Skip to main content

How to Get Your Music on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube and more...


So you've written, produced, and mixed a masterpiece, and it's time to share it with the rest of the world. If you are an independent artist, the next step is to figure out how to distribute your music. This article provides a summary of the options we believe are the most popular for getting your music distributed to Spotify and other major streaming platforms.

What Options Do You Have?

There are plenty of music distributors who can help you get your music on Spotify and other streaming platforms. Some take a percentage of your royalties in exchange for allowing you to list your music for free, while others charge a fee upfront in exchange for allowing you to keep 100% of your royalties.

Some distributors offer additional services such as mixing and mastering, as well as tracking and marketing tools for your music. It all depends on your needs as an artist and your budget.

Every music distribution platform has its own advantages and disadvantages. The overviews will help you to understand the offerings in greater detail.

I have compared three services: CD Baby, DistroKid, and Tunecore.

CD Baby

Website: https://cdbaby.com/

Special offer when signing up: n/a

Instant music video generators: Yes

Spotify pre-save pages: Yes, with Show.co

Earnings: 

  • CD Baby keeps 9% of your digital distribution revenue and you get the remaining 91%.
    Note: Earnings go beyond streaming income, and include sync licensing fees and video monetization revenue.

  • With Pro Single / Album: All Earnings from Global Music Distribution.

Automatic Revenue Splits: n/a

Distributes music to: 

  • 150+ streaming and download services around the world, including Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, Amazon, Pandora, YouTube, and Deezer.

Cover Song Licensing: n/a

Music Publishing Administration: 

  • Yes, if released as Pro Single / Album with total monetization

Rates:

  • ONE-TIME fee per release with NO annual fees.
  • Single:
    • Standard Single: US$ 9.95
    • Pro Single (with total monetization): US$ 29.95
  • Album: 
    • Standard Album: US$ 29
    • Pro Album (with total monetization): US$ 69

Supports YouTube Content ID: 

  • Get notified & paid if your music is ever used in any YouTube videos. We'll add this single to YouTube's Content ID database, and continually scan for matches. When your music is detected in any YouTube video, you'll be notified—and ad revenue will automatically go to you, instead of to the person who uploaded the video.
  • Claim your YouTube Official Artist Channel
  • Monetize via YouTube Content ID

DistroKid

Website: https://distrokid.com/

Special offer when signing up: 

  • 7% off of your 1st year's membership, if you sign up using the referral link of an existing DistroKid subscriber.

Instant music video generators: Yes

Spotify pre-save pages: Yes

Earnings: Keep 100% of your earnings, get paid monthly.

Automatic Revenue Splits: 

You can set up "splits" that automatically route any percentage of earnings, from any track, to anyone.

Distributes music to: 

  • Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, Pandora, Amazon, Instagram, YouTube, Tidal, iHeartRadio, Deezer, plus a ton of other stores & streaming services.

Cover Song Licensing: 

  • Distributor obtains the required compulsory mechanical license for you, automatically deducts the legally-mandated fees from your earnings and pays it to the original songwriter. You get 100% of the rest. You don't have to do anything else.

    Cost: $12 per cover song, per year.

Music Publishing Administration: n/a

Rates: 

  • Flat rate of US$ 19.99 per year, and you can upload unlimited albums / songs during that year.

    Note: Songs are removed when you end your subscription (or your credit card is rejected), unless you have enabled an extra called ‘Leave a Legacy’ for that song / album.

  • Leave a Legacy: US$ 29.00 per single, US$ 49.00 per album of 2+ tracks (nonrecurring fee)

Supports YouTube Content ID: 

  • Optional. US$ 4.95 per single/year, US$ 14.95 per album/year, + 20% of YouTube ad revenue

Tunecore

Website: https://www.tunecore.co.uk/

Special offer when signing up: n/a

Instant music video generators: 

  • TuneCore Gets Your Music on YouTube Music as an Art Track - a video of your music synced with a still image of your cover art

Spotify pre-save pages: n/a

Earnings: 

  • TuneCore pays 100% of the money owed to you from downloads and streams - every time someone purchases your release on iTunes or Amazon; every time someone streams your music on Spotify or Deezer. We'll never take a percentage of your rights or sales revenue.

  • If you have signed up for Music Publishing Administration:
    • 15% Commission to Tunecore. You keep 85% of the royalties collected.
    • 20% Sync Commission to Tunecore. You keep 80% of the revenue

Automatic Revenue Splits: n/a

Distributes music to:

  • Along with iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and Amazon Music, you can select up to 150 digital stores and streaming services across 100+ countries worldwide.

  • Get your music on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Reels and Resso for no annual fee.

Cover Song Licensing: n/a

Music Publishing Administration

  • Yes, if you have signed up for this (one-time setup fee)

Rates

  • RISING ARTIST
    GBP 12.99 /year
    The essential distribution plan. Release unlimited music to 150+ Digital Stores across the globe.

  • BREAKOUT ARTIST
    GBP 24.99 /year
    Release unlimited music plus advanced features to customize your releases.

  • PROFESSIONAL
    GBP 39.99 /year
    The premier plan for labels and industry pros. Release unlimited music plus access to premium products and services.
  • Music Publishing Administration fee:
    One-time Setup Fee GBP 55.99
    Submit as many compositions as you like.

Supports YouTube Content ID: 

  • Get notified & paid if your music is ever used in any YouTube videos. We'll add this single to YouTube's Content ID database, and continually scan for matches. When your music is detected in any YouTube video, you'll be notified—and ad revenue will automatically go to you, instead of to the person who uploaded the video.
  • Every play in YouTube Music earns you money, and 100% of that goes directly into your TuneCore account. No matter where fans are listening, you'll be paid every penny.

Summary

The distributor you select to get your music on digital platforms will be largely decided by your needs as an artist. I hope this overview helps you make a decision.
 

PS: Please send me a message if you know of a competitive alternative that I should consider for this overview.
Tags:

Popular posts

"King, Lamb, Lion" by Ben Jero & Graham Guy: When the World Runs Dry

What happens when the world just isn’t enough?  In early 2025, Graham Guy was reading Revelation chapter 4. The picture of heaven gathered around the throne — declaring God holy and worthy of praise — planted the seed for this song. Three words surfaced from that moment: “King, Lamb, Lion.” Graham sent them to Ben Jero, and across a string of FaceTime calls between South Carolina and California, the song “King, Lamb, Lion” took shape.  The opening verse doesn’t pretend. “I’ve tried this world, but it won’t fill me,” the lyric admits, before landing at surrender: “My life laid down, at your feet.” That’s honest territory. Most of us have chased something we thought would satisfy, only to find ourselves empty-handed. The song changes our focus to lasting results. “The old is gone, the new has come,” it declares, repeating a promise found in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Notice what that ...
More >>

"Stand By Me" by Daniel Aranda: Finding Steadiness in Life's Storms

Who’s standing with you in the storm? “Stand By Me” by Daniel Aranda is an amazing rendition of a hymn written by Charles Albert Tindley in 1905. Tindley was the son of a former slave, a man who knew what it meant to need help that wasn’t guaranteed. He didn’t write from comfort. He wrote from the middle of a fight, and that’s exactly why the song is still so relevant and cherished by many today. Daniel Aranda’s recording brings gospel legends Terry Blackwood and Charlie McCoy into that same lineage, carrying Tindley’s plea forward into a new generation.  The lyrics move through life’s troubles, one verse at a time. “When the storms of life are raging, stand by me”  — that’s not poetic exaggeration. Tindley’s first verse is about a ship tossed on open water, powerless against the waves. Then verses about failing strength, friends who misunderstand your best efforts, persecution, and the song ends with a verse about old age creeping toward “chilly Jordan.” Each of the verses names ...
More >>

"Paper Lantern Heart" by MK Green: When God Lights a Fire You Can't Contain

What happens when God lights a fire in you?  Some fires refuse to stay hidden. MK Green wrote “Paper Lantern Heart” around that exact truth, inspired by Jeremiah 20:9, where the prophet admits that he tried to stop preaching but simply couldn’t. The Word burned inside him “like a fire shut up in my bones.” Green’s lyrics echo that same struggle: “Behind the bones inside my chest there burns a paper heart.” Cold turns to burning. Silence turns to song. “I was cold as stone until You lit a spark,” the chorus declares, and something about that image sticks with you long after the music fades.  Here’s the question worth pondering: What do you do when God ignites something in you that won’t stay quiet?  Jeremiah tried holding it in, and that exhausted him. “There is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:9). That weariness sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Maybe you’ve felt the nudge to speak up, ...
More >>