What a distributor actually does
A distributor delivers your mastered track, artwork, and metadata to Spotify, Apple Music, JioSaavn, YouTube Music, Instagram, and the rest, and collects your earnings back. You do not need a record label to do this. The differences between distributors come down to pricing, rights, and the extra services they bundle.
Flat fee vs revenue split
This is the core decision:
- Flat fee (for example a fixed annual price for unlimited releases): best if you release often and earn enough that a percentage would cost you more than the fee. You keep all your royalties.
- Revenue split (the distributor takes a percentage, often with no upfront cost): best if your volumes are low or uncertain and you would rather not pay in advance.
Do the math on your actual streams. The right model is the cheaper one at your real numbers, not the one with the nicer homepage.
DistroKid vs TuneCore vs others
Rather than crown a winner, compare on model. Flat-fee services suit frequent releasers who want simple wide reach. Per-release or split models can make sense at lower volumes or when you want bundled publishing collection or sync support. Judge each by your release frequency and what you need beyond upload, not by brand name.
India-specific things to check
- Caller tunes on Airtel and Jio, a real revenue and reach channel here, not every distributor offers it.
- Reach to JioSaavn and Gaana, confirm delivery to the platforms Indian listeners actually use.
- Publishing and IPRS, most distributors handle the recording, not your composition royalties. You still register with IPRS yourself.
- Sync-ready metadata, clean splits, ISRC, and clear ownership, if placements matter to you.
The one rule: keep your rights
Whatever you choose, use a distributor that takes a fee or a share of revenue but never ownership of your master or publishing. Read every agreement for rights-transfer language, and never assign your rights to move music onto platforms. If you want someone to compare options and read the terms with you before you commit, that is part of the programme. The distribution chapter of the Playbook and the Answers hub go further.