Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for taking a some time out of your day to spend with us. We try our hardest not to take too much time away from our educational efforts for self-promotion, but when considering the updates and developments that have taken place in recent months we thought it might be a good time to remind the world why we’re so good at what we do.
This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
The music industry has changed a lot over the last fifteen years, and that evolution has largely been guided by technology. When Napster went live, everything we knew about the business and how it functioned up to that point was no longer relevant. A new age had dawned, and it was on those in power to react – fast. We could go on and on about things that should or should not have happened at that point in time, but the hard truth is that almost fifteen years later we are still trying to find solutions for the problems that plagued us just after Y2K fears began to subside. There is no end to digital piracy in sight, but we wholeheartedly believe that through Haulix record labels and independent artists alike have a fighting chance against music pirates. Here’s why:
SECURITY
First and foremost, Haulix offers one of, if not the most secure platform for digital distribution available today. Through a combination of advanced watermarking technology, permissions, encryption, and secure traffic techniques we are able securely host, distribute, and track your media while you focus on promoting the material itself.
What is a watermark? Good question. Watermarks contain user specific information that allows us to identify which contact specifically downloaded or streamed a file through Haulix. On average, each track will contain 15-20 watermarks which can survive most attacks such as re-encoding and conversion. Additionally, you have fine grained control over how many times they can stream or download a promo. All traffic in and out of Haulix is SSL encrypted (like bank websites). Haulix automatically prepares your tracks for watermarking and when a contact downloads or streams an album, the injection process is performed in seconds.
AUTOMATED PIRACY/LEAK TAKEDOWNS
This feature only launched in the last couple months, but it has quickly become one of our most popular tools in the battle against leaks. Our ‘Piracy Takedown’ tool, when activated, crawls the web seeking unwanted files and links to files featuring watermarked content from Haulix clients. When that content is located, our system automatically distributes takedown notices and tracks the results so clients will know when their content copyrighted has been taken down.
This process does not happen once or twice, but repeatedly for as long as a client is a member of Haulix. For more information on this tool and how it can help your efforts to battle leaks, click here.
CUSTOMIZATION
There are more bands, labels, and pr outlets in existence today than ever before, which means the amount of pitches and messaging being thrown at writers is also at an all-time high. Haulix recognizes this, and through our state of the art messaging system we have created tools that allow our clients to present their upcoming release(s) however they see fit. We love to focus on the backend of things so that publicists, labels, and bands can put their efforts into promotion. We know that in order to do that to the best of their abilities our clients need to be in control of how their content is no only dispersed, but presented. From the “promo” pages where your music securely lives online, to the email you will send when inviting press to experience your material, there are dozens of ways our product can be customized to fit your needs. Want to use a color theme or still image as the background to your “promo” page and/or emails? No problem! Want to limit the number of times an album can be streamed or downloaded by any particular individual? We can do that too.
ORGANIZATION & ANALYTICS
Expanding on an aspect of our service mentioned in the previous points, Haulix also helps distribute content. Through our one-of-a-kind email system our clients are able to create contact lists ( or upload their existing contacts), organize them into groups however they see fit, send personalized messages, and access analytics on their contacts engagement with various promos with ease. You’ll know who read your message, which ones accessed the material, and how they engaged with it once on the promo page. We also track downloads.
JOURNALIST APPROVED
All of these tools would mean nothing if journalists did not like our product. After all, at the end of the day it is the writers who are on Haulix the most, and it is through Haulix that writers engage with unreleased music. If their user experience was bad it could have a negative impact on their view of the record. Worse, it could impact how they view a particular label/pr firm as a whole.
Haulix has been receiving the praise of journalists worldwide since launching in the mid-2000s. We listen to their opinions on everything from our site design to the functionality of our product and work with them to better our efforts over time. We don’t want to pat ourselves on the back too much, so I’ll let the writers who engage with Haulix on a regular basis speak for themselves:
“I’ve been using Haulix for the past three years and most of the websites that I have written for use Haulix too. It is efficient and of course, highly recommended.” – Lav Nandlall, Heavy Metal Duchess
"I always get a little extra excited when I see I have new music through Haulix because I know I can jam it in mere seconds with no hassles.” – Jameson Ketchum, Substream Music Press
“I’ve been using Haulix for the past 3 years and a half and that’s still where I enjoy receiving promo music. Aside from the fact that I can download my music on it, it keeps things organized by expeditor, due dates are visible and it’s all simple and clear.” – Mariam Bouabid (Plug-In)
“Haulix takes all of the hassle out of receiving new music. It simply combines everything on one page and provides you with promo pictures, bios, videos and whatever else. Since most of the publicists we work with tend to use it, it’s nice to be able to quick switch back to your full catalog of promos you’ve received.” – Drew Maroon, MindEqualBlown.net
“I prefer a watermarked (to keep be accountable of course) zip download with high quality mp3s. Now I don’t always get that, so I roll with what I get. Haulix is cool because you can download and stream and it has the capability of supplying high quality stuff if the label/PR people provide it.” – Drew Beringer, Absolutepunk.net
“I want tracks I can stream, and preferably download too — I’m a New Yorker and do a lot of my listening on the subway, where streaming isn’t an option. Haulix is straightforward and intuitive.” – Jesse Richman, PropertyOfZack.com
INDUSTRY APPROVED
Journalists are not the only ones who enjoy Haulix. Many of our clients have been with us for years, and they are not shy about sharing their satisfaction with our product:
“We have always been looking for a great place to allow us to share our music with those that need it early, but in a safe way. Haulix was that answer for us, and we will be lifelong customers of theirs.” – Chris Hansen, No Sleep Records
"I love the security aspect as well as the ability to truly track what people are doing with the promos. It takes the guessing game out of, “…well I spent a bunch of money to send a ton of packages out that I hope made it to their final destination… and I’m hoping these folks answer their emails and phone calls when I reach out to check on the packages.” You can see what’s going on, you can reference whether someone got their email, opened it, even listened to it or downloaded it, etc. And my favorite – the ability to create reports to follow up with people based on what they’ve done with the promo.” – Natalie Cammillo, Adrenaline PR
"Leaks aren’t 100% preventable but there are ways to insuring you stop leaks from coming from you. I’m a big user and supporter of Hauled. 90% of the writing world is familiar with Haulix and how it’s watermarked with each writer’s info. So that’s a good preventative.” – Rey Roldan, Another Reybee Production
