Field guide
How to keep 100% of your Spotify royalties — pick the right distributor
July 31, 2026
The dirty secret of music distribution
When a distributor says "you keep 100% of royalties," you should always ask which royalties? There are three types:
- Streaming royalties (Spotify, Apple Music) — the big one
- Mechanical royalties — royalties from your song being reproduced (radio, cover versions)
- Performance royalties — from public plays (bars, gyms, TV)
- "Free" plans that cut 15-30% — RouteNote, Amuse Boost, Ditto Free
- "Publishing administration" add-ons — often 15% of mechanical royalties
- Payout FX fees — DistroKid, TuneCore charge 3-5% on non-USD payouts. Wise / Stripe Express are 0.4-1%
- Withdrawal minimums — some hold $50-$100 before letting you cash out
- "Bank fee" line-items — sometimes $5-$15 per payout on top of FX
- DistributeMusic.AI (Pro, $20/yr): $400 → $400 net (0% cut, $5 minimum payout, Wise FX ~0.5%)
- DistroKid ($22.99/yr Musician): $400 → $400 net on streaming, but you'll bleed 3-5% on non-USD FX = ~$385
- CD Baby (single upload $9.95): $400 - 9% = $364 net
- RouteNote free: $400 - 15% = $340 net
- $0 (Starter) / $20 (Pro) / $50 (Label) per YEAR — flat, no per-release fees
- 0% royalty cut on streaming, mechanical, performance, UGC
- $5 payout minimum via PayPal, Stripe Express, Wise
- No add-on "publishing admin" fee — we recommend Songtrust or Kobalt separately if you want mechanical + performance globally administered
- Stripe Express payouts convert at spot FX with 0.4-1% margin (versus 3-5% on legacy distributors)
Some distributors keep 100% of #1 but silently take 15-40% of #2 and #3.
The 2026 royalty-cut landscape
| Distributor | Streaming | Mechanical | Performance | UGC (TikTok / Reels) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DistributeMusic.AI | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| DistroKid | 100% | 100% (via Songtrust add-on) | 100% (via Songtrust) | 90% (10% fee) |
| TuneCore | 100% | 80% (their Publishing) | 80% | 100% |
| CD Baby | 91% (9% cut) | 85% (via Pro Publishing) | 85% | 91% |
| RouteNote (free tier) | 85% (15% cut) | 100% | 100% | 85% |
| Amuse Free | 100% | Not collected | Not collected | 100% |
| ONErpm | 85-90% (10-15% cut) | 85% | 85% | 90% |
Watch out for:
Real math on 100,000 Spotify streams
A track that hits 100,000 streams on Spotify grosses roughly $400 at $0.004/stream.
Over 12 months and 5 releases, the difference is easily $500-$2000. That's not "noise" — that's rent.
How DistributeMusic.AI works
Sign up free → and keep every dollar you earn.