DistroKid / TuneCore
Yearly subscription. Unlimited uploads on paid tiers. 100% of most streaming royalties. Extra fees and cuts often appear on social, Content ID, and publishing admin.
Wanna plai?
DistroKid. TuneCore. CD Baby. vs PLAIGROUND.
Sep 5, 2026. Same stores. Different money rules.
The real difference
They all reach the same platforms. The cut is where the models diverge.
DistroKid and TuneCore sell annual unlimited plans and keep 100% of most store royalties. CD Baby charges per release and keeps 9% forever. PLAIGROUND takes none. The account is free.
CD Baby
One-time fee per single or album. No subscription. Permanent 9% commission on digital revenue. Add-ons for mechanicals, SoundExchange, sync consideration.
PLAIGROUND
One free account. No monthly charge on the free account. Artists keep 100% of their royalties. Publishing and Boosts are open. Tell us what a human did. We still deliver Fully AI.
What you actually pay
- The account is $0. Distribution is a one-time fee per song when you choose it, shown before you pay.
- The free account has no monthly charge. Boosts, analytics, and payouts are open to every artist.
- You can bring a catalog you already released. Artists keep 100% of their royalties.
- PLAIGROUND takes none of the royalties. The account is free. Stores still take their usual cut. We do not add another one.
- Publishing is not an extra admin cut on your royalties. Every artist can register.
- We accept traditional, AI-assisted, and fully AI. We still deliver Fully AI even if a store will not pay.
If I can buy a car at the click of a button, I should be able to upload my music like that too.
The others optimized for catalog volume and add-on revenue. We optimized for the artist who wants the business out of the way so they can make the next one.
Upload once. Get paid everywhere.
PLAIGROUND takes none of the royalties. The account is free.
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