DistroKid vs UnitedMasters: which one fits you?
UnitedMasters DEBUT+ is $19.99 a year and DistroKid Musician $24.99; both keep 0% of streaming royalties and have automatic splits. Both sell YouTube Content ID as an add-on: $4.99 per release at UnitedMasters (you keep 80%), $4.95 per single per year at DistroKid plus 20% of ad money.
SOURCE: UnitedMasters SELECT page · CHECKED 16 October 2026Music Distributor Picker runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.
On paper these two are close: a low yearly price, 100% of streaming money, splits and a paid video add-on. Both include pre-saves. The differences are in pitching and what else each one sells.
Pick DistroKid if
- You want free promo tools beyond pre-saves: HyperFollow pages, Mini Videos and Promo Cards.
- You manage up to 100 artists on one account (Ultimate, $89.99).
- You want AI music sent everywhere with AI credits. UnitedMasters does not send fully AI tracks to Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.
Pick UnitedMasters if
- You want the lower entry price: $19.99 a year.
- You are interested in brand and sync deals, which SELECT ($59.99) lists.
- You want brand deals and Spotify Discovery Mode eligibility on SELECT. MasterLinks pre-saves come with every plan.
PARTNER is invite only
UnitedMasters also lists a PARTNER tier with custom splits, advances and curator pitching. It is by invitation, has no listed price, and is not part of this comparison.
DistroKid vs UnitedMasters: the facts side by side
| DistroKid | UnitedMasters | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Yearly subscription with unlimited uploads. Some extras, like video monetisation and cover licences, cost more per release. | Yearly subscription. No free plan is listed. PARTNER is by invitation with custom terms. |
| Plans (first 12 months) | Musician: $24.99 a year; Musician Plus: $44.99 a year; Ultimate: $89.99 a year | DEBUT+: $19.99 a year; SELECT: $59.99 a year |
| Royalties you keep | You keep 100% of streaming royalties. Money from YouTube and TikTok videos goes through a paid add-on that keeps 20%. | You keep 100% of streaming royalties on DEBUT+ and SELECT. |
| YouTube Content ID | Extra cost. Paid add-on (Social Media Pack): $4.95 per single per year, or $14.95 per album per year, plus 20% of the ad money. | Extra cost. Paid add-on: $4.99 per release, and you keep 80% of Content ID money. |
| Automatic splits | Yes. Automatic splits between collaborators on every plan; DistroKid pays them. | Yes. Split Pay shares royalties with collaborators automatically. |
| Pre-save and pitching | Yes. Free pre-save pages (HyperFollow), and a chance to be featured on DistroKid's own Spotify playlists. You pitch Spotify's editors yourself in Spotify for Artists. | Yes. Pre-saves through MasterLinks on every plan, DEBUT+ included. Editorial playlist pitching is only on the invite-only PARTNER plan. |
| Cover song licences | Yes. Sells cover song licences: $12 per cover song per year. | Not stated. Cover licensing is not mentioned on its plan pages. |
| AI music | Yes, with AI credits. DistroKid accepts music made with AI tools if you own all the rights, do not copy anyone's voice or likeness without permission, and are not flooding stores. The upload form asks whether AI generated any part of the track. | Yes, with limits. UnitedMasters distributes music created or assisted by AI if it follows its terms, but fully AI-generated tracks are not eligible for Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, and unauthorised AI voices of famous artists are rejected. |
| Upload lead time | Upload about 4 weeks before release day, so it goes live everywhere on the day. | No lead time published on its own pages. |
| Artificial streaming fee | DistroKid does not publish its own fee for artificial streaming. Spotify charges distributors per track (TuneCore puts it at €10 per track per month); check your DistroKid notice and statements for any amount. | The fee shows in your Wallet as a negative transaction labelled "Spotify Artificial Streaming Penalty Fee": the USD equivalent of EUR 10 (about $10.70 as of 28 June 2024) for each track that generated a fee. |
What the first year costs
| Singles in 12 months | DistroKid | UnitedMasters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $24.99 on Musician | $19.99 on DEBUT+ |
| 4 | $24.99 on Musician | $19.99 on DEBUT+ |
| 12 | $24.99 on Musician | $19.99 on DEBUT+ |
Costs are for the first 12 months on the cheapest plan, from the prices on each distributor's page, in US dollars before tax, with no add-ons. Yearly plans renew every year; one-off fees do not. The picker above adds Content ID, splits and a cover licence when you need them.
Stage is not paid by any distributor and none of the links on this page are affiliate links. We read each distributor's own pricing and help pages on the date shown and link every fact to the page it came from. Prices change, so open the source before you pay.
Questions artists ask
Is UnitedMasters free?
No free plan was listed on 16 October 2026. DEBUT+ is $19.99 a year and SELECT $59.99.
Does UnitedMasters take a cut?
Not of streaming royalties on DEBUT+ or SELECT. The Content ID add-on costs $4.99 per release and you keep 80% of that money.
Which is cheaper with Content ID?
For one single: UnitedMasters $19.99 + $4.99 = $24.98; DistroKid $24.99 + $4.95 = $29.94, both plus a share of the video money.
Do they pitch to Spotify for me?
Neither lists a Spotify editorial pitch service on the cheapest plan. You pitch yourself in Spotify for Artists.
Related
- Which music distributor should I use?
Answer 7 questions and get a ranked shortlist of 12 music distributors, with each one's price, cut and rules, read on its own site on 16 October 2026. - DistroKid vs TuneCore: which one fits you?
DistroKid vs TuneCore: both start at $24.99 a year and keep 0% of streaming money. Content ID, pre-saves, covers and AI rules compared, with sources. - DistroKid vs CD Baby: yearly plan or pay once?
DistroKid charges $24.99 a year and keeps 0%. CD Baby charges $9.99 per single once and keeps 9%. Which fits you depends on how often you release. - TuneCore vs CD Baby: which one fits you?
TuneCore is $24.99 a year and keeps 0% of streaming money. CD Baby is $9.99 per single once and keeps 9%. Both include YouTube Content ID. Sources linked. - Music release planner: every deadline from upload to release day
Free release planner: pick a date and distributor and get every deadline (upload, Spotify pitch, pre-save, release day), each with its dated source. - Can you upload AI music? Rules for 24 platforms and distributors
Spotify: yes. Bandcamp and CD Baby: no. Most distributors: yes, with limits. AI music rules for 24 platforms in each company's own words, dated. - Streams to money calculator: what every platform pays per stream
What Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and 7 more pay per stream in 2026, after your distributor's cut and splits. Sourced, dated ranges. Free. - Artificial streaming checker: your Spotify numbers, notice and fee
Got an artificial streaming notice? Check your Spotify for Artists numbers, estimate the €10 per track fee, and see what your distributor says to do.
Sources
- DistroKid pricing · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid plans and pricing · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid help: What Are Album Extras? · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid: Spotify · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid cover song licensing · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid Help: Can I Upload Music Made With AI Tools to DistroKid? · checked 15 October 2026
- DistroKid help: How to Release Music on DistroKid · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid Help: I Received an "Artificial Streaming" Notice from Spotify. What Should I Do? · checked 16 October 2026
- UnitedMasters: Plans for artists · checked 16 October 2026
- UnitedMasters SELECT page · checked 16 October 2026
- UnitedMasters Help: Does UnitedMasters distribute music that was generated by AI tools? · checked 15 October 2026
- UnitedMasters: Tips to avoid artificial streaming scams · checked 15 October 2026
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