RouteNote Review 2025: Pricing, Features & Everything You Need to Know

Top Reason to Choose RouteNote

Free distribution

RouteNote, outside of SoundOn, might be the only music distribution company with a revenue share model where artists aren’t required to pay an upfront fee per release or an annual fee for unlimited. As noted, there’s also SoundOn but the difference between the two, among other things is the KYC requirement.  SoundOn requires all users to upload a photo of their State ID and input their ID number to use its service, while RouteNote does not. If KYC is a major deterrent for you but you like the idea of no-fee commitments, then RouteNote might be worth a try.

Top Features 

• Unlimited Distribution 
• Large Inventory of Stores
• No Upfront Fee 

The Rundown 

Model: 

Unlimited Distribution with a Revenue Share 

Unlimited Distribution for a flat annual fee 

Price: 

Free: $0.00 - Keep 85%
Premium: $9.99 per Single | $20 per EP | $30 per Album | $45 per Extended Album + $10 Annually

Transaction Fees: 

PayPal: 2.9% Uncapped | ACH: Free

Stores: 

Unlimited inventory 

Distribution to New Stores: 

Undisclosed, so we don't know if RouteNote automatically sends your releases to newly added stores. 

Artists: 

Includes Unlimited Artists, so there are no caps on the number of artists.  

Split Pay: 

Include - No fee. 

Keeps Music Live: 

Yes, your music stays live if you cancel or can no longer afford to pay. If you have a Premium plan, they'll drop you to the free plan and take 15% of your revenue. 

Exclusivity:

No

Customer Support:

Average

Content ID:

Yes - Keep 85% | Premium - Keep 100%

AI Licensing Rule

No official policy or plans to allow AI to access artists' music for LLM 

Streaming Fraud 

Removal + Fine 

Music Fights Fraud Alliance Member 

No

KYA (Know-Your-Artist) / KYC (Know-Your-Customer)

This is promoted as a protective tool and requires you to upload your State ID to verify your identity. The Music Fights Fraud alliance and its members have plans to use this information for their database, which will likely be used for global bans and work as a No-Fly list for music distribution. 

No

UPC Codes:

Included + You can bring your own

Check the Comparison Charts for the most updated and comprehensive information 

Rating 

Transparency: Great. Customer support: Ok. Payment: Great - you can avoid transaction fees by having payouts sent directly to your bank account. Stores: Great - extensive library of stores. Features: Decent. Longevity: Great. Fees: Great. Red Flags: None. Track Record: Solid. 

Final Assessment 

RouteNote, it's free, and that's the best thing about it. There isn't anything that separates RouteNote from every other distributor beyond the fact that it's free. At the same time, there isn't anything that separates RouteNote from every other digital distributor. They get you into just as many stores as the distributors with the largest inventory of stores, and collect and disburse payments just as they do. In some sense, it's better because you can avoid transaction fees by choosing Direct Deposit, which not all distributors allow you to do. It lacks the features you'd find with Tunecore and Distrokid, the community you'd find with Venice, and the tools you'd find with Landr, but maybe you're not looking for all of that. Those platforms charge annual fees, extra fees for extra services, and, excluding Landr, will remove your music if you cancel or can no longer afford to pay. 

Take a tour of RouteNote's Website: Routenote.com