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TuneCore for music producers

TuneCore distributes releases on a yearly plan or per release, and offers Content ID and publishing administration. Here is what matters for a producer who also licenses music, as of October 2026.

By , a composer with 300+ tracks on audio stock and 12 years in production. Checked on TuneCore's own pages on 26 October 2026.

Type
Distributor
How to join
Open to everyoneYearly Unlimited plan or pay per release
AI-made music
With limitsOnly from AI tools trained on fully licensed data

In short. TuneCore delivers your releases to streaming services and stores. You pay a yearly Unlimited plan, or a fee per release that renews every year. Its Content ID service keeps 20% and claims every video that uses an opted-in track. You can whitelist only one channel, and you can't exclude single videos. AI music is accepted only from tools trained on fully licensed data. TuneCore Publishing does not take music written for royalty-free use.

How to join

Anyone can sign up. Both payment options "automatically renew annually". When checked on 26 October 2026:

  • Unlimited plans, per year: Rising Artist $24.99, Breakout Artist $44.99, Professional $54.99. On Professional, each extra primary artist costs $14.99 a year.
  • Pay per release: a single costs $24.99 for the first year. An album costs $44.99 for the first year and $56.49 each year after.

The New Artist Plan ended on 18 June 2025. Releases of artists who did not upgrade were taken down from all stores.

AI-generated music

TuneCore "only distributes music created using GenAI models trained on fully licensed datasets". The rule applies if AI was used "at any point in the creation of a track". The page, updated on 26 October 2026, names one approved partner: Google Flow Music. If a tool does not explain its training data, TuneCore says it "may not meet distribution requirements". More in Can you sell AI music?

TuneCore Publishing does not administer "Any works wholly generated via AI technology".

Codes, Content ID and royalties

ISRC. TuneCore creates one automatically for each song. You can enter your own instead.

UPC. TuneCore's UPC appears only after its Content Review team approves the release. You can add your own UPC only on pay-per-release or the Professional plan.

Content ID. You opt in under "Social Platforms" with "Deliver to YouTube Content ID". The release must also go to YouTube Music. Tracks are checked before they reach YouTube. The ineligible list includes tracks that:

  • you "have previously licensed to a third party, on an exclusive basis";
  • "are already monetized on YouTube by another distributor";
  • contain "samples from audio libraries (like Musicbed or AudioJungle)";
  • are meditation, yoga or sleep music.

Breaking these rules "may lead to permanent blocking of your account from this service".

Videos and channels. "When you monetize a track on YouTube through this service, you monetize all the videos that track can be found on." TuneCore cannot exclude specific videos. You can whitelist one channel in your YouTube Channel Preferences. To stop all claims on a track, you ask TuneCore to remove it from YouTube monetization.

So if you opt in a track you also sell on stock sites, buyers' videos get claimed too. Only your one whitelisted channel is left alone. Check your stock sites' Content ID rules first: YouTube Content ID.

Publishing. TuneCore Publishing is an exclusive administration deal for your compositions. It keeps exclusive sync rights to them. It does not accept royalty-free music: "nor can you compose original music for royalty-free purposes and submit it for administration". TuneCore's own sync service closed on 1 June 2026.

How you are paid

TuneCore says that for YouTube Music, Content ID, CapCut, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok "you will keep 80% of all revenue generated". There is no extra yearly fee for these. Since 23 May 2025, sending a release only to these social platforms is no longer free.

What to keep in your catalog

  • Your plan, or the renewal date of each pay-per-release single and album.
  • The UPC and the ISRCs TuneCore assigned, and any codes you brought yourself.
  • Which tracks are opted into Content ID, and since when. One company per recording, so note it next to each track.
  • Your one whitelisted channel.
  • Which compositions are in TuneCore Publishing. That deal is exclusive, so it decides where else they can be administered.

Sources