Best music distributors for independent artists in 2026: DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby and Amuse

In 2026 the four music distributors independent artists search for most are DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby and Amuse. All of them put your music on Spotify and the other stores. What differs is how you pay: a yearly subscription, a fee per release, or a share of your royalties. We compared the four, and Distroline, using the prices shown on each official website on 12 October 2026.

This guide is by Distroline. We put all five side by side on the same criteria, and every figure links to the official page it came from.

Quick comparison

Distributor	Entry plan	How you pay	Streaming royalties	If you stop paying
DistroKid	Musician, €23.99 a year	Yearly subscription	You keep 100%	Your music is removed, except releases with the paid Leave a Legacy extra
TuneCore	Rising Artist, $24.99 a year	Yearly subscription, or per release	Charges 20% on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube earnings	Your music is removed 42 days after a missed renewal
CD Baby	$9.99 per single, $14.99 per album	Once per release, no yearly fee	CD Baby keeps 9% of digital distribution revenue	No yearly fee: your music stays up
Amuse	Artist, $23.99 a year	Yearly subscription	You keep 100%; 15% on YouTube Content ID on the Artist plan	The pricing page does not say
Distroline	Free, €0; Coliseu, €14.99 a year	Free with commission, or yearly subscription	10% on Free; 0% on Coliseu and Stage	You move to Free and your music stays up

Prices are as each site shows them and can vary by country, currency and tax. Always check the official page before you choose.

DistroKid

DistroKid sells three yearly plans, all with unlimited releases and royalty splits with collaborators (official pricing):

• Musician, €23.99 a year, for 1 artist or band.
• Musician Plus, €42.99 a year, for 2 artists.
• Ultimate, €81.99 a year, for 1 to 100 artists.

On every plan you keep 100% of earnings. It is the best-known option for artists who release often. According to DistroKid's help centre, if you do not renew, your music is removed from services, except releases with the paid Leave a Legacy extra.

TuneCore

TuneCore has two models (official pricing):

• Unlimited plans: Rising Artist at $24.99 a year (with YouTube Content ID), Breakout Artist at $44.99 and Professional at $54.99, the last with several artists and a custom label name.
• Per release: a single at $24.99 a year; an album at $44.99 for the first year and $56.49 each following year.

On social platform earnings (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube), TuneCore charges 20%. Each additional artist profile costs $14.99. If you do not renew an unlimited plan, TuneCore sends reminders for 35 days and, after 42 days, takes your releases down from every store.

CD Baby

CD Baby is the only one of the four without a subscription (official pricing):

• A single at $9.99 and an album at $14.99, paid once.
• No yearly fee: your music stays up without paying every year.
• In return CD Baby keeps 9% of digital distribution revenue. You keep the other 91%.
• Free UPC and ISRCs.

It suits artists who release rarely and want to pay once. For frequent releases, the 9% adds up over the years.

Amuse

Amuse has three yearly plans, all with unlimited releases (official pricing):

• Artist, $23.99 a year, for 1 artist. You keep 100%, except on YouTube Content ID, where a 15% fee applies. Splits with collaborators who have no Amuse subscription also carry 15%.
• Artist Plus, $39.99 a year, up to 2 artists, no Content ID fee and free splits.
• Professional, $59.99 a year, 3 or more artists, a custom label name and priority support.

Distroline

Distroline is the distributor made in Portugal, with support in Portuguese, for artists in Portugal, Brazil, Portuguese-speaking Africa and the diaspora. It has three plans (see plans), VAT included:

• Free, €0: unlimited releases, royalty splits, and your music never goes offline. We keep 10% of royalties.
• Coliseu, €14.99 a year: 0% commission, Content ID included, priority review and support, up to 3 artist names.
• Stage, €49.99 a year: everything in Coliseu, plus unlimited team seats and artist names.

You pay by card, MB WAY in Portugal or Pix in Brazil. If you cancel a paid plan you move to Free and your music stays online.

Where Distroline is worse: we are new, we deliver to fewer stores than the big distributors, royalty payouts go by SEPA bank transfer, and we do not offer music publishing administration (songwriter royalties collected by societies such as SPA, GDA or ECAD).

Which to choose

• You release rarely and want no yearly fee: CD Baby, knowing it keeps 9% of digital revenue.
• You release often and want 100% of royalties: a yearly plan from DistroKid, Amuse, TuneCore, or Coliseu. Compare the price against how many artists you manage.
• You are starting out and do not want to pay up front: Distroline Free, at 10% commission, then move to Coliseu when your royalties justify it.
• You need support in Portuguese: Distroline. If you are already elsewhere, see how to switch distributor without losing streams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest music distributor in 2026?

It depends on how often you release and how much you earn. To start without paying anything, Distroline Free costs €0 and keeps 10% of royalties. On a subscription, the entry plans of DistroKid, Amuse and TuneCore cost between 23.99 and 24.99 a year. CD Baby charges once per release and keeps 9% of digital revenue.

Will my music come off Spotify if I stop paying?

On DistroKid and TuneCore, yes: their help centres say releases are taken down if the subscription is not renewed. CD Baby has no yearly fee. On Distroline you move to the Free plan and your music stays up.

Which distributor lets me keep 100% of royalties?

DistroKid, Amuse and Distroline's paid plans (Coliseu and Stage) let you keep 100% of streaming royalties, according to their pricing pages. TuneCore charges 20% on social platform earnings and CD Baby keeps 9% of digital revenue.

Can I switch distributor without losing streams?

Yes, if you use the same ISRC and UPC codes at the new distributor and only ask the old one to take the release down once it is live again. We explain the safe order in the migration guide.

For the next steps, read how to put your music on Spotify in 2026.

Start free on Distroline: no card needed, and you can change plan whenever you like.