Distributor pricing
TuneCore charges a yearly fee for unlimited releases and keeps none of your streaming royalties. Plans start at $24.99 a year for one artist name, and YouTube Content ID is included rather than charged per release. You can also pay per release instead of subscribing, but that rarely works out cheaper.
All three yearly plans include unlimited releases. Rising Artist covers the basics. Breakout Artist ($44.99 a year) adds tools such as automatic delivery to new stores and a cover art creator. Professional ($54.99 a year) is the only plan that covers more than one artist name, at $14.99 a year for each extra one.
| Plan | Yearly fee | Per release | Royalty cut | YouTube Content ID | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rising Artist | $24.99 | None | None | Keeps 20% | 1 artist name |
| Breakout Artist | $44.99 | None | None | Keeps 20% | 1 artist name |
| Professional | $54.99 | None | None | Keeps 20% | 1 artist name (extra artists $14.99 a year each) |
| Pay Per Release | None | Single $24.99, EP $44.99, album $44.99; then single $24.99, EP $56.49, album $56.49 a year | None | Not confirmed | No limits |
Usually not. A single on pay per release costs $24.99 a year to keep live, the same as a year of Rising Artist with unlimited releases. An album costs $44.99 for the first year, then $56.49 a year. So as soon as you have more than one release out, the Rising Artist plan costs less.
Enter your own numbers to see TuneCore next to every other distributor we track.
| Example artist | TuneCore | DistroKid | CD Baby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting out 2 singles a year, earning about $50 a year |
$75
Rising Artist plan
|
$75
Musician plan
|
$73
Standard plan
Cheapest
|
| Releasing regularly 6 singles and an EP a year, earning about $600 a year |
$75
Rising Artist plan
Same price
|
$75
Musician plan
Same price
|
$387
Standard plan
|
| Band or small label 8 singles and 2 albums a year across 3 artist names, earning about $4,000 a year, with royalty splits and YouTube Content ID |
$495
Professional plan
Cheapest
|
$927
Ultimate plan
|
Not suitable: No automatic royalty splits
|
See the full comparison of DistroKid vs TuneCore.
Not for the main streaming services. TuneCore no longer offers a free plan that delivers to Spotify and Apple Music; the cheapest option is Rising Artist at $24.99 a year. See free music distribution for the alternatives.
Not of your streaming and download royalties. It keeps 20% of what you earn from YouTube Content ID and social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
Your releases are taken down 42 days after a missed renewal.
Only on the Professional plan, which covers one artist name and charges $14.99 a year for each extra one.