Is DistroKid's Content ID worth it if I already have a PRO?

Yes, if every sound in the song is yours, because your PRO and Content ID collect different money. A PRO like ASCAP or BMI collects performance royalties for the song as written. Content ID earns from your recording when it turns up in YouTube videos.

The two actually help each other. ASCAP’s YouTube guide calls Content ID “the basis of how ASCAP gets you paid for YouTube performances,” and tells artists without a label to have a distributor submit their recordings. ASCAP then matches what Content ID finds against your registered songs.

On DistroKid, Content ID comes with the Social Media Pack extra: $4.95 per single or $14.95 per album, every year, and DistroKid keeps 20% of what it collects. The pack also covers videos on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

The catch is eligibility. DistroKid’s Content ID rules rule out any release with beats, loops, samples or free sounds from GarageBand, Ableton, Logic or Fruity Loops. A song on a leased beat can’t qualify, so the pack would be money for nothing. Our page on whether DistroKid allows samples explains that trap.

The fee renews yearly per release, so add it to songs people actually film to and skip the rest.

Expect claims on your own uploads too. That’s normal, and fixable. For the PRO side, see ASCAP vs BMI.