Amuse Music Distribution Pricing 2026: Free Tier is Dead
For Artists
Amuse has no free tier. As of August 2026 its plans run $23.99, $39.99, and $59.99 per year, all billed annually, and all keep 100% of your streaming royalties while you stay subscribed. Let the subscription lapse and Amuse deducts 25% from royalties on releases you own.
Amuse built its name on one promise: free distribution, keep everything you earn. That promise ended when Amuse retired its Start tier in March 2024 and let those accounts go dormant. Reviews that still describe Amuse distribution as free are out of date.
What is left is a paid distributor with one unusual feature and one expensive exit. This review covers the plans Amuse lists today, the commission that kicks in when you stop paying, how the Royalty Advance works and what it costs you, and the stores sitting behind an application gate. Every figure below was checked against Amuse's own pricing, subscription terms, store list, and support pages in August 2026. For how distribution works end to end, start with the How to Release Your Music: Distribution Guide.
The Verdict
Question | Answer as of August 2026 |
|---|---|
Cheapest way in | $23.99 per year (Artist), billed annually |
Royalty split while subscribed | You keep 100% of streaming royalties |
Royalty split if you lapse | Amuse deducts 25% on releases you own |
Masters | You keep them on every plan, including Artist & Label Services |
Standout feature | Royalty Advance against projected future earnings |
Hidden cost | Each advance carries a fee, priced per artist and not published |
Biggest catch | Advance recoupment locks your distribution rights to Amuse |
Best fit | Artists staying subscribed long term who want cash flow against catalog earnings |
Poor fit | Artists who might switch distributors within a year, or who need Beatport |
What Amuse Costs in 2026
Three plans, all billed annually, all delivering the same catalog to the same stores.
Plan | Price | Artist profiles | Collaborator splits | YouTube Content ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Artist | $23.99/year | 1 | 15% fee on an unsubscribed collaborator's share | 15% fee |
Artist Plus | $39.99/year | Up to 2 | Free for you and any collaborators | No fee |
Professional | $59.99/year | 3 or more | Free for you and any collaborators | No fee |
There is no monthly plan. Amuse's subscription terms state that base subscriptions are paid on a yearly basis, so the sticker price is what leaves your account on day one. Any review quoting Amuse at a couple of dollars a month is dividing, not reporting.
The tiers do not change distribution quality. Every plan releases unlimited music to the same store list and includes the 24-hour ASAP release option, daily streaming insights, and Royalty Advances. Going up the ladder buys artist profiles, free splits, hi-res audio and fan email collection on Artist Plus, then auto-saves, a custom label name, and 24-hour priority support on Professional.
That makes split terms the real reason to skip the entry plan. If you release with a producer, a featured artist, or a co-writer who does not pay Amuse, the Artist plan takes 15% of their share. Artist Plus costs $16 more per year and removes that fee for everyone on the release.
The Cancellation Trap
This is the part most Amuse reviews bury. Read it before you subscribe, not after.
If your Amuse subscription ends, your music stays live. That part is real, and it is not universal, since some distributors pull your releases the moment a subscription lapses. The catch sits in Amuse's subscription terms: if your base subscription terminates or expires, a 25% commission is deducted from your royalties.
Two details compound it. Split recipients without an active subscription may pay a 15% commission on their share, depending on the release owner's plan. You cannot upload new releases without an active plan.
The math decides it for most people. A catalog earning $200 a month loses $600 a year to the 25% commission, while the Artist plan costs $23.99. Staying subscribed is cheaper than lapsing right up until your catalog earns close to nothing.
One piece of good news, straight from Amuse's own terms: resubscribing clears the commission from the first day of the calendar month in which Amuse receives your payment. An accidental lapse is not a year-long penalty. Before you commit to any distributor, work out the exit first with How to Leave Your Distributor Without Losing Your Catalog.
Royalty Advances, and What They Cost
Most distributors are a pipe. They deliver your music, collect your royalties, and pay you out. Amuse adds a funding layer on top, and it is the strongest reason to pick it.
The Royalty Advance system (previously branded Fast Forward) reads your catalog's performance and calculates an offer against projected future earnings. Amuse says each offer is custom calculated for the individual catalog, and that advances are usually calculated to recoup within three to six months. You accept the offer in the app.
Here is the detail most reviews leave out. Amuse's support documentation states that each Royalty Advance offer includes a fee charged on the advance, priced per artist against factors like stability, risk, and how much data your catalog provides. You are paying for early access to your own royalties, and that price is not published anywhere public.
Two constraints come with it. Your distribution rights are locked with Amuse until the advance and its fee are recovered, and you cannot edit the splits on which the advance is based during that window. The upside is real too: unrecouped amounts generally do not have to be repaid, subject to the breach provisions in Amuse's Royalty Advance Terms.
The Store List Has a Tier Gate
Amuse publishes its full store list, and it repays reading before you subscribe. It covers what most releases need: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, TikTok, Instagram, Amazon Music, Deezer, TIDAL, SoundCloud, Pandora, Audiomack, Qobuz, Boomplay, JioSaavn, Anghami, and a long tail of regional carriers.
Three entries carry a qualifier that changes the offer. Beatport, DISCO, and the TikTok Commercial Music Library are marked "Artist & Label Services only" on Amuse's store page, checked in August 2026. Vevo CTV video distribution is separately available to Artist, Artist Plus, and Professional subscribers as a paid per-video service.
Beatport is the one to watch. For electronic and dance artists it is a revenue channel rather than a nice-to-have, and Amuse's self-serve plans do not reach it. Bandcamp does not appear on the published list either. Check the store list against the platforms your audience uses before you compare Amuse on price alone.
Artist and Label Services
Amuse also runs an application-based Artist & Label Services division for artists who have built real traction. Accepted artists get fully managed distribution, frontline release support, DSP relations, marketing, sync management, catalog services, funding, and revenue management, and they stay in control of their master rights.
Amuse states the division manages tailored partnerships with 400 or more artists and teams. It is not a tier you can buy. You apply, and Amuse decides based on what your catalog is already doing.
That makes Amuse a hybrid: self-serve distribution at the bottom, label-adjacent services at the top, with an application gate in between. Fair structure, as long as you price the entry plan for what it is rather than for the services in the brochure.
Where Amuse Earns Its Price
Mobile-first. Amuse started as a mobile-only distributor and the app still shows that origin. Uploading a release, checking stats, and accepting an advance all work from a phone, which is rarer in this category than it should be.
Speed. The ASAP release option targets 24 hours from upload to live, and it is included on every plan rather than sold as an add-on.
Fan email collection. Artist Plus and Professional include it, and it is the one distributor feature that builds something you keep after you leave. That is exactly why direct-to-fan work belongs on a list you own rather than a platform's.
Splits handled properly above the entry tier. Free splits for every collaborator on Artist Plus and Professional removes the most common source of distributor arguments.
How Amuse Compares on Price
On sticker price, Amuse's $23.99 entry plan sits a dollar under DistroKid's $24.99 Musician plan, both billed annually and both checked in August 2026. A dollar is not a decision.
What separates them is what happens when you stop paying, whether you need free splits, and whether the store list reaches your audience. For the full side by side, read DistroKid vs TuneCore vs CD Baby: Compared, and see the DistroKid pricing breakdown for how its add-on fees change the yearly total.
Who Should Use Amuse
Amuse fits artists who want to run distribution from a phone, who want the option of an advance against catalog earnings, and who expect to stay subscribed for years rather than months. The 25% lapse commission punishes anyone treating a distributor as a short-term rental.
It is a poor fit if you release electronic music that needs Beatport, if you are still testing distributors and might move within a year, or if you collaborate constantly and do not want to pay up to Artist Plus.
Whichever way you go, a distributor gets your release onto the stores and may also include scheduling, release assets, team access, and promotional tools. The wider campaign plan can still span work beyond the distribution dashboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Amuse still free in 2026?
No. Amuse retired its free Start tier in March 2024 and those accounts went dormant. The cheapest plan is Artist at $23.99 per year, billed annually.
What happens to my music if I cancel Amuse?
Your releases stay live, but Amuse deducts a 25% commission on royalties from releases you own, and split recipients without an active subscription may pay a 15% commission on their share, depending on the release owner's plan. Resubscribing clears it from the first of that calendar month.
Do Amuse royalty advances cost anything?
Yes. Amuse charges a fee on each advance, priced per artist. Your distribution rights stay locked with Amuse until the advance and its fee recoup, usually within three to six months.
Does Amuse distribute to Beatport?
Only through Artist & Label Services. Amuse's store page marks Beatport, DISCO, and the TikTok Commercial Music Library as Artist & Label Services only; Vevo CTV video distribution is separately available to Artist, Artist Plus, and Professional subscribers as a paid per-video service.
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