Guide · Updated September 3, 2026 · 8 min read
Audora vs TuneCore (2026): An Honest Comparison
Written by Audora — with TuneCore given full credit where it earns it.
TuneCore is one of the oldest names in independent distribution — launched in 2006, now owned by the French music company Believe, and used by hundreds of thousands of artists. Audora is the opposite in almost every structural way: young, small, built around the whole release rather than the upload, and entered by application, usually answered within one business day. Depending on who you are, each of those is either a pro or a con. This comparison lays the differences out honestly.
Key takeaways
- TuneCore's tiered plans ($24.99–$54.99/yr as of July 2026) keep 0% of store royalties — but TuneCore takes 20% of earnings from social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Audora is one monthly plan covering distribution through Sony Music's channel plus cover art, press-ready bios, and a promotion studio that publishes approved posts to TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
- TuneCore's 20% lands exactly where short-form video royalties are paid; Audora charges no social-royalty fee on those platforms.
- TuneCore fits self-managers who want tier flexibility and splits. Audora fits artists who want the release work — not just the delivery — handled in one place.
Audora vs TuneCore at a glance
Prices checked July 2026 against TuneCore's public pricing page — both services can change terms at any time. Freelance rates are the market figures broken down in our cost-to-release guide.
| TuneCore | Audora | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Self-serve, tiered annual plans | By application — reply usually within one business day |
| Social-platform royalties | 20% fee on TikTok / Instagram / YouTube earnings | No social-royalty fee |
| Store royalties | 0% commission on annual plans | We take nothing from your royalties on any plan |
| The release work (art, bios, campaign) | You arrange it — a freelance designer runs $200–500 per cover, a press bio $100–300 | Comes from the same plan — artwork, press copy and campaign planning included |
| Promotion tools | Store pitching and marketing tools; no automatic social posting | Campaign planning and auto-posting to TikTok, YouTube and Instagram — you approve every post first |
| Distribution route | Self-serve delivery (Believe infrastructure) | Through Sony Music's channel |
| Collaborator splits | Built-in royalty splits | Credits and metadata managed per release |
| What you pay | Rising Artist $24.99/yr, Breakout $44.99/yr, Professional $54.99/yr | One monthly plan covers the release and the work around it — see plans |
| Best for | Self-managers who want tier flexibility | Artists who want each release done properly |
Where TuneCore genuinely wins
- Track record and scale. Nearly two decades of paying artists, backed by Believe's global infrastructure. That history counts for something when you're trusting someone with your royalties.
- Tier flexibility. Start on Rising Artist at $24.99/yr and move up as you need more features — a plan shape for most budgets.
- Built-in splits. Automatic royalty splitting with collaborators is mature and genuinely useful for bands and co-writes.
- Instant access. No application to wait on — sign up and upload today.
The 20% social-platform fee, spelled out
This is the TuneCore term most artists discover after the fact: annual plans keep 0% of your store royalties (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon), but TuneCore keeps 20% of earnings from social platforms — TikTok, Instagram/Facebook, and YouTube. In 2026, short-form video is precisely where independent music discovery happens; if a clip of your song travels on TikTok, a fifth of those royalties stay with TuneCore.
Audora charges no social-royalty fee, and the promotion studio does the work on that side: campaign planning, rendered short-form video, and publishing of approved posts on schedule. Auto-posting covers TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook Pages — stories post themselves too. Instagram allows no link, poll or location sticker on a story we post for you, so the link still goes in your bio, not the story.
Where Audora wins
- The whole release in one plan. Cover art, press-ready bios, campaign planning, and rendered promo videos come from the same credits that pay for distribution. TuneCore distributes; the rest is on you.
- Promotion that posts itself. TuneCore's current tooling centers on distribution and store features. Audora drafts the campaign, you approve it, and approved posts publish themselves to TikTok, YouTube and Instagram on schedule.
- No social-royalty fee. We take nothing from what your music earns on short-form platforms.
- Humans on the other end. Real people answer — usually within one business day — and real people watch what goes out.
- Distribution through Sony Music's channel. We watch what's performing — and pitch our best artists to the team at Sony.
Already on TuneCore? Switching keeps your streams
Your stream counts and playlists follow your ISRC codes, not your distributor. Deliver the same recordings with the same ISRCs through the new distributor, wait for them to go live, then take down the old versions — never the other way around. The full step-by-step, including the overlap window, is in our switching guide.
Which should you pick?
- Pick TuneCore if: you self-manage, want tier options or pay-per-release pricing, need built-in collaborator splits, and your royalties come mostly from stores rather than social platforms.
- Pick Audora if: your growth plan runs through short-form video, you want the release work bundled instead of DIY, and people on the other end matter more to you than instant signup.
Questions
What is the TuneCore 20% social fee?
On TuneCore's annual plans, store royalties (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon) are paid through with 0% commission, but TuneCore keeps a 20% fee on royalties earned from social platforms — TikTok, Instagram/Facebook, and YouTube — as of July 2026. For artists whose music travels through short-form video, this is often the largest real cost of the service.
What does a release cost to do properly, TuneCore vs Audora?
Price the whole job, not just the upload. TuneCore's tiers ($24.99–$54.99/yr as of July 2026) cover delivery to the stores; the cover art, the press bio and the campaign are bought separately — a freelance designer runs $200–500 per cover, a press bio $100–300 — or done by you at midnight. On Audora one monthly plan covers the release, and the artwork, the bios and the promotion work, with no 20% social-royalty fee. TuneCore's tiers can be cheaper for high-volume uploaders who need none of that work done for them.
Does TuneCore have social media promotion tools?
TuneCore's current tooling focuses on distribution and store features rather than automatic social posting. Audora's promotion studio plans campaigns and publishes approved posts on schedule. Auto-posting covers TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook Pages — stories post themselves too. Instagram allows no link, poll or location sticker on a story we post for you, so the link still goes in your bio, not the story.
Who owns TuneCore?
TuneCore is owned by Believe, a French digital music company, which acquired it in 2015. Audora is an independent platform that distributes through Sony Music's channel — a delivery route, not an ownership relationship.
Can I move from TuneCore to Audora without losing my streams?
Yes — streams follow your ISRC codes, not your distributor. Re-deliver the same recordings with the same ISRCs, wait until the new versions are live, then request takedowns from TuneCore. Done in that order, stream counts and playlist placements carry over.
Does Audora take a commission on royalties?
No — Audora's revenue is the monthly plan. We take nothing from your royalties on any plan. If you cancel and we keep your music distributed, we recover only our distribution costs from what it earns — everything above that is still paid to you.