TL;DR: RouteNote is a music distributor offering both a free (revenue-share) plan and a premium paid plan. It delivers recordings to streaming platforms and collects master recording revenue. RouteNote does not collect performance royalties, mechanical royalties, or neighboring rights — those require separate PRO and MLC registration.
What Is RouteNote?
RouteNote is a UK-based music distribution platform founded in 2007. It is one of the few distributors offering a genuinely free tier that takes a percentage of streaming revenue (typically 15%) in exchange for no upfront cost. Artists can also upgrade to RouteNote's premium plan for a flat annual fee and 0% revenue share.
RouteNote distributes to all major streaming platforms and digital stores including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, and Tidal.
What RouteNote Does
RouteNote's core service:
- Distribution to 40+ streaming platforms and digital stores
- Master recording revenue collection from streaming and downloads
- YouTube Content ID monetization
- ISRC assignment for releases without existing ISRCs
- Analytics dashboard showing streams by platform and territory
What RouteNote Does NOT Collect
Performance Royalties (PRO)
When your music is streamed on Spotify or broadcast on radio, the platform or broadcaster pays two separate royalties:
- The master recording royalty — paid to your distributor (RouteNote collects this for you)
- The public performance royalty — paid to the songwriter/publisher via a PRO like ASCAP, BMI, PRS, or SOCAN (RouteNote does NOT collect this)
If you are not registered with a PRO, the performance royalty side of every stream is uncollected. RouteNote does not offer PRO registration services.
US Mechanical Royalties (The MLC)
The MLC collects digital mechanical royalties in the US — these are separate from the master recording payout and the performance royalty. RouteNote does not register your works with The MLC. The MLC currently holds over $400M in unmatched royalties across its blanket and historical pools.
SoundExchange Royalties
SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties from internet radio (Pandora, iHeartRadio), satellite radio (SiriusXM), and webcasts. RouteNote does not register you with SoundExchange. SoundExchange distributed $1.05B in 2024.
Neighboring Rights
PPL (UK), GVL (Germany), SENA (Netherlands), and other neighboring rights organizations collect royalties when recordings are broadcast internationally. RouteNote does not handle neighboring rights. The IFPI reports $2.7B in global neighboring rights collections in 2023.
RouteNote Free vs. Premium
| Feature | Free Plan | Premium Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue share | 15% to RouteNote | 0% |
| Annual fee | £0 | ~£20/year per release (varies) |
| Platforms covered | 40+ | 40+ |
| ISRC assignment | Yes | Yes |
| PRO registration | No | No |
| MLC registration | No | No |
| SoundExchange | No | No |
| Neighboring rights | No | No |
The revenue share model is financially comparable to the premium plan until you reach significant streaming volume. At 100,000 streams per month, 15% of master recording revenue is typically $200–$400 per year — roughly the cost of several RouteNote premium releases.
What RouteNote Artists Need to Do Separately
- Join ASCAP or BMI (US songwriters) — register your compositions and collect performance royalties
- Register with The MLC — collect US digital mechanical royalties
- Register with SoundExchange — collect digital performance royalties from internet and satellite radio
- Register with PRS for Music (UK songwriters) — collect UK performance and mechanical royalties
- Consider neighboring rights registration — PPL (UK), GVL (Germany), and others for broadcast royalties
Frequently Asked Questions
Is RouteNote free tier legitimate? Yes. RouteNote is a legitimate distributor used by many independent artists. The free tier trade-off — 15% revenue share for no upfront cost — is straightforward. The limitation is that it is a distribution-only service, not a publishing administrator.
Does RouteNote assign ISRCs? Yes, RouteNote assigns ISRCs if you don't have them. If you already have ISRCs from a previous distributor, you can supply them. Keeping consistent ISRCs across distributors is important — changing ISRCs when switching distributors can cause royalty matching failures at PROs and The MLC.
Can I switch from RouteNote to another distributor without losing royalties? When you transfer distribution, streaming history stays on the platform (your Spotify play count doesn't reset). However, your ISRC must remain the same for royalty matching to work correctly. If your new distributor assigns new ISRCs, you need to update your PRO and MLC registrations.
Does RouteNote collect YouTube performance royalties? RouteNote's Content ID covers the master recording side of YouTube revenue — ad revenue from videos using your track. The composition/publishing side of YouTube royalties (a separate pool) is collected by your PRO or publishing administrator, not RouteNote.
Sources
- SoundExchange 2024: $1.05B distributed
- The MLC 2023 Annual Royalty Recap: $400M+ in unmatched royalties
- IFPI Global Music Report 2024: $2.7B in neighboring rights collected globally in 2023
- CISAC Global Collections Report 2024: €12.59B collected globally