The main streaming services
These carry most of the world's streaming. Each has a page of its own on how releasing there works.
| Store | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | The largest music streaming service, with a free tier and Premium. Playlists and recommendations drive much of its listening. | Worldwide, 180+ markets |
| Apple Music | Apple's subscription service, built into every iPhone. Delivery also covers iTunes downloads. | Worldwide |
| YouTube Music | YouTube's music app and YouTube Premium. Delivery creates official audio tracks on YouTube Music and YouTube. | Worldwide, 100+ countries |
| Amazon Music | Music with Prime and the full Music Unlimited catalogue, also on Alexa and Echo, plus downloads. | Worldwide; strongest in the US, UK and Germany |
| Deezer | A French service with free and paid tiers and an artist-centric payment model. | Worldwide; biggest in France, Germany and Brazil |
| TIDAL | A paid service known for lossless and hi-res audio. | Around 60 countries, mainly the Americas and Europe |
| SoundCloud | An open platform for new artists, with free and Go+ streaming tiers. | Worldwide |
| Pandora | Personalised radio stations and on-demand listening, owned by SiriusXM. | United States |
Regional leaders
Outside Europe and North America the biggest service is often a local one. These reach listeners the global services barely touch.
| Store | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Tencent Music | China's largest music group: QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo. | Mainland China |
| NetEase Cloud Music | China's second-largest streaming app, strong with younger listeners and independent artists. | Mainland China |
| JioSaavn | India's streaming service from Reliance Jio, bundled with Jio mobile plans. | India and the South Asian diaspora |
| Anghami | The leading Arabic-language streaming service. | Middle East, North Africa and the Arab diaspora |
| JOOX | Tencent's streaming app for South-East Asia, with karaoke and live features. | Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand |
| KKBOX | Subscription streaming strong in Mandarin and Cantonese pop, J-pop and K-pop. | Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore |
| AWA | A Japanese subscription service known for its playlists. | Japan |
| FLO | One of South Korea's main local music apps. | South Korea |
| Audiomack | Free, ad-supported streaming popular for hip-hop, Afrobeats and gospel. | United States and Africa |
| Claro Música | Streaming sold with Claro mobile plans. | Latin America |
| Trebel | A free, ad-funded app for offline listening, aimed at young listeners. | Mexico, Colombia, the US, Indonesia |
Specialist and business services
| Service | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Beatport | The download and streaming store for DJs. Electronic music only. | Worldwide |
| Mixcloud | DJ mixes and radio shows; it recognises the tracks in each mix and pays for them. | Worldwide; strongest in the UK, Europe and the US |
| 7digital | Licenses catalogue to other apps and runs a download store. | Worldwide |
| Peloton | Instructors choose music for live and on-demand fitness classes. | US, Canada, UK, Germany, Austria, Australia |
| Lickd | Sells licences for commercial music to YouTube creators. | Worldwide |
| TouchTunes | Digital jukeboxes in bars and restaurants. | North America and Europe |
| Slacker | Internet radio and on-demand listening, part of LiveOne. | United States |
| Tuned Global | Builds streaming services for telecom, fitness, airline and retail brands. | Worldwide; strongest in Asia-Pacific |
| Managed Media | Licensed music for venues such as bowling centres, bars and restaurants. | United States and Canada |
Which stores should you choose?
For most releases, all of them: there is no extra charge per store, and a listener you never reach earns nothing. Two exceptions are worth knowing.
- Beatport takes electronic music only. The platform warns you if a release in another genre is sent there.
- Content ID and the social platforms claim every use of your audio. Leave them unticked for covers, tracks built on samples you have not cleared, beats you licensed non-exclusively, or recordings in the public domain — otherwise the claims land on other people's videos, and on yours.
Store line-ups change: services close, merge and change their rules. We keep this page in step with the platform, and the date at the top says when it was last checked.
Social platforms and YouTube Content ID
On these your song becomes a sound people put in their own videos, and every use can earn. They are rights tools as much as stores, so they are only for audio you control exclusively — no covers of other people's recordings, samples or non-exclusive beats.