I WAS ROBBED | DistroKid Steals Money From Musicians

In this video I tell my unfortunate experience with having music earnings forcefully apprehended by distributor DistroKid and I expose the company`s dishonest practices towards its musician clients.
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[@DanVasc]

Thank s to you, Distrokid has returned all my money! Video with details soon! *EDIT:* There you go -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/enuWaKupg8lsjpY

[@Ph34121307]

JUSTICEEEEEE! But now we have to make this video go viral for every other musician out there! The world must know!

[@robertlongtin5003]

Dan, please check your e-mail - I'm a professional and certified tax preparer in the US and I am able and willing to provide free tax advice and assist in preventing these issues in the future for you with any American company through whom you may collect royalties or income.

[@Lianoth]

So glad you got your money back! You deserve every penny!

[@aussieallens383]

That's wonderful! I just watched the video and was about to compliment you for your bravery and candor. It is hard work to confront a conglomerate, I am so pleased they returned the money.

[@djhuska]

That's great news! Hopefully they will now end the shady practice. Keep up the good work and good ethics. Seems your parents did a good job. Best of luck with all your future endeavors.

[@twinsgran]

Your command of the English language is phenomenal. Well done for taking on this company in such an intelligent and exceptional way.

[@sunflowers730]

I know I'm seeing this video three years later, but you are a remarkable, intelligent and articulate young man Dan!

[@helenehobbs2671]

I’ve always thought n tell everyone the same thing about Dan. I so loved how Dan went about this 😊Well done.

[@rosenblau]

Indeed! Which is obvious from the first sentence - making clear that it's not click bait. Which is what I thought it was. I too am only watching now.

[@priscillacure6661]

I just saw this and i thought recent and i commented. Now i see its 4😂 years old. I think I have done this with them all cause his videos. He must be having a good laugh at me.

[@krystynamargeson5220]

Aside from this entire exceptional exchange on your part, what I wanted to comment on was one line, "my parents taught me absolute truth, always" You are are beautiful credit to them, and they are a beautiful credit to God in your upbringing. New to your channel, (don't follow any musician), Amazing Grace hit me profoundly. Loved it immediately and listened over and over. I see I am not the only one. You are blessed with talent, and now are a blessing to others in your charitable donation. In your victory you think of sick children. I salute you, Dan, as a good son and a wonderful human being. God bless you always. Truth is God's hallmark. From there comes your courage and eventual victory. Admirable! ❤

[@JamesRitchieEngineer]

Toss a coin to your musician Oh taxes o'plenty, Oh taxes o'plenty. Toss a coin to your musician, a friend of humanity!

[@celinahazuni8821]

I'm sorry, but it should have been "A friend of accountants!"

[@randomperson1943]

Bro...I caught myself singing that out loud! Ha!

[@johan.ohgren]

Now this needs to be put in a Dan Vasc song..

[@celinahazuni8821]

@@johan.ohgren 😂😂

[@angelabay-jespersen6205]

Can’t get this out of my head now... would love @danvasc to put it in a satire version!!

[@jvandale-SnC]

You are a beautiful soul. Thank you for standing up for the small musicians who cannot stand up for themselves. Your mother must be very proud.

[@lizziedaneva2406]

He must be the best son in the world. He is such a sweetheart

[@DanVasc]

ASK AN ACCOUNTANT

[@samuelkimmusic]

Sorry you had to go through this ridiculous situation.

[@Dimas_Lau]

Ask an ADVOCATE!!!!

[@stanleystriker7065]

Call them and say you're going to a tax lawyer. And that if that doesn't work...tell them you're going to hire Chuck Norris. :)

[@musicalchild5338]

This is just awful, can't do stuff like that to people

[@stanleystriker7065]

Did they send you a tax form with the amount they withheld? If not, calling a tax lawyer is a good idea...

[@lisetremblay1806]

Dan, you are a good guy. Only the truth count in this world. Your parents did a super job with you. Good kisses from Montréal, Canada. ❤

[@GloriaCote-o1c]

Dan Vasc, thank you for having the stones to stand up to corrupt distributors that were stealing your money. What you had to do was not easy and you did it with dedication and good communication skills. You helped other artists to stand up to corruption which is unfortunately rampant in governments and companies providing services. Your character is admirable and you should be very proud of the amazing person that you are. I have mad respect for you as a a human being and because I truly believe that you are the best singer/artist/performer on KZbin and on the planet.

[@MCMAGIC.]

Hey Dan, Thanks for having the hues to stand up to the distributer - Blessings with all your music

[@deliaturner6086]

Well spoken, you spoke the truth, and it was blatent theft.

[@darlenefragale6550]

So glad you received your due money!! To call them and their tactics shady is a massive understatement! Congratulations on finally getting what was rightfully yours to begin with!!

[@patricespangler3721]

The entire situation is beyond redemption. I am sympathetic. You are not only a fantastic singer, you are also very intelligent and funny too. ❤❤❤

[@BrilliantSunsGaming]

Glad you got everything sorted out. I just wanted to make a couple points. I find it hilarious that you made this video and still had humor about what was going on with your transactions. I also appreciated that you edited the video as well. I mean, you could have just done the 'talking head' video with a few cutaways to illustrate what you were talking about to make your point, but you injected humor into the edits which help lighten the mood to such a shitty situation. Hat's off to your dedication!

[@cherylbiedermann748]

You did a great service to a lot of people by telling this . I thank you

[@HotSeat17]

I'm lifting you up in prayers. 🙏🙏🙏✝️✝️✝️ You work so hard for every dollar. It is THEFT!!!

[@supernerdinc5214]

If they took the money for taxes... wouldn't they need to supply you with a tax document?

[@YoungBlaze]

Bingo!

[@keymaster430]

yes, a 1099 form, I believe

[@DJcyberslash]

1099-misc

[@foeloko]

Key Master they paid him back already which I find weird too

[@keymaster430]

@@foeloko Oh, I see. Well thank you very mu....... LMAO! I'm sorry, I can't keep a strait face while trying to have a normal conversation with someone named "Asshole Push"!

[@joanne7772]

Your saving money to buy your mom an apartment, how sweet a son are you. Sounds like you have wonderful parents who raised you right.

[@pduntalasco]

Wow. Even a rant video is entertaining. Damn. Dude Godbless on this and to hell with this corporate shenanigans. More power to you and your channel.

[@FinarfinNoldorin]

You are a real light warrior, Sir. Thank you for exposing the dishonesty that is rampant these days, and how others try to stop smaller businesses and entertainers etc from being successful with dishonesty and censorship. You are only one person that is being cheated out of their hard earned money, and I can only imagine how much cash is being filtered away from honest people by criminals that stuff their pockets with theft. It needs to be brought into the light and held accountable.

[@sarahsheets5205]

Praying you get that money back. 🙏 May the Lord be on your side! Oh, I see He's already answered! Praising God! 🎉

[@tentrilliconlp7748]

This video has to go viral!

[@tentrilliconlp7748]

Juggled Lotus I did. I just want to motivate others to do it.

[@6shootaa]

Juggled Lotus this is only if ur not from the US, this doesn’t happen to me😂

[@theletroy]

yes it should!!!!

[@AwesomeSaussage]

Absofuckinlutely!

[@endigopink]

Dang, I also had a third of my payouts magically missing last month, but I just thought I had confused the numbers. Thanks for bringing awareness to this!

[@theofficialkaliboizpage3212]

Endigo me to smh 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@ClearAdventure]

That sucks! Are you in America or a different country?

[@theofficialkaliboizpage3212]

America

[@ClearAdventure]

@@theofficialkaliboizpage3212 Wow. I guess I won't be using that company!!

[@nhaezer5121]

I think everyone should come together and sue them

[@gisella1350]

Good on you for fighting them, and letting other people know about this kind of theft. Your music is fantastic. Thank you Dan.

[@PartyInBackyard]

Distrokid: Keep 70% or less of your earnings!

[@DrawingTechnical]

and get a $20 refund!

[@iexist6586]

Ayy party in the backyard

[@maneuverbackup]

🤦🏽‍♂️

[@Divinesoulbs]

Tbh I was planning to get distrokid services

[@Spectress]

Distro kid do be sketchy. They do take downs if you don't pay no more. Better getting signed to a label these days

[@PollyK1742]

This is just one of many, many reasons I love this guy. So incredibly smart, well spoken, determined and funny.

[@Music_is_Breathing]

So sorry this happened to you, and others. It's hard to find honest people 😢

[@ivorydungeon909]

Thanks for this, Dan. I've never seen your channel before, but your "detective work" well and truly gets you a sub. Thanks for the warning about this organisation's practices...

[@maxsamuel8792]

Thanks for sharing this with the world Dan! Now I'm considering other options for distribution.

[@YouTubeStalker]

I found your channel after wanting to find out if there were any customer complaints with Distrokid. I must say thank you for the info it is much appreciated. I am glad you got your money back . I subscribed to your channel because I find you very funny, witty and down to earth.

[@CrespJoe]

Its 2020, the year where independent artists beat up industries.

[@soundtrackreimagined1854]

LÜM

[@dawsonburger1257]

LETSSSGOOOOOOO

[@ssj_roger]

Everyone is making it known

[@iamzackknight]

Spotify is also stealing from you my friend

[@Itsboyprince]

Zackk knight in the housee i thought this was fake acc😂😂

[@razorgarf]

Spotify is a disgrace. They spend your money on their bonuses and lavish offices.

[@hushedtones7168]

Distrokid was bought by spotify

[@rexbanner4608]

Distrokid has partnered with Spotify within the last year I believe.

[@marknhopgood]

Yes. Here's the solution. m.facebook.com/notes/mark-n-hopgood/brokenrecord-halfcent-halfacent/10158241488486405/?anchor_composer=false&ref=bookmarks

[@elijahbaird6678]

Who else is already signed up with distrokid and very scared?

[@mannyvelazquez5337]

Meeeeeee

[@monicamomney8756]

I was gonna, pretty unsure now.

[@willbirckmusic]

I would be if I had more than 10 dollars of streaming revenue lmao

[@elijahbaird6678]

@@willbirckmusic lol I have like 3 dollars

[@KalleKrass]

Me too!!!

[@sandijones6638]

How nice that you help take care of your Mum. And see her often. Family is important. You are kind and good.😊

[@douglasdimmadome3104]

I appreciate the kindness to the staff you displayed! Not enough people do it... even friends who work simular jobs!

[@suehu173]

Let's hope June saw the error of the company's ways and parted with them for a new job

[@deborahfogel3689]

Wow that really sucked. I'm very proud of you for standing up for yourself. Aldo proud of your fans. Glad you you got your money.

[@RayMak]

We are all having this unfortunate experience with Distrokid but we are just keeping quiet while Distrokid is kinda holding us by our balls, at least that is what I'm feeling now.

[@InaFarore]

This is awful. Criminal, even. I am so sorry this happened to you. This is so infuriating.

[@hakonsoreide]

Not withholding tax is actually what is criminal. Not informing your clients that you are withholding tax is negligent and potentially breach of contract, but not illegal.

[@solargamingchannel]

07:55 i felt that. Musicians need to rise up and organise and fight for our rights.

[@FabrizioBalliano]

what makes me angry is that a lot of music youtubers are sponsored by that company!!

[@NikoSavic]

At the moment there is this writing on Distrokid's website: "Upload as much as you want, keep 100% of your earnings (after PayPal fees or any taxes or whatnot)." Wtf?

[@niveusnimbus]

So it does. How ridiculous

[@hunterann5186]

Bruh rly

[@KeenApollo]

PayPal takes a cut on anything you make. And we all gotta pay taxes so technically distrokid isn’t

[@niveusnimbus]

@@KeenApollo that's not quite true. The artist pays the distributor a fee, an annual flat rate in this case I believe, that is how distrokid makes their money, technically. And that is what they should be paying taxes on. The artist's earnings are supposed to go to the artist in full, and it's for them to sort out PayPal fees and taxes, not for distrokid. Although, it appears they have now changed their policy with that unprofessional statement "taxes and whatnot".

[@Lawrence330]

@@niveusnimbus Distrokid seems to be *withholding* taxes, like any "regular" employer. Even some stockbrokers withhold taxes from your stock earnings and forward them on your behalf to the IRS. Theoretically, at least, this guy should be seeing that his taxes in his home country have already been paid by Distrokid for these earnings. Look to any famous Hollywood that has been in tax trouble (Michael Jackson, etc) and see that this is actually beneficial to those that fail to save 30% of their earnings so they can pay their tax bill at the end of the year. Is the correspondence acceptable? No, it seems like they don't charge enough to afford more than basic customer service regarding the platform. Anyway, it "makes no sense" to this guy, but I've been working in the U.S. for nearly two decades and this is pretty standard. They'll likely send him a form at the end of the year showing his gross, net, and taxes already paid.

[@jazzjames]

$4000. Is a lot of money in the US too. Especially NOW.

[@wandermayles7257]

Dan BALLS OF STEEL Vasc

[@karlrademacher5208]

As a last recourse, collect what information you have, confirming payments, agreements, etc. Then file formal complaints with PayPal and appropriate US Federal authorities (guessing IRS Criminal Division). The complaint, if verifiable, involves potentially millions of dollars in fraud, if you scale the underpayments across a large amount of artists. You might not get the money you believe is due to you, but you will put them in the trick bag. Another trick I've seen employed in situations like this is to file a Form 1099 with the IRS, showing that amount withheld, and the entity that benefited (Distrokid). The goal is to show THEY had income for which there may be taxes due -- and may not be reporting to the IRS.

[@alfredobouzamusic5194]

Thank you so much for making this video. Distrokid is being stealing from me for quite sometime. I have friends who have bought my music and I have not received any earnings. Now I can’t even see my withdrawals when I go to the bank tab. I am frustrated as hell. We all victims should sue this company. I have a family It ain’t right.

[@BllueBalls]

Can we get updates on this situation. I would like to know how you resolve it.

[@seshnolan]

thats just disgusting, i hope they get a serious lawsuit and learn from their mistakes

[@liquifymusic1]

This is the law! Dan is just doing a bit of a drama here

[@felpaprod4943]

@@liquifymusic1 Sue a big company, see how it goes... Do you even have the money for that?

[@liquifymusic1]

@@felpaprod4943 No need to sue anyone, check the US government website and you will see that Distrokid is doing exactly what they need to do by law. They asked him to ask an accountant because an accountant knows what to do and how to fix these tax issues. No need to stick to this narrative of the evil company and the small victim, there is a regulation in the US and Distrokid are just doing what the law tells them to do.

[@liquifymusic1]

If Dan would just hire an accountant the whole problem could be addressed. But an angry youtube video with a catchy title is better no?

[@andreasprotopapas3626]

@@liquifymusic1 nowhere is legal to hide information from the client. If they want to outsmart clients they usually put with small letters a warning but they didnt. They said you keep 100% of your earnings. Maybe it is legal to steal the 30% of them but they didnt mention anything about it. So if he wants to lawsuit them he can do it.

[@treylibra]

hahaha you must have gotten to them. Now the website says, "Upload as much as you want, keep 100% of your earnings (after PayPal fees or any taxes or whatnot)."

[@Lelouch999]

They always have claimed that

[@kiddoutlaw600]

Lol

[@Swelch55]

Thanks for fighting for the musicians!

[@Randy_84]

One "loophole" you can use.. NEVER withdraw more than $9,999.00 in a 31 day period. ANYTHING over $10k will disclosed to the IRS.. and usually cause a situation like this

[@idontwantahandlewhymustidothis]

@STARSLAV Buddy just got his first song that had some traction, the $500 he was excited for was cut in almost half... he's gotten 0 response from customer service since last Monday

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

I think it really depends on the country you live in. I don’t think they do that in America.

[@idontwantahandlewhymustidothis]

@@bjamminsincebirth3494 Unfortunately my friend who was robbed is American /:

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

Paradisio Wow that’s terrible!

[@idontwantahandlewhymustidothis]

@@bjamminsincebirth3494 Hopefully the word on Distrokid gets around and tanks their company

[@kimsolaofc]

Really great Video! Thanks for the information! When you said you were brazilian I couldn't believe it haha I wasn't sure what accent you had but it's nice!

[@Reaper-bd9bl]

"I'm so sorry Dan. You want 20 bucks?" Some serious BS here. I hope this goes viral and settles it for you Dan. Can't believe they even got Johnathan Young.

[@johnwallace2319]

You don't understand international tax law, let me help, this is something I know about, so please be open and listen to how things ARE even if they should NEVER be. So when you click the 20 dollar version you are saying you are a normal dude and don't plan on making buckets of money, which means that the IRS won't really care if you are outside the US and getting pennies and not paying taxes, they won't even notice... but you went VIRAL and some of the others you have mentioned have had enough business with Distrokid in the course of 1 tax year, which means the money you were going to be transferred was beyond what an average foreign resident joe could get from a company without paying a holding fee, because the money is leaving the US to a nobody without a US tax ID, this holding fee doesn't go to Distrokid, by nature of what it is, it CANNOT go to Distrokid, it goes to IRS to pay taxes for the thousands you made IN USA, because Distrokid is in USA. To remedy this you can upgrade your account, which means they will dedicate time and money to your taxes, because upgrading is saying you are a big boy gonna make the big money, the tiers aren't a scam, they serve a purpose, there is a reason for companies to do things. Furthermore, you said Distrokid doesn't do your income taxes, yes and no, they do whatever taxes the law requires, so if you make millions or tens of thousands, then yes, they have to do taxes for that, that is not your national income tax, that is your US INCOME TAX, remember, they be in USA, that money was made in USA. And so you get to keep that amount on your Distrokid account for bookkeeping reasons, it IS YOUR MONEY, but the moment you try to move it overseas it will have a portion withheld. You also said that they are not your label... this is not true, if you signed up as a 20 dollar account, you hired them as a label, if you signed up as a label, you hired them as a distributor. These laws change all the time, due to changes in foreign agreements with US. Your point that other companies don't do it, is invalid, other companies might be under less scrutiny, or they might be shady, just because others don't is never a reason to say that one that DOES is wrong. Your second point that the law was started in 2016 is also invalid, because they were not under scrutiny in 2016, they were a big nothing on the market. Starting in 2020, the US taxes have tried to adapt to online music revenue, which means Distrokid had to change in order to stay legal. Thirdly, your paraphrase "a bunch of subjective crap" is a clause that means "music", they are saying if you sell music, you CAN get withheld. You honestly should have read this page BEFORE you wrote back to June, its all there, and when talking about music, the word "copyright" or "intellectual property" is the words they use, that clause was full of that. Fourthly, you cannot have a refund of the money you did not give them. Fifthly, you should not have spent money on a civil lawyer, you presumed that they were infringing on your rights, but in fact they were enforcing the law as they saw they needed to, because as I have said, the US tax law is being adapted, what you got away with before, you cannot get away with now. Lastly, you DID get the money, you just could not take it out of the country, the moment you did, Distrokid did you the FAVOR of paying the tax holding, otherwise, you'd have broken US tax law, which would have lead them to seize your assets in US, freeze your Paypal, and maybe even lean on Brazilian govt. to issue a fine, in this case Distrokid helped you, although it seemed shady and misleading. Now, I understand that you misunderstood, but now you are angry and saying they are stealing? That is not right, so I had to explain what I know about taxes from my experience. Distrokid could do much better explaining these things, but I put it to you that they are not stealing, because the money is not with them, they don't have it. Instead of jumping to the conclusion that they are evil money grabbers, you should have looked at that article on IRS website, you should have contacted an international tax lawyer or international accountant, i know it costs money, but you are risking them coming down on you for saying they are thieves. Your story is an eye opener to me, I did not know they started applying this clause, but now that I know and I HAVE DONE research, I can easily see why they are doing it all the sudden, they are the biggest company doing this, so they need to do it from their bank with taxes involved, hence Paypal mentioning bank fees. Please, if I have helped you, pin this comment, I want people to understand and be aware, I don't like that the government keep this money in holding, but I don't like you being upset like this either, and lashing out without knowing more about how these things SOMETIMES work, it is US law afterall, so we know it isn't always going to make sense morally or practically or be enforced.

Thank you for your detailed comment, it makes a lot of sense compared to this well-intentioned but emotional video. I am a distrokid user and I am earning my whole life from it for now and I had the same problem. That's why I want to understand this situation more. In his pinned comment he is saying: "Thanks to you, Distrokid has returned all my money! Video with details soon! ". So is this a lie or maybe there is an inaccuracy that we dont see behind all the story of this video. I am wondering your opinion about this. Maybe after he did his "returned money from distrokid" video. Thank you.

[@Voorneman]

Thanks man for the effort in putting up these thoughts. It's kinda making me relieved somehow as a current Distrokid user.

[@unoaotroa]

Thanks for the information! I think you expressed what is going on in a very logical manner.

[@purplegill10]

There's a big issue with that though: Distrokid at no point sent out anything to their customers about what's going on. At best, it's something that could be considered misleading as they didn't claim anything about foreign artists using Distrokid but at worst it's breaks laws regarding companies to be legally required to disclose these kinds of changes before rolling them out.

[@AceDramaBeats]

Thanks, I actually read that entire thing, and learned quite a bit!

[@TheStrengthofBeer]

Thank you, Dan. A very informative and well thought-out public service announcement.

[@Gena1950]

Dan Vasc, you have our utmost respect! Thank you for exposing this dishonest company. The world needs more TRUTH. Continue what you are doing, because you are making a difference. Love your music and look forward to more. Regards

[@ChidoOriginal]

I’m think I will leave Distrokid. A lot of bad reviews. Smh

[@buzzwolf6990]

But where else do you go? So far in my music circle everyone tells me distrokid is the best..

[@ChidoOriginal]

I heard AWAL is good

[@disastermidi1990]

@@EATBONES ive heard that CD baby claims any YT vid with music on it from independent artists they work with even from the artist themselves

[@marcelruetters]

i've been reading more and more bad things about distrokid too. it worries me.

[@marcelruetters]

@@buzzwolf6990 amuse could be a think. it's free and you get 100%. but i dont know the downsides yet

[@Lofikingsnow]

Distrokid banned my account and gave no context as to why

[@ElvisDrew]

no way, what do you use now Snow?

[@SorrowfulRose]

They didn't like that u signed with amuse 😂

[@Tazmanian_Ninja]

Really??

[@sike1dj]

Shan probably turned Informer 😒

[@MegaAndyGG]

@Joey Diaz Really? Geez!

[@KIALLA]

We were users of Distrokid for the past 5 years. Yesterday (5/8/2021) they removed ALL our tracks from ALL platforms. No prior notice or heads up. After we contacted them, they replied that it happened “due to limitations under US sanction laws" and "DistroKid is unable to provide any services, payments, or refunds” and that we need to “try another distributor”. We are legal residents of the US. We pay the same taxes as US citizens and follow all rules and regulations. The discrimination level is outrageous. Having your voice cut for no reason is a nightmare for an artist. #bandistrokid

[@RefaatMridhaMusic]

Distrokid stole my $730 earnings few days ago. when I submit them my 1st withdraw. few days later they remove my all songs and documents from my distrokid account. Earnings also. So many emails I send them. No reply from them. 🥺

[@D.von.N]

LOL, not just a great singer, but also a comedian. I love your comedy style.

[@perpecedecelequex]

Damn Dan, I'm sorry this happened to you. I would check that page with the 30% thing in the wayback machine, it could show you the original page if they archived it. Then you would have stronger ground on false advertisement. I hope you get this all sorted out, best of luck man.

[@VidtopiaEntertainment]

Awww that sucks I’ve bought a lot of your songs and I’m sad that you’re not getting my money that you really deserve as I love your music and hopefully you can get the money someday. #MCNssuck 😢

[@laurafuller8528]

Good job making this PUBLIC! Shady companies need the sunlight shined on them!

[@NanaIrene]

Glad you were able to get your money back!! 🎉🎉

[@RammmFan]

you are a talented musician Dan, please take care, and make them suffer for this fraud, fight for your income, you deserved it by hard work

[@katherinespong]

I am so impressed with your written English as well as your spoken. I wish my second language was as fluent! Respect.

[@betogiacomini6670]

Big balls, Dan. Congrats. Vai com fé que as coisas se resolvem.

[@whowhyy]

boto fé

[@roquelleroqueramone4340]

You are so classy and respectful, even though clearly angry. You guy my Angel of Music!!!!😘

[@tarasgarden]

Well done, Dan. We need more people like you who speak the truth and don’t accept lies and theft. Respect.

[@Legends-of-Matty]

Next merch coming out t-shirt with ASK AN ACCOUNT

[@johan.ohgren]

"We're paying your taxes" "We're not qualified to give taxing advice" "We're not responsible for your taxes" Is it just me or is that argumenting in circles?

[@minhuang8848]

Doesn't really matter, it's not that difficult to find out how tax treaties work. Like, there are threads abound for any distribution service and what W-8BENs do for you. It's literally an issue people can mitigate by just googling how taxes work, especially if you're not from the US.

[@johan.ohgren]

@@minhuang8848 you haven't seen the taxing system of Sweden I take it. Hundreds of years of patchwork..

[@CashingInKarma]

Brawndo, it's got electrolytes, it's what plants crave..

[@minhuang8848]

@@johan.ohgren All the more reason to not expect a fairly specialized dd service to do all these things for you. They're not legal aides, they're distribution specialist helping you get your songs where you want them, quickly. Which distrokid excells at, I might add. Taxes just are dumb. We want them to be way easier, but there is still a lot of work to be done on that front. For now, you either have to consult official or inofficial resources furthering your knowledge of the problem, or paying for a specialist who will help you get this sorted out. At no point would I expect distrokid to advice me on this, just as most employers won't necessarily hold seminars on the subject.

[@ssmodk]

By doing business with a U.S. company, they are required by law to remit to the IRS on his behalf 30% of income and it's his responsibility to either provide a tax ID to lower that rate or file U.S. taxes and hope to get some of that money back. Also, if you don't want to get sued, you have to emblazon anything you say regarding taxes as not being tax advice, otherwise you've basically just asked for the U.S. government to fuck you. They aren't responsible for dealing with his taxes, filing his taxes, or giving him advice, but they are absolutely required to remit to the IRS on his behalf. And the fact that they gave his money back most likely opens them up to the IRS suing them.

[@janiceolson2981]

I admire your humor during such a frustrating event.

[@DrewMonge]

You're an amazing individual. Thank you for sharing this experience, despite the subject matter. You did it in a humorous way. But with lots of logic and common Sense. I'm glad you got it sorted out. I'm about to watch the other video. Cheers.

[@gnatinator]

Distrokid handled this disgustingly BUT withholding tax is actually a thing. A W-8BEN form is usually kept on file by the company for the IRS to exempt you from being double taxed. Unfortunately Brazil doesn't have a tax treaty with the USA and the only real way around this is to do business with a non-US company. Valve Software does the same thing when publishing on Steam. US tax law is fucked.

[@Karen-h7v1z]

Scams are really real.I found out about this several years ago.With your buisiness just getting a good start alot of times some will test you.Thats why most buisinesses will have their own financial advisers.

[@671brayan]

Just happened to me. I'm gonna press charges. Hope you do the same. 🙏 - Good luck bro.

[@lucilleJenneman]

That's such a shitty move on their part. Wishing you and your awesome voice the best.

[@katherinespong]

Wow. That is trashy, but I am so happy you received what was owed to you. The video made me giggle though, despite the unfortunate events, you told the story in a hilarous way.

[@SHTMusik]

The evidence is piling up against DistroKid. Musicians beware.

[@HusseinAlNabulsi]

I’m having the same issue with TuneCore

[@liquifymusic1]

@@HusseinAlNabulsi This is not an issue!! this is the law, you should really ask an accountant about those things don't be cheap, an accountant will save you way more on taxes than what you will pay him.

[@NINESKYZ]

yep artist should go elsewhere man ..

[@heinrichsmit2]

@@HusseinAlNabulsi That settles it, we should rather go with well known distributors. Clearly the smaller ones don't know what they're doing

[@uzidiagonal]

@@heinrichsmit2 these are the well known ones...

[@KoalaMolester]

This was very well put & said. Hope you get some kind of real answers out of them. Either they pay up or change their wording as to not rip off anyone else! AsKaNAcCoUnTaNt

[@saraengland1336]

God Bless You for standing up for what was rightfully yours. I am so glad you shared this problem (theft) with us. People will learn from this. You are an amazing loving knowledgeable person. I also enjoy your musical ability. You can sing any type of music and so great at it. BlessYou and love you. Keep up your faith and being the gentleman that you are. ❤❤❤😊😊😊🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@vitorgalvao20]

Olá Dan! Sou um fã de suas músicas e advogado em direito digital e autoral e tenho alguma experiência na área. Realmente, distribuidoras e mesmo alguma associações de músicos cobram um valor abusivo ou praticam atos obscuros ou plenamente ilegais, seja nos EUA ou Brasil. Na sua breve explicação do caso, acredito que você tem base para discutir a questão na justiça brasileira ou, até mesmo, entrar com ação coletiva. A legislação brasileira te dá algumas vantagens processuais e têm uma enfase muito grande na questão da oferta, ou seja, como seu contrato ou parceria foi apresentado. Podemos onversar mais sobre isso e ver o que posso te ajudar, sem falar de trabalho aqui, é mais uma ajuda de fã hahahaha No minimo, acho que posso te indicar algumas pessoas especializadas no caso

[@filipiraupp3414]

Pior que já vi isso com muitos canais que assim que começam a crescer entram na mira destes estelionatários, caso dele foi nas músicas, outros é nas Thumbs ou qualquer motivo (até ter apresentado conteúdo antes, então pessoa copiou). Da forma que eles agem, quando vc aciona a justiça eles começam a dar strikes no canal por contas secundárias e começam pedir muito dinheiro ou derrubam seu canal. Teve um canal de react, acho que eguinorante que após este estelionato ele preferiu apagar canal e começar de novo do que dar dinheiro para esses caras.

[@seadioficial]

Vitor, aconteceu algo muito pior comigo com a Distrokid. Eles bloquearam minha conta do nada, tiraram todas minhas músicas do ar (mais de 120 músicas), e sumiram com meu dinheiro. Fora todo o prejuízo e trabalho de anos jogado no lixo, já que minhas músicas vinham crescendo em algoritmos, e entrando em playlists. Isso aconteceu há 8 ou 9 dias. Sei que você é fã do Dan, e nem me conhece, mas pode me ajudar?

[@subarusama5673]

DistroKid? More like DistrustKid! D: I wish you the best of luck in this case. Will you go to court and sue DistroKid? I'm not an expert about the law in Brazil nor in USA, but could you make a group lawsuit with people that share the same exact problem? They should give you back your money and then some more for making all this hassle for you and other honest people who only want to earn some money for their hard work - creating music.

[@DanVasc]

Thank you so much for your wonderful support. Regular lawsuits are already a tremendous headache that can cost me more than I already lost, let alone an international lawsuit. Plus, there`s also the risk I mentioned of having this backfire, if this is a case of legal stealing. Plus, as a supporter of freedom, I don`t like to turn to the State to solve my problems. I`m taking them to a better and more effective court. The only true court of real justice. The market.

[@darnit16]

@@DanVasc I wish I could remember where it was, but I remember seeing something similar about another company that takes money by being very careful about "how much can we take from people without pushing them to sue." I don't know any musicians, but I'll still let people know about this just in case. Cheers!

[@jameshall7188]

Ummmmm you add in legal fees to the end result and a lawyer will not take the case if they feel they cannot win. Not only did you prove they were shady with this alone false advertisement was made. Dan, it is an open shut case... if you go in you win... their web page screwed them over with “100% “

[@RedMoonsEcho]

There’s a lot of companies who get based out of the US but run the company from another country. SO many many scams do go on like this

[@EdsMusic]

Sign me up

[@almasmith5611]

Dan, you are INCREDIBLE and you should receive all money due to you!!!

[@EmmanuelPHaque]

Man, this is bad. I thought Distrokid is good. 😭

[@SAFAR919]

same :(

[@iftekharahmedchowdhury9226]

You and the other musicians should take them to a court of law. That is your money, you earned it.no matter how small the amount is.

[@joannerist7473]

Dan you video was informative. You explained everything very well. I learned something. Thank you. I enjoyed the humor you through in. When asked a question I will answer " Go ask an accountant" lol

[@elmarsabolins2354]

I love how you can see the day go by in the background form like noon to evening.

[@BLVKES]

Hey Dan! Thank you for that! I'm gappy you've got a result and your money was returned! So excited to see the details of that story!

[@onetwonickles9662]

The world is evil . Stay strong , and hope it all works out. You are 200 percent right .

Thank you for this video. I am very curious about what happened next and how did you solve this problem. Because I am also a distrokid user from Turkey and I am earning my whole life from it and I had the same problem.

[@doomer5156]

kralll seviliyorsun

[@thekoolbreeze]

1) you should find out if your country has a tax treaty with US (IRS) as the starting point. 2) Then depending on the answer you receive. a) Refer to Distrokid' own words about the with-holding not being neccesary. b) Write to the IRS and make your claim for a refund though them, you have the paperwork to show that there is a claim of with-holding for IRS tax purposes, maybe you wouldn't even lose 30% legally. I am sure the IRS would be very interested in someone claiming collecting taxes on their behalf but not forwarding the monies collected on to them. 3) Sue them anyway for Fraud, Fraudulent Misrepresentation, False Advertising.

[@someoneyoullmeeteventually6834]

@@thekoolbreeze seriously why no one sue them already

[@TerminalYapm]

Kral nedensiz şekilde distrokid hesabımı engellediler. Mail'de saçma sapan şeyler yazıyorlar komedi gibi. Şuan tüm parçalara erişimim var fakat yıl sonunda tüm parçaları başka distribitöre aktarmayı düşünüyorum. Bence yol yakınken dön bir gün durduk yere parça paylaşamayabilirsin.. Yardımcı olmaya çalışırım.

[@susinok]

Have you contacted PayPal to see if they can do something about this? They have a very strong legal department and since the transactions went through them, they might be able to help.

[@KhaosWolfKat]

This is also a VERY good idea, Dan!

[@dyansis]

PayPal probably has no power to reclaim the money but he may be able to get some advice from them about this.

[@HTram]

It looks like the payment in particular didnt go through paypal, at least from what was shown in the withdrawal history. The previous withdrawals had the paypal logo and paypal fees, while the one in question doesn't not mention paypal and included "banking fees." If that's the case, i'm not sure if Paypal can help Dan here. Worth a try though if it did go through Paypal in some avenue.

[@ScaredDonut]

PayPal is not there to help you with taxes. So they won't help.

[@janelouiselandry]

Congradulations Dan you hold on to your principals and do not t back down when you see or hear of something wrong and get to the root of the problem . Then when they send back your money, to donate it to a charity for cancer victims. You are an exceptional person to challenge this company and get results and bring them into the public eye. You have an extradionary fan base that stand with you., stay strong with your convictions and principals, God bless you

[@irule1273]

Ahhh damn, I just recommended all my friends distrokid because I thought it was good, now I’ve gotta find another option... Granted I never experienced the same amount of views/streams as Dan did, (my most was 10,000 streams) so I probably never noticed this reduction of income. Perhaps this “tax reduction” starts happening after 10k of royalties were made, even then, shits still shady. Now time to search for another distributor, any suggestions?

[@minhuang8848]

Distrokid is doing the same as everyone else. It's a quirk of international taxation, not of DK itself and there is no reason why you shouldn't recommend it. For the price, you won't get a cheaper and especially faster distribution service and everyone in these comments seems to ignore that fact thoroughly. It either means you're in the US (where tax withholding doesn't apply, you just have to pay your taxes normally), or you filled out the relevant W-8BEN form, meaning DK will pay you the normal withholding percentage. It's actually super easy to find relevant details on this with a simple search, they explain everything without you being required to contact them. That or the millions of threads people make about this very issue on a daily basis.

[@felipecaetano1291]

Carai Dan, o assunto é sério e fiquei putasso com o que aconteceu, mas ao mesmo tempo rachei o bico com o vídeo! Só uma pessoa sábia em paz consegue fazer os outros rirem mesmo tendo sido roubado! O que é seu ninguém tira!! Abraços man!

[@Dopemixed]

DISTROKID Stole my money on 17th november they deleted all my songs and took all the money from me

[@josgracee5856]

do you live inside the US? for me they were very clear about that 30% thing when signing up if the artist billing address was outside the us.

[@cryptia]

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It's so good to see a Brazilian musician thrive

[@MrAJGemmell]

This isn't a distrokid issue. It's a US tax issue. The same issue occurs for Shuttertock and Adobe contributors. They started withholding 30% last year. Whilst I appreciate your rant... it's not DK fault.

[@NAIRxtc]

so why didn't nobody else using tunecore etc have this issue 🙃

[@MrAJGemmell]

@@NAIRxtc because Tunecore has a UK division? When you sign up to DistroKid it’s all USA based. (I think!) We have this same tax issue with Shutterstock and Adobe for video imagery we sell.

[@NAIRxtc]

@@MrAJGemmell I think tunecore has 1 for India too, but isn't tunecore too pricey

[@oneplus113T]

@@NAIRxtc what does Tunecore have for India?? I'm from India I need to know

[@NAIRxtc]

@@oneplus113T tunecore india division bro Ritviz has been advertising them lately

[@Ryan_Thompson_Guitarist]

No one: Absolutely no one: Distrokid: aSk An AcCoUnTaNt