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

Top Reasons to Choose Tunecore Music Distribution 

Proven Track Record & Reliability 

Tunecore is one of the oldest and most reliable music distribution companies closing in on two decades of service. It provides an outstanding service because it doesn’t try to do too much and focuses on music distribution. It’s nearly a guarantee that you won’t have any issues with the delivery of your music to stores, late delivery, non-delivery, proper metadata, royalty collection, or anything regarding the core functioning of a music distribution company. It provides one of the most detailed royalty reporting dashboards on the market. The presentation is on point, and everything looks great. Beyond White-Glove service and discovery mechanisms - which Tunecore addresses with its Accelerator program, it's at the top of the mountain for distribution options of its kind. 

Growth potential. Tunecore's parent company Believe is a Premium distribution company working with semi-established and established acts that have extensive resources it can leverage to grow and develop artists. Tunecore can tap into the resources of Believe to assist with the growth and development of its artists. This was showcased with the success of the song Whip Nae Nae (Watch Me) by Silento, Tunecore played a pivotal role by arranging partnerships with top dance troops to create viral content after noticing the track trending in the right direction. 

Other reasons are its partnerships with DSPs providing advanced access to tools and features, capped transaction fees limiting the amount of money you lose when withdrawing your funds, distribution for unlimited releases, and a growing inventory of stores. For a full rundown of Tunecore's offer, view our distribution comparison charts. 

Top Tunecore Features 

Tunecore's Sales Reports 

Tunecore's Royalty Report Dashboard allows you to view revenue and sales across releases, countries, songs, stores, and dates, and segment by release, song, country, store, and date. They provide the best reports you'll find at this distribution level. 

User-Generated Content Tracker

If your music is being used on YouTube and TikTok, you can see the performance of the content: number of creations, likes, comments, shares, views, favorites, and average watch time. 

Tunecore Accelerator Program 

The Accelerator program is designed to grow the audience of artists using Tunecore through tools like Spotify's Discovery Mode, YouTube Creator Music, Tunecore Artist Pitches, and Editorial and Marketing Programs. I was initially critical of it but they've made changes I like so my opinion has changed. There are some really strong performance stats on what they've been able to do for artists through the Accelerator program which isn't reserved for top-performing acts but open to all. 

Tunecore's Direct Deals 

Unlike most distributors today, Tunecore doesn't use third-party companies to facilitate distribution. It works with digital service providers like Spotify, Apple Music, etc. directly where it can negotiate deals specific to the needs of the artists on its roster. Additionally, third-party facilitators charge fees that get passed down to artists so by going direct, Tunecore allows you to keep more of your money in your pocket. 

New Artist Plan 

The New Artist Plan is like an introductory service where you can monetize your music on social media platforms through distribution. It's exclusive to social media: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok so you won't be able to send your tracks to Spotify under this plan. The New Artist Plan allows you to get a feel for the Tunecore service before signing up to pay an annual fee. 

Store Automator 

Your releases are automatically sent to new stores as they come along starting with the Breakout plan. It's great to have this explicitly declared rather than assuming it is the case as you would with other distributors that don't specify whether they do or don't. The last thing you want is to find out fans haven't been able to access your music on a platform years after it's been added which could cost you who knows how much in royalties. 

Tunecore's Release Tracker 

The Release Tracker keeps you aware of where your releases are in the distribution cycle. You see if your releases are still processing, sent to stores, or Live in stores. You should always double-check by visiting the store to make sure the release is there, but it's great to know when to look. 

Things of note

Tunecore Charges For Split Pay

Collaborators without a paid plan must sign up for a discounted Tunecore account paying $8 annually to collect their share of royalties. 

Tunecore Primary Artists & Featuring Artists 

Distributing music for multiple artists would require you to pay $14.99 annually for each artist. Distributing joint releases where you and another artist are both Primary artists but use separate distributors would also require you to pay $14.99 annually. To avoid the fee, all collaborating artists need to be listed as Featured artists. You being restricted from adding collaborating artists as Primary artists leads to less impactful collaborations because platforms treat Primary artists and feature artists differently. You get much more visibility from having an artist listed as Primary than Featured. 

The Rundown 

Model: Mixed 

Unlimited Distribution for an annual fee. 

Annual fee per release 

Price: 

Boost: $19.99 | Pro: $59.99

Transaction Fees: 

PayPal: US $0.25 cap | Non-US: $20 cap
ACH: $1 - $5
Check: $5
Pre-paid Debit:$1

Stores: 

Unlimited inventory 

Distribution to New Stores: 

Included for plans starting at Breakout 

Artists: 

$14.99 per additional Primary artist starting at Professional. You cannot add additional Primary artists on any plan below Professional. 

Split Pay: 

Included - Collaborators without a paid subscription must pay $8 annually for Splits Collaborator to collect their share. 

Keeps Music Live: 

Music gets removed from all stores if you cancel or can no longer afford to pay. 

Exclusivity:

No exclusivity clauses in the terms so you're free to do what you want with your releases. 

Customer Support:

Average at best. 

Content ID:

Keep 80% of revenue. 

UPC Codes:

Included + You can bring your own

Check the Comparison Charts for the most updated and expansive information 

Changes 

Accelerator Program 

Previously the accelerator program charged artists 20% of revenue after being automatically enrolled. The revenue split now only applies to streams generated by the Accelerator program. You keep 100% of all other streaming activity. 

New Artist Plan 

There is now a 3 track cap for the New Artist Plan. No more than 3 songs can be distributed to social media platforms. 

Final Assessment 

You get everything you need with Tunecore with the added benefit of a proven track record and stability. Tunecore distributes to a large and growing inventory of stores, allows you to distribute an unlimited number of releases, and provides tools that aid in growth and discovery. You keep 100% of the royalties you earn without third parties dipping their hands in the cookie jar. Outside of special cases, it's the best distributor on the market.