Getting Paid
Keep 100% of your earnings, and receive them faster than any other distributor.
Earnings Reports See all 16 articles
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How and When Do I Get Paid?
Earnings reports and withdrawals are available once DistroKid processes earnings from streaming services and stores. Services report your earnings every 1-2 months, with those reports representing streams or sales from a few months prior. You can typically expect to see earnings from the majority of services after about 3 months of your release going live.
Some services may report earnings less frequently, such as once or twice per year. Keep in mind that services do not report earnings on the same day, and there are no set payout dates provided on their end.
Timing of Earnings Received by DistroKid
Streaming services send earnings to distributors at different times. DistroKid may receive earnings first, but this isn't guaranteed. If you use another distributor, they might get earnings from a service before or after DistroKid does.
Note that services reporting monthly earnings may not do so on the same day each month, leading to some variance in when we receive them.
Withdrawing Earnings
To withdraw your earnings, you can sign in to your DistroKid account and visit https://distrokid.com/bank.
For more information about tracking your withdrawal once you've requested it, please see this article: https://support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/16501620089747
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How Much of My Earnings Does DistroKid Keep?
DistroKid does not take any percentage of what stores send us for your earnings. When streaming services and stores send us earnings reports, we send 100% of the earnings allocated to you straight to your DistroKid Bank. We feel strongly that you shouldn't give a percentage of your earnings for streams/sales to your distributor. You earned the money, not them.
DistroKid takes a percentage only if you choose the optional "Social Media Pack" Album Extra for any of your releases. This service identifies YouTube and TikTok videos using your music and enables monetization on those videos. We retain 20% of the revenue generated from this monetization, and send you the remaining 80%. You still keep 100% of your earnings from streaming services and music stores like Spotify and iTunes, minus banking fees and taxes.
Withdrawal Fees and Withholding
When withdrawing earnings, you may incur taxes and fees from our payment processor, Tipalti. Fees vary by withdrawal method; see this article for details: Is There a Fee When I Withdraw My Earnings?
Depending on your residency, tax withholding rates may apply. For more information, refer to this Tipalti article: Withholding Rates. DistroKid cannot provide tax information. For tax-related questions, please consult a tax professional.
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How Much Do Streaming Services Pay Per Stream?
The rates streaming services pay aren't up to DistroKid, and we have no control over changing them. We just pass along the exact amounts that services send to us. DistroKid has and always will pass on 100% of the earnings that services send us for your streams/sales, minus banking fees/applicable taxes.
Why do streaming rates vary?
Streaming rates vary because there are many factors that services use to calculate what you’re owed, and rate calculations vary from service to service. Some things that services use to calculate rates include (but are not limited to):
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Quantity of streams/downloads
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Territory
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Subscription type (free vs paid subscription)
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Ad/subscription revenue
The Pro Rata Model
Most services distribute earnings using the pro rata model. With this model, all the revenue from a product tier is pooled together, and a percentage of that revenue is set aside for artists. That remaining revenue is then allocated to songs based on their share of the total streams that took place on that product tier.
Example:
A service has $1,000 to distribute for their paid subscription tier that accumulated 10 million total streams for the month. Of the 10 million streams in total, your song was streamed 1,500 times.
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1,500/10,000,000*$1,000= $0.15 owed
Please note that the above example is not based on any real service, and each service has their own method of applying the pro rata model. For example, Spotify has a great video that explains how earnings are calculated on their end: How Spotify Pays You
Sales vs Streams
For services that sell digital downloads instead of streaming, it's typical for the service to take a percentage of the sale, often up to 30%, with the artist receiving the remaining 70%. However, this percentage may vary by service.
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When I Delete a Release, Do I Still Get My Earnings?
Yes, you will still receive any due earnings for a deleted release for the time it was live on streaming services. The earnings will be passed through to your DistroKid Bank.
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Using the DistroKid Bank to See Your Earnings
To access your DistroKid Bank, sign in to DistroKid and click on "Bank" in the top banner, or head directly to https://distrokid.com/bank.
Your DistroKid Bank is available to show you your total earnings, the withdrawals made and the total amount of earnings you've withdrawn, and how much money DistroKid owes you that is available to withdraw.
If you'd like to see more detailed information about your earnings, click on "See Excruciating Detail" from your DistroKid Bank page.
Your Total Earnings Section
The first section of your DistroKid Bank is the "Total Earnings" section. This section will show to the all-time earnings total for all artists on your account. Additionally, you can access a breakdown of earnings by artist, song, or service.
Your Total Withdrawals Section
The second section of your DistroKid Bank is the "Withdrawals" section. In this section, you will see the total amount of all withdrawals made on your account. You can also click on "See all withdrawals" to see a dated history of your account's withdrawals, along with the amount for each withdrawal (minus banking fees and applicable tax).
The "We Owe You" Section
The third section of your DistroKid Bank is the "We Owe You..." section, which shows the amount of earnings that are ready to withdraw from your account. For more information on withdrawing your earnings, see this article: https://support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/39076091905555.
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Checking How Many Times Your Song Has Been Streamed and Downloaded
To see the streaming and download totals for your releases, sign into DistroKid and visit your DistroKid Bank at https://distrokid.com/bank by clicking "Bank" on the top navigation bar. From there, click on the blue button that says "SEE EXCRUCIATING DETAIL."
This will bring you to a Bank details page where you can see a number of columns, but the one that indicates how many times your release has been streamed or downloaded is the "QUANTITY" column.
Depending on the service, this quantity column will indicate either streams or downloads/sales. These are the services that report downloads (all others are streaming):
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iTunes
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Beatport
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Amazon (purchases on the Amazon Webstore)
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MediaNet
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TIDAL Downloads
You can download a .tsv file with of all the information in your excruciating details at any time by clicking the download button on the upper right of the excruciating details page.
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Withdrawing Your Earnings See all 7 articles
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Entering Payout Preferences in Tipalti
When you are owed earnings, DistroKid will prompt you for payout preferences in the Bank tab of your DistroKid account. You won't be asked for these preferences until then.
When it's time to enter or change these preferences, click on your profile icon in the upper right, and then select "Payout Method," or head directly to https://distrokid.com/payouts/.
From there, you'll need to:
- Fill out all required contact information.
- Choose your preferred payout method.
- Select and complete the required Tax Forms. If you have questions, click "Need Help? Start the tax form questionnaire".
Note: We're unable to help with any tax questions/issues. Please see consult a tax professional if you require guidance or assistance with tax issues.
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Withdrawing Your Earnings
You can withdraw your earnings at any time by visiting https://distrokid.com/bank and clicking the "Withdraw Earnings" button.
If this button is not available, you may need to visit https://distrokid.com/payouts/ to make adjustments to your payout method. The button will also not appear if you do not have enough earnings to meet the minimum withdrawal amount ($6 USD) and/or any withdrawal fees associated with your selected payout type.
Choosing Your Payout Method
To set your payout method, you can open your account menu by clicking the icon in the top right, and then click on "Payout Method." You can also navigate directly to https://distrokid.com/payouts/.
From there, you can click on "Update your Tipalti settings" to access a portal to our payout processor. You will need to enter your DistroKid password to access this portal. Once you enter your password and enter the portal, you can then enter your information and choose your preferred payout method.For specific guidance on entering your information at https://distrokid.com/payouts/, please see this article: https://support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013649013.
Requesting a Withdrawal
To request a withdrawal, you can visit your DistroKid bank at https://distrokid.com/bank and click the "Withdraw Earnings" button.
The total that is shown under the “We Owe You” section of your DistroKid Bank page will be sent when you make your request.
Once requested, the funds will be processed via the payout method you set at https://distrokid.com/payouts, and will typically be delivered to you within 14 days.
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Where is My Withdrawal?
DistroKid processes payout requests twice a week. From start to finish, it can take up to 14 days for a submitted withdrawal request to be seen in the account you select at https://distrokid.com/payouts.
To check the status of your withdrawal, you can sign in to your DistroKid account and head to https://distrokid.com/bank. Your Bank page will let you know if your withdrawal is still pending or completed. If your withdrawal is completed and you haven't received it, it's possible your payment was rejected and returned by your bank.
Checking Your Withdrawal Status
To check if your withdrawal is still pending, you can first head to your DistroKid Bank page at https://distrokid.com/bank. Pending withdrawals display a grey box that includes the time passed since the request was submitted. This grey box will provide a link to contact DistroKid support if we feel that too much time has passed since you requested the withdrawal.
If your withdrawal was completed, you’ll see it listed under “See All Withdrawals” on your DistroKid Bank page.
Our payout processor, Tipalti, also sends an email notification regarding your withdrawal to the contact email you set at https://distrokid.com/payouts.
Once a withdrawal is completed, you may follow up with your bank to confirm that they've received the earnings.
Withdrawal Was Rejected by Your Bank
If your withdrawal is seen under the “See All Withdrawals” section at https://distrokid.com/bank but you still haven't received it after 14 days, it's possible that the payment was rejected and returned by your bank. If this is the case, you’ll receive an email letting you know about the rejection. That payment will then be returned to your DistroKid bank (minus fees) within a few weeks. Once the payment is returned, you can update your payout method at https://distrokid.com/payouts and request another withdrawal.
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Is There a Fee When I Withdraw My Earnings?
Yes, there is a fee when withdrawing earnings from your DistroKid Bank. Our payment processor, Tipalti, charges DistroKid a small fee for sending money, which is automatically subtracted from your earnings when you withdraw.
Withdrawal Fee Amounts by Payout Method
- ACH (U.S. only) — $1.07 per payment
- eCheck (U.S.) — $1.61 per payment
- eCheck/Local Bank Transfer/SEPA (non-U.S.) — $5.35 per payment
- Paper Check — $3.21 per check
- Wire Transfer (U.S.) — $16.05 per payment
- Wire Transfer (International in local currency) — $21.40 per payment
- Wire Transfer (International in USD) — $27.82 per payment
- PayPal (Non-US resident): USD 1.07 + 2% Up to USD 22.47
- PayPal (US resident): USD 1.07 + 2% Up to USD 2.14
Minimum Withdrawals
The minimum required payout amount is $6 USD. On your bank page, if your total under "What we owe you" shows less than $6 or if the transaction fee for your chosen payout method is not met, your withdrawal request will not be processed.
Important: Please be sure to select your preferred withdrawal method, and acknowledge the fees associated with your preferred method. A rejected withdrawal request may accrue a rejection fee from our payment processor.FX Fees
In addition to withdrawal fees, an FX fee of up to 3% may apply if payment currency is different than the country you select. More details on the FX fee is available when selecting your payment method at https://distrokid.com/payouts.
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Is There a Minimum Payout Threshold?
The minimum payout threshold is $6. If the transaction fee for your chosen payout method exceeds that amount, you’ll need more than that to request a withdrawal. Check out the list of withdrawal fees here:
- ACH (U.S. only) — $1.07 per payment
- eCheck (U.S.) — $1.61 per payment
- eCheck/Local Bank Transfer/SEPA (non-U.S.) — $5.35 per payment
- Paper Check — $3.21 per check
- Wire Transfer (U.S.) — $16.05 per payment
- Wire Transfer (International in local currency) — $21.40 per payment
- Wire Transfer (International in USD) — $27.82 per payment
- PayPal (Non-US resident): USD 1.07 + 2% Up to USD 22.47
- PayPal (US resident): USD 1.07 + 2% Up to USD 2.14
For more info about Payment Thresholds, please see this table.
Note: You'll keep more of your earnings if you withdraw larger amounts, since you'll save money on fees.
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Cancelling a Withdrawal
If you'd like to cancel a withdrawal, you can do so from your DistroKid Bank page at https://distrokid.com/bank. Here are the steps you can take to cancel a recent withdrawal:
- Navigate to www.distrokid.com/bank
- You will see a grey information box that says "You requested payment..."
- Under this info box, click the link that says "Need to cancel this withdrawal?"
- You will get a warning to double check that you want to cancel your withdrawal. If you are sure you want to cancel, click the button that says "Yes, cancel it."
- You're done! Your withdrawal has been cancelled, and your earnings will remain in your DistroKid bank.
Note: If you do not see the link that says "Need to cancel this withdrawal?," this means your withdrawal has already processed and is on its way to your specified payment method.
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Taxes See all 6 articles
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Can DistroKid Help Me With My Taxes?
DistroKid is unable to help with any tax issues, as we are not tax professionals.
You'll want to consult a tax professional for help with anything tax-related.
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Why Does DistroKid Collect Tax Information?
US-based artists are asked to complete form W-9, and non-US-based artists are asked to complete form W-8BEN. We're required to collect this information once per year, and all DistroKid users are required to complete the required tax documents in order to receive earnings from DistroKid.
For any help completing the forms, please consult a tax professional.
TIN/EIN for Form W-9
US-based artists are asked to complete Form W-9, which asks for your TIN/EIN. As an individual, your TIN is your social security number (SSN). If you have registered as a business, your TIN is your EIN. For help with additional questions related to the tax forms, please consult a tax professional.
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Zenwork Tax1099, Electronic Consent, and Tax Form Delivery
DistroKid works with Zenwork Tax1099 to deliver all tax documentation. Tax1099 now requires individual consent to deliver those tax forms via eDelivery.
You may receive an email from statements@tax1099.com prior to receiving your tax forms, regarding providing consent to Zenwork to have your 1099 or 1042 forms delivered electronically through xForce, their self-service portal.
Please refer to this overview provided by Zenwork Tax1099 on providing consent for eDelivery of your tax documentation.
When your tax form is ready, you’ll receive an email from statements@tax1099.com. From there you can click “Consent Now” to receive a temporary password.
DistroKid can't provide any information about taxes, or anything related to taxes, tax forms, tax withholding, etc. We understand that tax processes can be confusing, so if you have any questions about anything tax-related, please consult a tax professional for guidance and assistance.
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Receiving a 1099 or 1042 for Your Earnings
If you made a withdrawal in the previous fiscal year, you'll receive a 1099 or 1042 via email from statements@tax1099.com. DistroKid does not provide W-2 forms at this time.
If you updated your tax information multiple times in the same fiscal year, each distinct payee will receive separate forms for the withdrawals taken under their validated tax identity.
For more information on how to access your 1099 or 1042 forms, including the password generated for you, please read this article.
Note: We're unable to help with any tax questions/issues. Please see consult a tax professional if you require guidance or assistance with tax issues.
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What Is the Password for My 1099 or 1042 Form?
When your tax form is ready, you’ll receive an email from statements@tax1099.com. That email will request your consent for the eDelivery of your 1099 or 1042, and include the steps required to give your consent for the eDelivery.
You can click “Consent Now” in the email to receive a temporary password to begin the process of creating the Zenwork xForce account needed to complete the consent process. The temporary password will be emailed to you, and you can use that to sign in and create a permanent password.
Steps to Provide eDelivery Consent:
Within the email, you'll find these steps to provide your consent for the eDelivery:
- Sign up for Zenwork xForce.
- On the Dashboard, click on the "eDelivery Requests" button.
- On the Payers page, click on the "Consent Now" button associated with the payer who has requested your consent.
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Tax Withholding for Non-U.S. Residents
If your country of tax residency is not in the United States, up to 30% of your earnings may be subject to tax withholding. If there is a tax treaty between your country and the United States, and if you qualify for the benefits of that treaty, withholding may be reduced or eliminated.
Depending on the rules and regulations in your country of tax residence, you may be able to credit some or all of the United States tax withheld (if any) against your taxes.
A detailed list of applicable withholding rates per country can be found in the column labeled “Copyrights” here:
https://support.tipalti.com/Content/Topics/UserGuide/Taxation/TaxWithholding/WithholdingRates.htmTax treaty information can be entered at www.distrokid.com/payouts, in Section 3 (Tax Forms), Part II (Claim of Treaty Benefits).
DistroKid cannot give tax advice, so we must state that this is not tax advice. Please consult a tax professional if you have any questions about the information here.
Splits See all 6 articles
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Using Splits To Pay Your Collaborators Automatically
With the Splits feature, DistroKid can split earnings from any song or album and automatically send those earnings to other DistroKid users. You can add your collaborators, producers, bandmates, managers and more, and we'll send earnings to them directly.
For privacy, collaborators can only see what percentage they get. They can't see who your other collaborators are, or what percentage other folks are getting.
To get started, sign into DistroKid and click "Splits," or navigate to the album page you wish to set up a split on and click "Edit Splits" under the "Splits" section.
When inviting someone to a Split that doesn't yet have a DistroKid account, you can choose to pay $10 per year to allow them to collect and withdraw any earnings from Splits without needing a full DistroKid subscription. Otherwise, a DistroKid subscription is required to accept and withdraw earnings from Splits – if you invite someone to a Split that doesn't have a subscription, they'll get a 50% discount to sign up to DistroKid on their end!
Setting Up a Split
To set up a Split for a song or album, click "Splits" at the top after signing in to DistroKid or go to https://distrokid.com/teams. From this page, you can select the release from the dropdown menu and then click "Next." Alternatively, You can also visit the album page and select "Edit Splits" in the "Splits" section.
From the following page, you'll see the current Splits team for the single/album. If no Splits were previously set up, you'll see 100% of earnings set for you, the account owner. To add a collaborator, click on "+ Add collaborator" under a song. This will create a new entry for a collaborator, and allow you to enter the percentage of the Split for them as well as their email address. Adjusting this percentage will automatically reduce the percentage for all other collaborators so the total will always equal 100%.
Once you've added all collaborators and set their percentages, click on "Review Changes." This will bring you to a page to review all of the changes for your Split. If any added collaborators do not yet have a DistroKid account, this page will allow you to opt into paying $10 a year to allow them to receive and withdraw earnings without a DistroKid subscription, or have your collaborators pay for their own subscription with a 50% discount for the first year. Once you've reviewed the information, click "Save Changes" to submit the new Split.
You can change Splits this way at any time – just keep in mind that any changes to existing Splits will require collaborators to accept their invitation once more.
For a quick how-to on splitting earnings, check out this video:
Seeing Splits History for a Release
To view the Splits history for a release, you can head to the album page for it via your DistroKid dashboard, and then click on "See Splits History" under the Splits section.
From this page, you can see the history of all Splits changes for every track in the release. Additionally, you can resend invitations or remove collaborators who have not yet accepted their invitation.
If the collaborator has not yet accepted the invitation, you can resend the invitation or remove them from the Split by clicking on "Options..." under the "Accepted" column for the collaborator. From here, click on "Resend" or "Remove."
Removing a collaborator who has not yet accepted their invitation will return all held earnings for them back to you.
What If a Collaborator Doesn't Immediately Accept a Split?
Your release won't be delayed if your collaborator is slow to sign up. Instead, we'll just hold the earnings for them until they join.
Until they accept your invitation, your collaborator's assigned split of the earnings will be held aside for them. Once they accept and create an account, the held earnings will be available in their own Bank within 24 hours.
If your collaborator never joins, you can easily cancel their invitation and earnings set aside for them will come back to you. To remove a collaborator that hasn't accepted from a Split, you can head to the Splits edits page, click on the minus (-) button by their entry for any tracks they are a Splits member on, then clicking "Review Changes."
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Setting a Recoupment in Splits
A recoupment in DistroKid's Splits feature allows you to set individual collaborators to receive all earnings for the release until a specific recoupment amount is met. Once the initial funds have been recouped, the Splits percentages will automatically go into effect for all other collaborators on the Split.
How to Set a Recoupment for Your Release
To set a recoupment on your release, first navigate to the release page in DistroKid from https://distrokid.com/mymusic/. Once you are on the release page, click "Edit Splits."
At the following page, click "Add collaborator" to add the email address of the collaborator you'd like to set a recoupment for any track. Then, click "Add recoupment" to set a recoupment amount for that collaborator. Make sure to also set the Splits percentage amount for the collaborator to use once the recoupment amount is met.
Once the recoupment amount and percentages are set, click on "Review Changes," then review those changes. If all looks good, click "Save Changes."
Please keep in mind that no earnings will be distributed to other collaborators in a Split until a collaborator's recoupment amount is met.
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How Are Album Purchases Handled in Splits?
When someone buys an entire album (as opposed to buying or streaming an individual track), we'll automatically calculate pro-rata revenue for Splits percentages for the tracks on that album.
For example, if an album has 2 tracks, and you're owed 50% of one track through Splits, then you'll receive 25% of a full album sale.
If you are the owner of the Split, you can view this information by navigating to the release page, clicking "Edit Split," then clicking "Review Changes," and scrolling to the bottom of the page.
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“Invalid” Splits Email?
Check to see if there’s an extra space after the email. There probably is!
Please fix and try again.
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I sent a Splits invite, but it was never accepted. Can I remove that email from my Split?
Yes!
To remove someone from a Split, go to "See Splits History" on the release page, and then click "Options..." --> "Remove" next to the email you want to delete.
Once they're removed, any earnings that were held will appear in your Bank within 24-48 hours.
(If you still want to split earnings with them, but they just need a nudge, then click "Resend" instead!)
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What is Artists for Change?
Artists for Change allows artists to automatically donate a percentage of royalties to charitable organizations and causes.
Artists are donating a percentage of their royalties to:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
National Independent Venue Association
It’s easy to get started! Pick an organization or cause you want to support from the list above, or here, to find the Auto-donate instructions. You’ll get an email address you can use to sign into DistroKid, click “Splits” and add to start donating any percentage you like!
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