TuneCore Works
For Shareholders,
Not You.

In 2015, publicly traded Believe bought TuneCore. Since 2022, they've raised the base plan 67% and killed the free tier. They take 20% of your social platform earnings and up to 50% of your sync licensing. Public companies work for shareholders. Guess what happens next.

See the Artist-Owned Alternative

How TuneCore became a public company asset.

Every event below is sourced. Click any date's source link to see it for yourself.

2006
TuneCore launches. Founded in Brooklyn by Jeff Price, Peter Wells, and Gary Burke. Original pricing: per-upload ($9.99 per single; $49.99 per album first year, $19.98 renewals).
2015
Acquired by Believe. The French music company (later publicly listed on Euronext Paris via a June 2021 IPO) takes full ownership of TuneCore.
June 2022
Pricing overhauled. TuneCore drops per-upload fees, launches annual subscription tiers. Rising Artist plan opens at $14.99/year.
July 2023
Sync licensing cut jumps to 50%. TuneCore's synchronization commission set at 50% on all collected sync revenue, per their own support documentation. Mechanical and performance royalties remain at 20%.
June 2025
Free New Artist plan killed. TuneCore discontinues its free tier effective June 18, 2025. Every artist now has to subscribe to a paid plan.
January 2026
CEO Andreea Gleeson departs. Believe's Global Head of Music (Romain Vivien) now oversees TuneCore alongside senior TuneCore executives. Reported as "deeper integration with Believe's infrastructure." Music industry executives in charge, not artists.
April 2026
$500M lawsuit settled. UMG settles a $500 million copyright infringement lawsuit against Believe and TuneCore over the distribution of unauthorized/modified tracks (misspelled artist names like "Kendrik Laamar," "Arriana Gramde"). Settlement terms confidential.
Source: Music Ally
Present
Rising Artist plan is now $24.99/year. That's a 67% increase since the 2022 launch. Plus a 20% fee on social platform earnings even on paid plans. Plus up to 50% on sync licensing.

Base plan $24.99. Sync cut 50%. Social fee 20%.

Here's what TuneCore actually charges, using their own published prices and support documentation.

Rising Artist plan (annual, cheapest paid tier) $24.99
Rising Artist plan at 2022 launch $14.99 (+67% since)
Breakout Artist plan (annual) $44.99
Professional plan (annual) $54.99
Additional artists on Professional (per artist, annual) $14.99
Pay-per-release Album (renewal after year 1) $56.49
TuneCore's cut on social platform earnings (all paid plans) 20%
TuneCore Publishing setup fee (per writer) $75
TuneCore's cut of mechanical and performance royalties 20%
TuneCore's cut of sync licensing revenue 50%
Free New Artist plan Killed June 2025
Every paid tier costs $25 to $55/year, PLUS 20% on social platform earnings, PLUS up to 50% on any sync licensing. 50%

Plan prices per TuneCore's live pricing page. Publishing cuts per TuneCore Support. Sync commission per TuneCore Support.

See what a distributor built for artists, not shareholders, looks like.

Privately owned by artists and operators.
No shareholders. No hidden fees. No plans to sell.

Meet DistroFlowy

Already on TuneCore?

We'll walk through your TuneCore statements with you and show you where you are wasting money. We'll also do a complimentary royalty review to make sure you are not leaving money on the table.

We surveyed 2,311 indie artists. 62% either aren't registered with a PRO, or don't know if they are. That's real money slipping past them every month.

If a migration makes sense after that, we'll work with you to get it done with no downtime.

Book A Free DitchTheCore Audit

Questions artists ask.

Is DistroFlowy actually independent?

Yes. Privately owned by working artists with no outside investors and no plans to sell. Every founder here is releasing music on the platform.

Do you distribute to all the major stores?

Yes. Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Deezer, and every other major DSP.

What if I want to switch from TuneCore?

Book a free 15-minute call. We walk you through migration one-on-one. No forms, no support tickets, no waiting.

Who is behind this site?

DistroFlowy, part of Make Our Music, an artist-owned music company. This site exists because artists deserve to know who actually owns their distributor.

Believe went public. TuneCore's base plan went up 67%. Its CEO just left. Its free tier is gone.

The company that owns them answers to shareholders.
You are not the customer.

Meet DistroFlowy

P.S. This isn't just TuneCore.

DistroKid just agreed to hand majority control to a bigger PE firm. CD Baby is now owned by Universal Music Group. The whole "indie" distributor space is consolidating. See DitchTheKid.com and DitchTheBaby.com for the full picture.

This site was built by DistroFlowy, an artist-owned music distributor. Comparative statements about TuneCore are based on publicly sourced facts, TuneCore's own published pricing, and TuneCore's own support documentation.

TuneCore is a trademark of TuneCore, Inc. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by TuneCore or Believe.