đ Guide
Getting your track onto Spotify
Music distribution services compared
Three established services for releasing DTM and AI-assisted music to Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music, compared from the point of view of someone who wants their finished tracks out in public.
| Service | How it charges | Royalty split | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| DistroKid | Annual fee, unlimited releases. The more you put out, the less each one costs | 100% (the service fee is the annual charge) | Anyone releasing steadily every month. Suits producing AI music at volume |
| LANDR | Plans bundling distribution with production tools such as AI mastering | Depends on the plan | People who want mastering handled in the same place |
| Ditto Music | Annual fee, unlimited releases (Starter $19/yr covers one artist name; Pro $59/yr if you need Content ID and similar) | 100% (publishing and sync income carries a 15% fee) | Starting cheaply. Its acceptance of AI music is stated explicitly in its own documentation |
Which to choose
- DistroKid if you are undecided. Unlimited releases on a flat annual fee is easy to reason about, and it gets better the more often you release. This referral link takes 7% off your first year (#PR)
- LANDR if you mix yourself but want to hand off mastering
- Ditto works out well if you run several artist names, such as separate AI vocal projects
For AI music: what "you can distribute it" actually covers (as of July 2026)
"AI music can be distributed" is broadly true, but the treatment differs feature by feature. Taking Ditto Music as the example: its help pages permit uploading AI-assisted tracks under conditions, while drawing the following distinctions.
| Feature | Fully AI-generated tracks |
|---|---|
| Normal distribution to Spotify and similar | â Permitted with conditions (you must hold the rights; no impersonation or spam) |
| Apple Music, Shazam, Beatport and similar | âŗ The documentation states these stores may decline to accept them |
| YouTube Content ID registration | âŗ Reviewed case by case on exclusivity and how the track was built. Generic instrumentals are excluded |
| Publishing registration (composition rights) | â Not available for fully AI-generated works |
| Sync placements (film, advertising) | â Not available for AI-generated tracks |
So a successful upload does not mean "live on every store and monetised everywhere". Recording royalties from streaming are within reach; publishing income and sync realistically are not, where the work is fully AI-generated.
Checklist before you release (especially for AI music)
- Check the commercial-use and distribution terms of whichever generator you used. Suno, for instance, permits commercial use only for tracks generated while on a paid plan â subscribing later does not, as a rule, cover work made on the free plan
- No voice clones imitating real artists, and no unlicensed samples. Either is grounds for immediate takedown and account suspension
- Bulk mechanical uploads of near-identical tracks read as spam, and the consequences reach your whole catalogue
- Confirm the rights to your artwork and the licence covering any sample material
- Stores take several days to process, so set the release date one to two weeks ahead
âģ Some links on this page are affiliate links (#PR). Information reflects the last verified date above.