Artyfile There is no single best distributor.
There is the best one for how you release.
We compared seven music distribution services on what they cost over five years, how much revenue you keep and what happens when you stop paying. Artyfile is one of them and we publish this page — so we tell you where others are the better choice.
What is the best music distribution service?
It depends on how much you release and earn. For prolific artists, a 0% subscription such as DistroKid (from $24.99 a year) is usually cheapest. For zero upfront cost, RouteNote Free keeps 15% and charges nothing. To pay once with a low commission, CD Baby charges $9.99 per single and keeps 9%. Artyfile charges €9.90 once, keeps 15% only on revenue it generates, and adds sync and fan income. Prices as of October 2026.
Updated: October 2026
Disclosure and method
Artyfile publishes this comparison and is one of the seven services in it. We do not crown ourselves #1. Every competitor number comes from that provider’s own pricing page or help center, checked in October 2026, and is listed under sources. If you find an outdated figure, tell us and we will correct it.
- ✓Cost over five years for two typical release patterns, fees only.
- ✓Revenue share you keep on streaming, plus channel-specific cuts (YouTube Content ID, social platforms).
- ✓Takedown rule: what happens to your releases if you stop paying.
- ✓Extras that change your income: sync, own streaming payouts, fan income.
- ✓We did not test upload speed, support quality or editorial pitching, and we do not rank on them.
Seven music distribution services at a glance
| Service | Price model | Commission | If you stop paying |
|---|---|---|---|
| DistroKid | From $24.99/year (Musician), unlimited releases | 0% | Removed unless you bought “Leave a Legacy” ($29 single / $49 album) |
| TuneCore | From $24.99/year (Rising Artist) | 0% on streaming, 20% on social platforms | Taken down after the grace period |
| CD Baby | $9.99 per single, $14.99 per album, once | 9% | Nothing to stop — no annual fee |
| Amuse | From $23.99/year (Artist) | 0% (15% on YouTube Content ID in the Artist plan) | Stays live after cancelling |
| RouteNote | Free; or Premium from $10 per single + $9.99/release/year from year 2 | Free 15%, Premium 0% | Premium falls back to Free |
| iMusician | Starter €9 or Rockstar €69 per release; AMPLIFY yearly | Starter 10%, Rockstar/AMPLIFY 0% | “Online forever” |
| Artyfile | €9.90 per track or €39 per album (up to 10 tracks), once | 15% only on revenue Artyfile generates | Stays online — no renewal exists |
What it costs over five years
| Service | 10 singles over 5 years | 1 album (10 tracks), kept 5 years | Commission on top |
|---|---|---|---|
| DistroKid | $124.95 | $124.95 | 0% |
| TuneCore | $124.95 | $124.95 | 0% on streaming |
| CD Baby | $99.90 | $14.99 | 9% |
| Amuse | $119.95 | $119.95 | 0% |
| RouteNote Free | $0 | $0 | 15% |
| iMusician Starter | €90 | €9 | 10% |
| iMusician Rockstar | €690 | €69 | 0% |
| Artyfile | €99 | €39 | 15% |
Two honest readings. Fees alone: RouteNote Free, CD Baby and iMusician Starter are cheaper than Artyfile for an album; for singles, Artyfile is in the same bracket as CD Baby. Fees plus commission: against DistroKid, Artyfile’s 15% costs more than the fee difference once your releases earn about €173 in total over five years (singles pattern) or about €573 (album pattern), counting $ and € 1:1. Below that, Artyfile costs less; above it, the 0% subscription does — before counting channels only Artyfile offers, and before year six, when the subscription keeps billing. Run your own numbers with the Spotify royalty calculator.
Best music distribution for independent artists, by use case
- 01
Best for prolific releasers: DistroKid
Unlimited releases from $24.99 a year and 0% commission. If you put out a single every month, nothing else in this list comes close on cost. Budget for the yearly fee for as long as you want your music online. See DistroKid alternatives if that is the part that bothers you.
- 02
Best free option: RouteNote Free
No upfront fee at all; RouteNote keeps 15% of streaming and download revenue. You can upgrade a release to Premium later.
- 03
Best pay-once with a low commission: CD Baby
$9.99 per single, $14.99 per album, no annual fee, 9% commission. The cheapest one-time option for albums in this comparison. Compare details on our CD Baby alternative page.
- 04
Best pay-once with zero commission: iMusician Rockstar
€69 per release and 0% afterwards. Expensive for a single that earns little, good value for a release you expect to stream well.
- 05
Best for labels and many artists: DistroKid Ultimate
From $89.99 a year for 1 to 100 artists. iMusician’s AMPLIFY plans and Amuse Professional cover multi-artist rosters too.
- 06
Best for sync and fan income: Artyfile (our own product)
Pay €9.90 once, keep 100% of your masters, and choose your channels: a curated sync marketplace for film, TV and advertising (average license €96.90), Artyfile Stream with €0.03–€0.20 per stream, and 150+ platforms including Spotify. Optional Fan Limited Editions let fans co-own up to 20% of a track. We keep 15% of what we generate. Curated: a person reviews every application and AI-generated music is rejected.
Classical, jazz and composer-led music: check how a distributor handles composer, work and movement fields before you upload — most self-service forms are built for pop releases. Ask for a sample of the metadata form, not a sales promise.
Three questions that decide it
- 1.How many releases per year? More than three or four: a 0% subscription usually wins. One or two: a one-time fee usually wins.
- 2.Do you want to stop paying one day? If your catalogue should outlive your budget, avoid models that remove music after a missed renewal — or budget for the add-on.
- 3.Where else can the music earn? If sync placements or direct fan support matter more to you than playlist reach, weigh those channels, not only the per-release price.
Fairness is a separate question from price. We wrote it down as seven checkable criteria in what makes music distribution fair. For a deeper three-way look, read DistroKid vs TuneCore vs Artyfile.
Questions about choosing a distributor
Which music distribution service is best for independent artists?
For frequent releases, DistroKid (0%, from $24.99 a year). For no upfront cost, RouteNote Free (15% commission). For paying once with a low commission, CD Baby (9%). For keeping music online without renewals plus sync and fan income, Artyfile (€9.90 once, 15% on revenue it generates).
What is the cheapest music distribution?
RouteNote Free costs nothing upfront and keeps 15% of revenue. Among one-time fees, iMusician Starter is €9 per release (10% commission) and CD Baby is $9.99 per single or $14.99 per album (9%). Artyfile is €9.90 per track — the same bracket as CD Baby, not cheaper.
Is DistroKid better than CD Baby?
For many releases a year, usually yes: 0% commission and unlimited uploads. For a few releases you want online for years, CD Baby’s one-time fee avoids a yearly bill, at the cost of a 9% commission.
Which distributors take 0% commission?
DistroKid, TuneCore (on streaming), Amuse (except YouTube Content ID in the Artist plan), RouteNote Premium and iMusician Rockstar or AMPLIFY. All of them charge a yearly or per-release fee instead.
Do I lose my music if I stop paying my distributor?
At DistroKid, unless you bought Leave a Legacy for that release. At TuneCore, releases are taken down after the grace period. CD Baby, Amuse, iMusician, RouteNote and Artyfile keep music online without ongoing payment, according to their own pages.
Can I trust a comparison published by a distributor?
Only if you can check it. That is why every competitor figure here links to the provider’s own page, and why we name the cases where another service is the better fit.
Keep reading
What makes distribution fair?
Seven criteria you can check yourself, applied to DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, Amuse, RouteNote, iMusician and Artyfile.
DistroKid alternative
DistroKid’s plans, what happens when you stop paying, and when a one-time fee is the better deal.
CD Baby alternative
Fees, commissions and sync splits side by side — including where CD Baby is cheaper.
If sync, fan income and pay-once fit you, apply
Applying is free and takes a few minutes. If your track is accepted, you pay €9.90 once and keep 100% of your masters.