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Think TuneCore is the cheapest option for distribution? Think again.

With TuneCore’s mandatory annual recurring fees and additional charges for essential features, the cost of distribution grows exponentially over time.

With iMusician you have found your Tunecore alternative: You only pay once to keep your music online forever on the widest range of streaming platforms and download shops worldwide – without any additional fees to keep your music in stores.

Choosing your digital music distributor is a crucial step in your music-making journey, often influencing your potential growth and determining the legacy you leave behind. At iMusician, we hope to be your ultimate-one-stop-360 music industry business partner, centering everything we do around you and your needs as an independent musician or record label. This page gives you an easy-to-read, informative breakdown of the differences between TuneCore and iMusician — covering the most important subjects independent artists need to think about.

TuneCore VS iMusician Comparison

How is iMusician better than TuneCore?

Tunecore vs iMusician

Your Music Online Forever

Price per single

$9.99 per year

Price per album

$29.99 per year

Commission

0%

Unlimited Artists

$14.99 Per Additional Artist

Artwork Creator

Only available with Breakout or Professional Plan

Electronic Music Distribution on Beatport

Electronic Music Distribution on Traxsource

Classical Music Distribution

No Withholding Tax

TuneCore will take 30% of your revenue if you’re not a US citizen or don’t fill out complicated forms

YouTube Content ID

TuneCore will take 20% commission on your YouTube ad revenue

Personal Support via Community

Free Submissions to iMusician Playlists

Subscription Flexibility

No Minimum Payout

iMusician Logo

Your Music Online Forever

Price per single

$9 one time

Price per album

$20 one time

Commission

Up to 0%

Unlimited Artists

Artwork Creator

Electronic Music Distribution on Beatport

Included with AMPLIFY+

Electronic Music Distribution on Traxsource

Included with AMPLIFY+

Classical Music Distribution

Included with AMPLIFY+

No Withholding Tax

We’re Swiss, we don’t charge withholding tax

YouTube Content ID

$1 one time per track and you can monetize your music forever

Personal Support via Community

Free Submissions to iMusician Playlists

Subscription Flexibility

No Minimum Payout

Withdraw your first cent without any threshold
Think TuneCore is the cheapest option for distribution? Think again.

Tell Us About Your Release Plans

What are iMusician benefits compared to TuneCore?

Your Music Stays Online Forever with iMusician

At iMusician, you get the forever online music distribution. You’ll only pay a single one-time fee to get your music on Spotify, Amazon Music, Facebook, Instagram and all other streaming and download music shops and stores — FOREVER AND EVER!

Unlike TuneCore, iMusician doesn’t charge an annual fee to keep your music on these platforms — no matter what subscription you’re on. Even if you decide to switch to our Free plan, your music stays online forever, continuously generating streams and money. This way we want to make sure that by distributing with us, you’re leaving a legacy behind, allowing your fans to listen to your music for the rest of eternity.

What’s also truly unlimited, is the amount of artists on one account. We believe that music is about creating together, combining ideas and enjoying powerful synergies to compose dazzling melodies and write compelling lyrics. Therefore, with us, you can release compilations with as many artists as you’d like, whether it’s one or one hundred. With TuneCore, you’ll have to pay $14.99 per additional artist and so your release(s) can get very expensive.

Flexibility is your best friend

We understand that as a musician, you want to stay as flexible as possible when it comes to expenses. Therefore, flexibility is exactly what we provide. At iMusician, we don’t want you to get yourself locked into any long-term contracts that hold your music career to ransom. TuneCore will remove your music from the stores if you don’t pay the annual subscription fee.¨

Whatever subscription you choose, you can switch to our Free planat any time, for as long as you need to. With TuneCore, if you choose a high subscription, you can’t easily downgrade to a lower subscription when you need to, you might be locked depending on the features you were using with your higher subscription. You will need to fill out a form, wait for a reply and see if they accept your request. We don’t do that.

The Swiss music business partner you can trust

Unlike TuneCore and other digital distribution companies, we don’t charge any hidden fees, like withholding taxes. If a music distribution company charges withholding tax it means that they keep 30% of your music revenue if you’re not a US citizen or you don’t fill in loads of forms. As a Swiss company, we simply don’t do that.

Our main goal is to always remain transparent and make sure that your tracks are released right the first time, without any bad surprises coming later.

Widest range of shops and genres worldwide including classical and electronic music

At iMusician, we believe that the genre of music you make should showcase your strengths not cause you trouble. Afterall, what really matters is that you get your music out in the world and heard. Unlike TuneCore, we’re proud to distribute every possible genre, including electronic and classical music.

Speaking of electronic music, we also cover the largest selection of electronic music shops, including Traxsource, Beatport or Juno Download. This way we make sure you’re able to maximize your reach to your audience wherever they listen to music, without compromising on your choice of music genres or your artistic vision. We will help you register your label on Beatport and Traxsource so you can grow with your label brand name.

FAQs

TuneCore is not free. Even with their ‘New Artist’ plan where you can get your music only on social platforms, you’ll have to pay 20% of your revenue. If you want your music on streaming platforms, you’ll have to pay an annual recurring fee.

Yes, TuneCore will remove your music from all the stores if you don’t pay the renewal fee for their subscription. At iMusician, your music stays online forever even if you downgrade to our Free plan.

No, TuneCore keeps 20% of the ad-revenue from YouTube videos and you only keep 80%. With iMusician, you keep between 90% and 100% of your revenue depending on your subscription plan.

Yes, TuneCore will take 20% of your YouTube’s revenue and you’ll receive only 80%. With iMusician, you can choose your subscription plan and keep up to 100% of your revenue.

Yes, if your country of tax residency is not in the United States, TuneCore will take 30% of your earnings as withholding tax. iMusician, as a Swiss company, does not charge withholding tax.

This is simple.

  1. Keep your ISRCs codes and UPC barcodes of your releases distributed via TuneCore

  2. Request the takedown of your releases on TuneCore

  3. Create your releases on iMusician and be sure to insert the same UPC and ISRCs codes where it is required so you will keep the same count of streams, downloads, playlists, etc

musician on stage

Explore For Free

Join our community of half a million independent artists and labels who trust iMusician to sell and monetize their music online.

Truly Unlimited.
Your music stays online forever. No yearly or monthly fee to keep your tracks in stores.

Your Music is Safe With Us.
We're Swiss! That means no withholding tax, and no minimum payouts. You own 100% of your music copyrights.

Discover Your Potential.
Use the power of data to find out where your listeners are with our Music Analytics tool.

Break Through the Noise.
Artist Hub helps you grow your fans, get more streams and reach your goals as an artist.

Stay Free, Stay Flexible.
Switch your subscription to our free plan anytime, for as long as you need to.

Reach Fans All Over The World.
Sell and monetize your music on the widest range of shops all over the world such as Spotify, Deezer, Beatport, Amazon, Traxsource & more.

Get Playlisted.
Playlists are crucial for a successful career. Get your tracks on our lists, and increase your chances for editorial playlists.