I think TuneCore makes sense once you reach a certain level as a band or artist. You definitely need to be established, or at least touring. If you’re a smaller outfit, honestly you don’t need to get your music absolutely everywhere, only a few places should do, and fans/friends will find them. CD Baby certainly for physical copies, plus they still do the iTunes upload, I think (there’s no reason not to be on iTunes, if possible). Also, Bandcamp is a great place for digital distribution, and you can name your own price.
Of course, you should probably be streaming on all the social networks, but that’s different: that’s more like modern day version of radio promotion (i.e. the listener hears it for free but doesn’t own it).
There are bigger challenges that small artists face today…the biggest one being promotion. Without the resources and the connections of a label, it can be hard to get the word out that you even exist. Today’s artists not only have to be musicians, but producers, and often self-managers and promoters…that, or they need to go out and team up with people who can do these things. Also, many musicians today put together a recording studio/setup individually, which definitely isn’t economical (although it is liberating).
I had a friend release an album recently:
[
wkcmusic.bandcamp.com]
It’s electronic soundscapey stuff. He released it purely through Bandcamp, and I don’t know that it would have been all that beneficial to get on other distribution channels. He did a solo tour, but promotion is still the big hurdle. He mentioned trying to find a label, and I don’t think that’s a bad idea. Being on an independent labels that specializes in a certain type of music is good cross-promotion.
It’s great that TR gives us his two-cents. As I said, I don’t think TuneCore is right for every situation.