Glossary · Distribution
DistroKid
DistroKid is a subscription music distributor that delivers unlimited releases to streaming services for an annual fee and passes on 100% of earnings. As of August 2026 its plans are Musician $24.99/yr, Musician Plus $44.99/yr and Ultimate $89.99/yr.
DistroKid built its business on one idea: an annual subscription with unlimited uploads, rather than a per-release fee. Every tier includes unlimited releases and keeps 100% of your earnings.
Per distrokid.com/pricing, fetched August 31, 2026, all billed annually:
| Plan | Price | Key inclusions |
|---|---|---|
| Musician | $24.99/yr | Unlimited uploads, Spotify artist profile, royalty splits, 1 artist/band |
| Musician Plus | $44.99/yr | + 2 artists/bands, Apple Music synced lyrics, daily stats, custom label name and release dates |
| Ultimate | $89.99/yr | + 1 to 100 artists/bands, 1TB file sharing, Spotify and Apple monitoring, advanced analytics |
The catch that matters is not the price, it is the model. The subscription is recurring forever, and if you stop paying, your releases come down. Compare that with CD Baby's one-time $9.99 single fee, where the release stays up but a permanent percentage of revenue is taken. Which is cheaper depends entirely on how long you keep releasing and how much the catalogue earns.
DistroKid sells a range of paid add-ons — YouTube Content ID, cover song licensing, Store Maximizer, and others — and DistroKid Publishing is a separate product from base distribution. DistroKid's own help documentation says DistroKid Publishing collects global digital mechanicals, US offline mechanicals, global and US public performance income and worldwide sync, and describes that income as different from the streaming royalties it already collects for all members.
The misunderstanding worth naming plainly: DistroKid does not collect performance royalties through standard distribution. That is ASCAP or BMI, and it is your registration to make.
I distribute my own catalogue this way; check distrokid.com for current pricing before you buy.
Related terms
- Music distributorA music distributor delivers recordings to streaming services and stores on an artist's behalf and collects the recording…
- TuneCoreTuneCore is a music distributor offering both annual subscriptions and pay-per-release pricing, delivering to 150+ stores while…
- CD BabyCD Baby is a music distributor that charges a one-time fee per release instead of an annual subscription — $9.99 for a single and…
- Publishing administratorA publishing administrator collects a songwriter's publishing royalties worldwide for a commission without taking ownership of…
Answers that use this term
- Does DistroKid Collect All of Your Music Royalties?No. DistroKid collects one of the four royalty streams your song generates — the recording (master) side from streaming…
- Is Registering With the MLC Worth It for a Small Artist?Yes, and the calculation is not close, because registration with The MLC is free and takes about twenty minutes.
- How Much Does It Actually Cost to Release a Song Independently?Releasing a song independently costs between $9.99 and $24.99. CD Baby charges $9.99 once per single with no annual fee…
- DistroKid vs TuneCore vs CD Baby: The Real Five-Year CostDistroKid Musician and TuneCore Rising Artist both cost $24.99 a year for unlimited releases and take no commission.
Definitions on this site describe the United States system. I am an artist who has been through this, not a lawyer.
Get the paperwork done in one afternoon
The Zero to Beat Society walks through registration, splits and release paperwork step by step — with the templates and checklists already filled in.
See the tiers