To choose a music distributor, match the pricing model to your release schedule, confirm it delivers to every store and social platform you care about, and check that it pays out 100% of your royalties on a schedule you can live with. The right choice depends on whether you release one single a year or run a busy label catalogue — there is no single “best” service for everyone.
This guide walks you through the exact criteria that matter, compares how the major players differ, and helps you avoid the traps that quietly eat into your earnings.
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The short version: what actually matters
- Pricing model — flat annual fee vs. a percentage of your royalties. High-volume artists usually win with flat fees; occasional releasers often prefer commission-based or free tiers.
- Store coverage — Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube Music, TikTok, Instagram/Facebook, Tidal, Deezer and regional stores like JioSaavn or Anghami.
- Royalty split — the best services pass on 100% of streaming royalties; some take a cut. Read the fine print.
- Payout speed and threshold — how often you get paid, the minimum balance, and which withdrawal methods (PayPal, bank transfer) are supported in your country.
- Extras — mastering, pre-save links, splits payments to collaborators, publishing/royalty collection, and content-ID monetisation.
- Catalogue control — what happens to your music if you stop paying, and how easy it is to leave.
Why the way you choose a music distributor depends on your release habits
Before you compare a single feature, be honest about how often you release music. This one factor changes the maths more than anything else. If you drop a track every few weeks, a flat annual subscription that covers unlimited uploads will almost always cost less over a year than a service that charges per release or skims a percentage off the top. If you put out one EP a year and mostly want to test the waters, a free or commission-based tier keeps your upfront cost at zero and only takes a share when you actually earn.
A distributor is simply the pipeline between your finished master and the streaming platforms — you cannot upload directly to Spotify or Apple Music as an independent artist without one. Because that pipeline is a commodity, the differences between services live in the pricing, the payout terms, and the surrounding tools, not in whether your song “arrives” at Spotify. It arrives either way. So decide your release cadence first, then let that steer everything below.
Flat fee, free, or commission: understanding the pricing models
Distributors generally fall into three buckets. Flat-fee subscriptions (the DistroKid model) charge a yearly amount for unlimited uploads and let you keep 100% of your royalties. That’s ideal for prolific artists, but it means paying every year to keep your catalogue live. Per-release pricing (the classic TuneCore approach, historically) charges for each single or album, sometimes with an annual renewal, while you keep your royalties. Free or commission-based services (like Amuse’s free tier) charge nothing upfront and instead take a percentage of what you earn, which lowers the barrier to entry but can cost more once a track takes off.
CD Baby sits slightly apart with a one-time fee per release plus a royalty share on some plans — appealing if you hate recurring subscriptions and want your release to stay up without annual renewals. Exact figures shift constantly, so always check the provider’s current pricing rather than trusting a number you read in an old forum post. The principle to remember: percentages are cheap when you earn little and expensive when you earn a lot; flat fees are the reverse.
Store coverage, delivery speed, and the platforms you can’t afford to miss
Every reputable distributor reaches the big four — Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music. The differences show up at the edges. If your audience is on TikTok and Instagram Reels, make sure the distributor delivers to those content libraries so your sound is available for others to use. If you’re targeting specific regions, look for delivery to JioSaavn (India), Anghami (MENA), Boomplay (Africa) or NetEase (China). Also check whether the service supports YouTube Content ID, which scans and monetises other people’s videos that use your music — an easy stream of income most beginners overlook.
Delivery speed matters when you’re planning a campaign. Some distributors get your track live in a day or two; others need a week or more, especially for a first release while they verify your account. Give yourself at least three to four weeks of lead time so you can secure a release date, submit to Spotify’s editorial playlists through the distributor’s pitching tool, and line up pre-save links.
Royalty splits, payout speed, and reading the fine print
Here’s where independent artists get quietly burned. The headline “keep 100% of your royalties” is common now, but the details vary: how often are you paid, is there a minimum payout threshold, and which withdrawal methods work in your country? A service that only pays via PayPal is a problem if PayPal is awkward where you live. Payout frequency ranges from monthly to quarterly, and streaming platforms themselves report earnings on a delay, so expect a lag of a month or two between a stream and the money landing regardless of who you use.
Watch for split payments if you work with collaborators — good distributors let you automatically route a percentage to a co-writer or producer, saving you awkward manual transfers. And read what happens if you stop paying an annual fee: with some flat-fee services, your music may be taken down from stores, which can reset your carefully built stream counts. Actual payout figures and streaming rates vary widely by platform and listener geography, so treat any specific per-stream number you see online as a rough approximation, not a promise.
The extras: mastering, publishing, and one-stop convenience
Many distributors now bundle services beyond delivery, and for a solo artist that convenience can be worth real money. Mastering is the big one: rather than paying separately, some platforms offer integrated mastering so your track is polished and loudness-normalised before it ships to streaming. A service like LANDR is well known for AI-assisted mastering alongside distribution, which makes it a natural one-stop option if you’d rather not juggle multiple tools. If you want to understand the trade-offs before committing, we compared the approaches in AI mastering vs human mastering and rounded up the field in our guide to the best online mastering services.
Other extras worth weighing: publishing administration (collecting the songwriter/composer royalties that streaming distribution alone doesn’t cover), pre-save and smart-link tools for marketing, and cover-song licensing if you release someone else’s material legally. Only pay for what you’ll actually use — a bundle looks great until you realise you’re paying for publishing admin you could get elsewhere for less. If mastering is your main gap, make sure your master is streaming-ready first by reading how to master a song for streaming.
A simple decision framework
Put it all together with a quick self-check. Ask yourself: How many releases will I put out this year? If it’s more than two or three, lean toward a flat-fee unlimited service. Do I want to pay every year, or once? If recurring fees bother you, look at one-time-fee options like CD Baby. Do I need mastering and marketing tools bundled in? If yes, an all-in-one platform such as LANDR earns its keep. Am I earning enough that a percentage cut would sting? If a service takes a share and you’re scaling up, do the maths against a flat fee.
Finally, factor in your exit. Choose a distributor that lets you export your ISRC and UPC codes and move your catalogue without losing your stream history where possible. The safest choice is one you can leave cleanly — because your needs at 500 monthly listeners will look nothing like your needs at 50,000. When you’re ready to compare specific tools, our LANDR review and the wider Music Business hub go deeper on individual services.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a music distributor to get on Spotify?
Yes. As an independent artist you can’t upload directly to Spotify, Apple Music or most major platforms — you have to go through an approved distributor, which acts as the delivery pipeline. Spotify for Artists lets you manage and pitch your music, but the actual upload still comes from a distributor. Pick one whose pricing and store coverage fit your plans, then use Spotify’s own tools on top.
Is a free distributor good enough, or should I pay?
A free, commission-based distributor is perfectly fine when you’re starting out and releasing occasionally — it removes the upfront cost and only takes a share once you earn. The moment you release frequently or a track gains traction, a flat-fee service that lets you keep 100% of royalties usually works out cheaper. Run the numbers against your realistic release schedule rather than defaulting to “free.”
What happens to my music if I stop paying my distributor?
It depends on the pricing model. With flat-fee annual subscriptions, your releases can be removed from stores if you don’t renew, which may reset your accumulated streams. One-time-fee services typically keep your music live indefinitely. Always read the takedown and renewal terms before you commit, and make sure you can export your ISRC and UPC codes so you’re never locked in.
