DistroKid vs TuneCore vs CD Baby: pick your distributor
All three get you on Spotify. The differences are price, speed, and who keeps what.
The price models
DistroKid charges yearly and lets you release unlimited music. TuneCore charges per release but has no annual fee per artist. CD Baby takes a cut per sale with no recurring fee.
High volume releasers win with DistroKid. One album a year artists may prefer TuneCore.
Speed and extras
DistroKid is famously fast to stores, often days. All three offer splits, pre saves, and YouTube Content ID as add ons.
Check current payout splits and store lists before you commit. They change yearly.
The real deciding factor
Pick the one whose dashboard you understand. You will live in it for years. Confusing tools get ignored, and ignored tools cost you money.
Next step: compare the three pricing pages side by side with your release plan for the next 12 months.
Switching distributors
You can move catalogs between distributors, but it takes planning. Keep ISRCs consistent to preserve play counts and playlist placements.
Do not pull the old version until the new one is live. Gaps in availability kill momentum.
Your Monday action plan
Map your next 12 months of releases: count singles, EPs, and albums. Calculate the cost on each distributor.
Pick the winner, sign up this week, and upload a test single to learn the dashboard before your real release.
Sources and further reading
Sources were checked for this article. Tool features, prices and availability can change. Product claims are attributed to their publishers.
