Short answer: DistroKid and TuneCore use recurring annual plans, while CD Baby charges a one-time fee per release. The entry prices shown for US customers are DistroKid Musician at $24.99 per year, TuneCore Rising Artist at $24.99 per year, and CD Baby at $9.99 per single or $14.99 per album. DistroKid and TuneCore describe ordinary download and streaming income without a distributor percentage deduction; CD Baby deducts 9% from download and streaming revenue. Social-video, publishing and sync income follow different commission schedules. Renewal and cancellation rules can determine whether your catalog stays online, so the cheapest upload fee is not the whole decision.
The prices and policies below were displayed on official pages checked October 13, 2026, for the United States unless noted. Distributor prices, taxes, plan names and included features can change; verify the checkout page before paying.
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US prices and billing models at a glance
These services sell access to digital distribution in two fundamentally different ways. DistroKid and TuneCore charge annually for the plans summarized here. CD Baby charges per release once and does not require a recurring artist-account subscription for the cited products.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →| Service | US price shown | Billing | Ordinary download/streaming deduction | Key availability rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DistroKid | Musician $24.99/year; Musician Plus $44.99/year; Ultimate $89.99/year | Annual plan | 100% of store earnings allocated to the artist, less applicable banking fees and taxes | Accrued earnings remain payable after a deleted release; a complete voluntary-takedown timetable is not stated on the cited pages |
| TuneCore | Rising Artist $24.99/year; Breakout Artist $44.99/year; Professional $54.99/year; separate single $24.99/year and album $44.99/year options | Annual plan | No ordinary distributor percentage deduction is described on the US pricing page | Annual renewal is required to keep releases in stores; an expired release must be submitted again and cannot reuse its old UPC |
| CD Baby | $9.99 per single; $14.99 per album | One-time release fee; no recurring artist-account subscription for these products | 9% of download and streaming revenue | Cancellation is final; removal from partner sites can take up to 30 days |
Sources: DistroKid pricing, TuneCore US pricing, TuneCore cost and renewal help and CD Baby pricing help.
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Do not read “100%” as a guaranteed amount per stream. Stores set their own payout calculations, and the amount varies with territory, listener subscription and other factors. DistroKid explicitly says the rates paid by streaming services are outside its control; its getting-paid guidance explains that the distributor passes through the amount reported by each store.
How the fees behave over a catalog’s lifetime
Annual plans: lower marginal cost for a busy release schedule
With an annual plan, the payment repeats for every year you want the service and its releases maintained under that plan. A high-output artist with many singles or albums can spread one plan fee across a large catalog, but must budget for every renewal. If a card fails or the subscription is allowed to lapse, availability can be affected, particularly under TuneCore’s stated policy.
One-time release fees: predictable carrying cost
CD Baby’s cited $9.99 single and $14.99 album charges are paid once per release. There is no recurring artist-account subscription in the pricing information used here. That makes the long-term cash commitment easier to forecast for a small catalog, but the 9% deduction continues whenever the release earns download or streaming revenue.
Simple planning examples
Ignoring taxes, optional services and future price changes, one DistroKid Musician year costs $24.99. Three years at that listed rate would total $74.97; five years would total $124.95. A single submitted to CD Baby at $9.99 remains a $9.99 submission fee over those same periods, but CD Baby would continue to withhold 9% of download and streaming receipts.
Those arithmetic examples are not a universal break-even test. Your result depends on the number of releases, annual plan tier, revenue mix and how long each release remains available. Calculate the expected plan payments and percentage deductions using your own catalog forecast rather than comparing only the first invoice.
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What “100% royalties” does—and does not—mean
Ordinary downloads and streams
DistroKid says it passes through 100% of store earnings allocated to the artist, after applicable banking fees and taxes. TuneCore’s US pricing page presents its plans as retaining 100% ownership and control and does not list an ordinary distributor percentage deduction. CD Baby lists a 9% commission on download and streaming revenue.
The distinction is between a distributor’s commission and the store’s payout formula. A distributor that retains no percentage cannot set Spotify, Apple Music or another store’s rate. Store revenue is commonly pooled and allocated according to each service’s rules, territory and subscription type, so there is no reliable universal “per-stream” amount to multiply by your play count.
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Social-video monetization
Social-video income is a separate category. DistroKid’s optional Social Media Pack retains 20% of the monetization revenue it generates. TuneCore states a 20% fee for social-platform earnings. CD Baby lists a 30% commission for social-video monetization. These percentages should not be folded into the ordinary streaming comparison: they apply to different collection and monetization services.
Publishing administration and mechanical royalties
CD Baby states that it takes 15% of collections from The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC). That is a publishing-related collection, not the 9% download-and-streaming rate. The cited DistroKid and TuneCore pricing pages do not establish an equivalent publishing commission for every plan, so compare the exact publishing-administration product you would activate before assuming that a headline distribution rate covers it.
Sync licensing
CD Baby lists a 40% commission on sync-placement revenue. Sync income comes from licensing music for audiovisual uses and is not interchangeable with a store stream. DistroKid and TuneCore’s cited pages do not provide a complete, directly comparable sync schedule. If you expect film, television, advertising or game placements, request the current terms for that specific service.
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| Revenue category | DistroKid | TuneCore | CD Baby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downloads and streams | 100% of store earnings allocated to artist, less applicable banking fees and taxes | No ordinary distributor percentage deduction stated on US pricing page | 9% commission |
| Social-video monetization | 20% retained by optional Social Media Pack | 20% fee stated for social-platform earnings | 30% commission |
| MLC collections | Not stated in the cited sources | Not stated in the cited sources | 15% commission |
| Sync placements | Not stated in the cited sources | Not stated in the cited sources | 40% commission |
Takedowns, cancellation and renewal lapse
DistroKid: earnings survive a deletion, but the timetable is not established here
DistroKid’s getting-paid help confirms that money accrued while a deleted release was live remains payable. The cited pages do not establish a complete voluntary-takedown timeline, a universal partner-removal deadline or every condition that applies when an account is closed. Do not promise an immediate removal or assume that deleting a release has the same effect as letting an annual plan expire. Before a planned migration, obtain the current instructions in your account and keep records of the release identifiers and takedown request.
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TuneCore: renewal maintains availability
TuneCore’s cost guidance says the annual fee maintains releases in stores. Its expired-release help page says that when a renewal is unpaid and the release is removed, the removal cannot be reversed: the release must be redistributed from scratch, and the original UPC cannot be reused. The policy is materially different from simply restoring a lapsed subscription. Set renewal reminders well before the billing date and confirm that payment succeeded.
For the detailed expired-release rule, see TuneCore’s removal help page.
CD Baby: final cancellation and up to 30 days for partner removal
CD Baby says cancellation is final. Cancelling removes the release from digital partners and cancels related social-video monetization and CDB Boost services. The company says partner-site removal can take up to 30 days, so a takedown request is not necessarily instantaneous on every store. Its cancellation instructions are at CD Baby’s takedown help page.
How to move a release without an avoidable loss of availability
A distributor change is an operational project, not just a new upload. The exact migration workflow depends on the destination service, but this sequence reduces the common risks:
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- Inventory every release. Record the ISRC for each track, the UPC for each release, artist-name spelling, audio files, cover art, territories and current store links.
- Check the destination’s matching rules. Confirm that it accepts your existing ISRCs and metadata and learn whether it supports a migration while the original release remains live.
- Upload before requesting removal when the destination permits it. Keeping the old version available can prevent an avoidable gap, but follow both distributors’ instructions; do not create duplicate releases by ignoring store-matching requirements.
- Preserve metadata exactly. Match audio, track order, version titles, featured-artist credits and release dates. A changed identifier or materially different file can be treated as a new product.
- Plan for policy-specific delays. CD Baby states up to 30 days for partner removal. TuneCore’s expired release cannot be restored and needs a new submission. DistroKid’s cited pages do not supply a universal removal deadline.
- Download statements and payment records. Keep royalty reports and tax documents before cancellation. Confirm that any balance remains payable under the distributor’s current terms.
- Verify each store after the switch. Check artist pages, play counts, playlists, lyrics and links. Escalate mismatches to the distributor while you still have access to both accounts.
Which distributor fits which working pattern?
Choose an annual plan when output is high
An annual model can be economical when you release frequently and want many titles under one plan. Compare the exact DistroKid or TuneCore tier required for your collaborators, artist profiles and other tools; the cited material does not normalize every feature or release limit across tiers. Include renewal risk in the decision, especially if a release must remain continuously available.
Choose a one-time fee when catalog size is small or permanence matters
CD Baby’s one-time release charge avoids another annual account payment for the cited products. It may suit an artist releasing occasionally who prefers a known submission cost. Model the continuing 9% download-and-streaming commission, plus the separate social-video, MLC and sync rates if those income sources matter to you.
Choose by revenue mix, not marketing shorthand
If most of your income is ordinary streaming, compare the annual carrying cost against CD Baby’s 9% deduction over the years you expect to earn. If social video, publishing or sync is significant, make a category-by-category worksheet; a “100% royalties” headline does not describe those other commissions.
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- Catalog: How many singles and albums will you distribute in the next 12 months, and how many must stay online for three or five years?
- Cash flow: Can you reliably renew an annual plan, including during a low-income period?
- Revenue: Estimate ordinary streams/downloads separately from social video, MLC publishing collections and sync.
- Continuity: What downtime can you tolerate if a payment fails or a takedown takes weeks?
- Operations: Which tier supplies the artist slots, collaborators or profiles you actually need?
- Exit plan: Can you export statements, identifiers and metadata before cancelling?
Then calculate total expected cost as: recurring plan payments plus one-time release fees plus the stated percentage deductions for each revenue category. Run a conservative case in which a release earns little but still requires renewal, and a high-earning case in which commissions dominate the result.
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Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Comparing a one-year fee with a lifetime percentage
A $24.99 annual plan and a $9.99 one-time single fee are not equivalent units. Project both the years online and expected earnings before choosing.
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Assuming every “royalty” uses the same rate
Separate store streams, social-video monetization, publishing collections and sync placements in your spreadsheet. CD Baby’s published rates demonstrate how different those categories can be, and DistroKid and TuneCore also state separate social-video fees.
Letting renewal fail and expecting restoration
TuneCore says an expired release must be redistributed and cannot reuse its old UPC. Use calendar reminders, a payment method that will remain valid and an account check after renewal.
Requesting a takedown without a transition window
CD Baby allows up to 30 days for partner removal, while the DistroKid material cited here does not specify a universal timeline. Coordinate the replacement upload and takedown rather than assuming every store updates at once.
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Store matching can fail when identifiers, audio or credits change. Preserve ISRCs and UPC information where the destination allows it, and follow its migration instructions before removing the original.
Geography, taxes and changing terms
The comparison table is US-specific. TuneCore displays different prices and currencies on regional pages, and DistroKid’s pricing page can vary by locale. Taxes, payment-processing charges, exchange rates and plan availability may change your final total outside the United States. CD Baby’s one-time prices and all commission figures are vendor-published terms, not independent market statistics. Recheck the official checkout and policy pages on the day you subscribe or cancel.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
