Amuse became famous as the free music distributor — the app that put unlimited releases on Spotify for nothing. That Amuse no longer exists: the free tier closed to new releases in March 2024, and today Amuse is a paid subscription service with a catch many artists only discover on the way out. If you're an ex-free-tier artist deciding where to go — or a current subscriber doing the math — this guide covers what Amuse actually costs now and the honest alternatives.
Who writes this: this guide is published by Audora, a music distribution and promotion platform — so yes, we're one of the options discussed below. Prices and terms of other services were checked against their public pricing pages on the date above and can change at any time; always confirm on the provider's own site before you commit.
Key takeaways
- Amuse's free distribution tier is gone (closed March 2024). Plans now run $23.99–$59.99/yr, annual billing only.
- The catch: cancel your subscription and your music stays up, but Amuse starts keeping 25% of your royalties — per its own support pages.
- On the cheapest plan, YouTube Content ID costs a 15% royalty fee and splits with non-subscribers cost 15% — the $23.99 headline is the entry price, not the full picture.
- Where to go depends on what you valued: cheapest unlimited (Ditto), pay-once (CD Baby), volume (DistroKid), or curation with promotion built in (Audora).
What Amuse actually costs in 2026
From Amuse's pricing page, July 2026 — all plans billed annually, all with unlimited releases:
| Price | Key terms | |
|---|---|---|
| Artist | $23.99/yr | 1 artist; YouTube Content ID costs 15% of those royalties; splits with non-subscribers cost 15% |
| Artist Plus | $39.99/yr | Up to 2 artists; no Content ID fee; free splits |
| Professional | $59.99/yr | 3+ artists; priority support |
Add-ons include cover-song licensing at $14.99 one-time per cover and mastering at $5.99 per track. To Amuse's credit, the lineup has been expanding — on-demand vinyl/CD arrived in early 2026 — and its Trustpilot score sits at 4.4 with the company answering its critics. This isn't a service in decline; it's a service that changed its deal.
The 25% catch when you cancel
Amuse markets "Your Music Stays Live Even When Downgrading" — which is true, and better than DistroKid's takedown-on-lapse. The part in the support pages: when you cancel, "a 25% royalty commission will be applied to all releases", an additional 15% applies on royalty splits, and YouTube monetization is removed from your tracks. Your music stays up — earning you a quarter less, indefinitely.
Compare the exit deals, not just the entry prices
The alternatives, honestly compared
Prices as of July 2026, checked against each provider's public pages:
| Pricing | Exit deal | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ditto | From $19/yr unlimited | Music comes down | Absolute lowest price (mind the reviews) |
| CD Baby | $9.99/single, $14.99/album once | Nothing to cancel; 9% forever | Occasional releasers |
| DistroKid | From $24.99/yr unlimited | Takedown unless $29–49/release | High-volume uploaders |
| TuneCore | $24.99–$54.99/yr | Music comes down | Tier flexibility; 20% social fee applies |
| Audora | Credit plan, free to start — see pricing | Music stays live; service costs recovered from royalties, the rest stays yours (terms) | Curated distribution + promotion built in |
The deeper trade-offs of each are covered in our full distribution comparison and alternatives guide.
Want more than a place to upload?
Audora bundles Sony-channel distribution with cover art, bios, and a promotion studio that auto-posts to TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram — free to start, 0% commission while subscribed.
Leaving Amuse without losing your streams
Same rule as every distributor move: your streams follow your ISRC codes. Export every ISRC and UPC from Amuse first, deliver the same recordings with the same codes through the new distributor, wait until they're live, then take down the Amuse versions. Because Amuse keeps cancelled artists' music live (at the 25% commission), you have no time pressure — migrate release by release, in order, without a gap. Full steps in the switching section here.
Which alternative fits which artist
- You came for free: the general-purpose free tier is gone from the market. The one real free option left is TikTok's own SoundOn — genuinely free, but TikTok-centric, and it keeps 10% of royalties from non-TikTok platforms after your first year. For general distribution, Ditto at $19/yr is the closest cheap unlimited plan; read recent reviews first.
- You release rarely: CD Baby's pay-once model beats every subscription, including Amuse's, at low volume.
- You release constantly: DistroKid or staying on Amuse are the volume plays — compare their exit deals and add-ons, not just headline prices.
- You want the release built, not just delivered: that's Audora's lane — curated access, Sony-channel distribution, artwork and bios included, and promotion that auto-posts to TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.