TuneCore offers independent artists and labels the most affordable unlimited distribution plans on the market, starting with a first-of-its-kind free distribution plan (no annual fee) while continuing to offer the highest pay-out to artists, enabling them to accelerate fan discovery.
TuneCore’s Chief Executive Officer, Andreea Gleeson announced that the leading independent digital music distributor for self-releasing artists experienced the company’s biggest change since opening for business 16 years ago—its new Unlimited Release Pricing Plans.
Since its inception, TuneCore, a division of global digital music company Believe, has democratized access to music distribution for self-releasing artists by introducing the first flat fee, pay-per-release distribution model on the market. Today, successful release strategies have shifted from doing a few EPs or one album per year to releasing singles more often and more regularly to stay top of mind with existing and potential fans. With the launch of TuneCore’s Unlimited program, constant music creation is made more accessible for all artists by giving them the control to release an unlimited number of singles and albums. For the free plan, artists are able to get their music directly into the music libraries of social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube and start making money right away, as they crowdsource the music’s popularity directly with fans. As they move through their careers, artists will be able to upgrade their plans to better meet their evolving needs as they grow.
Commented Gleeson, “We’ve spent a year speaking directly to artists and labels about how we can make our service better for them. What emerged is: artists want to be able to test their new music for free before distributing to all services and they want to release the music they are creating instantly, regularly, and seamlessly with one annual subscription enabling unlimited music distribution. TuneCore’s new program gives self-releasing artists at any stage of their careers the freedom to choose the plan that works best for them, while maintaining the high quality of service TuneCore is known for. With TuneCore Unlimited, artists pay less and earn more.”
“We pride ourselves as a brand that supports independent artists. We ensure this by closing the gaps that get in the way of their success. With our new unlimited pricing, every artist, irrespective of their career stage or wallet size, can find a plan that works for them. There’s also a plan for independent labels and managers with multiple artists. With the ever-changing eco-system, I am confident that this new pricing will help new and established artists get their music heard and grow their fanbases worldwide” – Chioma Onuchukwu, Head of TuneCore West and East Africa.
TuneCore’s new Unlimited program includes four plans catered to give options and choice to meet the unique needs of all artists:
- The New Artist Plan – FREE is a unique one-stop solution on the market that empowers unlimited release of songs to the music libraries of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube (including Shorts, Content ID and access to YouTube’s Official Artist Channel) to facilitate discovery and virality on key social media platforms with no upfront fee and paying out 80% of what is collected to the artist. The first-of-its-kind plan is great for artists who are just starting out, giving them the ability to make money while experimenting and testing their music.
- The Rising Artist Plan – $14.99 per year is among the most affordable unlimited distribution plans on the market. It includes everything from the New Artist plan plus Unlimited release distribution to 150+ streaming and store partners like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer and Tidal all while continuing to pay artists 100% of revenue. This plan also includes access to pre-schedule all release dates, official verification on Spotify and Apple Music, as well as artist support response time within 72 hours.
- The Breakout Artist Plan – $29.99 per year includes everything from the “New Artist” and “Rising Artist” plans plus free access to Automator (automatically including your release in all streaming and digital stores that will be available in the future), downloadable reporting and artist support response time within 48 hours.
- The Professional Plan – $49.99 per year is designed for labels, managers and artists who are more advanced in their careers and would benefit from more sophisticated release features. It includes everything from the other three plans plus premium sales reporting, use of your own UPC and a custom label name, access to select country restrictions, exclusive partnerships, and promotional opportunities. This plan also gives the ability to add additional artist profiles (for $14.99/artist per year) and the fastest artist support response time, within 24 hours.
TuneCore artist, Bella Alubo, commented, “Tunecore just seemed like the easiest way to put out music by myself. At the height of the pandemic I considered several distributors to release my Popstar EP but stuck to Tunecore because it’s easy, pricing per release rather than membership, transparency, control …it’s very DIY while still giving the best customer service with quick replies & resolutions!”
The new Unlimited program gives artists the freedom to create more music and experiment with different release strategies to advance their careers and feed their growing fanbases. Even those sensitive to pricing can utilize the New Artist free plan or the Rising Artist $14.99 plan to experience TuneCore’s expertise in independent distribution and become eligible for upstream into Believe Label & Artist Solutions or Believe Artists Services divisions’ “Signed By” program which has benefited over 400 TuneCore artists globally.
“I am delighted to announce the launch of the new pricing in Africa: it will allow rising artists to benefit of best conditions for digital distribution, develop their career and reach new audiences. TuneCore becomes with this offer, a distribution solution for all African artists at any stage of their career. – Viktoria Siniavskaia, Believe MD.