How Symphonic streamlined artist onboarding and contract creation
Symphonic is an independent music distribution company that helps artists with music and video distribution, royalty collection, marketing, and more—empowering creators to get their music out to the world and take their careers to the next level.
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Creating contracts and onboarding new artists at scale
The advent of digital has dramatically changed the world of music production, consumption, and distribution over the past 15 years. Shifting from CDs to digital has helped place the power back into the hands of artists and fans. Now, an artist can buy a beat, work on it overnight, and have a complete song ready to be uploaded and shared on a streaming platform the very next day. And as the rate of music creation has accelerated, so have the demands on the distribution companies that ensure artists’ songs are paid for and legally protected.
The old method of scanning contracts and sending PDF via email or printing and physically signing documents in person didn’t match the new high-tempo world of digital music. Worse, these outdated signing processes meant artists were forced to jump through unnecessary hoops and wait weeks to release new music or negotiate deals.
To support artists with new releases—while getting new creators onboarded quickly—Symphonic knew it needed a tool that could keep up with high demand, integrate with its established marketing and sales system to simplify the signing process for internal teams, and help musicians release their music on their timeline. That’s when they found Dropbox Sign.
“It's easy to get the document in the hands of the client, get it signed, and know that there’s a binding signature coming back to you. That’s really the best part of it.”
Seamless HubSpot integration strikes the right chord
Symphonic uses the HubSpot CRM to manage its ever-growing roster of musicians and content creators. HubSpot keeps track of all interactions, deals, and notes about Symphonic’s artists. The platform collates all relevant information, storing everything in one easily-accessible place, so they can better manage the relationships with the creators they work with. As Dropbox Sign seamlessly integrates with HubSpot, adopting it as the tool of choice for signing contracts was a no-brainer.
Now, dealmakers across the company benefit from the added eSignature functionality in a platform they’re already familiar with. Instead of mailing out contracts, Dropbox Sign lets artists sign new deals instantly, eliminating any unnecessary legwork. Rebecca Graff, Chief Operating Officer at Symphonic explains why this was so important: “Having Dropbox Sign integrated into HubSpot gives our dealmakers access to contracts that they can send when the deal is hot, and Dropbox Sign lets artists sign immediately.”
Taking advantage of Dropbox Sign Templates, Symphonic now uses over 60 quick-use templates for various deal structures, which makes preparing new contracts quick and easy. This forms a key part of Symphonic’s new onboarding process, which is now largely automated, with the company sending over 400 automated document requests a month. HubSpot and Dropbox Sign work in perfect harmony, with automated triggers making it incredibly easy to onboard at scale. “Artists apply, they fill out a form, they're presented this contract back via Dropbox Sign, they sign it, and that sets off the other triggers in HubSpot to create the account, which then allows the artists to upload their content—and all that can be done within a day,” explains Rebecca.
As Dropbox Sign adds the functionality to sign contracts digitally, from anywhere, Symphonic’s artists now have the creative freedom to release music on their terms—without outdated, manual processes holding them back.
HubSpot and Dropbox Sign working in perfect harmony
Complete contracts in a flash
Before, chasing signatures for contracts would hold up releases for weeks. Now, thanks to Dropbox Signs eSignature functionality, independent artists can easily get their music out and into the world without missing a beat. “If somebody had to go and download, print, sign, scan, and send a document back that significantly slows down the process. Now you can be with somebody in a studio, and they say they want to get the song out and you can get it done in a matter of minutes.”
Time-saving templates for every deal
Preparing deals, drafting contracts, and creating new documents for every deal structure was time-consuming and inefficient for dealmakers. With Dropbox Sign’s templates, Symphonic now has custom documents, contracts, and agreement forms for every occasion.
Seamless integration with HubSpot
Rather than having to learn yet another tool, Dropbox Sign integrated seamlessly with the platform Symphonic was already using on a day-to-day basis. This meant that teams across the business can stay productive and benefit from eSignatures straight away, without ever leaving HubSpot.
What’s next for Symphonic?
Dropbox Sign is now an integral part of how Symphonic does business. With Dropbox Sign, contracts get signed quicker, artists can release music easier, and everyone across Symphonic saves time chasing signatures with a tool that neatly fits into their existing way of working.
Interested in seeing results like Symphonic?
Dropbox Sign is the easiest way to send, receive, and manage legally binding eSignatures for businesses. Voted #1 for Ease of Use from G2, two years in a row, our eSignature solution can make your most important workflows fast, easier, and more secure. Sign up for a free trial today to start digitizing your business.
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