About TuneCore
TuneCore is a digital music distribution and publishing administration service for independent artists, songwriters, and small labels. Annual plans include unlimited releases to 150+ stores such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and TikTok, while artists keep 100% of their rights and streaming royalties. Add-ons cover publishing royalty collection, YouTube Content ID, AI mastering, cover song licensing, and revenue splits.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Artists keep 100% of streaming and download royalties from stores on paid plans
- Unlimited releases on every plan, starting at $24.99/year
- Built-in publishing administration collects songwriter royalties that distribution alone misses
- Catalog transfers from other distributors keep play counts, playlist placements, and release dates
- Established since 2006 with distribution to 150+ stores worldwide
- Extras such as YouTube Content ID, splits, and AI mastering in one account
Cons
- No free distribution tier, unlike some competitors
- 20% fee on social media platform revenue (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube Shorts)
- Publishing administration takes a commission on collections on top of the $75 signup fee
- Store Automator, label name, and faster support are locked to higher tiers
- Basic plan support response times can stretch to 3 business days
Key Features
Unlimited distribution
Release unlimited singles, EPs, and albums to 150+ digital stores and streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, and TikTok.
Advanced Trends & Analytics
Dashboard showing streams, earnings, listener locations, and which songs are gaining momentum across platforms.
Music publishing administration
Registers your compositions worldwide and works alongside your PRO to collect performance, mechanical, and digital royalties for a one-time $75 signup fee plus commission.
TuneCore Accelerator
Artist growth program for eligible releases that aims to boost discovery, including support for Spotify Discovery Mode.
YouTube Content ID
Claims and monetizes videos on YouTube that use your recordings.
Social media distribution
Monetizes your music on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube Shorts, with TuneCore keeping a 20% fee on social revenue.
TuneCore Splits
Automatically splits earnings with collaborators without commission fees.
Store Automator
Automatically sends your existing catalog to new stores as TuneCore adds them (Breakout Artist plan and up).
AI mastering and cover licensing
$5 AI-powered track mastering plus cover song mechanical licensing for releasing covers legally.
Direct Advance powered by RoyFi
Eligible artists can access advances on future streaming earnings without signing over ownership (Professional plan).
Pricing
- Unlimited releases to 150+ digital stores
- Unlimited releases to social platforms (20% fee on social revenue)
- Advanced Trends & Analytics
- Schedule your own release date
- Artist revenue splits
- YouTube Content ID
- Customer support within 3 business days
- Everything in Rising Artist
- Store Automator
- Cover Art Creator
- Customer support within 2 business days
- Everything in Breakout Artist
- Manage multiple artists ($14.99 per additional artist profile)
- Custom label name and your own UPC
- TuneCore Direct Advance powered by RoyFi
- Premium official sales reports
- Release-level country restrictions
- Priority support within 1 business day
- Worldwide song registration
- Collects performance, mechanical, and digital royalties
- Works alongside your existing PRO
- Keep 100% of your copyrights
- Commission taken on collected royalties
Best For
Independent artist releases
Solo artists and bands distribute singles, EPs, and albums to Spotify, Apple Music, and other stores while keeping full ownership.
Songwriter royalty collection
Songwriters register compositions worldwide to collect performance and mechanical royalties their PRO can't reach alone.
Small independent labels
Labels on the Professional plan manage multiple artist profiles and release under their own label name and UPCs.
Catalog migration
Artists moving from another distributor transfer their back catalog without losing streaming history or playlist placements.
Monetizing music on social video
Creators earn from TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube usage of their tracks via social distribution and Content ID.
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