Release

Distribution & label services

The most consolidated segment: flat-fee DIY pipes at the bottom, selective label services at the top, and data-driven A&R layers being built on the volume. Roughly a third of all new music flows through a single player here.

• Amuse — Independent releases with team splits on flat annual pricing. Independent artists and small teams releasing frequently who want affordable annual distribution, a clean mobile workflow, basic promotional tools and potential royalty advances.
• Audiomack — Free unlimited hosting and African and hip-hop audiences.
• AWAL — A label-services deal without giving up your masters long-term. Independent artists with convincing organic growth, strong branding and a serious release plan who want a pathway from distribution into funded label services without surrendering their masters.
• Bandcamp — Direct sales with the best margins in music retail. Independent artists with an engaged niche audience who can regularly offer music, demos, exclusives, merch or behind-the-scenes material—its direct sales have the best margins in music retail.
• Beatroot Music — Independent artists with finished releases and early momentum who want more personal support than a self-service distributor provides.
• BeatStars — Selling beats where the buyers actually are.
• Believe — International label services with strong European market muscle. Established independent artists and labels with proven revenue, catalog depth or audience momentum that want negotiated global distribution plus local-market and marketing support.
• CD Baby — One-time-fee distribution with publishing and sync collection built in. Artists releasing a few singles or albums per year who prefer one-time fees and want their catalog to remain online without maintaining an annual subscription.
• DistroKid — Cheap, fast, unlimited uploads with the biggest ecosystem. Prolific independent artists, producers and small labels that release frequently and want unlimited uploads, automated splits and a low annual base price.
• Ditto — Flat-fee unlimited releases with label-in-a-box extras. Prolific independent artists and small labels that want unlimited releases, automated splits and 100% of standard DSP royalties on a predictable annual plan.
• EMPIRE — Artists with momentum wanting label muscle without a major. Independent artists with proven audience, streaming, or revenue momentum who want hands-on industry support and have enough to leverage to negotiate favorable ownership and control.
• EmuBands — Occasional releasers who hate subscriptions. Independent artists and small labels that value responsive human support, rights ownership and 100% royalty retention.
• Horus Music — Artists targeting non-Western markets. Budget-conscious independent artists and small labels that release frequently, want broad international distribution and need label-management features such as artist subprofiles, team permissions and automated royalty splits.
• iMusician — European artists wanting a local, transparent distributor. Independent artists and electronic or classical musicians who value permanent catalog availability. It also suits frequent solo artists using AMPLIFY and small labels that need multiple artist profiles, royalty splits and Beatport or Traxsource distribution.
• LANDR — One subscription covering mastering, samples, plugins and distribution.
• MusicHub — Independent European artists seeking predictable subscription pricing and unlimited releases.
• ONErpm — Artists wanting no-upfront distribution with strength in emerging markets and potential to expand services as they grow.
• Proton — Electronic labels and label-running artists. Electronic labels managing multiple artists, especially those focused on Beatport.
• Record Union — Simple per-release distribution with an artist-wellbeing ethos. Low-volume independent artists who value human support and per-release control.
• recordJet — German-based artists wanting local support and GEMA-aware service or artists who want a choice between one-time or annual per-release pricing.
• RouteNote — Getting music on DSPs with zero upfront cost. Beginners and low-earning artists who need genuine free distribution.
• SoundCloud — Posting demos and reaching hip-hop and electronic communities first.
• SoundCloud for Artists — Artists already active on SoundCloud. Artists already using SoundCloud who want distribution, audience tools and monetization in one account.
• SoundOn — Artists whose growth engine is TikTok. TikTok-first independent artists and small labels seeking inexpensive distribution and social promotion.
• Stem — Clean split payments across collaborators on serious releases. Independent artists and labels with measurable traction, complex royalty splits and an active management team.
• Symphonic — A mid-tier distributor with actual humans and label services. Independent artists wanting strong analytics and human support, plus established labels seeking a fuller-service distribution partner.
• The Orchard — Label infrastructure once you're running a real label operation. Established independent labels and well-funded artist teams with proven revenue, active campaigns and global ambitions.
• Too Lost — High-volume releasers on zero budget. Prolific artists and small labels seeking broad distribution and extensive back-office tools at a low price.
• TuneCore — Distribution plus publishing administration in one account. Independent artists releasing several projects annually who want distribution, analytics and publishing tools in one account.
• UnitedMasters — Distribution plus brand-deal and sports sync opportunities. Independent artists releasing regularly who want inexpensive distribution and potential access to brand or sync placements.