At a glance
| DistroKid | TempoDigital | |
|---|---|---|
| One artist, unlimited releases | $24.99 a year (Musician) | $29.99 a year (Artist) |
| Share of store royalties you keep | 100% | 100% on the yearly plans |
| Pay per release instead | Not offered | $8.99 per release (we keep 10%) |
| Labels | $89.99 a year for 1–100 artists (Ultimate) | $149 a year for up to 10 artists, or Label Partner with no fee |
| YouTube Content ID | An annual extra per release (Social Media Pack); DistroKid keeps 20% | Included on every plan; we keep 20% |
| If you stop paying | Releases can be removed from stores, unless you bought Leave a Legacy for each one ($29 a single, $49 an album) | Releases stay in the stores; only new deliveries wait |
| Publishing administration | Not part of the plans | Available, paid into the same wallet |
| Languages | Many | English and Bosnian, with a team in Sarajevo |
YouTube Content ID: included or extra
Both services keep 20% of what Content ID earns. The difference is the entry fee: on DistroKid, Content ID comes with the Social Media Pack, an extra billed every year for each release that uses it. On TempoDigital it is part of every plan, and it is run from our own Content ID networks rather than bought in.
For an artist with a handful of releases the yearly extras add up; for one with a single song they barely matter. If YouTube is where your music is used most, it is worth doing the sum for your own catalogue.
What happens if you stop paying
DistroKid says that if an annual fee goes unpaid, releases can be taken down from the stores after notice, unless each release has the one-off Leave a Legacy extra. You still receive what you earned before.
On TempoDigital, nothing is taken down because a plan lapses. Your releases stay in the stores; new deliveries simply wait until the plan is renewed. See the terms.
Which one should you choose?
DistroKid may suit you better if
- You run more than ten artists and want a fixed fee: Ultimate covers up to 100 for $89.99 a year
- You want a large, self-serve service with a big help centre in many languages
- You do not need Content ID, or only for a few releases
TempoDigital may suit you better if
- You want Content ID on everything without paying extra per release
- You want your releases to stay live even if a payment is missed
- You release only now and then and would rather pay $8.99 per release than a yearly fee
- You also need publishing administration or a YouTube channel partnership
- You are in the Balkans or the diaspora and want to deal with a team that speaks your language
Moving from DistroKid
You can move without losing streams or playlist placements: deliver each release again with its original ISRCs and UPC, wait until it is live, then remove it at DistroKid. If you use DistroKid's Content ID, it has to be released there before we can claim the recordings. The full steps are in how to switch distributors.