DistroKid vs TuneCore vs CD Baby: Compared

DistroKid charges $24.99/year for unlimited releases and takes 0% of your store earnings. TuneCore now sells annual plans too, starting at $24.99/year for unlimited releases, and also takes 0% of store earnings. CD Baby charges a one-time $9.99 per single or $14.99 per album, keeps 9% of digital distribution revenue, and has no renewal that can lapse. The right choice depends on your release volume, expected earnings, and how long you want your catalog available without managing subscriptions.

Every independent artist needs a distributor. The distributor gets your music onto Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and dozens of other platforms. Without one, your music does not exist in the streaming world.

DistroKid, TuneCore, and CD Baby dominate the independent market. Each takes a different approach to pricing, ownership, and services. Picking the wrong one costs you money over time, and switching later can leave a brief gap or overlap, though careful sequencing reduces the risk. Two of the three now sit inside larger companies: TuneCore is part of the Believe group, and CD Baby came under Universal Music Group's Virgin Music Group when Virgin completed its acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings on February 20, 2026.

This guide compares all three on the factors that matter for your career. For the full picture of how distribution works, see the How to Release Your Music: Distribution Guide.

Every price below was checked against each distributor's own pricing or help pages on July 24, 2026. Distributors change pricing, so confirm current prices before you commit.

Quick Comparison

TuneCore restructured its pricing. It now sells annual plans with unlimited releases to all digital stores, the same shape as DistroKid's. TuneCore still runs a pay-per-release option, which appears as a column in its plan comparison grid, but the plan page no longer leads with a per-release price. TuneCore's help center lists pay-per-release at $24.99 for a single and $44.99 for an album in the first year, with albums renewing at $56.49 each following year. At those prices, pay-per-release is never cheaper than the $24.99 Rising Artist plan, so check TuneCore's current per-release terms before choosing it.

Pricing Breakdowns by Scenario

The real comparison is not about sticker price. It is about what you pay over 5 years based on how you actually release music.

Assumptions for every table below: you hold the same release schedule for five years, you use each distributor's entry-level option (DistroKid Musician at $24.99/year, TuneCore Rising Artist at $24.99/year, CD Baby at one-time release fees), and optional add-ons are excluded. Both subscription plans cover unlimited releases, so the annual cost does not move with your release count.

Scenario 1: Casual Release Schedule (1 album, 3 singles per year)

Year 1 costs:

Year 5 cumulative:

At this volume, CD Baby's one-time fees alone come to $224.80 over five years, which is already more than either subscription before a single dollar of commission. The old argument that per-release renewals compound against you as your catalog grows no longer applies to TuneCore's published plans, because those plans cover unlimited releases for one flat annual fee.

Scenario 2: Active Release Schedule (2 albums, 12 singles per year)

Year 1 costs:

Year 5 cumulative:

At high volume, both unlimited models dominate. Which tier you need depends on the feature. On TuneCore, scheduling your own release date is available on Rising Artist at $24.99, daily trend reports start at Breakout Artist at $44.99, and a custom label name requires Professional at $54.99. On DistroKid, custom release dates and a custom label name come with Musician Plus at $44.99. Either way the comparison against CD Baby barely changes.

Scenario 3: One Song Earns $50,000 Over 5 Years

When a single track earns significantly, CD Baby's 9% commission becomes expensive. Both subscription models are cheapest here, because neither takes a percentage of store earnings.

The break-even works like this. CD Baby costs its one-time release fees plus 9% of digital distribution revenue. A subscription costs the annual fee multiplied by the number of years, whatever you earn. For one single kept live for five years, CD Baby is cheaper until that release earns about $1,277 over the whole period, because ($124.95 - $9.99) divided by 0.09 is $1,277. For one album, the crossover is about $1,222. Those figures assume you release nothing else; every extra release adds another one-time fee to CD Baby's side and nothing to the subscription side. Once you put out three or more singles a year, or two or more albums a year, CD Baby's one-time fees alone exceed a $24.99 subscription before commission enters the picture.

Feature Comparison

Speed to Stores

None of the three guarantees a live date. DistroKid and TuneCore both clear their own review in days; CD Baby's standard inspection queue is the slowest published step, which is what FastForward buys you out of. All three recommend setting a future release date rather than racing the queue. TuneCore suggests uploading 3 to 4 weeks ahead; CD Baby recommends at least 3 weeks, with 4 to 6 weeks ideal.

Publishing Administration

TuneCore Publishing Administration charges $75 per writer to set up, then keeps 20% of the publishing royalties it collects on your behalf, and 50% of anything earned from synchronization licenses. It collects the publisher's share only; your PRO pays the writer's share directly.

CD Baby's publishing and sync product is now CDB Boost, a $39.99 one-time add-on per release. It registers your works with The MLC for US mechanicals, registers with SoundExchange for the label share of digital performance royalties, and puts your tracks in front of CD Baby's sync team. CD Baby keeps 15% of revenue collected through The MLC and 40% of sync revenue. Releases already paid for under the old CD Baby Pro get CDB Boost at no extra cost.

DistroKid Publishing is a separate publishing administration service that registers your works with a PRO and with global collection societies. DistroKid currently limits it to accounts with between 5 and 50 songs distributed through DistroKid, and does not publish its commission rate in its help center, so check the rate in your account before signing up.

If collecting mechanical and performance royalties from your compositions matters (and it should), compare what each distributor charges against standalone publishing administrators. See Music Royalties Explained: The 6 Types You Earn for the full breakdown of every royalty type you need to collect.

YouTube Content ID

TuneCore includes YouTube Content ID on all three of its plans. CD Baby includes social video monetization across YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram in the base release fee. DistroKid handles this through the Social Media Pack album extra, which costs $4.95 per single per year or $14.95 per album per year.

The percentages matter more than the setup fee. DistroKid keeps 20% of the revenue this generates, TuneCore keeps 20%, and CD Baby keeps 30%. This is the one place where all three take a cut, including the two that take nothing from ordinary streaming.

Customer Support

TuneCore is the only one of the three that publishes a target response time, and it scales with your plan: 1 business day on Professional, 2 on Breakout Artist, 3 on Rising Artist. Its support team is available 7 days a week. DistroKid routes support through a chat widget in its help center, which starts with a bot and hands off to a human when needed. CD Baby uses a support form and a chat widget, both of which start with an AI agent that escalates to a human and opens a ticket; its support team works five days a week. None of the three advertises phone support.

Catalog Retention: The Question That Matters Most

What happens to your music when you stop paying?

DistroKid: If you stop paying the annual fee, DistroKid says your releases may be removed from the services you delivered them to. You keep account access and any earnings owed. If the payment later goes through, removed releases are automatically restored. To protect a release from removal, and to keep it live even after you cancel, you can add the Leave a Legacy extra, which costs $29.00 per single or $49.00 per album of two or more tracks, once, per release. It is not a one-time payment covering your whole catalog.

TuneCore: If you do not renew, TuneCore emails you every 7 days for 35 days, and after 42 days your account is downgraded and your releases are taken down from all stores. If you cancel the plan renewal outright there is no grace period at all, and your music comes down the day the plan expires. Restoring a taken-down release means contacting support. You retain ownership either way, but the music is no longer available to listeners.

CD Baby: There are no recurring or subscription fees to maintain an artist account, so there is no renewal to lapse and nothing to cancel. You pay once per release. CD Baby continues collecting, and taking its 9% of, digital distribution revenue. You retain full ownership.

If you might stop actively managing your career at some point, CD Baby's model protects your catalog by default. DistroKid and TuneCore require ongoing attention, or in DistroKid's case a per-release Leave a Legacy fee that is worth pricing against CD Baby's one-time cost.

Which Distributor Fits Your Situation

Some independent artists use multiple distributors: a subscription for frequent singles, CD Baby for releases they want to leave up without maintaining a subscription. This takes more management but can optimize costs. Understanding how artists actually earn helps you model which pricing structure works for your revenue picture.

What No Distributor Does for You

Regardless of which you choose, base distribution does not guarantee playlist placement, promotion, or audience growth, and it does not handle sync licensing automatically or collect all royalty types. Some distributors do offer promotional tools or qualification-based editorial pitching on top. You still need PRO registration for performance royalties and MLC registration for mechanical royalties. Distribution is delivery. Marketing and audience building are separate work.

FAQ

Can I switch distributors without losing streams?

Usually, but it is not guaranteed. Re-upload identical audio, ISRC codes, and metadata; DistroKid states outright that preservation cannot be guaranteed. Upload to the new distributor first, confirm availability, then take down from the old one.

Which distributor has the best analytics?

All three provide streaming data, and the paid tiers provide more of it. For in-depth analytics, use Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists directly.

What about AWAL, Ditto, or other distributors?

AWAL partners with a select group of artists rather than accepting everyone, takes a share of revenue, and offers funding, playlisting, and marketing support. Ditto sells annual plans with unlimited releases, similar in shape to DistroKid's, starting at $19 per year. Both are worth comparing alongside the big three.

Read Next

• How to Release Your Music: Distribution Guide

• How Artists Actually Make Money

• Music Royalties Explained: The 6 Types You Earn

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