Freecords vs. DistroKid vs. TuneCore and others: Exposing the Truth Behind Music Distribution
1. Royalties: Are They Really “Yours”?
· Freecords: Artists keep 100% of their royalties—forever. No fees. No tricks. No expiration dates.
· DistroKid: "Keep 100% of your royalties"—but only if you pay an annual fee (starting at $22.99/year per release). Miss a payment? Your tracks vanish, and so do your earnings.
· TuneCore: $14.99/year per single or $49.99/year per album. Fail to pay, and your music gets pulled from stores.
· RouteNote: The so-called Free Tier takes 15% of your royalties, and their "Net Revenue" includes deductions like VAT and DSP fees. Dirty.
💡 Worst-Case Scenario: Skip a payment with DistroKid or TuneCore, and years of work disappear overnight, wiping out your presence on streaming platforms and crushing your fan momentum.
2. Hidden Fees: Another Money Pit
· Freecords: No subscriptions, no sneaky fees, no surprises.
· DistroKid:
· Legacy Fee: $29 per track to keep it live after cancelling your subscription.
· Add-ons for Shazam and YouTube Music cost extra.
· TuneCore: Charges for publishing admin, custom release dates, and other basic features.
· RouteNote: Annual adjustments to deductions without notifying the user—hidden deep in the fine print.
💡 Worst-Case Scenario: You pay to upload, pay to keep your music online, pay for "extras" and watch your profits dwindle year after year as you upload more songs and the back catalogue loses traction.
3. T&Cs: Transparency or Trapdoor?
· Freecords: Clear, artist-friendly terms with zero ambiguity.
· DistroKid:
· Forces artists to sign off on trusting DSPs for accurate accounting—with no right to audit.
· Imposes a strict one-year limit for disputes. Sounds like a lot, but it will be at least 4 months before you even receive the reports, and then some, before you receive the payments. After that, mistakes are your problem. If you spot them, that is.
· DSP deductions – taxes, fees, chargebacks – are completely opaque.
· RouteNote:
· Deductions include VAT, import duties, partner fees, and more, leaving artists with less than 85% of their earnings.
· Reserves the right to increase deductions yearly, with no input from you.
· Uses your royalties to cover any fees you owe them, shrinking payouts further.
💡 Worst-Case Scenario: Imagine discovering years of under-reported streams only to realize you’re barred from auditing or disputing the numbers. Or, with RouteNote, watching deductions quietly increase each year until your income is a shadow of what it should have been.
4. The Cost of “Success”
· Freecords: No penalties for growing your catalogue or achieving success.
· DistroKid & TuneCore: As your catalogue grows, so do your expenses—higher subscription fees and renewal costs eat into your profits.
· RouteNote: The more you earn, the more they take, thanks to their revenue-sharing model.
💡 Worst-Case Scenario: You go viral, only to realize your distribution platform’s model punishes you with skyrocketing fees or shrinking royalty shares. Success shouldn’t cost you more—it should reward you.
Why Freecords is the Only Choice for Artists
When you strip away the marketing buzzwords, here’s the truth:
· Freecords is the only platform offering true freedom.
· 100% royalties, no subscriptions, no hidden fees.
· Transparent terms built to protect artists—not exploit them.
· Platforms like DistroKid and TuneCore rely on a pay-to-play system that punishes independent musicians.
· RouteNote’s vague clauses and revenue-sharing model leave artists vulnerable to unpredictable deductions.
Conclusion: Play Smart—Don’t Get Played
Freecords isn’t just another option—it’s a revolution for independent artists. Why settle for less or leave yourself exposed to shady accounting practices?
Artists deserve better. Artists deserve Freecords.