Traditional methods for musicians to distribute their music are expensive, unreliable, and complicated. Contracts, record labels, international licensing, and international record laws make it impossible for an indie band to release music on popular streaming services without help.
DistroKid provides an easy and affordable digital music distribution solution that’s available to everyone. It’s a reliable and quick platform that takes minutes to sign up. Distrokid provides a one-stop service for musicians to distribute their music to every major music platform. All you need to do is upload your music and they’ll take care of the rest.
With DistroKid, you can focus on what’s important — making killer music and reaching your fans!
But is it worth it?
Distrokid’s Pricing Structure
Distrokid operates with a subscription service where you pay yearly to upload an unlimited amount of songs to their distribution network.
The Musician plan is $19.99/mo and includes unlimited uploads, unlimited songs, and one master release. This plan is fine if you just want to get your music out there.
The next level up at $35.99/mo, the “Musician Plus” plan allows for you to add more “features” to your music. It allows you to set release dates, preorders, mess with Spotify algorithms for your benefit, and set prices on Apple Music. As music integrates into Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram this level allows you to utilize those integrations. With social media spread, potential fans will be more likely to follow you, show interest in listening to your music, and make it easier for you to grow your audience. It’s my personal recommendation.
The $79.99/mo Label plan is basically for record labels or the most pompous of artists with more than 5 bands. At this level the more bands you have, the more you pay.
If you go through this link you can save 7% on any plan.
Optional Release Upsells
Distrokid has optional “upgrades” when you upload a song. These upsells are mainly for the promotion of your music in new and interesting ways, or for assisting you with legal matters. In order of subjective importance:
Leave a Legacy ($29.00 one-time fee, nonrecurring)
Distrokid will remove your music if you cancel your subscription. If you pay this fee the song stays up forever.
Youtube Content ID ($4.95/yr + 20% of YouTube ad revenue from matches Distrokid detects)
Distrokid continuously scans YouTube videos and metadata to find matches of your work. When Distrokid detects a match in any YouTube video, you can get notified of the match and get an automatic 80% cut of the ad revenue from that video.
Shazam & iPhone Siri ($0.99/yr)
People can say “Siri what song is this” and get an answer: yours.
Here’s the rest of the upsells (Dec 29, 2021):
What is Distrokid?
Distrokid is a music distribution service that provides independent artists with a platform to distribute their music to all of the most popular digital stores and streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, and more.
One of the most common problems indie artists face is that they don’t have any way to get their songs out into the world. Distrokid provides an easy-to-use tool that allows them to do just that – distribute their music anywhere in the world without having to worry about any technical aspects of it.
The Benefits of DistroKid as a Music Distribution Platform
Due to its extremely affordable pricing, DistroKid is one of the most popular music distribution platforms.
DistroKid is a music distribution platform that covers all aspects of releasing and distributing your music online. It gives you access to independent stores like Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify, or Amazon Music. It also offers exclusive pre-orders for your album before its release date and helps you create an artist page on SoundCloud as well as verify you on Spotify.
Why You Should Start Using DistroKid Today
An artist’s best chance for success is to get their music in front of as many people as possible. That’s where a music distribution platform comes in handy. Artists focusing on printing CDs and selling merch in shows are missing out on the opportunity to gain exposure to new audiences, remain top-of-mind for their followers, and increase their fan base.
With so many music distribution services to choose from, it can be hard for independent artists to get their music heard. You can see our comparison review between the different distribution services, but spoiler alert Distrokid wins.
