UNITEDMASTERS VS. DISTROKID

UnitedMasters provides premium music distribution services and facilitates unique partnerships between musicians and the world’s biggest brands.

Find out why independent artists are switching from DistroKid to UnitedMasters.

WHY UNITEDMASTERS IS BETTER THAN  DISTROKID

In a time with more options than ever to get your music out there, you need a trusted distribution platform to help you maximize your creative and economic potential. More than 1.5 million artists use UnitedMasters to release their music globally- here are six reasons why they choose us over DistroKid.

GET SYNC DEALS

COLLAB WITH BRANDS

BUY & SELL BEATS

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Up your game, reach new fans, and get paid doing it. Land partnerships with brands like ESPN and the NBA.

Buy and sell studio-ready beats directly in the app. Find a collaborator for your next hit record.

Sync your music on TV shows, movies, video games, and commercials.

TRACK YOUR STREAMS

DEDICATED SUPPORT

GET PLAYLISTED

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Get your tracks featured in editorial collections like Music Mondays and BASE:LINE to maximize exposure.

Track your streaming data & payment reports at all times in the UnitedMasters app.

Enjoy 24/7 access to our in-house customer support and distro operations teams.

JOIN A COMMUNITY OF 1.5+ MILLION ARTISTS MASTERING THEIR INDEPENDENCE.

Is UnitedMasters Better Than DistroKid?

Features

UnitedMasters

DistroKid

Access Brand Partnerships & Sync Deals

In-App Beat Marketplace

No Hidden Fees

Hands-on Customer Support

See Subscription Plans for more details

Get Your Music Into Global Brand Campaigns

Reach new fans through UnitedMasters partnerships with ESPN, Apple Music, the NBA, and more.

Premium music distribution for artists at every stage

More than 1.5 million artists use UnitedMasters to release their music globally-- see why they choose us over other independent music distributors.

A community of creators to help you level up

UnitedMasters is a creative collective. When you join as a SELECT artist, you can get invited to special events where you’ll meet collaborators, learn from prominent industry voices, and even perform with music legends.

FEBRUARY 2024

DECEMBER 2023

OCTOBER 2023

UnitedMasters’ groundbreaking creator conference is back. Gather for a day of panels, workshops, and performances with leading independent artists, innovators, and trailblazers from around the world.

UnitedMasters is taking over GRAMMYs® weekend to show the world that independence is not just the future of music, it has arrived and its global.

Earn Your Leisure and UnitedMasters took it to Art Basel in Miami for a full day of educational panels, networking and live performances.

OUR PLATFORM

A record label in your pocket

Tap into all the tools you need on any device.                                            

Sign up now to release songs, apply for exclusive Brand & Sync deals, manage payouts, and more.

DISTROKID VS. UNITEDMASTERS

WHAT ARE THE DOWNSIDES OF USING DISTROKID?

Unlike Distrokid, UnitedMasters has a reliable customer support team to answer questions & solve problems in real time. Distrokid has been known to charge additional "hidden" fees for features that are already included with UnitedMasters SELECT, like Split Pay, and Shazam.

WHICH PLATFORM PROVIDES DEDICATED ARTIST SERVICES AND SUPPORT?

When it comes to artist services and support, UnitedMasters PARTNER provides everything you'd expect from a label, plus ownership of your masters. Our curated group of PARTNER artists receive hands-on support from our in-house artist relations team, personalized marketing campaigns, white glove music distribution, playlist pitching, hand-picked brand collabs, and more.

Currently, UnitedMasters PARTNER is by invite only. Our in-house artist relations team identifies emerging talent to upstream to PARTNER. UnitedMasters SELECT artists are eligible to be invited, and among the first to be considered.

WHICH DISTRIBUTOR MAKES IT EASIER TO TRACK MY STREAMS: DISTROKID OR UNITEDMASTERS?

UnitedMasters gives independent artists the most comprehensive way to track streams across platforms. With UnitedMasters, you can manage your streaming data and royalty payments on-the-go, directly in the mobile app. Organize your analytics by streaming and social platform, region, and more to help you understand your fanbase, listening trends, and career growth. Find out how UnitedMasters compares to other competitors.

WHICH PLATFORM IS BETTER & EASIER TO USE: DISTROKID OR UNITEDMASTERS?

UnitedMasters changed the game with the launch of the first ever music distribution app for iOS and Android. Now it's easier than ever to upload your music, access streaming analytics, submit for sync deals, buy & sell beats and more. UnitedMasters' interface is the most artist-friendly and the easiest to understand. Our dedicated customer support team can help you at every stage of your independence.

WHICH DISTRIBUTOR IS BEST FOR PROMOTING MY MUSIC: DISTROKID OR UNITEDMASTERS?

UnitedMasters offers many promotional tools to help artists master their independence. Partner with the world's hottest brands, submit for exclusive sync licensing opportunities and get playlisted where it matters. Artists can promote their releases with MasterLinks, a central link directing your fans to their preferred music service on their preferred device.

HOW DO I SWITCH FROM DISTROKID TO UNITEDMASTERS?

To transfer your music from DistroKid to UnitedMasters, you'll want to follow these easy steps:

1. The first step is understanding whether or not you’re under any agreements that prevent you from moving your catalog to UnitedMasters. This is something that you should be able to reference in the distribution agreement you have in place, or you can just reach out to DistroKid to find out.

2. There is no way to transfer accounting, rights ownership or the actual assets in back-end systems. So you will need to prepare your catalog to manually upload it to your UnitedMasters account as a second step.

3. Assuming that you are not under a current agreement, and are free to move your catalog to UnitedMasters, our third recommended step would be to set up your releases as "drafts" into our system.

When transferring your catalog, you want to minimize any lapse in your digital presence. As such, timing your distribution through UnitedMasters in tandem with DistroKid's takedowns is important.

Once you understand the timing, you are ready to distribute your music. Be sure to follow the instructions here to transfer stream counts, set release dates for your drafts, submit your release(s) for approval, and request DistroKid to issue takedowns.

DO I OWN MY MUSIC WITH UNITEDMASTERS?

With UnitedMasters SELECT, you keep 100% of your royalties and maintain full ownership of your masters.