TuneCore vs Stem [An Indie Artists Honest Comparison]

You've landed here because you want to know who would win the fight between TuneCore vs Stem for the champion of best music distributor. Or at least, what distributor is going to be better for your music career?

We'll be sure to help you answer this or at least lay out all the information you need to know between TuneCore vs Stem so that you can make an informed decision of your own.

I've worked with a lot of the music distributors because I like to be on the lookout to see if one might fit me better and help me accomplish my career aspirations. For example, my other popular reviews are TuneCore vs DistroKid or TuneCore vs CD Baby.

I'm an indie artist too, and I have all my music under my name Charles Cleyn. I've written and produced hundreds of songs and I understand the needs of an independent artist. This gives me a good perspective to lay out the information for you between TuneCore and Stem. I've personally had hands on experience with TuneCore. However, I do not have hands on experience with Stem. This review is purely based on my objective opinion knowing many other distributors and the detailed research that I've done online. For instance, to use Stem, you must apply to be an artist. They do not accept everyone. Through this process, I have applied on their website and I will update the post when I get an answer.

If you're leaning towards TuneCore after this post, you can use my 20% discount to TuneCore. If you sign up with this link, I get a tiny kick back from it and you get off to the right start with a handsome discount.

When I'm looking at a music distributor, I like to look at six categories to see if they could be a good fit for me. For instance, they are:

So let's dive into the distribution, cost, customer service, features, royalties, and user experience and how each of these areas could benefit you with TuneCore or with Stem. However, before we get going, let's jump back a bit to see where both of these distributors have come from. If you are eager to get going on the comparison, meet us in the next section.

Background Information

TuneCore started in 2005, one of the first music distributors in the space, tailing CD Baby and also DistroKid which are both older players as well. TuneCore started as a pioneer in the space offering unique and competitive features at the time and they've evolved a lot since their beginning. They started as physical distributor, moving to digital, and now playing to the unlimited format of distribution. In 2015, they were acquired by Believe Digital. Believe is a large company and this acquisition has noticeable helped TuneCore find more resources and offer a wide range of features tailored for independent artists.

Stem was founded in 2015 and is a newer player in the music distribution world. The mid-2010s marked a big year for a lot of new music distribution players including United Masters and Amuse which are not starting to take up a large share of artist market. The Stem mission is to focus on providing transparency and control over revenue splits and royalty payments for artists. They've got a lot of attention for their user-friendly interface, which we'll get into in detail, and their unique features designed to simplify the business side of music for artists and labels.

Quick Comparison Chart of TuneCore vs Stem

Let's get into the weeds now comparing TuneCore vs Stem but if you'd prefer a quick glance of some things we're about to compare, check out this graphic below:

Is TuneCore or Stem Worth The Money?

Let's get into cost and see if TuneCore or Stem is worth your money. I'm not really looking necessarily for the cheaper option, but I'll highlight it anyway, what I'm looking for is what distributor is going to give you more bang for you buck, or is there much of a difference? Let's find out.

TuneCore has four different pricing plans that are laid out for different stages of artists. I really think TuneCore does this well and have identified the indie artist stages. For example, the New Artist Plan, is a perfect fit for someone who might be managing a full-time job but doing music on the side. Let's say this person wants to release a song, they can do so with this plan, for free, on social sites.

Let's say this song gets picked up and goes viral with a TikTok video. Now this artist can decide to upgrade their plan and upload their music to Spotify or even upload it again to the TikTok music library. 

As this artist develops throughout their career, they can continue to upgrade to higher TuneCore plans that will give more value to you as the artist.

By the way, if you decide that TuneCore is the right option for you, you can use my 20% discount signup link here. 

Here is a snapshot of the TuneCore plans.

• New Artist Plan: Free - Unlimited music to social platforms; keep 80% revenue.
• Rising Artist Plan: $19.99/year - Unlimited music to 150+ streaming sites; keep 100% revenue.
• Breakout Artist Plan: $34.99/year - Additional features like Store Automator and cover art tools.
• Professional Plan: $49.99/year - Designed for labels; includes premium sales reporting and more.

Stem operates on a very different level entirely. For example, they are not transparent with their pricing pages online. Therefore, we can't even see how much Stem would cost an independent artist. However, from what we can read on the Stem website.

I believe Stem operates under a percentage-based model where they likely take a 5-10% cut of your earnings. This would obviously depend on the services you use with them. I can't seem to find anything about monthly or annual fees. I can see that this would definitely be an attractive option for an indie who wants something a bit more hands on. It sounds like Stem is a small team that can support you and is willing to take a risk on you to reach your aspirations.

Who Is Cheaper? Better Value?

TuneCore is definitely cheaper, they have a free option you can sign up for. Alternatively, Stem is not free. You have to apply to be an artist at Stem. Once you get accepted your plans and terms will follow. I assume though, that there would be no monthly or annual fees for Stem. Instead, there would be shared revenues. How much would they take? I believe this would be different for each artist. Who has better value? I believe Stem would have better value if you can get accepted as an artist because their team is smaller and would be able to give you more attention.

Distribution and Reach

Since TuneCore has been around for so long they've built up a huge network of over 150 digital stores and streaming services. This all includes the major platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, as well as social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

You can be certain that if you sign up with TuneCore that your music will be distributed to all the major streaming platforms. If you want something more specific, just browse the TuneCore website to see if they are offering the streaming platform or digital store you'd like.

Stem also distributes music to all the major platforms, including uploading your music to Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music, etc. They don't necessarily tell if they upload your music to TikTok or other social sites but I would be very shocked if they didn't. I'm not sure why they like to keep things "hidden". I guess it makes everything they offer feel a bit more exclusive, they're certainly giving off that vibe.

Stem also makes note that they will discuss the digital distribution strategy with you. This is a huge plus for artists who are looking for support in their digital strategy and how to best get their music out in the world. Again, we're not sure at what cost but it sure sounds great.

Who Has Better Distribution and Reach?

Both TuneCore and Stem win in this category and will guarantee to get your music distributed on all the major platforms. Since stem is so team oriented, I can imagine they would support you in distributing your music wherever you think you could build a fanbase. For TuneCore, they have such a large network, I'm sure you'll find the platform where you can build a fanbase.

Features

Features are a very important piece to making a distributor attractive or not. Actually, in the last few years, the feature competitiveness has increased dramatically and all distributors are fighting to get artists attention and building some very attractive features.

TuneCore has built a large array of features to their platform and their very transparent about all of this on their website.

Here is a snap shot of the TuneCore features:

• Unlimited Uploads: Release as much music as you want.
• Detailed Sales Reports and Analytics: Comprehensive insights into sales and streaming performance.
• YouTube Content ID and Monetization: Helps artists collect royalties from YouTube.
• Publishing Administration: Assists in collecting royalties from various sources worldwide.
• Split Payments: Automate royalty payments to collaborators.
• Social Media Monetization: Tools to monetize music on social platforms.

Here is a brief overview of the Stem features that we can assume based on the information they give us:

• Revenue Splits: Automatic and transparent royalty splits for collaborators.
• Detailed Analytics: In-depth insights into revenue streams and performance.
• Financial Tools: Access to advances and financial planning tools.
• Sync Licensing Opportunities: Help with getting music placed in films, TV shows, and commercials.

Who Has The Better Features, TuneCore or Stem?

As far as we can see online, TuneCore definitely has the better features from an outsider's perspective. For example, split payments, social media monetization, detailed sales reports, unlimited uploads, and split payments. This is a large set of features for an up and coming indie artist looking to get started with a distributor. Stem doesn't fall short either though but they're less transparent. I have a a feeling though, if you're an amazing artist, with a ton of potential, and you get accepted as a Stem artist, I believe they would roll out the red carpet for you and give you anything you want. 

Royalty Payments

Let's talk about what we're all here for, the money! It's important you know how and where to collect your royalties and if you're getting all the royalties your song is making. So let's unpack how TuneCore and Stem distribute their royalties.

TuneCore allows artists to keep 100% of their royalties on all paid plans. The only exception is their free plan which you would have to give a 20% cut in your royalties. For the withdrawals, TuneCore offers flexible payment options, including direct bank transfers and PayPal. Payments are also processed quickly which helps artists get their money without any big delays. By the way, if you're sold on TuneCore, be sure to take advantage of my 20% discount link to get you started on the right track.

Stem, on the other hand, is quite different. I believe every artist will have their own royalty plan. For example, some artists might give a cut of 5%, others might give a cut of 10%. Making things a bit more interesting (or confusing), Stem also offers advances. This is a big plus for artists looking to get an investment so they can make an album or go on tour. Stem can offer you an advance and build the recoup payment plan into your agreement. This is like major label stuff!

Besides, this, Stem's also offers automated revenue splits, making it easy for artists and their collaborators to get paid accurately and on time. They also provide detailed financial reports, helping artists track their income from various sources.

I thought this would be interesting for those readers who are new to royalties and it's a small aside to this post but I think it's valuable if you're going to be in the music industry as an artist and collecting royalties. I posted this image in my review of TuneCore vs SongTradr.

Who Wins At The Royalty Game?

If you're looking to keep 100% of your royalties, then the winner would be TuneCore. They will allow you to keep all your royalties for all their paid plans. However, if you're looking for an advance to make an album that could win a Grammy, then Stem wins because they can provide advances and then help setup recoup plans on your royalties. That's really cool that these opportunities are here for indie artists and not just controlled my the major labels.

Customer Support

You may bat your eye to customer service being a selling point for you music distributor but I think it's quite important to have a good support team that can have your back and get your questions answered. Let's dive into the value TuneCore and Stem offers in terms of their customer service.

TuneCore offers tiered customer support, with faster response times for higher-tier plans. For example, on their highest plan, you can get 1 business day support response. That's really good. Even on the free plan, you can expect a response within 5 business days. That's even really good for being free! Besides this, TuneCore has been around for a long time so they have a ton of free resources online and YouTube, like myself, talking about this stuff online and giving you support in order to figure things out. For example, check out my YouTube Channel. I have a ton of videos on helping you navigate the world as an indie musician.

I think once you are an accepted artist into Stem, that they would have amazing customer service. They make it a point that they only accept musicians that they are very interested in working with. They're not going to accept everyone. Now, I can't back this completely but this is just my experience being signed to an indie label. I think of Stem as not only a distributor but also an indie label that is supporting artists who they think can reach the top.

Who Wins At Customer Service?

I'm going to say the winner here is Stem for customer service. However, the main caveat here is that you need to be an accepted Stem artist. Until then, it wouldn't really matter. On the other hand, TuneCore offers a lot of value with their customer service with email support for all plans.

I have hands on experience with their email support team when I released my single Sorry. I had a question with regards to getting my Spotify pre save campaign set up and they were very fast in helping me get my issue resolved. You'll notice from the image below, it took one day for me to get a response.

User Experience

The platform user experience and design is something I like to review when it comes to comparing distributors because, as your distributor, you will be uploading a lot of music and using the app to withdraw money. You don't want the experience of every time you use the app to be frustrating or annoying! So let's see how has the better design.

TuneCore has recently re-designed their entire platform and it looks great. I find it very user-friendly and intuitive. Their recent updates have made it a lot easier to navigate through the upload process. I still think TuneCore falls short in the mobile space though and I hope that eventually they will setup up their game when it comes to making a better designed mobile app. I suspect it's coming soon.

Stem's interface is super sleek and modern. Their main site is definitely giving off and exclusive vibe. It's like a secret club. It's very simple and there is little speak badly about. However, I cannot comment on their internal design interface yet.

TuneCore vs Stem Pros and Cons

Let's do a brief overview of the pros and cons for each music distributor.

TuneCore

PROS

• Extensive distribution network
• Comprehensive analytics and sales reports
• Robust features like YouTube monetization and publishing administration
• Reliable customer support with fast response times
• Split payments with collaborations
• Keep 100% of your royalties with paid plans

CONS

• Higher costs for advanced plans
• May be overwhelming or complex for very beginners

Stem

PROS

• Transparent and automatic revenue splits.
• No upfront costs.
• Detailed financial tools and analytics.
• Focus on sync licensing opportunities.
• Support team and focused on your goals

CONS

• Takes a percentage of earnings.
• Less extensive distribution network compared to TuneCore.

Final Thoughts on TuneCore vs Stem

Both TuneCore and Stem offer valuable services for independent artists, but they cater to different needs. TuneCore is ideal for artists seeking comprehensive features, detailed analytics, and an extensive distribution network. In contrast, Stem is perfect for those looking for a straightforward, cost-effective solution with added transparency in revenue management. Also, think of Stem and your boutique shop offering you very custom services. This could be great for you if you're ready for this in you career.

If you're ready to choose either TuneCore or Stem, consider your specific needs and goals as an artist first. For extensive distribution and robust features, TuneCore is a solid choice. For transparent revenue management and no upfront costs, Stem is an excellent option. If you're going to go with TuneCore, be sure to use my 20% discount link here. If you're going to go with Stem, you can apply on their site here.

Last thing, if you are still unsure and are curious about reading more comparisons and reviews on other music distributors, you might be interested in TuneCore vs United Masters or TuneCore vs Amuse which highlight two new music distributors in the space. Besides this, you can check out TuneCore vs DistroKid or TuneCore vs CD Baby. Or if TuneCore is the main player you're looking to take a deep dive on, you can check out my lengthy review on TuneCore here.