TuneCore introduces split royalty payments (splits) to fuel collaboration for self-releasing artists


Leading digital music distributor for self-releasing artists, TuneCore, a division of Believe, one of the world’s leading digital music companies, has launched royalty splits. The move better serves the self-releasing artist community and facilitates seamless collaboration between music creators.

Andreea Gleeson, CEO, TuneCore commented, “Our goal at TuneCore is to make our artists’ lives easier so that they can focus on making music. For years, self-releasing artists at all stages of their careers have been required to take on additional support roles to sustain their artistic endeavors. By offering splits, TuneCore artists can now spend less time being accountants and more time making great music.”

TuneCore artists are now able to split their royalty payments from their streaming & download revenue between all collaborators on any track or album. All TuneCore artists on a paid UNLIMITED release plan are automatically eligible to utilize royalty splits, while those who utilize TuneCore’s free New Artist plan can access splits for just $7.99 a year through the Splits Collaborator add-on, all with no royalty commission paid to TuneCore from their streaming and download revenue.

Papoose, TuneCore’s Head of Hip-Hop commented, “As an artist, collaborating with other artists is very important; it can help bring out the best of our collective creativity while also allowing us to cross-promote and gain exposure to other artists’ audiences. For independent artists, the business side of collaboration can be a burden, organizing monthly payouts to make sure everyone gets their fair share. TuneCore’s new splits program allows us to enter the royalty percentages for each artist on a track and TuneCore handles the payouts. Once again, TuneCore continues to put artists first and make it easier for us to focus on making music together.”

Through splits, TuneCore also offers price-sensitive creators a means to facilitate collaboration by allowing them to offer featured artists a share of streaming and download revenue rather than paying an advance fee, decreasing the upfront financial barriers that could otherwise block collaboration.

Once splits are registered for a track or album, TuneCore will provide automatic payouts to collaborators as well as full visibility into payout details. Artists will be able to execute functions such as editing their splits at any time, adding or removing collaborators, and updating percentages, thereby lifting the burden of handling accounting for all collaborators on a specific track and allowing the artists to focus more on working together to create art and express themselves through music.

Believe is one of the world’s leading digital music companies. Believe’s mission is to develop local artists and labels in the digital ecosystem by providing them with the solutions they need to grow their audience at each stage of their career and development. Believe’s passionate team of digital music experts around the world leverages the Group’s global technology platform to advise artists and labels, distribute and promote their music. Its 1,610 employees in more than 50 countries aim to support local artists and labels with a unique digital expertise, respect, fairness and transparency. Believe offers its various solutions through a portfolio of brands including TuneCore, Nuclear Blast, Naïve, Groove Attack and AllPoints. Believe is listed on compartment A of the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Ticker: BLV, ISIN: FR0014003FE9). www.believe.com

TuneCore is the leading independent development partner for self-releasing artists to build audiences and careers – with technology and services across distribution, publishing administration, and a range of promotional services. TuneCore Music Distribution services help artists, labels, and managers sell their music through Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, TikTok, Tencent, and more than 150 download and streaming stores worldwide, while retaining 100 percent of their sales revenue and rights for a low annual flat fee. TuneCore Music Publishing Administration assists songwriters by administering their compositions through licensing, registration, worldwide royalty collections, and placement opportunities in film, TV, commercials, video games, and more. The TuneCore Artist Services portal offers a suite of tools and services that enable artists to promote their craft, connect with fans, and get their music heard. TuneCore, part of Believe, is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, with offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, and Atlanta, and operates globally through local teams based in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, India, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore across 5 continents. www.tunecore.com