How Does it Work?
1. Sign up for DistroKid
Pick your plan, all of which offer unlimited uploads, 100% of royalties, & cover song licenses.
2. Upload your cover song
On the upload form, you’ll see an option for “Songwriter” and from there select “another artist wrote it."
3. We’ll handle the rest
No need to stress about the licenses or accounting.
Why choose DistroKid?
If you release your cover with DistroKid, you'll pay $12/yr per cover song.
Other distributors charge anywhere from $17 to $70 for this, if they allow cover songs at all.
“I am very grateful to DistroKid for the very affordable plans and for all the features they offer. From the nitty gritty of featured artists selections to synched lyrics, you can't go wrong with it.“
- Carlos T
DistroKid member
Frequently asked questions
A “cover song” is any song that you performed & recorded yourself using music written by someone else.
You can easily (& legally) release your cover songs through DistroKid.
We’ll obtain the necessary licenses for you, and automatically deduct any legally-mandated fees from the song’s earnings to pay the original songwriter (you keep the rest).
U.S. law dictates the way earnings from cover songs must be shared with the original songwriter. Click here for more info on that.
Fortunately, DistroKid makes it easy to release cover songs.
All you have to do is indicate on the upload form when you’re releasing a cover song, and you’ll pay a $12/song licensing fee (renewed annually). DistroKid will handle all the legal stuff & automatically withdraw the required amount from the song’s earnings to pay the original songwriter.
You have to opt into DistroKid’s license anyway. If we’re not the ones paying them, we have no way to verify the original songwriter is getting their legally-mandated share.
Not opting into DistroKid’s cover song licensing program could lead to streaming services removing your content, or worse, songwriters taking legal action. And you probably wanna avoid that.
Release your Cover Song on DistroKid
We make it super simple to release your cover song legally.
Musicians, sign up now.
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