Independent music-tech reviews
Music tech, judged from inside the studio.
Reviews, guides and comparisons for musicians: distribution, AI music tools and production software, tested by Dan Lopes.
Dan LopesSound designer, audio engineer and composer - Every review dated
- Affiliate links disclosed
- Verdicts never for sale
Featured · Guide · Music Business
DistroKid Pricing Guide - Everything You Need To Know
What DistroKid costs: Musician, Musician Plus and Ultimate compared, every release extra and its fee, and the plan we'd pick. Prices checked October 2026.
Updated October 3, 2026
Distributors at a glance
Full comparison in the Music distribution hub| DistroKid | TuneCore | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From $24.99/year | From $24.99/year |
| Pricing model | Yearly subscription, unlimited releases | Yearly subscription or pay per release |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Best for | Independent artists who release often | Artists who want YouTube Content ID included |
| Our review | Read it | Read it |
Prices checked October 2026.
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Hub · Music Business Music Distribution To get your music on Spotify, Apple Music and the other streaming services, you need a distributor: a service that delivers your releases and passes the royalties back to you. This hub compares the distributors we've reviewed and links to every distribution guide on Sound Tech Insider. Go to the hub Hub · AI & Audio AI Music Generators Nine AI music generators, from composition tools like AIVA to royalty-free music makers like Soundraw and Mubert: what each is for and how it's priced. Go to the hub
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AI & Audio AI music generation, stem separation, voice AI and text-to-speech, AI-assisted workflows, and the ethics and licensing questions around them. 11 pieces Music Business Distribution, publishing, royalties, promotion and the economics of releasing music independently. 5 pieces Music Technology DAWs, plugins, virtual instruments, sample tools and the software side of a home studio. 2 pieces
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All reviews Review · AI & Audio Songen Review: An AI Co-Producer at Your Fingertips Songen generates song ideas in over 40 genres on iOS, with a DAW-style editor and MIDI export. Our review covers its features, the editor and the free plan. Sponsored Review · AI & Audio Mubert Review: Everything You Need to Know What Mubert does and how to use it: Render for content creators, Studio for artists and the API for developers, plus its plans and royalty-free licensing. Review · Music Business TuneCore Review: Music Distribution Made Easy Is TuneCore worth it? Our review covers its music distribution, publishing administration, sync licensing and YouTube monetization, and how its pricing works. From $24.99/year The Insider
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