From Musicians.About.com :

Let's talk some basics today - licensing versus distribution. Now, the word "licensing" can have a few different applications in the music realm, but let's take it in the sense of licensing as a flipside/alternative to getting a distribution deal.

There are pros and cons to each approach. If the music is a big hit in a certain territory, distribution could potentially be more lucrative than licensing. On the other hand, a licensing partner likely knows their territory better than you do, so they are in a better position to  make things happen. Deciding which one is right for you is more of an art than a science and depends very much on your resources, your knowledge of a territory, your cashflow needs - to name but a few considerations. 

Click here to read Heather's entire post.

From RouteNote's Blog :

It’s been a while since we last ran through the comparison between our digital distribution service and those of our competitors. Let’s open with a table looking at the USD$ price of signing up various types of release to a few of the major digital distributors out there on the net, which we’ll follow with links to the information pages from which these figures were derived, and a brief look at the pros and cons of each service.

Click here for a nice chart of digital distributor's fee structure.

From Buzzsonic.com

I’ve touched on music distribution issues here before with Tunecore, Bit Torrent and even good old analogue vinyl but thought I’d dig around a bit deeper as there seems to be new distribution services springing up on a regular basis these days. Be they aggregator or ‘widget’ type tools. Ill be covering digital music aggregators here first and covering website widgets later in the week.

Click here to read Adrian's entire post and check out his list of digital distributors.

From Sivers.org

Question: “Should I put my music on LOTS of websites, or just a few?”

Answer: Lots. Here’s why:

Millions of people love Rhapsody. They get all of their music at Rhapsody, so if you’re not there, and they search for you, they will shrug and listen to something else instead. You might have just forever lost a potential new fan.

Millions of people love last.fm. They get all of their music at last.fm, so if you’re not there, and they search for you, same thing. Oh well.

Same with iTunes. Same with eMusic. Same with a dozen different sites.

Click here to read Derek's entire post.

Finding a music distributor is crucial if you want to see your album in the shops, whether you're a band planning to self release your album or a label trying to get several albums out there. The task of finding music distribution is not always easy, however. This guide will help you get started and give you some clues as to what you should look for in a distributor.

To read the full article click here . 

Distributors are notorious for not paying artists. Often, nothing short of a lawsuit will bring payment. However, most simply negotiate out of their responsibility to pay.

http://www.discmakers.com/music/ffwd/distributor.asp 

For many up-and-coming acts, distribution is this mysterious, elusive, and ultra-important “missing ingredient” that enables major labels to turn their artists into mega-stars while indie bands are doomed to struggle in obscurity. Luckily, this perception is overblown, and the tools an indie artist needs to successfully distribute its product are neither mysterious nor elusive.

http://www.discmakers.com/music/ffwd/2005/distribution.asp 

Before you sign with a label, make sure their distribution is up to the goals you have for your career. Here are 25 tips from music consultant Christopher Knab about how retail distribution works.

  http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles/recorddistribution.htm