Create.
Control.
Collect.

East African Records empowers artists with tools to license, distribute and monetise their music – for free.

WHO WE ARE

East African Records is an international music distributor and recording studio based in Kampala, Uganda.

We distribute East African music to all legitimate digital streaming platforms and we assist artists with the legal and technical processes involved in the digital music industry.

Our studio is both a professional workspace, catering for all kinds of recording and sound design, and an incubator for upcoming musical talent.

We organise live events in Kampala and the East African region, with an active network of venues and promoters.

We distribute your music for free to all the major digital music platforms worldwide.

We help you monetise your music and protect your copyright on each platform. We also assist with technical issues and advise on how you can market your music. We charge no upfront fees, only commission.

``EAR helped me negotiate license deals and festival contracts, as well as distributing my music worldwide and organizing loads of shows with me – it is a very productive partnership.``
- FAIZAL DDAMBA MOSTRIXX

Artist

``East African Records are the first distribution company that I have worked with who make payouts to me on a regular basis.``
- DJ SHIRU

Artist

Meet the artists

                       
                       
                       
               

Make music at our studios

East African Records manages two studios in Kampala, located in Muyenga and in Nakasero. We are both a professional production house and a community-based organisation that supports and develops upcoming talent.

We operate within the creative community of Uganda, seeking out and supporting talented artists from disadvantaged backgrounds. Working together with EAR, many artists have forged successful careers, as we support them in the studio, on the live circuit, in promotion and in helping them navigate the complexity of the international music industry.

Make your booking:

Call: +256 780 496 024

WhatsApp: +250 784 651 528

Email: studio@eastafricanrecords.com

Services

  • Recording vocals for music, film and broadcast
  • Music production
  • Video production (including music videos, promotion and documentary)
  • Media campaign design (Audio & Video)
  • Sound design
  • Live music recording and live band rehearsal (with backline)
  • Event organisation
  • Live sound engineering for concerts/events
For studio bookings and service enquiries: contact@eastafricanrecords.com Shoot us an email

Frequently asked questions...

What do I need to get started?

Sign up with your email address and follow the instructions on your EAR to start creating a new release.

 

You will need your audio in WAV or aiff format, as well as artwork to the specifications of 3000 x 3000 pixels, JPG file and RGB colour formatted. Follow the links below for more details on formatting your audio and artwork correctly.

 

If you’re a new user you can try EAR for free and release unlimited music to hundreds of platforms worldwide, including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon TikTok & more.

 

Click to view audio format guidelines

 

Any music you upload must be at least 16-bit (4410 Hz or higher) studio-quality stereo WAV or MP3 files.

 

Your audio files must also be complete recordings and not contain snippets or segments of tracks that cut off abruptly or partway through the recording.

 

If you need to convert your music to the correct format, the simplest way is to use iTunes.

– Launch your audio file in iTunes.

– Select ‘preferences’ in the top menu, followed by ‘import settings’.

– Change this to ‘WAV Encoder’ and the following settings: 16 bit (sample size), 44.1 kHz (sample rate), 1411 kbps (bitrate).

This will convert your files to the best format

 

Click to view artwork format guidelines

 

Our system is designed so that if we accept your artwork, the stores will too.

 

To make sure it’s accepted, your artwork must adhere to the following formatting rules:

– File format must be .jpg or .jpeg

– Image size must be at least 3000×3000 pixels.

– Artwork file size must be no larger than 10Mb.

– Resolution of 300 DPI if possible, however we accept 72 DPI and above.

– Only include the text of the artist name and release name, or an image with no text. Any other text such as website addresses, mailing lists, social media links etc will not be accepted by the stores.

– Only include parental advisory or explicit content icons if your release has explicit language.

– Your artwork may also be rejected if it features graphic explicit content.

How much does distribution cost with EAR?

With EAR, you can distribute unlimited music to all the major online stores for free.

 

We only take a 20% commission from the music we distribute on your behalf.

Will EAR promote my music?

Our distribution service does not include promotion.

How do I get paid for my music?

This is all done via your EAR account. Once you have over $50 dollars in your account, you can request a payout via your preferred payment method VISA or mobile money

 

If you’d like to request a payout, log in to your EAR account, head to your ‘Royalties‘ dashboard and click the ‘Withdraw‘ button under your available balance.

How much will I get paid?

The royalty returns on streams is approximately 0.003p per stream, but may vary in different territories.

 

The amount paid for downloads will also vary, as stores take a commission between 10-30%. 8% is automatically taken by the PRS and then there is around 3-5% variance in bank charges when they send the royalties over. VAT is not applicable on royalties

Do I need a license to release my music?

If the music is 100% your own original creation, you automatically own the copyright and won’t need any licenses (may differ depending on your region).

 

If you release a cover, remix or a song using samples, you will likely need to purchase a license before releasing your music to avoid any possible legal action from the original copyright holders

How long before my release date should I upload my music?

We recommend uploading your music at least 3-4 weeks before your planned release date.

 

This gives us more time to process your release and make sure it is mapped to the correct stores and artists profiles.

It also gives you more time to promote your music in the run-up to your release date, as well as submit it for Spotify playlists through your Spotify for Artists account.

Can I add lyrics to my release?

Yes, you can add lyrics to your tracks when you upload new music through our Release Builder.

 

We’ll send your lyrics to music platforms including Apple Music, Tencent, Anghami and Joox.

 

Lyrics are processed separately from audio, artwork & other meta-data, so releases may go live on stores without lyrics at first, before being added later as an update.

 

Make sure any lyrics you add to a release adhere to guidelines below. Otherwise we will need to edit them before sending to stores which can cause long delays.

 

Lyric style guidelines

 

It’s important that the lyrics you add to your tracks adhere to the style guidelines set by stores like Apple Music. Lyrics that don’t follow the guidelines may be rejected.

Here are a few key rules to remember:

  1. Lyrics need to be accurate and match the audio you’ve uploaded.
  2. Lyrics should be formatted like a poem, so sections and changes within a song are separated with line and section breaks. Every individual lyric line should have a single line break and a double line break should separate each verse, chorus, bridge etc into stanzas.
  3. Don’t add commas at the end of each line. Just start a new line without any punctuation.
  4. Enter lyrics in standard sentence casing, starting each line with a capital letter. Don’t upload them in all upper or lower caps.
  5. Any explicit words or repeated lines must be included in full. For example, don’t type (Chorus x3) or F*** in place of the full lyrical content.
Do you work with music videos?

Yes we do. You can set up a Vevo channel and upload music videos to the platform directly from your EAR account.

 

Just head to the Videos section of your dashboard.