What Is TuneCore?
A long-established digital distributor offering distribution, publishing administration, and other artist services, historically priced per release.
Why this matters
What is it?
TuneCore is a digital distributor that delivers music to DSPs (digital service providers) such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. It has historically used a per-release pricing structure, sometimes with an additional annual renewal fee to keep a release live, though pricing models can change, so current details should be confirmed directly on their site.
Beyond basic distribution, TuneCore offers additional services like publishing administration (helping collect songwriting royalties separate from recording royalties), sync licensing opportunities, and social media distribution tools.
Like other major distributors, TuneCore provides a dashboard for tracking streams and sales, and it's used by everyone from first-time bedroom artists to established independent labels.
A simple example
Why you should care
When you'll use it
Common mistakes
- Not accounting for potential renewal fees when budgeting for a release over its full lifetime, not just the initial upload.
- Confusing distribution royalties (from streams and sales) with publishing royalties (from songwriting), which TuneCore offers as a separate service.
- Skipping research into current pricing since terms and structures can change over time.
If you're a songwriter as well as a performer, ask whether a distributor offers publishing administration, since that covers a different royalty stream than basic distribution.
Keep reading
A unique numeric code assigned to an entire release (single, EP, or album) that identifies it across stores and streaming platforms, similar to a barcode on a physical product.
A unique identifier assigned to a specific recording of a song, used to track plays, streams, and royalties for that exact version, distinct from the song's UPC.
The set of text information attached to your release, like song title, artist name, genre, and release date, that DSPs use to display and organize your music correctly.
A promotional tool that lets fans save an upcoming release to their streaming library or playlist before it's even out, so it appears automatically on release day.
A running list of every task that needs to happen before a song can go live, used to make sure nothing gets missed.
The recurring payments you earn every time your song gets streamed, sold, played on the radio, or used somewhere else.
The royalty paid to songwriters whenever their composition is reproduced, including every stream and download.
The royalty paid to songwriters when their composition is performed publicly, including radio, live shows, and some streaming plays.
The business of owning, registering, and collecting income from the songwriting side of your music, separate from the recording.
A simple written document that records who wrote what percentage of a song, signed before disputes can happen.
The organizations, like ASCAP and BMI, that collect performance royalties on behalf of songwriters and pay them out.
The company that takes your finished song and delivers it to Spotify, Apple Music, and every other store or streaming service.
DSP stands for Digital Service Provider, the industry term for streaming platforms and download stores like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
A widely used digital distributor known for its subscription-based pricing and fast turnaround from upload to release across DSPs.
One of the earliest and longest-running digital music distributors, offering artists a one-time payment model with no subscription required.
The specific day (and often time) you choose for your music to go live on streaming platforms and stores, set in advance through your distributor.
The full schedule of everything that needs to happen between now and release day, and after it, laid out with dates.
Playlist pitching is the process of submitting your song to curators, whether that is Spotify itself or independent playlist owners, hoping to get added.
Editorial playlists are playlists curated by a streaming platform's own staff, like Spotify's 'New Music Friday,' rather than by an individual listener.
An EPK is a one-page digital packet with your bio, photos, music links, and contact info, built so anyone from a journalist to a booker can learn about you fast.
How and roughly how much artists actually get paid for streams, and why the amount per stream varies so much between platforms.
The number of unique people who played at least one of your songs on Spotify in the last 28 days, shown on your artist profile.
The final audio polish applied to a finished mix, making it loud, consistent, and ready for release across all platforms.
The square image that represents your song or album everywhere it's sold or streamed.
Put this into a real release plan
Diamond Release turns terms like this into dated steps for your single, EP, or album — with the full 160-article Encyclopedia inside.