TuneCore Vs Record Union [Review From An Indie Artist]

I get it; publishing your music out there as an independent artist is a huge step in your music career. With all the different music distributors in the market, finding the right one that fits your goals can be overwhelming. However, it is an essential step in taking your music to the next level and finding listeners around the globe.

As you might already know, uploading music directly to Spotify and Apple Music is not an option. Instead, you have to sign up with a music distributor to do that for you; think of it as a middleman that helps you publish your songs on major streaming platforms.

Founded in 2005, TuneCore has become a household name in the music distribution industry. It is the go-to distributor for hundreds of thousands of artists worldwide. Although the reputation speaks for itself, that doesn’t mean TuneCore is not without competition.

Record Union is another company that has also been around for over a decade. In this post, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about these two companies’ services and how they compare to one another.

By the way, if you decide to go with TuneCore to get your music on streaming platforms, you can use my referral link to get a 20% discount on checkout.

What Does TuneCore Offer? (Pros and Cons)

TuneCore offers its services in four different plans. You can click here to read a more in-depth post I wrote explaining TuneCore’s plans and pricing.

For starters, TuneCore’s “New Artist” plan comes with no up-front fee. You can pick this one if you want to upload your music on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Bear in mind that this tier does not cover streaming services, so TuneCore won’t publish your work on Spotify and Apple Music. In return, TuneCore takes a 20% cut from the streaming revenues and royalties you make on social media.

Up next, the “Rising Artist” tier offers the best bang for the buck among TuneCore’s paid plans. For $19.99 a year, TuneCore allows you to upload unlimited tracks on all the major social media and streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, TikTok, Tidal, and many more. With this plan, you’ll get to keep 100% of your royalties and streaming revenues. Also, you’ll get a verified check on your artist profile on Spotify.

For $34.99/year, you can upgrade to the “Breakout Artist” tier. It comes with all the tools and features mentioned in the previous plan, plus some more. You’ll get access to a daily trends report, which you can take advantage of to grow your audience. Moreover, TuneCore gives you a cover art creator tool.

Lastly, TuneCore’s “Professional” tier is targeted at labels and industry pros. Again, you get all the features in the previous plans. On top of that, you get exclusive brand deals with companies like Tidal and Twitch. You can also take advantage of promotional opportunities like Artist Portal, Brand Ambassador, and Store Awareness.

Moreover, you can join small-group workshops with industry experts working with TuneCore, customize the label name, use your own UPC, add a recording location for Apple Music and Spotify, and control which countries can access your release. The “Professional” plan starts at $49.99 a year. TuneCore charges $14.99 per each added artist.

One of the advantages of TuneCore over most of the competitors in this business is its customer service. Even with the free plan, TuneCore promises to get back to you no longer than 5 business days. That response time is cut to 3 business days for the Rising Artist plan, and only 24 hours for the Professional tier.

Can Record Union Keep Up?

Record Union offers two tiers for its services. Dubbed the “Top Dog,” the first tier covers five popular streaming and download services: Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. Unlike TuneCore, you cannot upload unlimited tracks with a fixed yearly subscription. Instead, Record Union charges you per track.

For one or two tracks, the company charges you $14 a year, 3-5 tracks costs $17/year, and 6-12 tracks will be $20/year. For anything more than that, Record Union charges $1.50 per track.

The “World Domination” plan (weird name, I know) increases the streaming and social media websites to more than 20 platforms. Here’s how the prices go:

•  1/2 tracks: $19/year.
•  3-5 tracks: $24/year.
•  6/12 Tracks: $29/year.
•  13-99 tracks: $1.50/track/year.

For UPC codes, Record Union charges a one-time fee of 10 dollars per track.

Final Verdict: Which Music Distributor Is For You?

With the pricing and store coverage in mind, it is a no-brainer that TuneCore would be a better choice for most artists. Not only does it cover more music streaming platforms and digital stores, but it also allows for unlimited uploads, all for a more affordable price tag.

If you decide to go with TuneCore to get your music on streaming platforms, you can use my referral link to get a 20% discount on checkout.