Ultimate Indie Artist's Guide: Tools You Need, Lies You Don't

In this guide, we give our best pick for every tool and service you'll need to launch and optimize your career as a music artist.  No lies, no affiliate hustling, only an honest breakdown of what we think are the best options and why.  Download PDF to Read Offline Music Distribution: Top 3 Choices Landr: Visit Landr.com 20% Off Amuse: Visit Amuse.io 10% - 30% Off with Promo Code PAYUSNOMIND Venice Music: Visit Venicemusic.co 20% Off Keep Music in Stores When it comes to picking the best music distribution service, our methodology is guided by certain features. One of the most important is the ability to keep your music in stores. With most digital distributors, the moment you stop paying is the moment they take your music down from all stores. If you don’t want that to happen, you need a distributor that allows your music to stay up even if you cancel or can no longer afford to pay. Ideally, you can pay annually; however, if you ever stop, you can switch to paying a percentage of your revenue. Amuse - Keeps music in stores by switching you to a revenue share model, taking 25%. Landr - Keeps music in stores by switching you to a revenue share model, taking 15%. Venice Music - Will remove music from all stores upon payment lapses or cancellation. Unlimited Stores Another key feature is the ability to distribute your music to an unlimited number of stores. There are a lot of stores out there, not all of them matter, but you do want your music everywhere that does. A large, uncapped inventory of stores is essential. On top of that, you want automatic distribution to new stores. Platforms like TikTok, Rezo, and others keep popping up, and you shouldn’t have to manually check a box for every past release each time a new store comes online. Automation saves time and ensures your music keeps reaching new markets. Landr and Venice Music have an unlimited inventory of stores. Amuse has a large inventory of stores, but not as extensive as Landr and Venice Music. Revenue Split Next is royalties. You want to keep 100% of your royalties from all sources. Some distributors let you keep 100% from iTunes and Spotify but take 20–30% from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook. That’s unacceptable. We look for distributors that let you keep 100% of everything. Amuse - allows you to keep 100% from all sources, starting with their Artist Plus plan. Venice Music - allows you to keep 100% from all sources. Landr - Takes 20% of Content ID revenue, but allows you to keep 100% from all other sources. Transaction Fees Transaction fees are another consideration. Typically, they’re 2.9% plus 30¢ per withdrawal. Some distributors cap fees (e.g., TuneCore caps at 25¢, others at $1–2), while some don’t cap them at all. But the catch is that distributors who cover transaction fees often take higher cuts elsewhere - like 30% of Content ID revenue. In most cases, it’s better to pay the 2.9% than lose 30%. Landr - caps transaction fees at $1. Amuse - Implies a cap, but doesn’t clearly state whether there is one. Venice Music - Doesn’t cap transaction fees. You pay the full amount. Audio Types Audio types also matter - specifically Dolby Atmos. Apple Music pays 10% more for Dolby Atmos mixes, but not every distributor supports it. Some charge extra. The ideal distributor includes Dolby Atmos distribution without added costs. Landr and Venice Music distribute Dolby Atmos at no additional cost. Amuse plans to add support for Dolby Atmos, but doesn’t yet support it. For specialty stores like Beatport, which is huge for EDM artists, some distributors charge extra or don’t distribute there at all. The best distributors include Beatport at no extra cost. Venice Music and Landr distribute to Beatport at no additional cost. Amuse only offers Beatport for artists on their Artists and Label Services plan, which is by application. Tax Treaties Tax treaties are critical for international artists. If your country doesn’t have a tax treaty with the U.S., you face a 30% withholding. For example, many African countries (outside of South Africa) lack a treaty, so artists in Nigeria or Ghana lose 30% of revenue. We prioritize distributors that help you avoid this. Amuse is a Swedish company, so it’s not required to pay US taxes. Music Video Distribution Music video distribution is rare, but valuable. We look for distributors that offer it. Direct deals are another big factor. Many distributors piggyback on middlemen with licenses, which means extra costs that get passed on to you. Distributors with direct DSP deals are better, as you avoid losing a percentage of royalties. Venice Music does music video distribution as part of its service package and has direct deals with DSPs. Amuse offers music video distribution, but only for artists on its Artists and Label Services plan. It operates through the partnerships of the Merlin Indie Label union but has some direct deals with DSPs. Landr - doesn’t have direct deals. Customer Support Customer support is also huge. Many distributors promise 24-hour responses, but that could just mean an automated “we got your ticket” email. Real support means access to responsive staff, ideally with assigned contacts or interactive teams. Venice Music offers White Glove support with an attentive and engaged staff of representatives. Amuse offers the typical level of support you find with entry-level distributors. Landr was once celebrated for its support, but is showing signs of scaling issues as its client base has grown. MusixMatch Lyrics Integration Then there’s integration with Musixmatch. All distributors claim to deliver lyrics, but many only provide static text. What you really want is synced, dynamic lyrics that support karaoke-style displays. This adds value to your music and engagement for listeners. Amuse offers dynamic lyric integration through a partnership with MusixMatch. It also includes the ability to generate lyric videos. Artists Looking to Become Major Brands Of course, not every artist has the same needs. Some are fine just uploading music, running a few ads, and collecting checks. Recording artists who rely on visibility and brand awareness need more support. While distributors aren’t labels, some offer infrastructure that helps. Venice Music is a standout here. They provide community - a social platform with live chat rooms, social feeds, and active staff. Artists can post music, ask questions, and get feedback. The transparency is valuable because you can see how responsive the staff really are. They also run weekly workshops with industry professionals, plus feedback sessions where artists get actionable advice on their music. Sometimes these even lead to collaborations or opportunities. Their support staff also offers white-glove treatment, with video chats and instant responses. Because Venice is a premium option, it attracts serious artists with teams, stylists, and photographers. Networking in that community is far more valuable than random online connections. They also offer a “village release strategy” tool and a built-in AI assistant called Co-Manager that helps with planning, marketing, and creative ideas. Unlike services like AWAL or Symphonic, which may offer these perks only to top earners, Venice includes them in its core package. Other distributors like Amuse also have label-services tiers, but those deals are less transparent, often with exclusive terms and revenue share models that eat into an artist’s profits. KYC/KYA and Music Fights Fraud KYC - Know-Your-Customer and KYA - Know-Your-Artist are the same thing under different names. They require you to upload a form of photo ID to verify your identity. Some will claim it’s to protect your account, but that can be done with two-factor authentication. What this is about is streaming fraud and protecting corporate interests at the expense of your privacy. The Music Fights Fraud alliance is a network of distributors, DSPs, and other entities that have come together to form a global database that logs streaming fraud tactics and bad actors. Being added to this database could result in a global ban on distribution and a permanent mark on your personal record. Essentially, you’re being branded as a thief. Music Fights Fraud states that its database can be connected to other databases, which means this can impact things like your ability to rent an apartment or get a job. We wholeheartedly stand against the implementation of KYC/KYA in connection with Music Fights Fraud and do not support any distributor that allows the identities of artists to be stored in any database. Find the most up-to-date comparisons in the Comparison Charts What and Why Venice Music is the best option if you’re the type of artist to take advantage of what it has to offer. If you’re inclined to operate independently with little involvement from outside voices, it probably won’t work. You have to participate in the workshops, feedback sessions, come to IRL events, and engage the staff and team to get the most out of it. It’s not a layback distribution option. It’s also expensive at $200 annually. It’s worth it, but I can see artists being apprehensive about making that type of investment without the confidence that they’ll be able to recoup the cost. Amuse is a great option if you have the above concerns or personality type. You get your music in stores, keep all of your revenue, along with some pretty cool features that make your music more attractive and engaging on streaming platforms. You get all of this with limited involvement. Landr is a great option if you want your music in the most stores and have music mixed for spatial audio (Dobly Atmos). It’s also great if you’re a Producer or self-recording artist who can make use of its packages that include unlimit