If you release music several times a year, DistroKid is the best value in 2026: $24.99 per year buys unlimited uploads, and you keep 100% of your streaming royalties. If you only have one single or one album to put out, CD Baby’s one-time $9.99 fee beats every subscription, even after its 9% commission.
Those are the headline numbers, checked against official pricing pages in July 2026. The fine print is where things get messy. DistroKid pulls your music from stores if you stop paying. TuneCore shut down its free plan. CD Baby now belongs to Universal Music Group. This guide compares DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, UnitedMasters, and Amuse on price, royalty cuts, payout speed, and the fees hiding in the fine print.
Two pricing models, one big decision
A music distributor is the middleman that delivers your songs to Spotify, Apple Music, and every other store, then collects your royalties. Independent artists cannot upload directly to most platforms, so almost every indie release passes through one. (For a refresher on where listeners actually are, see our comparison of the best music streaming services in 2026.)
Every distributor charges in one of two ways. Flat-fee services — DistroKid, TuneCore, Amuse, and UnitedMasters’ paid tiers — charge a yearly subscription and pass 100% of store royalties to you. Commission services — CD Baby, plus UnitedMasters’ free tier — cost little or nothing up front but keep a slice of everything you earn, forever. Streaming payouts are already thin — fractions of a cent per play on most platforms — so that recurring slice matters more than it looks.
| Service | Cost | Cut of store royalties | Payout speed | Music stays up if you stop paying? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DistroKid | $24.99–$89.99/year | 0% | On demand, ~$6 minimum; earnings lag streams by 2–3 months | No, unless you buy Leave a Legacy |
| TuneCore | $24.99–$54.99/year | 0% | Monthly postings, ~2 months behind streams; $1 minimum | No — plans renew yearly |
| CD Baby | $9.99/single, $14.99/album, one time | 9% | Weekly, once your Pay Point is reached | Yes |
| UnitedMasters | Free, $19.99/year, or $59.99/year | 10% on free tier; 0% on paid tiers | — | — |
| Amuse | $23.99–$59.99/year | 0% while subscribed | — | Yes, but a 25% commission applies while lapsed |
DistroKid: built for artists who release constantly
DistroKid’s pitch is simple: one flat fee, unlimited songs. The Musician plan costs $24.99 per year for one artist profile, according to DistroKid’s pricing page. Musician Plus, at $44.99 per year, covers two artists and adds custom release dates, daily stats, a custom label name, and synced Apple Music lyrics. Ultimate, at $89.99 per year, covers up to 100 artists or bands and adds advanced analytics and audio replacement.
If you drop a single every month, nothing else touches that price. Unlimited uploads also reward exactly the kind of steady release schedule that Spotify’s algorithm favors in 2026.
The hidden costs
The subscription only keeps your music live while you pay. Stop, and your releases come down — unless you buy the Leave a Legacy add-on, a one-time $29 per single or $49 per album that keeps a release in stores after you cancel. Budget for it if you ever plan to walk away.
YouTube Content ID — the system that finds your music inside other people’s videos and claims the ad money — is another add-on. It costs $4.95 per single per year, and DistroKid keeps 20% of the Content ID revenue it collects on top of that fee.
Payouts, and one warning
Earnings show up roughly two to three months after the month your streams happened. Withdrawals are on demand with a minimum of about $6, processed twice a week, and can take up to 14 days to arrive. So DistroKid is “instant” only once the money finally lands in your dashboard.
One caution: Ari’s Take’s distribution comparison, updated July 15, 2026, notes DistroKid’s mass takedowns of accounts flagged for alleged streaming fraud. If you pay for promotion, vet it carefully — botted streams can cost you your entire catalog.
TuneCore: priced for teams and label-style setups
TuneCore’s unlimited plans run $24.99 per year for Rising Artist, $44.99 for Breakout Artist, and $54.99 for Professional, per TuneCore’s pricing page. Older pay-per-release options still exist: $24.99 per year for a single, and $44.99 for an album in year one, rising to $56.49 per year on renewal — a structure that gets expensive fast if you keep a catalog live that way.
Two fees deserve attention. Each additional artist profile costs $14.99. And TuneCore takes a 20% fee on social platform monetization — the money your music earns on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube — even though store royalties carry 0% commission.
TuneCore’s free New Artist plan ended on June 18, 2025, and releases from artists who did not upgrade to a paid plan were taken down. If you signed up free and walked away, check whether your music is still in stores.
Store earnings post to your TuneCore account monthly, generally about two months after the streams happen, and you can withdraw once your balance reaches $1 — the lowest threshold in this comparison. Publishing royalties (the songwriter money collected separately from recording royalties) pay quarterly, about 45 days after each calendar quarter closes.
CD Baby: pay once, stay up forever — now owned by Universal
CD Baby flips the model. You pay once — $9.99 per single or $14.99 per album — and there are no renewal fees, ever, according to CD Baby’s cost page. Free UPC and ISRC codes (the barcode and track identifiers stores require) are included. In exchange, CD Baby keeps a 9% commission on digital distribution revenue for the life of the release. You keep 91%.
The math is straightforward. A quiet back-catalog album is cheaper on CD Baby than on any subscription. A song that blows up hands over 9% forever. If your catalog does start producing serious income, that recurring revenue is exactly the asset lenders evaluate — see our guide to music catalog loans.
Two add-ons matter. CDB Boost, a one-time $39.99 per release, adds mechanical royalty collection through the MLC (the US body that pays songwriters for streams) and SoundExchange registration (which pays for digital radio play). On social video monetization across YouTube, TikTok, and Meta, you keep 70% and CD Baby keeps 30% — the steepest social cut here.
CD Baby’s standout feature is payout speed: it pays weekly and automatically once your balance passes the Pay Point threshold you set. Nobody else in this comparison pays that often.
The Universal question
In February 2026, Universal Music Group and Virgin Music Group completed their $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings — the parent of CD Baby, FUGA, and Songtrust — as reported by Variety, with EU regulators requiring the divestiture of Curve Royalty Systems. The world’s biggest major label now owns one of the largest independent distributors. CD Baby’s pricing has not changed so far, but artists who picked CD Baby specifically to stay outside the major-label system should know who signs the checks now.
UnitedMasters and Amuse: the alternatives worth knowing
UnitedMasters
UnitedMasters’ free DEBUT tier is the cheapest way to get into stores at all: you pay nothing and keep 90% of royalties, with UnitedMasters keeping 10%. The paid tiers remove the cut — DEBUT+ costs $19.99 per year and SELECT $59.99 per year, both with 100% royalty retention. A third tier, PARTNER, is invitation only. At $19.99, DEBUT+ undercuts every other paid plan in this article.
Amuse
Amuse no longer has a free tier. Current plans are Artist at $23.99 per year (one artist profile), Artist Plus at $39.99 (two profiles), and Professional at $59.99 (three or more), all with 100% of store royalties while you are subscribed. One caveat on the entry plan: Artist takes a 15% fee on YouTube Content ID royalties and a 15% fee on splits paid to collaborators without an Amuse subscription — both waived on the higher tiers. The interesting wrinkle is what happens when you stop paying: your music stays live, but Amuse keeps a 25% commission on royalties earned while you have no active subscription. Resubscribe and the commission stops. It is a softer landing than DistroKid’s takedown — you lose money, not your catalog.
Which service fits which artist
- You release something every month: DistroKid Musician at $24.99 per year. Unlimited uploads make each release effectively free.
- You have one single or EP and want it up forever: CD Baby. One payment, no renewals, weekly payouts.
- You run a small label or manage several artists: TuneCore Professional at $54.99, or DistroKid Ultimate at $89.99 for up to 100 artists.
- You have zero budget: UnitedMasters DEBUT. Start free at a 10% cut, then move to DEBUT+ once money arrives.
- You want subscription pricing with an escape hatch: Amuse. Lapsing costs you 25% of royalties, not your releases.
Distribution is only step one of a career. The bigger money usually sits in sync licensing and placements — getting songs into film, TV, ads, and games — and in understanding where the industry is heading, which our 2026 music trends guide maps out. If the business side still feels foggy, these music courses cover the parts most artists skip.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest music distributor in 2026?
UnitedMasters DEBUT+ at $19.99 per year is the cheapest paid plan that pays 100% of royalties. For a single release you never plan to renew, CD Baby’s one-time $9.99 is cheaper over the long run. For unlimited releases, DistroKid and TuneCore tie at $24.99 per year, with Amuse just under them at $23.99.
Do I lose my music if I stop paying my distributor?
On DistroKid, yes — unless you bought Leave a Legacy at $29 per single or $49 per album. TuneCore removed free-tier releases when it ended that plan in June 2025, and its paid plans renew yearly. CD Baby releases stay up with no renewal because you paid once. Amuse keeps your music live but takes 25% of royalties earned while you have no active subscription.
Which distributor pays artists fastest?
CD Baby, by a wide margin: weekly automatic payouts once your balance reaches the threshold you set. TuneCore posts store earnings monthly, roughly two months behind the streams, with a $1 minimum withdrawal. DistroKid’s earnings lag streams by two to three months, and a withdrawal can take up to 14 more days to arrive.
Do these services take a cut of streaming royalties?
DistroKid, TuneCore, and Amuse take 0% of store royalties while you are subscribed; CD Baby takes 9%. The real cuts hide in side channels: TuneCore keeps 20% of social platform money, CD Baby keeps 30% of social video revenue, DistroKid keeps 20% of Content ID collections, and UnitedMasters’ free tier keeps 10% of everything.
The bottom line
For most independent artists in 2026, DistroKid’s $24.99-per-year Musician plan is still the default answer: unlimited uploads, 0% commission, and no surprises as long as you keep paying and stay far away from fake-stream promotion. CD Baby is the pick for a one-off release you want live forever, with weekly payouts as a genuine bonus — just go in knowing about the 9% cut and the new Universal ownership. TuneCore earns its keep for teams that need multiple artist profiles and can absorb the add-on fees.
If budget is the blocker, UnitedMasters’ free tier gets you into stores today for a 10% cut, and its $19.99 DEBUT+ upgrade is the cheapest 100%-royalty plan on the market. Whichever you choose, remember the distributor is plumbing. The streams themselves are won on the platforms — and that fight starts with knowing what each stream is actually worth.
Riya has spent six years writing about music. At OST Vibes she covers soundtracks for film, series and games — who scored what, what is actually on each official release, and where to listen to it. Her focus is English-language pop and screen music. Spot a mistake in a tracklist or a credit? Email [email protected] and it will be corrected.