stream independent music.stream independent music.stream independent music.pay artists fairly.pay artists fairly.pay artists fairly.

still have questions? write.

what is second press?

an independent music streaming app where 85% of every subscription goes straight to the rights holders / artists you played. no ads, no AI-generated music, no dodgy ethics.

how much does it cost?

$12 a month. cancel whenever. no free tier, no ads.

how does the 85% split actually work?

every subscription dollar (after card processing) goes into a monthly pot. the pot gets split between the rights holders / artists you played, in proportion to how much each one got played that month. if you put one band on repeat all month, whoever holds their rights (the band, or their label) gets 85% of your $12.

how much more does that work out to per stream?

roughly 5 to 9 times what the major streaming platforms pay. not a fortune, but not a third of a cent either.

can i cancel anytime?

yes. cancel from your account settings. your access continues until the end of your billing period.

is there a free trial?

yes. new subscribers get 7 days free. long enough to get to know the app, short enough to make sure artists keep getting paid. you can also browse the app and play 30-second previews of every song without subscribing at all.

what devices does it work on?

iOS app and the web. android is in the works.

can i listen offline?

offline listening is on the roadmap. not yet.

i want my favourite artist on here. how do i get them on?

tell them about it, send them to /artists, or shoot us an email at hello@secondpress.com.auwith their info and we’ll reach out.

i'm an artist. how do i get on?

for now it’s invitation or application based. tldr: email us links to your music and your socials. if it’s a fit, we set you up with an artist portal where you upload masters, artwork and your photo yourself. full details at /artists.

i run a label. can my whole roster be on here?

yes. see /labels for how that works.

is my payment info safe?

all payments are handled by stripe. we never see or store your card details.

how do you decide which artists are on the platform?

every artist is invited or applies. it’s curated by hand, not algorithmically. the focus is independent music.

is second press properly licensed?

yes. every track on the platform is licensed directly from whoever controls the master - the artist if they own their masters, the label if it’s a label release. on the songwriter side, second press holds (or is in the process of obtaining) a limited digital music service agreement with apra amcos, the same kind of licence spotify and apple music hold for the composition rights. nothing is uploaded without permission.

i’m an artist signed to a distributor or label - can i still join?

depends on the deal. most distributor agreements (distrokid, tunecore, cd baby, ditto) are non-exclusive, which means you can put your music on second press too - no permission needed from them. if your deal is exclusive or you’re signed to a label that holds your masters, the label or distributor has to onboard you instead. not sure which one you’re on? email us and we’ll work it out together.

what about songwriter royalties (apra amcos)?

the platform pays apra amcos directly for the communication of musical works on top of the 85% it pays rights holders / artists for the master. if you’re an apra member, your songwriter share gets paid the normal way - through apra - separately from your master payout.

i’m an artist — what’s the difference between my master payout and songwriter royalties?

two different rights. your recording (the master) is what you upload — we pay the master share straight to you or your label, from the artist pool, based on your share of plays that month. the songwriting (the underlying composition) is handled separately: we pay songwriter royalties to apra amcos, who distribute them to the writers. if you wrote and recorded your own track, you get both — the master payout from us, and your songwriter share through apra.

i’m an artist or label based overseas — can i still get paid?

yes. your master payout goes to your overseas bank account via wise (in your local currency at wise’s mid-market rate; the wise transfer fee is deducted from your payout and shown on your statement). international minimum payout is AUD $30 (vs. $10 for AU accounts) — small balances roll forward so the transfer fee stays a small share of your payout. your songwriter royalties reach you through your local collecting society (ascap, bmi, prs and the like) via apra amcos’s reciprocal agreements, so you don’t need to be an apra member. when you set up your payout details, you’ll declare your country of tax residency so we apply the right withholding rate (see next question).

tax withholding for non-australian payouts — how does it work?

australian tax law requires second press to withhold tax on royalty payments to non-australian residents. the default rate is 30%, reduced to typically 5–15% under australia’s tax treaty network (us: 5%, uk: 5%, nz/canada/most eu: 10%). this isn’t specific to second press — every distributor that pays artists across borders does this under their own country’s tax law. us-based ones (distrokid, cd baby, awal, tunecore) withhold via the irs’s w-8ben regime at equivalent treaty rates. we issue an annual payment summary showing royalties paid + tax withheld, so you (or your accountant) can claim a foreign tax credit when filing taxes in your home country. recovery depends on your local tax rules and individual circumstances.

will you sell my data or run ads?

no. that’s the whole point. no ads, no data sold. just the subscription.

questions about billing?

email hello@secondpress.com.auand we’ll sort it out.

where can i read the legal bits?

/privacy and /terms.