Distribution
FRWRD organizes metadata, master ownership, assets, credits, clearances and partner readiness, then keeps you informed through the manual ACTS delivery workflow.
About distribution ↗DISTRIBUTION · PUBLISHING · SYNC · YOUR RELEASE PLAN
Release your music.
Know your next move.
FRWRD takes your record through distribution, publishing administration and sync review — then gives you a plan built from your song, your time and your budget, and updates it as your results come in.
- One room for your release, agreements, plan and results.
- Every move says why it fits you and what to bring back.
- People make the calls on rights, spend and agreements.
WHAT YOU GET
Everything a release needs.
One room.
Choose the services you want. Your files, service choices, agreements, plan and support stay connected, and you can always see what needs your attention and what is waiting on FRWRD or a partner.
Publishing
Keep writers, splits, PRO/CMO and IPI/CAE details, existing administrators and registration status visible. Publishing Administration is optional unless you request FRWRD sync consideration.
About publishing ↗Sync
FRWRD considers eligible compositions for sync only with FRWRD Publishing Administration and the required rights review. Consideration does not guarantee a pitch, license or placement.
About sync ↗Marketing
Start with your song, audience, goal and resources. Each meaningful action explains how to execute it, what to capture and what to do if the evidence is incomplete.
About marketing ↗Distribution is optional. Sync needs FRWRD Publishing Administration. Services follow your confirmed choices, rights review and approved agreements; ACTS updates are recorded manually. Details
WHAT THE MEMBERSHIP PAYS FOR
Delivery is the start.
FRWRD plans what comes next.
The plan has a reason.
Know what to do, why it fits your release and what FRWRD is trying to learn.
The status has an owner.
See whether the next step is with you, FRWRD or the partner.
Outcomes teach the system.
A recommendation is not evidence. Only executed work with valid measurements can improve the next decision.
People keep consequential control.
Rights, spend, publishing, sync clearance and partner delivery remain human decisions.
Meet Sienna.
See the next move.
Her single After the Afterparty has been out for two weeks. She’s comfortable performing, has fans who opted in to her emails, and can make four good posts a week. She needs a clear plan for what to do after the announcement.
Fictional example: not real client results, typical outcomes or a forecast, and no result is promised. Details
Post the chorus, not another cover-art announcement.
Today’s move
Film the 0:42–0:58 section as one vertical performance. Start with the singing. No talking intro or title card. Use the phone and space already available.
- Use one stable shot. Keep the voice and delivery in focus.
- If you add on-screen text, use the song title: After the Afterparty.
- Post the Reel. Check the listening page in your bio. Add a Story link sticker only if that control is available.
Caption idea
After the Afterparty is out now. Full song in my bio.
This example assumes the song is available and the bio link works.Why this move
Performance is one of Sienna’s strengths. Someone who hasn’t heard the record gets to hear the chorus before being asked to leave the app.
Bring back
Add the post link and available results for the requested period. Include the link-page report if you have it. Leave missing numbers blank; FRWRD handles the comparison.
Send one email to the fans who opted in.
One short note. One listening link. Keep email results separate from Instagram.
See the email starting point
Subject
After the Afterparty is out
Body starting point
My new single, After the Afterparty, is out now. You can listen here.
Button
Listen to After the Afterparty
Add your own explanation only if you want to share it. Bring back available link clicks and replies you choose to share. No opted-in audience means no email-send task.
Report from the action itself.
On her campaign action, Sienna chooses “I did this,” then “Add my results.” The form already knows the song, action and plan. She adds the actual report link, completed dates and available numbers, leaving anything unknown blank.
She also records whether she changed the idea, used paid promotion and felt comfortable making it. FRWRD first shows “Results saved. We’re reviewing your next step,” then separates what happened, what we learned, what changes next and what is still missing.
“I couldn’t do this” opens a campaign support case. Suggested changes wait for review; her current plan remains clearly identified.
Check the results before choosing another test.
The next move can repeat the format, change one part, or wait for a usable result. It depends on what happened.
What FRWRD checks
Did the post run? Do both reports cover the same kind of visitor and equal periods? Is the listening path working? A report that is missing or disputed cannot support a claimed improvement.
Day 46 starts where Sienna is. Earlier days remain plan history; joining later does not mark them completed.
DIFFERENT ARTISTS. DIFFERENT WORK.
A next move that fits you.
These fictional examples show how the same planner responds to different resources and goals. They illustrate the work, not measured artist outcomes.
Kairo Flux · 15 minutes
No-face producer · production strength · no mailing list
Remove one layer, then reveal the finished passage
See the example action
- Start with the bare layer; then reveal the finished passage.
- Use the approved 42–57 second moment.
- Keep faces out of frame. Use the permitted artwork, hands/gear or screen capture only.
- Mute one owned stem, play the bare version, then restore that same layer for the payoff. Crop private project names and messages.
- Make the comparison using this recording: Kairo’s fictional catalog layer.
- Publish manually on YouTube and save the actual post link.
Bring back views, saves, average percentage viewed. Leave unavailable numbers unknown; a partial report is useful.
Mason Redd · 10 minutes
Confirmed hometown show · source-qualified local audience
Invite a reachable audience to the confirmed show
See the example action
- Invite people who can attend: Fictional 150-cap hometown show · October 1 at Fictional Redd Room · Phoenix.
- Use the source-qualified segment: 420 opted-in contacts in Phoenix.
- Invitation (FRWRD draft): Join me at Fictional Redd Room on October 1. Review the saved event details before sharing.
- One CTA: tickets / waitlist.
- Share manually on email; retain consent and opt-out controls for owned messages.
Bring back visitors, tickets. Leave unavailable numbers unknown; a partial report is useful.
THE RESULTS THAT INFORM THE NEXT MOVE
More visitors.
A higher click rate.
A reason to test again.
In this example, more people reach the song’s link page and a larger share choose a music service. These figures would give FRWRD something to investigate. They do not tell us why the change happened.
Illustrative numbers · two equal 14-day windows
Unique visitors to the song’s tagged link page
Starting point600
Refined plan900
+300 visitors · +50%
Visitors who clicked a listening destination
Starting point24
Refined plan72
+48 distinct clickers · +200%
Listening-destination click rate
Starting point4%
Refined plan8%
+4 percentage points · +100% relative
Starting point: Days 32–45. Refined plan: Days 46–59. Both 14-day windows are after release day; the later report is complete at Day 60. Same song link page and Instagram-tagged path. Each person counts once per window if they click at least one music-service destination. Repeat clicks, email, social views and DSP data are excluded.
Click rate: 24 ÷ 600 = 4%; 72 ÷ 900 = 8%. The increase is 4 percentage points, or 100% relative to the starting rate. The periods contain different numbers of visitors; this is an illustrative sequential comparison, not a controlled causal experiment.
These fictional figures are examples; a music-service click does not confirm a stream. Details
DAY 60 · A POSSIBLE NEXT MOVE
Try the performance again.
Change the opening.
If the reports are valid and comparable, another small performance test could help check whether the response repeats. Keep the song section and listening page. Change one opening treatment.
This remains a candidate for another test. It does not authorize extra spending.
What changes
One part of the next creative test.
What stays protected
Her boundaries, weekly capacity and spending approval.
What FRWRD watches
Whether the response repeats in another comparable period.
What if the numbers don’t improve?
Keep the current direction, simplify the test, check the listening path or ask for the missing report. A weak or negative result does not become a win. Sometimes the useful next step is to wait.
PRICING
One membership.
Half price when FRWRD distributes your music.
The membership is the planning software: your release plan, campaign actions, Results & Next Week and saved plan documents. Distribution, Publishing Administration and Sync are separate services with their own agreements.
Software membership
Keep your choice of distributor.
$30 a month
or $162 every 6 months · $300 a year ($25 a month)
- A release plan built from your song, time and budget
- Campaign actions that explain the why and the how
- Results & Next Week: what happened, what changes next
- Saved plan documents in one artist workspace
With FRWRD Distribution
For artists with an active FRWRD Distribution agreement.
$15 a month
or $81 every 6 months · $150 a year ($12.50 a month)
- Everything in the software membership
- Half the software price while your Distribution agreement is active
- Your distribution status in the same release room
- One team across the record, the rights and the plan
Prices in USD. Six-month and annual terms are paid in one payment. The lower rate requires an eligible active FRWRD Distribution relationship for the artist; Publishing alone stays at the software-only rate. Cancelling stops the next renewal and keeps the term you paid for.
BEFORE YOU JOIN
A few useful answers.
Do I have to use FRWRD for distribution?
No. Distribution and Publishing Administration are separate service decisions, confirmed during onboarding and agreement review.
Is Publishing required?
Publishing Administration is optional unless you request FRWRD sync consideration for the composition. Required rights still need review.
Can I choose Sync without Publishing?
Sync consideration requires you to choose FRWRD Publishing Administration + Sync; the app never enrolls you silently. Distribution is optional. Details
Does Publishing guarantee Sync?
No. It does not guarantee a pitch, license or placement.
Does FRWRD guarantee playlists, streams or press?
FRWRD plans from your inputs and measured evidence, without guaranteeing playlists, streams or press. Editorial, audience and commercial outcomes remain independent. Details
Where are distribution payouts?
ACTS manages distribution payout reporting. FRWRD does not estimate royalties from stream counts.
YOUR NEXT FEW WEEKS
A plan you can follow.
Room to change it.
Start with the song and the time you have. Make the next piece, add the results, and see what to keep or change. If you want FRWRD to hear the record first, send it to A&R.
An A&R submission does not promise signing or a response timeline.