SoundCloud distribution explained

This guide covers SoundCloud for Artists as described on SoundCloud’s plans page and help center, with US prices, checked Sep 24, 2026. It keeps two things apart that people mix up: earning from plays on SoundCloud, and using SoundCloud to get your songs into other stores.

What is SoundCloud distribution?

SoundCloud distribution is SoundCloud working as your distributor: through SoundCloud for Artists, it sends your tracks to Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok and more than 50 other platforms, and passes on what they pay. Uploading to SoundCloud is a different thing. Anyone can do that on the free Basic plan, and the song only appears on SoundCloud. Distribution needs a paid plan, either the Artist plan or Artist Pro, and since Oct 31, 2025 SoundCloud keeps 0% of distribution royalties. It covers your recordings, not your songwriting royalties.

That second meaning is the one this page is about. SoundCloud’s own distribution page spells out the split: SoundCloud and Bandcamp let you upload directly, but most other streaming services only take music from a distributor. So a free SoundCloud account with 40 tracks on it has put exactly zero of them on Spotify. If that’s news, you’re in good company, and our guide to free music distribution covers the services that really do deliver to stores for nothing (with a royalty cut).

The songwriting part matters too. SoundCloud’s page on what SoundCloud for Artists collects says distribution collects sound recording (master) royalties only. Performance and mechanical royalties for the song itself come through a PRO and a publisher or mechanical rights organization, the same as with any other distributor.

Distribution sits on two paid plans, and which one fits comes down to how many tracks you put out.

SoundCloud distribution plans and prices

SoundCloud sells distribution through two paid plans, per its plans page: the Artist plan at $39 a year, which covers 2 distributed tracks a month, and Artist Pro at $99 a year, which is unlimited. Both are billed yearly. The free Basic plan includes no distribution and no monetization. The Artist plan’s allowance works as monthly credits: 2 tracks that can be distributed and monetized, reset every 30 days, with no carryover. Artist Pro adds Split Pay, which pays collaborators their share automatically. Both paid plans include YouTube Content ID and monthly mastering credits (1 on the Artist plan, 3 on Artist Pro). SoundCloud says the Artist plan is sold only in select territories.

The credit rules are on SoundCloud’s Artist and Artist Pro page, and the side-by-side is on its subscription comparison. Here’s how that plays out with real release plans:

• One single a month, just you. The Artist plan fits, with a spare credit for a B-side. Miss a month and the credits are gone, not saved.
• A six-track EP. That’s more than one month’s credits, and they don’t carry over, so you’d be waiting months or upgrading. Plan on Artist Pro.
• A song with a producer or co-writer taking a cut. Split Pay is Artist Pro only. Your collaborator doesn’t need a paid plan to get paid, per SoundCloud’s how to distribute page. They just log in and add payout details.
• You only see Artist Pro at checkout. That’s the territory rule, not a glitch.

Both plans say you keep 100% of royalties. That’s true, but “royalties” here covers two separate paychecks.

SoundCloud monetization vs distribution: two different paychecks

SoundCloud monetization and SoundCloud distribution are two separate paychecks: monetization pays you for plays on SoundCloud, and distribution passes on what Spotify, Apple Music and other stores pay for your tracks. Plays on SoundCloud are paid through Fan-Powered Royalties, which split each listener’s subscription or ad money by how much of their listening time went to you. The other stores use their own royalty models, usually a pooled one. You keep 100% of both, because SoundCloud cut its distribution fee from 20% to 0% on Oct 31, 2025. A processing fee on each payout is the only deduction. Both need a paid plan, and monetization is switched on track by track in SoundCloud for Artists.

The fee change is in SoundCloud’s Monetization Terms update, and the payout model is on its Fan-Powered Royalties page, which also says there’s no minimum stream count to start earning on SoundCloud. The store side works like any distributor: Spotify pays on its own rules, which our guide to how Spotify pays artists walks through.

What decides whether SoundCloud plays pay you anything is eligibility. SoundCloud’s monetization page says:

• Only original content you own all the rights to. Unofficial covers and remixes, mashups, DJ sets and podcasts don’t qualify.
• Tracks between 30 seconds and 10 minutes long.
• You switch it on yourself for each track. SoundCloud doesn’t do it automatically, and review takes up to 5 business days.

If your SoundCloud is mostly DJ mixes, that’s the honest answer: the mixes can stay up, but they won’t earn.

Then the payout rules:

• Money goes out once your balance reaches $25 after fees, on the last business day of the month, per SoundCloud’s getting paid page.
• Each payout costs a processing fee that depends on the method, from $0.50 for a US bank transfer to $25 for a SWIFT wire to China or Ukraine, per the payout fees page. PayPal is $3.75 on the same page.
• Earnings run on a two-month delay, and first-time earners usually see nothing for 45 to 60 days, per the getting paid page.

That last one is where people panic. A $0 balance six weeks after your first release is normal, not a sign that you’ve been ripped off. Check that your tax form and payout method are complete, since SoundCloud names that as the top reason payments get stuck.

The store paycheck only matters if your music reaches the stores you care about.

Which stores SoundCloud distributes to

SoundCloud for Artists delivers to more than 50 platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes, YouTube Music, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, Amazon, Deezer, Tidal, Pandora, Audiomack, Anghami, Boomplay and Tencent. The full list is on SoundCloud’s distribution help page, which counts them as 60+. Two limits apply. TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, and YouTube Content ID only take tracks you own 100% exclusive rights to, so a song on a leased, non-exclusive beat has to skip them. Curated services such as Pandora, iHeartRadio and Peloton decide for themselves whether to carry a release. Beatport is only available on SoundCloud’s legacy Repost Select plan.

The list and the Beatport note are on SoundCloud’s distribution page. The exclusive-rights rule is on its rights verification page, which says to remove Content ID and untick TikTok and Meta before you submit a track with non-exclusive beats, samples or stems. Skip that and expect a rejection.

The same page lists SoundCloud’s delivery estimates, which help you pick a release date:

The slow tail is why SoundCloud says to schedule at least 4 weeks ahead if you want one release day everywhere.

Knowing where it goes, the next step is sending it.

How to distribute music through SoundCloud

Distributing through SoundCloud takes seven steps: upload the track to SoundCloud and click Distribute, enter track details, enter release details, choose platforms, map your Spotify and Apple Music profiles, add Split Pay if you have collaborators, then submit for review. Before the first release, you need a paid Artist or Artist Pro plan, SoundCloud for Artists’ terms signed, and your payout and tax details filled in. You also need 3000 x 3000 pixel artwork, every songwriter’s legal name and a future release date. SoundCloud assigns an ISRC if you don’t have one. It recommends setting release day 30 to 45 days after you submit.

The steps come from SoundCloud’s how to distribute page. The details that trip people up:

1. Upload to SoundCloud first. Since May 13, 2025, the distribution form no longer takes direct uploads, per SoundCloud’s page on editing live releases. You can keep the track private or scheduled on SoundCloud until release day.
2. Track details. Composer and songwriter fields want full legal names, not initials. If you used a licensed beat or a sample, list those creators and upload the license.
3. Release details. Record Label is required. Your artist name works fine.
4. Platforms. Everything is ticked by default. Untick TikTok, Meta and Content ID if the beat isn’t exclusive to you.
5. Profile mapping. Link your existing Spotify and Apple Music pages, spelled exactly as they appear. On a first release, pick Create New Profile.
6. Split Pay. Artist Pro only. Add each collaborator’s SoundCloud URL and percentage.
7. Submit. A Rejected status usually means a metadata fix or a missing license, not a dead end.

First release? SoundCloud’s profiles page says your Spotify and Apple Music pages are created on release day and can take up to a week to become claimable. It also says Spotify editorial pitching starts with your second release, once the profile exists. So your debut is the one to get out early and clean.

Changes after release have limits. You can fix titles, credits and artwork, but you can’t swap the audio or reorder an album. That needs a takedown and a new release.

The next question is whether any of this beats using a regular distributor.

SoundCloud vs DistroKid for distribution

SoundCloud distribution is worth it mainly if you already pay for Artist Pro for SoundCloud’s own tools; for unlimited releases alone, DistroKid costs less. TheDebutRoom compares distributors on three things: the yearly cost for the number of songs you’ll release, what the service keeps from your royalties, and what happens to your songs when you stop paying. DistroKid is $24.99/yr for unlimited uploads. SoundCloud’s unlimited plan, Artist Pro, is $99 a year, and its $39 Artist plan caps you at 2 tracks a month (both on SoundCloud’s plans page). Neither keeps a cut of store royalties. SoundCloud includes YouTube Content ID. On DistroKid, Content ID is a paid extra.

The DistroKid side is on its pricing page and its album extras page. Where you land depends on how you use SoundCloud:

• SoundCloud is your main home. You post there, your listeners comment there, and you’d pay for Artist Pro anyway for the insights and uploads. Then distribution comes with a plan you already have, and store money and SoundCloud money sit in one dashboard.
• You mostly care about Spotify and Apple Music. DistroKid at $24.99/yr is the cheaper route to the same stores. The catch: SoundCloud isn’t on DistroKid’s store list, so you’d upload to SoundCloud yourself on the free plan, and those plays earn nothing unless you add an Artist plan.
• Small earnings. DistroKid lets you withdraw from $6. SoundCloud waits until you reach $25 after fees, per its getting paid page.
• Already with a distributor that delivers to SoundCloud. Those tracks show “Provided to SoundCloud by” your distributor’s name, and SoundCloud’s rightsholder page says you can’t edit or delete them yourself. Changes go through the distributor.

Both services pull your music if you stop paying. DistroKid sends notice and then removes your releases, unless a release has the Leave a Legacy extra, per its annual fee page. For every other option side by side, see our roundup of the best music distribution services.

Whichever you pick, the rule that bites later is what happens when the plan ends.

What happens to your music if you cancel

TheDebutRoom’s view: the cancellation rule is the part of SoundCloud distribution to read before your first upload, because letting the plan lapse pulls your songs from every other store. SoundCloud’s help center says anything you distributed or monetized through SoundCloud for Artists is taken down from distribution partners and demonetized 30 days after your Artist or Artist Pro subscription ends. Resubscribe within those 30 days and your releases are delivered again automatically. Downgrading from Artist Pro also hides your oldest SoundCloud uploads past the new plan’s limit, 180 minutes on the Artist plan and 120 on Basic, though nothing is deleted. The rule covers every release sent through SoundCloud, old or new.

The source is SoundCloud’s cancellation page. The worry here is real: a card expires, the renewal fails, and a month later your Spotify page is empty. Two ways to avoid that:

• Staying. Keep a card on file that won’t expire before renewal, and check the renewal date in your subscription settings.
• Leaving. Move the music before you cancel. Re-upload with the same ISRC codes (which carry stream counts over) at the new distributor and take the SoundCloud release down. The order depends on where you’re going: DistroKid says upload there first and remove the old release the next day, while Ditto says take the old one down first. Our DistroKid alternatives guide has the steps. SoundCloud’s takedowns take 2 to 5 business days, and earnings already generated are still paid, per its live release page.

Moving the other way, onto SoundCloud, has its own rule. SoundCloud’s migration page says to use identical titles, artist names and ISRCs, keep both versions live for at least two weeks so the stores link them, and only then ask your old distributor to take theirs down. It also asks for a screenshot of your old distributor’s catalog to speed up approval.

For the other stores, from Apple Music to TikTok, our Platforms hub has a guide for each.