahead. If that's the way you want to go, LabelRadar is Beatport's free platform for submitting demos to labels. It's slower than self-releasing, but the right label brings reach you can't buy.

Soon, we’ll tell you about NOISE, a brand new distributor helping you get your music heard and paid!