TL;DR
DistroKid distributes your music to streaming platforms and collects master recording revenue (the money Spotify, Apple Music, and other DSPs pay for plays). It does not register your compositions with PROs, does not collect performance royalties, does not collect mechanical royalties from The MLC, and does not collect neighboring rights or digital performance royalties from SoundExchange. Everything outside of master recording revenue requires separate registration.
DistroKid has over 2 million artists on its platform. The vast majority of them are leaving significant royalty income uncollected — not because DistroKid is doing anything wrong, but because most artists don't understand what DistroKid actually does.
DistroKid is a distributor. Its job is to get your music onto Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, TikTok, and hundreds of other platforms, and then to pass through the master recording revenue those platforms pay. It does this job extremely well, at a price that's made it the dominant distribution option for independent artists.
But master recording revenue from DSPs is only one of four distinct royalty streams generated by a recorded song. The other three — performance royalties, mechanical royalties, and neighboring rights / digital performance royalties — require separate registrations with separate organizations. DistroKid does not handle any of them.
The Four Royalty Streams
To understand what you're missing, you first need to understand what a single song generates:
1. Master recording revenue (what DistroKid collects) This is the money DSPs pay for playing your recording. Spotify's per-stream rate is approximately $0.003–$0.005, depending on subscription tier and territory. DistroKid collects this and pays it to you, minus their annual fee.
2. Songwriter performance royalties (what DistroKid does NOT collect) Every time your song is played on Spotify, the streaming platform also owes a performance royalty to the songwriter — separate from the master recording payment. In the US, ASCAP and BMI collect these. Internationally, GEMA, PRS, SOCAN, JASRAC, and 150+ other CMOs collect them. If you're not registered with a PRO, this royalty stream goes uncollected.
3. Mechanical royalties (what DistroKid does NOT collect) On-demand streaming also generates a mechanical royalty — a fee for the "reproduction" of the composition. In the US, this is collected by The MLC. According to The MLC's 2023 Annual Royalty Recap, over $400M in unmatched US mechanical royalties currently sits unclaimed — with The MLC having distributed over $3 billion to rights holders since launching in 2021. If you haven't registered with The MLC, your share is in that pool.
4. Digital performance royalties / neighboring rights (what DistroKid does NOT collect) When your recording plays on non-interactive services — Pandora, SiriusXM, internet radio — SoundExchange collects a digital performance royalty and pays it to the artist and masters owner. Internationally, neighboring rights organizations (PPL in the UK, GVL in Germany, etc.) collect similar royalties for broadcast and streaming. DistroKid does not register you with SoundExchange or any neighboring rights society.
What This Costs You in Practice
Here's a concrete example. An artist with 500,000 monthly streams across all platforms:
| Royalty stream | Monthly estimate | Who collects | Registered? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master recording revenue | $1,750 | DistroKid → you | ✅ Automatically |
| Songwriter performance royalties | $350–600 | ASCAP or BMI | ❌ Only if you register |
| Mechanical royalties (The MLC) | $440 | The MLC | ❌ Only if you register |
| Digital performance (SoundExchange) | $100–300 | SoundExchange | ❌ Only if you register |
| International neighboring rights | $50–500+ | PPL, GVL, etc. | ❌ Only if registered via PRO |
Total without DistroKid-only setup: ~$1,750/month Total with complete registration: ~$2,640–$3,290/month
That's 50–90% more income, fully accessible through registrations that are either free or low-cost — and that DistroKid simply doesn't provide.
What DistroKid Offers for Publishing
DistroKid does offer an optional service called DistroKid Publishing for an additional annual fee. Here's what it does and doesn't cover:
What it does: Registers your songs with The MLC and collects US mechanical royalties on your behalf.
What it does NOT do:
- Register you with ASCAP or BMI for performance royalties (you still need to do this directly)
- Handle international CMO registration or CWR filings
- Register or collect neighboring rights via SoundExchange or international societies
- Correct ISRC mismatches between your distributor records and PRO databases
- Audit your existing catalog for registration gaps or unmatched royalties
DistroKid Publishing is a step in the right direction, but it handles one of the four royalty streams — domestic mechanicals only. The other three require separate action.
The ISRC Problem with DistroKid
DistroKid assigns ISRCs to your recordings at upload. This is standard practice for distributors. The issue arises when:
- The ISRC DistroKid assigned doesn't match the ISRC in your PRO registration
- You release the same song on multiple platforms or at different times, generating multiple ISRCs
- You registered with your PRO before uploading to DistroKid, using a self-generated ISRC
In any of these cases, the ISRC that Spotify reports in royalty statements doesn't match the ISRC in your ASCAP, BMI, or MLC registration. The match fails. The royalties sit in the unmatched pool.
This is one of the most common causes of uncollected royalties for DistroKid users specifically — because DistroKid makes uploading so easy, many artists never think about ISRC alignment with their PRO records.
What You Need to Do (That DistroKid Doesn't Do For You)
1. Register with ASCAP or BMI. Go to ascap.com or bmi.com and register as a songwriter and publisher. This is free. Registration opens access to performance royalties from every platform that pays them — Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, broadcast radio, live performance, and more.
2. Register with The MLC. Go to themlc.com and register your catalog with the correct ISRCs — the ones DistroKid assigned at upload. This unlocks US mechanical royalties from on-demand streaming.
3. Register with SoundExchange. Go to soundexchange.com and register as both the featured artist and the sound recording copyright owner (if you own your masters). Submit your ISRCs. This unlocks digital performance royalties from Pandora, SiriusXM, and internet radio services.
4. Check your ISRC alignment. Cross-reference the ISRCs DistroKid assigned to your songs against the ISRCs in your ASCAP/BMI and MLC registrations. If they don't match, correct them at the PRO. This single step unlocks significant retroactive royalties for many artists.
5. Investigate neighboring rights. If you have meaningful international streams or airplay, contact your PRO about international neighboring rights registration. ASCAP and BMI have processes for submitting claims to affiliated foreign CMOs.
What CreateBase Does for DistroKid Users
CreateBase was built specifically for independent artists in the DistroKid-and-similar-distributor ecosystem — artists who have distribution handled but have never addressed the rest of their royalty stack.
Our process for DistroKid users:
- Full catalog audit across all four royalty streams
- ISRC reconciliation between DistroKid and ASCAP/BMI/MLC records
- Registration with The MLC, SoundExchange, and PROs where gaps exist
- International CMO filing via CWR format
- Unmatched royalty claim filing across US and international databases
See what DistroKid isn't collecting for you → CreateBase delivers a free personalized royalty gap report within 48 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does DistroKid register me with ASCAP or BMI?
A: No. DistroKid does not register songwriters with performing rights organizations. DistroKid's role is to distribute your recordings to streaming platforms and collect master recording revenue. PRO registration — ASCAP or BMI — must be done directly with those organizations. Registration is free.
Q: Does DistroKid collect publishing royalties?
A: DistroKid offers an optional paid add-on called DistroKid Publishing that registers works with The MLC and collects US mechanical royalties. However, this does not cover performance royalties (ASCAP/BMI), SoundExchange digital performance royalties, neighboring rights, or international CMO registrations. Each of these requires separate action.
Q: If I use DistroKid Publishing, do I also need The MLC registration?
A: If you use DistroKid Publishing, they register your works with The MLC on your behalf and collect US mechanical royalties as your administrator, typically taking a percentage fee. If you register directly with The MLC yourself (which is free), you receive 100% of your mechanical royalties without an intermediary. The trade-off is that direct registration requires you to submit and maintain your own catalog data.
Q: What ISRCs should I register with my PRO — the ones DistroKid assigned or my own?
A: You should register the ISRCs that are actually attached to your recordings in the DSP systems — which, for DistroKid releases, are the ISRCs DistroKid assigned at upload. These are the ISRCs that Spotify and other platforms report in royalty statements. Your PRO registration needs to use these same ISRCs to enable matching. Log into your DistroKid account, find the ISRC for each track, and use those when registering with ASCAP, BMI, and The MLC.
Q: I've been on DistroKid for three years without a PRO registration. Can I claim back royalties?
A: Yes, for royalties still within their holding period. For US performance royalties (ASCAP/BMI), register now — you can claim back royalties going back to your registration date, and some PROs allow retroactive claims for periods before registration with supporting documentation. For US mechanicals (The MLC), the three-year holding window applies — royalties from 2022 and 2023 are still within the window and claimable. For SoundExchange, search their unclaimed royalties database directly. The earlier you register and file claims, the more you can recover.
Sources
- The MLC 2023 Annual Royalty Recap — Over $400M in unmatched US mechanical royalties; $3B+ distributed since 2021
- Copyright Royalty Board — Streaming mechanical and digital performance rates
- SoundExchange — Digital performance royalty registration and unclaimed royalties
- ASCAP — Songwriter and publisher registration
- BMI — Songwriter and publisher registration