Have you thought about switching from Distrokid to TuneCore, but aren’t sure how to do it? The process is easier than you might think.
The budding musician or music enthusiast who wants to distribute music to Tunecore store partners or who wishes to collect songwriter royalties for his or her work should start the ball rolling by creating a TuneCore account.
If the music already exists on Distrokid, it will be necessary to open a TuneCore account before formally switching over.
Using a series of simple steps, this can be accomplished relatively quickly.
Step one: Open a new TuneCore account
To open a TuneCore account, proceed to the TuneCore homepage and click the blue Sign Up icon. Fill in your personal information. All pricing options and services included will be listed on this page.
It is important to note that only one account is allowed to be opened per email address. However, this will not prevent the upload of music by more than one artist.
TuneCore also enables users to track each musical release and sale separately. If you so choose, you can also create your own label account.
Step two: Cancel your Distrokid account
To cancel your Distrokid account, simply sign in to the service, and click the Provide icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
Select Account, then scroll to the bottom of the page and click the red link that says Delete Account. Follow the prompts to complete the transaction.
Step three: Request that Distrokid remove your music
Once your TuneCore account is ready to go and you have canceled your Distrokid account, it is time to request that Distrokid remove your content from their stores.
Once the request has been submitted, you will immediately be able to upload and distribute the material through your Tunecore account. This is true even if the release hasn’t been removed from the Distrokid site yet.
Alternatively, Distrokid provides a Legacy Option that enables them to pay a one-time fee to leave music there even after your account is closed, and you will continue to collect royalties for up to one year.
Step four: Exercise patience
Remember that Distrokid and TuneCore are two separate companies, so they are not necessarily coordinated with one another in terms of timing.
A few days might pass before everything gets switched over. Just exercise a little patience. It is possible that both versions of a release will go live on both platforms at the same time, but this is only temporary.
There might also be a gap between the time your Distrokid version is removed and your new version is released to listening audiences on TuneCore.
Both stores have different review processes, so the timing might be off, but the entire process should only take a few days.
Step five: Uploading albums
During the process of uploading your music, TuneCore will provide the option to promote your music in advance of its official release.
You will also be asked to upload your album artwork, so this should be prepared ahead of time. A checklist will be provided to make sure your artwork meets all of the necessary requirements.
The title of the song and the artist’s name should match the listing on the music itself. No extra information, such as social media links or email addresses, is allowed on the artwork.
TuneCore will provide a style guide to consult to assure the album formatting follows their guidelines. It is a good idea to look this over before attempting to upload any music.
iTunes and Apple have their own formatting requirements, and TuneCore notes this in their guide. For instance, iTunes can adjust releases to make sure their formatting requirements are followed, and TuneCore has no control over this.
Artist names, tracks, and album titles are automatically capitalized when the tunes are formatted. Most of the formatting is straightforward and will be similar to that used by Distrokid.
If you plan to upload any tribute albums or karaoke tracks, you cannot use the original performing artist’s name when filling out the fields provided for your release, and you cannot use the word karaoke as the sole name of any artist.
You can, however, incorporate it into the name, such as Ted’s Ten Percent Karaoke Club.
TuneCore allows you to use the same UPC for each album that you upload, while also letting you use the same song ISRCs for each of your tracks. This is based on the condition that you do not redistribute music that has changed in any way.
Do not use the same numbers if you have removed or added to any of the tracks, if you have remastered or reordered them or if you have made any other changes, whatsoever.
To upload albums to your new TuneCore account, click the Music tab on your dashboard and note the given options that are available. Your choices will include the distribution of an album, a single, or a ringtone.
After making your selection, click the Start Here button. You will be presented with some easy-to-follow prompts.
Respond to each prompt and you should be good to go. Follow the same steps for individual songs and ringtones.
Further information: New UPCs and ISRCs
If during the course of uploading your music, you require a new ISRC or UPC, all you have to do is leave the fields blank on the form and TuneCore will quickly generate new numbers for you.
To find each song’s ISRC number, simply log in to TuneCore’s backend. Next, click on the release and you will see an ISRC number assigned to each song.
The UPC number will be assigned to the full release. If you’re having difficulties locating the numbers, drop the customer support department a line and they will give you further instructions about how to find them.
Why switch from Distrokid to TuneCore?
TuneCore is reputed to have revolutionized the way artists can sell their music online by providing them with the exact tools that they need to get the job done in a fast and professional manner.
The company’s longevity as a business and reputation for delivering great service to artists is based on solid dedication to providing the best distribution services available.
Like TuneCore, Distrokid is a digital content distributor. Both companies enable users to send their music to popular music platforms, such as Spotify, TikTok, Apple Music, YouTube, Pandora, and other sites. Both sites let users upload cover art as well.
Once a music release has dropped, both companies enable listeners to find it on their favorite music platforms and stream it.
Both platforms catalog the music so that it can be pulled up by Google Voice, Alexa, and similar services, and like Distrokid, TuneCore enables artists to retain 100% of their royalties because no commission is charged on any album or single that is sold.
While Distrokid is noted for being faster at uploading and distributing music, TuneCore is noted for offering more and better services, such as social media promo tools and other services.
Distrokid and TuneCore are both well-respected distribution entities. However, TuneCore has some distinct advantages over Distrokid, the first being a decade more experience in the industry.
TuneCore has represented some of the most notable music stars in the world and has been operating since 2005. Distrokid, on the other hand, opened in 2015 and has not had time to establish as strong a reputation as TuneCore.
TuneCore’s longer experience, solid relationships in the music industry, and track record for success outweigh those of Distrokid by measures.
TuneCore is reputed to have revolutionized the way artists sell their music online by giving them the exact tools that they need.
Each of the companies offers services that are comparable to the other, and each offers enticing extras, but at the end of the day, TuneCore gives more bang for the buck, so many artists are switching to TuneCore’s platform from Distrokid by virtue of the pricing models alone.
TuneCore practices true professionalism when dealing with artists, and offers such services as statistical data and other information that enables each artist to reach more people and make more sales.
They feature an ace analytic and reporting platform that provides all the info that any artist might need, from which tunes are streaming more frequently on SoundCloud to which of your singles is liked more on Spotify.
They enable artists to begin at a lower price and are able to reach more fans than Distokid.
TuneCore eliminates the middle man, unlike Distrokid, and goes straight to the streaming platforms and digital stores themselves, so artists are ensured of receiving 100% of their earned royalties.
TuneCore is also known for its ace customer service, which is knowledgeable about the independent music genre and can offer the best customer service available anywhere.
It doesn’t matter where an artist is in the process, TuneCore has representatives who can help them progress as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
TuneCore enables artists to get to know their demographic better and helps them understand how to reach them in effective ways with exactly what they want. It also offers other tools to help artists get global exposure.
TuneCore provides the ability for artists to reach all platforms at once and sends out alerts to all so that an artist doesn’t have to post to each platform individually.
The company also offers excellent music administration that monitors sales very carefully so that you can maximize returns.
TuneCore even offers a Sync and Master licensing ability that enables the use of your music to entities such as TV commercials and online ads.
TuneCore also offers digital master classes and digital VIP sessions with industry pros, and many other online learning tools that can help artists stay on the right track.
With earnings of over $1.8 billion, TuneCore’s business longevity and expertise speak volumes about its superior distribution options.
