What Is A2P 10DLC? A Musician’s Guide to SMS Marketing Compliance

As a musician or music marketer, you’ve probably heard about the power of SMS marketing—text messages that promote a new single, drive ticket sales, or boost merch drops. But if you’ve recently tried to send a mass text to your fans and encountered unexpected roadblocks or registration requirements, you're not alone. Welcome to the world of A2P 10DLC compliance.

In this guide, we’ll break down what A2P 10DLC is, why it matters for your music career, and how to stay compliant while still reaching your fans directly. Whether you're an independent artist, a label, or a marketing team, this post will help you make sense of the rules and how to work within them—without sacrificing the reach and power of SMS.

Why SMS Marketing Matters in Music

Before we dive into regulations, let’s talk about why SMS marketing is so valuable in the first place:

• Unmatched open rates: SMS messages boast open rates of over 90%, far surpassing email.

• Direct-to-fan connection: Texting puts your message directly in a fan’s hand, ideal for urgent news like a tour date drop or a limited merch release.

• High engagement: Fans who opt in to SMS are typically your most loyal audience, making them more likely to act on your message.

Platforms like Sonikit make it easy to create SMS campaigns tailored for musicians, but to do it right—and legally—you need to understand how carrier regulations have changed.

What Is A2P 10DLC?

A2P 10DLC stands for Application-to-Person 10-Digit Long Code. It’s a messaging system designed by major U.S. carriers (like AT&T and Verizon) to regulate business texting and reduce spam.

Here's a breakdown:

• A2P (Application-to-Person): This refers to texts sent from a software or platform (like Sonikit) to a person, instead of a regular person-to-person text.

• 10DLC (10-Digit Long Code): These are standard U.S. phone numbers that businesses use for texting. Think of it as your artist’s SMS “hotline.”

Carriers used to treat all long code messages the same, but as SMS marketing grew in popularity—along with spam—carriers created A2P 10DLC to register and regulate legitimate senders.

Why Musicians Need to Care About A2P 10DLC

If you’re texting fans in the U.S., you are legally required to register your campaign under A2P 10DLC guidelines—even if you're an independent artist.

Here’s why it matters:

• Unregistered traffic may be blocked or throttled.

• Fines can be issued for non-compliant messaging.

• Your messages may fail to deliver without warning.

In short: ignoring A2P 10DLC can break your SMS strategy entirely.

What You Need to Register

To stay compliant and keep your messages flowing, you’ll need to register a few things:

1. Your business (or artist name): Even solo acts need to register as a “brand.”

2. Your campaign use case: For example, “promotional messaging for album releases and merch.”

3. A sample message: To show the kind of content you'll be sending.

4. Consent process: Carriers want to see how fans opt in (e.g., “Text JOIN to get updates”).

This info gets submitted to The Campaign Registry (TCR), a central database used by carriers to vet and score campaigns.

How Sonikit Makes A2P 10DLC Easy

If this sounds complicated—it can be. But platforms like Sonikit simplify the process.

When you use Sonikit’s SMS marketing features:

• ✅ We handle the A2P 10DLC registration for you.

• ✅ All messages are sent from registered numbers with high deliverability.

• ✅ Our opt-in tools ensure full compliance with TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act).

• ✅ You get detailed analytics on clicks, replies, and delivery rates.

Whether you're launching a pre-save campaign, announcing tour dates, or teasing a surprise drop, Sonikit gives you the tools to reach fans without getting flagged.

Tips for Musicians Starting with SMS Marketing

Ready to get started? Here are a few best practices:

• Get clear opt-in consent: Never text someone who hasn’t signed up.

• Be transparent: Tell fans what kind of texts they’ll receive.

• Include opt-out options: Every message should have a “Text STOP to unsubscribe” line.

• Keep it timely and valuable: Use SMS for high-priority updates, not casual content.

Final Thoughts: SMS is Incredibly Powerful (if used correctly)

SMS marketing remains one of the most powerful direct-to-fan tools available. But with power comes responsibility. Understanding A2P 10DLC isn’t just about checking boxes—it’s about keeping your message trusted, delivered, and effective.

If you want to harness the power of SMS without getting lost in compliance rules, Sonikit can help you do it right. Set up a free account to try out messaging features to see if it's a good fit for your campaign!