Which is the best online music-distributor right now, in 2021?
And, above all, which one doesn't delete your files if you stop to pay the annual fee?
It seems that Tunecore delete everything if you stop to pay, for example! (that sucks)

 

For me it's iMusician. Interesting options, one of which include no annual fee. Support could be a bit slow but they take care of their customers.

 

@Rawx I came across them as well, but they seem to be fairly new and small, in comparison.
I was wondering, what would happen to your music if they went bankrupt?
They offer single payments, meaning you pay once and it stays up forever (no annual fees).
But what if they go down themselves?

 

If they go down, I guess we have just to relaunch the releases under another distributor. The only thing is to not leave the money on your account, and make regular transfer.
I already posted 2 albums and 2 EP since a few years, with youtube monetization, I asked them a few time for modifications, tracks replacements, cover replacement, they did that without additionnal fees.
The only thing I noticed is they can be a bit slow, especially in rush period, like at the end of the year.

 

Been working with Symphonic and never paid a cent!
I recommend it!

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Do you think their Pro Unlimited flatrate service might be worth it? It's very expensive but they don't take a commission % rate and you get phone support.
Bummer that tracks would vanish if they go down. If only you could directly upload to Spotify and other shops. I don't like this ecosystem where you are dependent on third parties who all have different EULAs and ways to handle stuff.

 

r u t r a c k e r

 

You forgot monstercat yes technically there a label but there a distributer also

 

I think Pro Unlimited is interesting if you make a lot of releases in a year, I don't release more than 3, 4 album/ep, and I'm never in a rush to receive support. I personnally use Rockstar, which also has 0% comission.
I don't know if the tracks would vanish if they go down, but it seems logical as the music platforms make reports and pay autor rights.

 

one rpm maybe?

 

Bump.

I'm really interested in this topic. Maybe someone else can recommend a quality and proven music distributor.

 

Another point that is not always mentioned is their payment systems. As much as Paypal has been around for a long time, it has been hacked and users hacked, with some of the choices above diverting to Paypal. Paypal, unlike Forex and many other international/Global transfer agents is very slow to pay too. They'll deny that but they're full of shit. They say 5-7 days but I know of people who waited nearly a month to get their funds transferred to their bank account. Forex and others do it generally within 36hrs - pick one which does direct transfers to your bank and circumvents the middle-man (like Pay-mal).

Picking one that is free is one thing, picking one where they are tardy, is another.