Music distribution

iMusician review: pay once or pay yearly

Our iMusician review in one line: it’s one of the few distributors that lets you pay once per release and keep it online for good, which suits occasional releasers, but its extras add up and the cheap plans don’t split royalties. Rockstar costs £69 per release with none of your streaming money kept, ever. See how that compares with yearly plans in the music distribution calculator.

We haven’t used iMusician and it doesn’t pay us. This review is based on iMusician’s published prices and terms (checked 27th October 2026) and on independent news reports.

iMusician

Plan Yearly fee Per release Royalty cut YouTube Content ID Limits
Starter None Single £9, EP £9, album £9 10% £1 per single, £10 per album one-time; keeps 20% No limits
Rockstar None Single £69, EP £69, album £69 None Keeps 20% No limits
AMPLIFY £29 None None Keeps 20% 1 artist name
AMPLIFY+ £59 None None Keeps 20% 2 artist names (extra artists £9 a year each)
AMPLIFY Pro £299 None None Keeps 20% No limits

Starter charges £1 per track for Content ID; EP and album figures assume 5 and 10 tracks. Prices checked 27th October 2026.

Five ways to pay

  • Starter: £9 once per release, single, EP or album. iMusician keeps 10% of streaming and download money.
  • Rockstar: £69 once per release, nothing kept. Includes Content ID, playlist pitching and pre-save pages. You can upgrade an existing release for the same fee.
  • AMPLIFY: £29 a year, one artist, unlimited releases.
  • AMPLIFY+: £59 a year for two artists, plus £9 for each extra one up to 20. Adds royalty splits and release changes.
  • AMPLIFY Pro: £299 a year for unlimited artists.

Releases stay online on every plan, even if you cancel AMPLIFY. If a release will earn steadily for years, Rockstar usually beats Starter, which keeps its cut forever.

The catches

  • Extras cost extra. On Starter, playlist pitching, your own label name, custom regions, release changes and faster delivery are all add-ons. Some delivery speeds still cost more on AMPLIFY.
  • No royalty splits on Starter or AMPLIFY. Bands need AMPLIFY+ or Pro.
  • Content ID and social media earnings carry a 20% cut on every plan. On Starter it also costs £1 per track.
  • Prices change by country. We saw pounds; you may see dollars or euros.
  • Long albums can cost more, and iMusician doesn’t spell out when that kicks in.

Documented problems

We found no independent news reports of artists’ problems with iMusician as of 29 October 2026. There are complaints on review sites and its own forum, mostly about slow or recalculated payouts, but we couldn’t verify them.

Who iMusician suits

Artists who release once or twice a year and want to pay once and forget it. If you release often or pay several band members, a yearly plan elsewhere usually costs less. Other providers are in our music distribution guides.

iMusician vs DistroKid

iMusician vs DistroKid is a choice between paying once and paying every year.

  • Paying once: iMusician has one-off plans from £9 a release. DistroKid only does yearly plans, from $24.99.
  • Staying online: iMusician releases stay up whether or not you keep paying. DistroKid’s come down.
  • YouTube Content ID: included on AMPLIFY and Rockstar. DistroKid charges $4.95 per single, every year, and keeps 20%.
  • Royalty splits: on every DistroKid plan. At iMusician, only on AMPLIFY+ and AMPLIFY Pro.
  • Currency: iMusician sets prices by country; DistroKid prices in dollars.

Pick iMusician if you release now and then and want each release paid for once, with your music staying up whatever happens to a subscription. Pick DistroKid if you release often, so one yearly fee beats a fee per release, or you split royalties with collaborators and don’t want a pricier plan. DistroKid’s plans are on our DistroKid pricing page.

Common questions

Is iMusician legit?

Yes. It delivers to Spotify, Apple Music and the other big services, and we found no news reports of artists going unpaid.

Does iMusician take a percentage?

Starter keeps 10% of streaming and download money. Rockstar and AMPLIFY plans keep none of it, but every plan keeps 20% of Content ID and social media earnings.

Can I move my music to iMusician?

Yes. Re-upload with the same ISRC codes so streams carry over. Our guide on how to switch distributors has the steps.