TuneCore vs UnitedMasters [Full Honest Comparison]

Jun 13, 2024

As an independent artist, choosing the right music distributor is crucial for getting your music heard by the world.

Unfortunately, you cannot go directly and upload your music Spotify or upload it to Apple Music. Maybe some day, but until then, we have to use a music distributor. Two great options are TuneCore and UnitedMasters.

In this post, I’ll compare TuneCore vs UnitedMasters and go over a few popular categories that I think would help you decide which music distributor is right for you. If you're curious to learn about other distribution comparisons, I also have detailed posts on DistroKid, Landr, CD Baby, and AWAL.

By the way, if you want to start releasing music on TuneCore right now you can sign up with my link and get a 20% discount on checkout. I'll be posting a link to UnitedMasters soon which you can do the same.

Let’s take a look at these 5 areas when we look at TuneCore vs UnitedMasters and then announce a winner at the end of each section.

Cost - how much does each distributor cost?
Royalties - how much do they pay you?
Features - what extra features do they have?
Customer service - what is their support like?
Streaming sites - what sites do they distribute to?

Let’s go!

1. Cost - TuneCore vs UnitedMasters

TuneCore

TuneCore recently updated its pricing model to be more in line with artists needs today. Here’s a breakdown of their plans:

New Artist Plan. This is a free plan which allows artists to release an unlimited number of singles to social sites like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and uploading music to TikTok as well. This could be a great plan if you just want to test a release on a social site.

Rising Artist Plan ($14.99/year): This plan includes unlimited distribution to all streaming services and social platforms. If you know you’re going to be releasing a lot of music, this is a great option for you.

Breakout Artist Plan ($29.99/year): This plan offers everything in the Rising Artist Plan but you will also get annual sync and YouTube monetization. Something valuable if you have a large network on YouTube and you want to avoid and headaches with regards to YT monetization.

Professional Plan ($49.99/year): This plan provides all the features of the Breakout Artist Plan, plus access to premium sales reports and exclusive artist support. Very valuable if you are managing an artist or maybe want to start an indie label since you might find you have more time to look at data. I know for myself, as an indie artist, I don’t have much time to be looking at data and I’d rather get someone else to do it.

UnitedMasters

UnitedMasters is one of the first free music distributors out there offering free music distribution for a cut of the artists royalties.

There are two main plans:

Free Plan: This allows you to release your music everywhere but with a 10% commission on earnings.

UnitedMasters Select ($5/month or $59.99/year): Lets you keep 100% of your royalties.

Who Is The Winner?

I think TuneCore’s pricing structure is more flexible and offers more entry points for artists at different stages of their careers. UnitedMasters’ free plan is super cost-effective though for new artists, while their Select plan provides full royalty retention for a small annual fee.

If you're an artist who is really new and doesn't care to give up some of your royalties then UnitedMasters would be the right option for you but if you are an artist who wants to keep their royalties and have a few more cost-effective plans then TuneCore would be your best option.