Mazufa Records is an independent label and free distribution platform for folk, traditional and regional music. You keep ownership of your recordings, and we take 5% of royalties. Access is invite-only, and every application is read by a person who listens to what you sent.
Traditions, not one genre
Folk and world is a shelf, not a scene. Under it sit the British and Irish revival and its session repertoire, Appalachian old-time and bluegrass, Nordic polska and joik, Balkan brass and village polyphony, fado, flamenco, rebetiko and klezmer. It also holds Andean ensembles, West African griot and kora traditions, Saharan desert blues, Ethiopian and Sudanese repertoires, Hindustani and Carnatic classical, Javanese and Balinese gamelan, maqam-based music, cumbia and forro. Many musicians dislike the word world entirely and prefer to be described by region or tradition. Name the tradition precisely, and use the regional term your own audience uses.
Sets, sessions and albums
The tune set is the natural performing unit in much dance-based folk, and a track is often two or three tunes segued, which needs a title that names each tune and a gapless flag. Elsewhere the album still works as a document: a repertoire, a village, a teacher, a season. Recordings are frequently made live in a room with the whole ensemble rather than tracked in parts, and field and session recordings can become releases in their own right. Singles suit a lead track or a collaboration, and seasonal and ceremonial material has obvious release timing.
Metadata: traditional, arranger, script and language
A traditional tune has no living composer, but the composer field can rarely be left blank. Standard practice is to credit the source as Traditional and to credit yourself as arranger, using the arranger role rather than the composer role, since claiming authorship of a traditional work is both inaccurate and disputable. Where a tune has a known collector or a modern setting, say so. For non-Latin scripts, deliver the title in its own script and a consistent transliteration, and keep one spelling across releases. Set the language tag correctly. Field recordings need documented consent and rights from the performers.
How folk and world are tagged
Services generally split this material into a folk bucket and a world or regional bucket, with tags such as traditional folk, singer-songwriter, Celtic, Nordic folk, Latin folk, African and South Asian classical sitting underneath. Which tags exist differs by service and by territory, and the same record can land in different places in different markets. Language tags and correct territory data matter as much as genre here, since much of the audience is found through diaspora and language-based surfaces. Editorial and algorithmic placement is decided by each platform and is subject to current availability and platform rules.
Sound, segues and artwork
These recordings are usually dynamic and lightly compressed, and unaccompanied singing, a solo fiddle or a kora sounds wrong when squeezed. Aim for a master that keeps its dynamics rather than one that chases loudness, and deliver 24-bit files. Room tone, breath, foot percussion and outdoor noise are part of the record, not faults to be edited out. Mark the release gapless where sets run together, and place track boundaries where the tune changes rather than mid-phrase. Clear any sampled or archival material, and get permission before using a photograph of a community or a ceremony as artwork.
How do we split royalties in a band where everyone arranges?
Decide before release, not after. For traditional repertoire there are no composer royalties to divide, but arrangement shares, performance credits and the recording income all need an agreed division. Write down who is credited as arranger on each track, what share each player takes of distribution income, and who can approve a takedown. Distribution pays the account that delivered the release, so the agreement between you does the real work.