DISTROKID BANNED ME FOR LIFE

I used to love Distrokid and had their top account, but then this happened...I share my story of how I went from Distrokid's #1 fan to being banned for editorial discretion in this Distrokid review video by popular request.
I contacted Distrokid said to me: "one or more of your releases has been rejected due to editorial discretion." Then I tried to use the Distrokid Leave a Legacy feature, and found out something shocking that I did not expect!
Has this happened to you too? Do you need to contact Distrokid?
Distrokid Contact Email: [e-mail]
Distrokid Contact Support Review, Leave a Legacy & Editorial Discretion
My new song 'TAKING OVER ME' is out TODAY! Stream it worldwide on the link below!
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[@ermanevcil]

Thanks a lot for this video man ! And sorry for your thing turned up like so.. Guys, check well the comment section, there are some solid info laying down there.

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

🙌🙌🙌

[@macavalli2619]

TIL, Distrokid can shadow ban you for having a certain style or making "similar sounding music. I can already see how many trap rappers they will trap ban due to "editorial discretion"

[@VSChris-ut8ip]

Indie Music Academy what should I use to get my music out there what’s the best option to use

[@Josh-py9rq]

Yeah man soo thankful for this video lol 😂 I am releasing my first album and not with distrokid lol

[@losintocables7834]

@Azaz Beats were you able to collect your money from distrokid?

[@BarstoolAstronaut]

Doctor to Nurse: "He's dead...notify his wife and send an email to Distrokid."

[@theviolinoob]

hahha

[@LuciensMusic]

They may want a picture of the corpse,lol

[@CokeBeats]

ha ha ha otherwise will carry to next generation

[@Neillusion]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@alexandermasons418]

@Barstool Astronaut you have the littest account name

[@Christopher-md7tf]

The common thread with bad Distokid experiences is: Everything went well for a while, then suddenly something went wrong for no apparent reason and nobody can ever figure out why, because apparently their customer service is absolute dogshit.

[@nvisionbeats]

Yeah for me it’s the customer service, they are a very archaic in how they operate. They are unprofessional in this aspect and not very transparent - even with the whole withholding a third of royalties because of tax reasons.

[@Wxve6]

@@nvisionbeatsthe DK founder creeps reddit like a fool under his real name ... so yeah you're right. company culture trickles down from the top

[@losintocables7834]

@Azaz Beats Were you able to collect your winnings after the ban?

[@heeeeeythere7480]

3 years, after that it’s nothing but problems.

[@john-a5472]

"I'm not telling you to quit Distrokid" *Me contemplating quitting Distrokid*

[@compositionsforever2466]

@Shovine Kazama what's wrong with that? Cheaper than Netflix that has majority films I've already seen or can see without Netflix.

[@compositionsforever2466]

@Shovine Kazama I mean to have ya music in many stores isn't as easy without a distributor. As long as you pay distrokid ya sorted . Other distributions are slightly weird like I also have Ditto but only uploaded one track due to there's toonly many tabs but better for doing draft releases I guess, I only joined ditto to one day take advantage of the Vevo Channel creator feature that cist around $c .. Not too bad.. But that one track took a week to reach anywhere and they have free KZbin content id.. distrokid content id isn't free but there's free services out there to do that separately like pay a one time fee to a publisher and they handle worldwide stuff for every track

[@compositionsforever2466]

@Shovine Kazama distrokid always takes a day or two at most to reach iTunes. Before KZbin took a week to reach stores a two years ago but recently takes same time as iTunes apple music, two days is amazing to be in over ccc stores and a new oriental store has just been added so go back into albums or singles and add to more stores that don't charge. Simple

[@Zvrra]

@Shovine Kazama WAT

[@saint_iri]

@Shovine Kazama 🤔 this can't be correct

[@iamchannelll]

I think we need to take a stand and start making ways to be able to distribute our own music instead of using distributors

[@HindiRapGuru]

I agree with you. This world is now getting strictly controlled for power and money in every way. It was done in shadows before but now it is done in broad daylight and they are not scared!

[@therecipe415]

Agreed. I want to start a union for artist

[@feadycrocka]

lets open one

[@kinadabambino6872]

Im down!

[@LegendaryWoke]

Simply go to each distributor and distribute instead of going with the multi-distributors, yawn

[@activistarts7722]

this should be a lawsuit. Sounds like fraud to me

[@phenomenallyupnext]

distro kid is the worst i know 3 artist who got screwed by theme

[@jacejaxon7197]

Yeah, sounds bad, but most of what this dude is saying is just ACTUAL LIES. The way he described the "Leave a legacy" thing isn't how it works at all. He probably *did* release something that could've gotten him in trouble (distrokid straight up says that if a song that you released get's in any legal trouble they will unrelease it so that neither you or them get in lawsuit territory.(Which is in your favor) He also doesn't show any of his and distrokids conversation so most of that is probably made up as well. I mean what can you expect, he's a small youtuber who needs content and controversy videos get the most views.

[@vandenhengel978]

@@jacejaxon7197 Those are harsh words you are using and assumptions are just that, not facts. There are however a few inconsistencies in the story. Like the impossibility to get another distributor. And then show how to do just that. Also the mentioning that DK does not give you all your payments from the mentioned resources is a first I hear that one. Implying the need for additional services.

[@AccioFreaks]

@@vandenhengel978 could not watch the video because I'm in a pretty loud environment. Just came here to read all the comments. While I don't know what this guy is talking about in the video, DistroKid not paying the full amount to artists is not something new. Check out Dan Vasc's video about it. /watch?v=UZ9P80XPIWY

[@freakenh]

@@jacejaxon7197 This guy probably works for distrokid

[@Herfinnur]

Title of video starts around 4:28 for those as impatient as me 😬 I hate that we have to pay for distribution. There's really no reason for that except for artificially created barriers, and it's a step backwards from the CD days where it was absolutely possible to do your own distribution if you where prepared to do the necessary work

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

Cd days?! are you kidding me?! do you know how expensive that stuff was?! I released a compilation album of local artists to sell at shows in high school. did everything myself: printed out cd cards, bought jewel cases, and CD-Rs and the rest. without factoring in ink it was like $2-3 PER CD. Of course i made more than i needed and am still stuck with some (yay memorabilia). Stuff is much cheaper now. complaining that you have to pay to get stuff out there and Cds were cheaper isn't an argument i understand.

[@warrencantero]

staying clear from the Dark Side of the business.. this is a great public service. thank you

[@ashleysimone7702]

I am more concerned that he was banned without a legitimate explanation.

[@AikiraBeats]

Right that doesn't sound right to me

[@jacksonmckoy]

Fake streams

[@bradleythewitch]

Same.

[@josianelessard]

@@AikiraBeats no same crap happened to me. I think duplicated releases get you flagged

[@makingbangers8624]

Spotify loves fake streams, it still benefits them. @@jacksonmckoy

[@Payusnomind]

Yo, when you said you were about to pay for Leave a Legacy, I thought my head would explode. Oh man, I’m so furious this is happening to anybody. They’ve always been a bit shady though. I mean, you can’t even see the terms of agreement until after you pay & are in the upload process. They also hide their full pricing until you create an account. It’s always been strange. Glad to hear you got away.

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Me too!

[@Payusnomind]

@@drzplatano1923 Huh?

[@drzplatano1923]

@@Payusnomind Hah!! my bad. "Pay me no mind" 🤦🏽‍♂️ thought u were Jhawk Productions. Lol smh. It's fustrating trying to find a decent digital distributer. It seems they all have shitty reviews.

[@jowyjozef]

Thanks to @@Payusnomind reviews, I'm going to use *ONErpm*

[@NINESKYZ]

PUNM Yo, when you said you were about to pay for Leave a Legacy, I thought my head would explode LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

[@MatthJenks]

They won me over a few years ago by convincing me they were the only honest player in the business, and fighting for your ability to collect royalties. Now I feel a bit naive for falling for their nice guy marketing.

[@PRAFITJOSIAH]

Looks like Distrokid changed the Leave a Legacy part after seeing your video, this is the new policy: "DistroKid will never delete this album, even if you cancel your account or your credit card is declined. You can always choose to delete it any time-or not. You will continue to accrue all royalties, as normal. Leave your legacy for future generations."

[@m3taljel]

@Angelfleshimpaler Leave a Legacy has been the same since 2016

[@SinfidelityMusic]

@@m3taljelnot according to this video

[@m3taljel]

@@SinfidelityMusic ☝️🤓

[@HolaMundoDev]

I received that same message today, it is a copy paste, I think that the issue is something easy to solve like "this song doesn't suit X streaming service" or "this streaming service said that you need to change A", but because they are such a big company they prefer not to give support to artists as they don't have the motivation to do so. Thanks for the review, I'm applying to Awal now.

[@michaellawrencesound]

Wow that's crazy! Would you be willing to make a video on how you changed distributors without giving up stream counts or UPC codes? Might be a good resource to have, just in case.

[@levigotit3029]

definitely something id look forward to!

[@dgeniux]

This will be very important

[@TheToobNube]

Yes please!

[@JocelinoRodrigues]

I second this!

[@AntonioRockGP]

Yah! Please!

[@martinistse]

Music lesson 101, record labels are shady (also distributors)

[@AidanChickTV]

all of entertainment is shady lmao Daft Punk's Interstella 5555 is a perfect metaphor for this

[@1337murk]

@@AidanChickTV Or there is the Q Tip line "Industry rule number four thousand and eighty , Record company people are shady"

[@marcoescobar8578]

@@1337murk I think they smoke crack. I don't doubt it; look at how they act

[@Kikan319]

Not necessarily true at all. It's pretty clear most people have never dealt with Indie labels. Most people can think of an indie label as a stepping stone if they really wanted to. Indie labels and Major labels don't usually use the same contracts. It's much simpler and easier to deal with. Most of the time.

[@blinkinbaboonbiskit]

... been the truth since Record Merch and all the rest... forever...

[@urblack7954]

Forget disctrokid!!!! You posting this saved me thank you.

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

By popular request: in this video, I share my Distrokid story. I'll be answering every comment for the next 3 hours so let me know if you're shocked or have questions, or even want to share a story of something that has happened to you!

[@KalebDingmon]

Hey what's good bro! Don't forget about Amuse and United Masters for free distribution with them not taking any cut and with them having FREE FEATURES such as KZbin content ID etc 🙏🤍🔥check it out bro

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Those platforms are freaking rocking the music distribution world!!!! It will be amazing to see what happens with them long-term and if it's going to mean trouble for platforms like CD Baby 😮

[@hrithikbeats]

Hey brother same thing happened with me man they i mailed them today and they said me same thing now i want a solution my friend what do i do they said is change your distributed plz tell me brother what do i do

[@hrithikbeats]

And what will happen to my money i'm still keep making from streams on distrokid man

[@thenowchurch6419]

Thank you so much for making this video. Based on the buzz for months now, I thought Distrokid was on the up and up and was the best way to go. I was so close to putting my music on their service. This has been quite an eye opener. Scams are everywhere. Do your due diligence people.

[@SamaThakore]

Hey Ryan, I'm so glad that you made a video about this because THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED WITH ME!!! After a few weeks of wondering when my music will be up in the stores, I wrote to distrokid asking about my releases, just like you did. As a reply, distrokid sent me an email stating the exact same thing, the only difference being that the mail they sent to me did not have any reasons stated, like how they gave to you. Distrokid just sent me an email saying, "due to "editorial discretion" you will no longer be able to upload music through Distrokid, please find a new distributor." There was no reason given what so ever, even when I replied asking for one!! This was so frustrating!! . I wanted to ask, how you moved your music, from distrokid to another distributor and whether it made any difference to your streams?? and which distributor do you recommend??

[@djproducerccm]

Sorry to hear that too, It doesn't make any sense. I moved my catalog from Reverbnation, to Tunecore, and then finally to Distrokid. I had to take my music down from one service first before uploading again to the new one (kept the same UPC & IRSC). I didn`t see a drop in Plays on Spotify but that was a few rears ago. Hang in there I kinda know the feeling, Pandora banned me since calling them out on Twitter back in 2013... Keep Rocking Sama =)

[@SamaThakore]

DJ Producer CCM oh no so sorry to hear that🙈 I really hope spotify and other platforms bring in the upload your songs yourself feature soon!!

[@giulioboobzilla]

Check out Bandcamp rather than f‘in around wit thieves

[@chills2447]

Use Amuse It's free

[@percycarey6555]

Spotify owns DistroKid.

[@RicobeatzIGRicobeatz]

I was going to start up an account for beats after clearing samples and now I changed my mind. And this is not the first video I saw that customers had serious issues with DistroKid! Thank you for posting this video because the negativity of this seems true as well as the other artists that suffered the same and/or similar problems. It’s a shame when you put in all your hard work the legit and legal way and still gives you a hard time. Sorry to hear that man🤦🏻‍♂️!

[@teonsnnow3548]

Share worldwide to all Artists DITTO MUSIC DISTRIBUTORS HAVE BEEN BLACKLISTED BY THE WORLD COUNCIL OF MUSIC ARTISTS for cheating Music Artists . All music Artists must leave DITTO MUSIC DISTRIBUTORS worldwide.Have nothing todo with them A WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT. Blocking Artists, taking money without rendering services well. Fighting with Artists. When once Artists make progress , they fight with Artists seize your royalties and lock you out of the account. World Council of Music Artist . YOU ARE THEIR CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE TREATED WITH RESPECT THEREFORE THE COUNCIL CAN NOT ALLOW SUCH BEHAVIOUR TO CONTINUE. DITTO IS BLACKLISTED. ALL ARTISTS ARE TOLD TO LEAVE DITTO WORLDWIDE . UNLESS THEY STOP FIGHTING AND LOCKING ARTIST OUT POLICY THEY ARE BLACKLISTED.

[@anndynegative]

Really sucks to hear this dude. It's a bummer you had to go through all this, but it's good you were able to bounce back. Thanks for sharing!

[@GioVanniRimz]

This is a powerful video and has so much relevance to life as a whole, not just your experience with DK....Hidden truths are everywhere; one has to keep all 3 eyes open!

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Totally my brotha!

[@RicoTracks24]

Bro my heart really goes out to you, I’ve watched a lot of your content and you’re awesome, bad things always happen to good people smh. I’m glad I watched this I’ve only distributed 3 tracks through distrokid, I’ll be transferring those few to another distributor!

[@canadarecordsofficial]

People are the ones that can destroy those crock companies. If all artists work together and if we have online community we can have them run out of the business . That was horrible experience!!!

[@therecipe415]

Artist owned distribution systems

[@rasbill]

macklemore seemed like such a nice guy too sorry to see this happen to him

[@bproducer]

Lol

[@Ewing_isgooder]

Broooo

[@lukeabram]

*Learns about leave a legacy *fakes death *tells Distrokid he is dead *legally changes name *releases with new distributor under old name "phew, that was easy!"

[@macavalli2619]

You know how much it costs to fake a death and get a new legal identity? Not to mention a new artist name, style, plastic surgery? Just pay Distrokid for life, simple

[@DjSegwon]

Lmao

[@CyanBlackflower]

Indeed. That is at LEAST what my response to them would be...Just SEE if I wouldn't try and have as much fun with their algorithm, bot, or persons as possible. I might even SERIOUSLY get some Goddamned ATTENTION!! One way or ANOTHER...Because... I'm under the impression that in this business...there is NO such thing as "Bad Publicity".

[@kgmsosa8230]

Tells distrokid he is dead??? Him: “I’m dead” DK: “no ur not” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@lukeabram]

@@kgmsosa8230 😂

[@Arjun-md2in]

Thanks for sharing your experience bruv. You actually did a great job sharing your experience. Now please do share with us if distrokid comes to you again for sharing your experience through this video. Glad you shared your experience 🙌🏻

[@chadgarber]

You should do a video that shows how you switched.

[@brunoamaral8881]

AGREE

[@itsmdnight]

Agree

[@happydrumstick5371]

Yes

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Hey! Here is the video showing how I switched without losing stream counts or playlists: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sH-xh5qeqpmUq5o

[@chadgarber]

@@IndieMusicAcademy Thanks so much!

[@joetunon]

I got a similar response concerning their so called "Leave a Legacy" option. If you close your account even "Leave a Legacy" gets cancelled, which kind of makes "Leave a Legacy" false advertising. I deleted my one release from them and I'm sticking with cdbaby, who had the decency to confirm that even upon death my releases will stay in the stores. Sorry for your experience, but thanks for publicizing it. Shame on them for not even giving you a straight answer concerning your ban.

[@garaughty]

hi Ryan and wow... that sucks on so many levels ! Thx for the heads-up !

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Hey Marti, no problem my man. Most artists will be just fine, just beware of the subscription model!

[@2free2snakes]

I released 2 albums and 1 single via DK, starting from late 2017 to autumn 2019. Went smoothly as ever until I tried to get my third album released - editorial discretion with very vague email responses. Decided to cut my losses and pay for the legacies. Looking at other distributor platforms right now for future releases. Ended up releasing my third LP only on KZbin/Bandcamp, so far so good.

[@Wxve6]

so you intentionally switcvhed from DK (after buying the leave a legacy) and DK still pays you your royalties despite 'intentionally' switching from DK to another distributor? Isn't that exactly what OP said DOESNT happen? I feel like they treated him differently than usual. Like if @indiemusicacademy didn't email them and just bought the leave a legacy then switched they'd keep paying him, no? I cxould be totally wrong. DK support is poops i've messaged them some strongly worded emails , still didn't get banned tho thankfully lol but still like all these tech companies have poops customer service they r run by bots lol

[@jesseedmondson2861]

Man after finding out all of this I am a lot less likely to use distrokid, I was leaning toward them before this.

[@MichaelOrtega]

Even before watching this video I always had a hunch that DistroKid was “too good to be true”. I use CD BaBy and even though it’s quite expensive but they have literally changed my life especially as an original Composer.

[@nopuddingcups4360]

@@MichaelOrtega id honestly like to know the details on how it changed your life. 👍

[@yungsaintj]

@jesse Edmondson I use distrokid for all my releases and as long as your don’t used non-cleared samples and other people’s work you should be fine releases your music out there !

[@suzyhits]

@@MichaelOrtega more details about CD Baby please

[@MichaelOrtega]

Suzy Hits IF you have a good size fan base say 250k+ and you make original work (no samples, no covers, remixes) then CD baby is very effective on the Pro-publishing. I released an album as a test and paid $100 in 2018 for all the features for collecting mechanical royalties, registrations, content ID collection from youtube, Facebook, and anywhere online, and today I can say that I am happy they take 15% of my revenue because I have been able to collect a substantial amount of income from all around the world using my music. It all adds up. I like my pease of kind. I now release all of my albums and music with them. I wish they were cheaper but again, if you are making 100% original work, they do a great job on squeezing the last little dollar your music can generate world wide, And the results amplify a lot the more you collect. If I keep growing (fan wise) I might need to switch since percentages can be huge with bigger numbers of fans but all I can say, they changed my life. The collections tripled my earnings as an independent musician. I could live just from my music. Right now I have a family and bought a house but I am debt free thanks to the extra income. Once I’m done paying the house (my last expense) I can retire by the age of 34 (if CD baby Keeps helping me collect the same or more.

[@SinizterOfficial]

Had this happen to me as well. I literally boycott distrokid for everything you stated here. Their customer service is absolutely terrible and the e-mails you get are exactly as stated here, a laundry list of possible things but they never tell you exactly what it is. Fun Fact - If you make a new account under the same artist name and try to distribute again through them, they will ban the new account.

[@11451254]

What if you change emails !

[@palaska.]

I was banned for some reason and then I bought a new account with a new email and when I tried to upload my songs that were already uploaded and not copyrighted, they told me that my songs contained other samples. So why did you upload them before? Can anyone help me if they have any information?

[@334Guh]

I don’t like the fact that you can’t even talk to them over the phone and get clear answers. I’m glad I had problems with my very first release so now I’m looking for other alternatives.

[@noiszif]

It’s just incredible all you had to pass thru with Distrokid. Thank you for letting us know you experience with them. I’ll have to keep researching about which music distributor is ideal for me. Once again, thanks! 🙏🏽

[@Jesta420JRG]

Thank you so much for your informational video's Ryan. I'm about to jump into the industry and have been researching non-stop for months for un-biased information regarding digital distribution aggregators, PRO's, copyright law, etc.... And to be bluntly honest, have have not found anyone as concise, educated and experienced putting forth truly helpful, understandable information (without ulterior motive & based on experience) as you have made available. For this, I am truly appreciative. I will support and follow what you are doing as well as recommend to others... Great work.

[@95TurboSol]

I was literally entering my credit card info while listening to this video and canceled, thanks, the reason I ditched is actually because of shady pricing, not being up front about what add ons you have to pay for. Do you have any experience with ditto? They were my second choice.

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Oh man lol Distrokid is gonna come after me pretty soon!! You know I’ve talked to a ditto employee and am familiar with their features and I was honestly pretty impressed. The best part about ditto is that they have marketing packages that you can add-on. Those marketing packages are run by a small team at ditto who will actually dedicate man-hours towards your launch. It’s pricey but a really cool concept for artists who need support for marketing. I’ve never used them but in my opinion it seems like a solid choice.

[@95TurboSol]

@@IndieMusicAcademy ok cool, thanks mate

[@user-rf4vc7mt4d]

Bro me too. I was going to create an account just to be able to collect royalties from a feature I had with another artist. I wasn't planning to use it to put out my music. Then they hit me with that subscription fee regardless. I was so close to putting in my info, then the KZbin algorithm recommended me this. I'm so happy I didn't do it lmao. Since I'm kind of friends with the guy, I might ask him to have my percentage and paypal me the money or maybe i won't even care anymore and everyone else can split my money

[@lifestyle6993]

Use United masters

[@95TurboSol]

@@lifestyle6993 Funny enough I did end up going with Distrokid because of various features I wanted like revenue share. I've had nothing but a good experience so far, it's been about 6 months now.

[@teroniemi]

I`ve also released multiple artists and albums via distrokid and even paid leave a legacy fee. You confirmed my fears sadly... also if I want to send shares via distrokid all the receivers will need to pay the yearly fee. So it`s actually quite expensive.

[@theclaverman]

I'm just about to release a single with a Norwegian artist. It's professionally mixed, and it is mastered in Metropolis Studios, London. But when I logged in to distrokid all my previous releases are deleted from distrokids library .... What a huge scam this is. Hopes somebody sues them to their knees, as the internet is flooding with people experiencing the exact same thing without any reason,,,,,

[@sierra-q]

They charged me 40 dollars and my Acount vanished like dude wtf. I emailed them waiting to see the excuse.

[@arnav6753]

What Happened After ?

[@jgiddinstheartist6582]

Any update???

[@YungDonCorleoneTV]

Having a similar issue. They charged me the annual fee but I see no receipt and don’t even know if it went though on their end, but my card is most def charged. Smh

[@StephenWakeGuitar]

Hey, Thanks for the vid. I was just about to go with their label plan but saw your video and canceled just in time. I've been told by others that their customer service is terrible.

[@tommyaudio]

thanx for confirming my caution about them. about to put out am album and also end up advising other artists i produce. we won't be using distrokid. cheers ✌🙃

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Rock on!

[@AlexMarley]

distro kid blocked me from pulling out my funds and they don't have a customer service number 😤 😡 😠

[@Chxpter]

Shit 👀😭😭😭😭

[@sierra-q]

[e-mail] Email those thieves

[@plasma_mb3]

"Quite suspicerous." - Mr. Krabs

[@miguelsandremusic]

And this should have more views! I closed my account with them recently, but I moved my music prior to closing my account. They literally when closing the account that 'If you decide to close the account forever, even if you paid Leave a Legacy fee, your music will be deleted from stores" sooo what's the point of a "Leave a Legacy" model anyway? Just like you said... a lucrative business model. I switched to Soundrop. It's a free service. They take %15 commission (which is a lot), but I really don't care because I don't do music as a living yet and I get to just focus in the creation process, upload my music and they take care of everything else.

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Thanks for sharing your story. Soundrop sounds very similar to AWAL in that they take their cut on the back-end. Glad you are happy with your new situation!

[@Fedbo]

Do you mind sharing how do you move songs to another distributor like soundrop? Do you have to upload the same song twice?

[@miguelsandremusic]

Fedimusic make sure you upload your songs to the distributor you choose before deleting your songs from distrokid. When you are in the process of adding the metadata to the new distributor, for each song, you want to make sure you add the same exact ISRC, UPC and all related data. That will help to transfer the stream count that your already have. If you add different metadata, the streams will probably be lost so make sure the data is exactly the same. After the songs go live on the new distributor of your choosing, you may delete the songs from DistroKid.

[@Fedbo]

@@miguelsandremusic thank you

[@brunoamaral8881]

@@miguelsandremusic THANK YOU

[@LeoGuerreroMusic]

Maybe they can be sued for their actions and keep lock your copyright materials in their platform.

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Maybe... but an independent artist would bury themselves in legal fees long before any resolution is reached. Distrokid has a big enough bank account to outlast any lawsuit and get saved by the bell.

[@LeoGuerreroMusic]

@@IndieMusicAcademy You are right, that sounds like David vs Goliath. Maybe it is collective will work for everyone, but that will take a lot of your time and I think is better to continue making music and focus on your projects.

[@titovalasques]

Leo G. You mean like a class action lawsuit?

[@anupambanerjee4718]

It’s pretty difficult and subsequently expensive to get into a legal battle if ur from a country different from the one ur target is originally

[@deptb]

This is such a terrifying possibility that could happen to anybody.

[@TashkaUrban]

I'm having MASSIVE TROUBLE with distrokid and being met with NO SUPPORT & a brick wall - my music is being discriminated against & it FEELS HORRIBLE! I am SO relating to this story SO MUCH right now!

[@TashkaUrban]

Their reason is "it's not in the Spirit of Distrokid" - even tho I have an entire album the same already that's been successful!!!! & NO WAY of getting in contact with them. Every response I get is completely automated

[@thisislilalice]

So hit up the stores and tell them you’re having problems they figure it out from the back end.

[@veyselaydn6711]

@@TashkaUrban i cant use spilts.what can i do

[@smokehashxuriahjahvid]

I've used distrokid never had a problem. I've uploaded music with samples and audio clips from well known movies etc... Very obscene music etc.. So this is crazy it seems like internally "gatekeepers" that can ban an artist from a distribution are at work to ban artists for no real reason ... Recently someone sabotaged me and paid for bot streams on one of my songs. It was near 50k streams I thought naturally cause I never paid for any promo but I received a message from distrokid that they detected bot streams and I must delete the song so my most played song of all time I had to delete

[@smokehashxuriahjahvid]

​@@TashkaUrbanspotify is changing and now only provide royalties for songs with 1000 or more plays maybe this has something to do with it... Imo it's a (conspiracy) big record label companies are mad that independent artist can make allot off streams as a independent record label so they are trying to stop it cause they want to control all music and revenue earned from music .... 99.9% chance my conspiracy theory is the truth

[@blue-m9631]

You can keep your songs and streams and Playlistslots. Long version short, find your ISRC numbers, use the exact same file format/length/title and re-upload with your new distributer. Use the old release ISRC number. Your streams will be matched. Delete all the songs with distrokid and don't go for the leave a legacy. And enjoy life with a new distributer.

[@KittyPurrnaz]

blue-m if I do that, will the Spotify royalties transfer to the new distributor?

[@loneface]

Is this the distrokid funeral? condolences.

[@teonsnnow3548]

Share worldwide to all Artists DITTO MUSIC DISTRIBUTORS HAVE BEEN BLACKLISTED BY THE WORLD COUNCIL OF MUSIC ARTISTS for cheating Music Artists . All music Artists must leave DITTO MUSIC DISTRIBUTORS worldwide.Have nothing todo with them A WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT. Blocking Artists, taking money without rendering services well. Fighting with Artists. When once Artists make progress , they fight with Artists seize your royalties and lock you out of the account. World Council of Music Artist . YOU ARE THEIR CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE TREATED WITH RESPECT THEREFORE THE COUNCIL CAN NOT ALLOW SUCH BEHAVIOUR TO CONTINUE. DITTO IS BLACKLISTED. ALL ARTISTS ARE TOLD TO LEAVE DITTO WORLDWIDE . UNLESS THEY STOP FIGHTING AND LOCKING ARTIST OUT POLICY THEY ARE BLACKLISTED.

[@ajames1542]

I should note Awal isn't for beginner artists, you should already have a fanbase, established brand, number of releases prior to applying.

[@lachinelli]

I've been with them for like 15 years. I began distributing with them when they seemed to be a small company. All I remember is I had to send them a couple of mp3 files, and after they checked if the quality was good, they accepted me. The submissions had to be via snail mail, sending my songs on a CD-R. I don't think it has changed much towards accepting new artists, but I guess that you have to show you're serious, so having a Facebook page with some followers and at least more than a couple of songs with studio quality is a must. After all, they want artists that have them make some cash.

[@reikomoss]

Crazy man, this same thing happened to me last week. I noticed weeks had gone by and my album wasn’t on any platforms. They banned me too but said it was due to play fraud but didn’t explain. Sorry this happened to you! I moved to United Masters ✌🏼

[@Ewing_isgooder]

Don’t Do UM the shut down my distro

[@verybadbaby1991]

Big artists' fans listen to their songs on loop all the time but nothing happens to them. One Direction, BTS, Justin Bieber,.... But when smaller artists' listeners do it, they get banned. It's crazy how easy a small artist can be taken down. Imagine a hater playing your songs on loop with the intention of getting you banned.

[@palaska.]

I was banned for some reason and then I bought a new account with a new email and when I tried to upload my songs that were already uploaded and not copyrighted, they told me that my songs contained other samples. So why did you upload them before? Can anyone help me if they have any information?

[@AviG789]

Thank you so much for this video. In addition to Dan Vasc's video, this has revealed to me the nature of Distrokid's business model; however tempting their seemingly "unbeatable" price, you just might be paying a much higher price (money, time and hassle) in the future. Once again, much appreciated!

[@nkriedi]

There is no way around this: proving no further explanation was given from Distrokid, it means this could happen to everyone. If anyone from Distrokid is reading this then you should do everything in your power to remediate this huge mistake.

[@brucekennedy5274]

I enjoyed your frankness and classy restraint in what was clearly a maddening and disappointing experience. Full respect and a sub from me 👍

[@Bigwoody95826]

Man, scary, I just signed up for Distrokid

[@gustavogutierrez5482]

I have a theory. This sounds like an act of revenge. Maybe in one of your videos you praised or made good comments about a distrokid competitor. Perhaps you said or presented something that their management didn’t like. And they banned you. This was so unfair! You have always been objective and positive, you didn’t deserve it! Even with everything that happened you’re still being objective and impartial. Shame on you distrokid!

[@richardg8687]

Literally signed up with Distrokid today. It would be very interesting to hear if anyone figures out why this happens? From this story it seems one day they decide they no longer want you as a customer.

[@singmysong1167]

See Eric Maher's comment, about 14 comments above...gives a somewhat reasonable explanation, friend.

[@NealFox]

We really need a video on how you left DistroKid for another distributor without losing your views. I've been with DK for over 2 years and haven't had the time to really see what they do. Thanks for the enlightenment.

[@zacharypoueriet3804]

isrc codes

[@BoomerPlaysGames]

I tried publishing two albums with Distrokid. The first one wasn't published 3 weeks past the release date so I asked them what happened. A month later I received the same copy paste message you did, the second time I tried to publish an album I got banned for life. When I asked why did that happen, I got the copy paste as an answer again. They also refused to give me a refund saying it's the stores that rejected my release, but that was not true. I changed distributors and published all the albums I wanted to without ANY problems at all on all the platforms that supposedly rejected me before. Avoid Distrokid like a plague.

[@kpcenti]

who did you switch to?

[@BoomerPlaysGames]

@@kpcenti Soundcloud, 5 albums published with 0 problems. You have to pay a monthly or a yearly fee for Soundcloud Premium and that's about it.

[@veyselaydn6711]

how did he know he was banned

[@Eloho-Inibi]

Blown away by everything you shared. Thank you!

[@maticca]

Wow!! Important video! So sorry you went through this but so glad you shared. DistroKid has been useless trash to me (I also pay $80 a year) by not supporting features they boast that they do (eg Instagram lyrics). Support just runs you in circles and closes your threads without trying to fix anything. They'll run you in circles for months with no end.

[@unclemick-synths]

Having seen a similar tunecore horror story (blocking without explanation), I guess distrokid is off my list too!

[@MarcAllins]

So it seems like, at this moment at least, the leave a legacy fee states "DistroKid will never delete this album, even if you cancel your account or your credit card is declined." - so maybe this video helped change that? Or maybe they are just saying this to say it lol

[@ClaudeWooley]

Good question, did you ever find out?

[@riellymorton]

and this is the problem with outsourcing customer support. You generally get the sense that you are not being treated on an individual basis, and are receiving a robotic response based on policies that typically do not include any wiggle room for unique situations.

[@photojournalists]

Was considering DistroKid but after watching this video I'm crossing them out.

[@coleadamsmusic]

WOW. I'm sorry to hear this. Thank you for sharing your experience. This was the "nail in the casket" video for me. Now I REALLY know not to go with distrokid.

[@ericmaher4756]

After watching half of this video, I checked "editorial discretion" and what comes up is that Distrokid explained that sometimes there's just too much of something on the shelf. They claim some people kinda spam them with too much generic stuff and the algorithm says no. Probably not your case, but worth checking why you were identified in that category of uploads.

[@ThomasEM]

So, does this still apply? This is what their Leave a Legacy says right now: DistroKid will never delete this single, even if you cancel your account or your credit card is declined. You can always choose to delete it any time-or not. You will continue to accrue all royalties, as normal. Protect your music and leave a legacy for future generations. It includes cancelled accounts from what I'm reading here.

[@theunservant9517]

distrokid website says : ------------------------------------- Opt any album or single into DistroKid's "Leave a Legacy" feature. The “Leave a Legacy” extra can be added to a release so that it won't be removed by DistroKid due to a lapsed membership payment (if your credit card is rejected, etc.). On top of that, if you ever choose to cancel your subscription, any releases that have the Leave a Legacy extra added will remain in streaming services, even if you cancel your account. Adding this extra to a release does not replace your annual membership fee if you have an active subscription, and it is not a one-time payment for all of your releases: each release must have this extra included if you wish to cancel your subscription and keep your releases listed in streaming services. To opt-in, find the Leave a Legacy checkbox on DistroKid's upload form, or on your album page. -------------------------------------- so its so weird what your saying.

[@JoeAtClaricast]

Thanks. Never using them. Sorry you had to deal with them. Do you know if the others let you leave and keep your music up?

[@tausenti]

Thanks for sharing your story, I saw so many musicians happy with distrokid. I have just started tryin to produce and release my music, so I just signed up for distrokid, which is a great deal. After listening to your story, I will think more about moving to some other platform, when things pick up and I can afford a more solid platform.

[@DopamineOverload]

For anyone out there-- been using CDbaby for 15 years. Never had one issue with them, and superb custom service. More expensive up front, but...... I've hesitated using Distrokid for years, and now I know why. Trust your gut.

[@StephenWakeGuitar]

Hey, have you noticed that CD Baby are only paying 0.0021 per Spotify stream and should be paying 0.003? They are silently ripping off everyone with this terrible payout for Spotify streams.

[@Wxve6]

@@StephenWakeGuitar i have the SAME issue with DK - DK said talk to spotify they just send us the check; spotify said talk to ur distributor i'm like WTFF it's absurd like all my streams r real its ridiculous

[@reggaebeats]

I appreciate you took the time to tell us your story. this helps everyone to make good decision when it comes down to distribution.

[@ClintonsingsOfficial]

That's scary, yep I'm not using distrokid

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Fortunately, there are lots of options.

[@jdizzle2k8]

As a Distrokid user thank you for this video. I'm going to have to ensure I have everything together just in case this happens to me. I'm sorry it happened to you but it seems like you're in a better situation now

[@McGuire40695]

This video just recently popped in my recommended feed, and I'm glad I went with CDBaby with the EP I'm releasing at the end of the month. Paying that one-time fee where they're taking 10-15% of earning seems fairly reasonable to me, as someone who's just hoping into the professional music business. The most glaring thing about Distrokid was their "Leave a Legacy" option ONLY being for death. That honestly seems a bit sketchy, and why would I pay twice for one release especially if I'm the sole writer of an album? I totally agree that the payment splits are nice as well as some of the other tools, but they seem a bit sketchy overall.

[@6jeremy]

That was just awful to hear man I'm so sorry that happened. A lot of the stuff on my end has been turning out the same way but theres always a way through. Happy Holidays and cheers to your music bro.

[@fearmonkey]

ive considered using Distrokid but now i think ill pass.

[@teonsnnow3548]

Share worldwide to all Artists DITTO MUSIC DISTRIBUTORS HAVE BEEN BLACKLISTED BY THE WORLD COUNCIL OF MUSIC ARTISTS for cheating Music Artists . All music Artists must leave DITTO MUSIC DISTRIBUTORS worldwide.Have nothing todo with them A WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT. Blocking Artists, taking money without rendering services well. Fighting with Artists. When once Artists make progress , they fight with Artists seize your royalties and lock you out of the account. World Council of Music Artist . YOU ARE THEIR CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE TREATED WITH RESPECT THEREFORE THE COUNCIL CAN NOT ALLOW SUCH BEHAVIOUR TO CONTINUE. DITTO IS BLACKLISTED. ALL ARTISTS ARE TOLD TO LEAVE DITTO WORLDWIDE . UNLESS THEY STOP FIGHTING AND LOCKING ARTIST OUT POLICY THEY ARE BLACKLISTED.

[@themetrovibe]

I mean, honestly you can create a new account under a new artist name. That's what I had to do. Idk about the whole billing cycle thing because you can just cancel anytime. That's one of their top motto. "Cancel anytime".

[@AndyBankx6609]

I guess it's time for me to switch also because it's been 3 weeks now and the Album is not released, the sad part is that I have to re-upload all my previous releases to my new distributor because distrokid will remove all my songs from stores🤦‍♂️ Distrokid sucks, I regret using it.

[@borisvillar]

This is a very strange story I’ve never had issues with Distrokid It seems like it’s not Distrokid banning you but the actual streaming platforms If your streaming numbers go sky high and then back down to nothing it triggers Spotify as pay for play and they will ban you

[@ExpandingSound]

If that’s what Spotify does that’s pretty stupid on their part, I mean payola has been a huge part of the industry basically since it started, half of the old artists got their albums played by slipping djs 50s

[@Wxve6]

@@ExpandingSound of course. i've had problems with spotify not paying me close to their "$0.004/stream" rate - DK support said talk to spotify; spotify for artists suppoort says talk to your distributor - mmm ok bud like srsly

[@nastika888]

recent ex-user from distrokid here: i already use often they "whell of playlist".. guess what, its take u right to bot playlist... this u describe its exactly whats happen to one of my song, its the only one with 6k of plays in september. i make the acc this year and upload 5 singles and this EP which has the song with 6k plays... they pay me today $0.05 dollar.. so this its toooo strange and incoherence... and guess what i found yesterday? spotify its a partner of distrokid, fuk'em

[@maruls7523]

I have over 50 000 streams and I made 7 dollars total.. on distrokid 😮‍💨

[@marcinpapke9390]

how it's even possible? the average payout rate from streaming platforms is 0.003 (depending on regions that stream your music, it could be lower though)

[@chrisrapple851]

I also had problems with them. Sorry you went through it. Mine was because I got a famous person on a song with me - they wanted me to get a copy of their driver's license. I dropped them as a result of this.

[@KF22TV]

This is why I have trust issues lol...with anyone From Instagram(or any social media’s in general) to even your entire “platform” using something like Wix, etc. You could lose EVERYTHING in the snap of a finger. I would almost say these people don’t owe you shit but we the people made them by using their services or their platform to build our own. The rich get richer man, I’ve seen some slimy shit with record labels to any other industry. This just adds on to it. It sad man. For real...and scary.

[@DaBeatsFreak]

OMFG😱 Dude tnx 4 sharing this story. You saved me from being trapped into a lifetime contract by a shady business model. I wonder how many victims are out there of this arrogant distributor. A real leech🤮

[@tavusion]

Thanks man, I left Distro this year (They’re literally evil) and was considering buying the legacy option for my current releases. You just made me wiser and saved me so much headache. Thanks.

[@MidnightDreamer1997]

This happened to me too right now. I can’t get into my account, just like that, no explanation, nothing.

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Shoot. I’m so sorry that this happened to you too

[@MidnightDreamer1997]

@@IndieMusicAcademy thank you! No remorse, all for the better I guess.

[@rachitsaraswat6726]

Try to make another account with different IP address and e mail I'd hope it works and with different details and artist name

[@AdilConstantineMusic]

Man thats crazy what they did to you. and the leave a legacy is such a BS. May I ask why you picked AWAL? and how are you liking them?

[@justinrae7835]

Thank you! I have been tempted to sign up with Distrokid and did think it sounded too good to be true. Thank you for the really helpful info

[@flamingfive3893]

this concerned me a lot so i looked it up - “The “Leave a Legacy” extra can be added to a release so that it won't be removed by DistroKid due to a lapsed membership payment (if your credit card is rejected, etc.). On top of that, if you ever choose to cancel your subscription, any releases that have the Leave a Legacy extra added will remain in stores, even if you cancel your account.” - doesn’t seem like you’re describing leave a legacy correctly

[@mason8971]

Yeah I don't believe he correctly explained a lot of issues with distrokid in this video. I can confirm "Leave A Legacy only works if you die" is BS. He also failed to mention that distrokid takes up to 4 weeks to release to streaming platforms without setting a reservation. Not sure if he did that or not and should have clarified..

[@elzurixmusic]

Thanks a lot for informing, and I'm sorry that happened to you and so glad I still haven't picked a distributor, because now I'm reconsidering my options.

[@mikepharao]

Distrokid please comment because I do not trust this guys haircut.

[@SikWitSkillzOfficial]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@Buja3d]

🤣 🤣 🤣

[@l_a5091]

Glad I'm taking my time, studying the pros and cons before choosing a distributor! Thanks for sharing, and I'm sorry this happened to you.

[@thesewhitepigeons5165]

They did the same thing to me. When I first released my self-titled I used Distrokid. They banned me. Now I go through another distributor. AND they still have an album up that I am locked out of and cannot collect on. They're thieves. Hope this makes you feel better.

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Wow that is crazy. So your music is still live, but your royalties are locked up in Distrokid's bank? That's unreal.

[@thesewhitepigeons5165]

@@IndieMusicAcademy yes sir.

[@altijdbeschikbaar2415]

@@thesewhitepigeons5165 Dat shit sounds damn scary bro... you better call for a lawyer and get your royalties.. because that just wrong from distrokid.. they cant do that right.. that sounds like a fking scam...

[@Fedbo]

So you paid for "leave a legacy" or how is it possible that It is still up?

[@creaturesound8795]

Hi we 've just had this situation with a different Merlin partner. Now looking to move our catalog but I have a question no one seems to be able to answer. What about the royalties we accumulated? We had thousands of plays and no access to our royalties?

[@DavidSweetland]

Same thing just happened to me just days ago. It had been a couple weeks past the date an album was supposed to go live, I emailed them and they said the same cookie cutter response: "We've been notified by stores and streaming services that one or more of your releases has been rejected due to editorial discretion. Unfortunately, stores are no longer accepting releases from you via DistroKid. You’ll need to try another distributor for future releases. Please understand that DistroKid is unable to assist with reversing this. We have no other information or context, and we are unable to get involved or take sides when this occurs. We’re just the messenger, passing along this info to you in hopes you find it helpful." Like you I have been subscribed with Distrokid for years and had 4 previous releases that are still active. There is no context or rationality for the ban, the music is high quality produced, mixed, mastered. They never would have notified me if I hadn't reached out to them, and they swear they have no answers or information. Of course they have information! If you don't like the album then just reject the album, not my whole account! What a joke, but I'm glad I'm not singled out on this.

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

Wow David. I can't believe how widespread this issue is. I feel for you man. I feel like there is a fundamental flaw with the hands-off way their system is built. Hopefully you find greener pastures my friend.

[@epicwork5970]

Wait is your music actually good or does it suck?

[@IndieMusicAcademy]

epic work you tell me: open.spotify.com/artist/2YNJbuJ0CZvGdJWXVQEUdc?si=1CLYddIWRlO_42AfwMJ0hw

[@epicwork5970]

Its good maybe they saw that u are getting money now and they have a deal with other distributers to ban people like you and force you to another place to pay more . They probably wanted you to stay a starving artist

[@hrithikbeats]

David Sweetland bro what to do now how to change to other distributor now brother lot work

[@MendingSilence]

Any updates 3 years later?

[@thebiggestcomedytv7250]

Did you get royalties? They have been playing around with royalties too. Let me know. They are not giving the correct amount of royalty even though when you can see how many streams you got on streaming platform e.g spotify or apple music. They are really doing some shady business.

[@glencruciani]

Wow! I watched many videos on Distrokid, including yours, and just signed up last week. I still haven't done any uploads, but now that I see this video I'm wondering if I made the right choice. I'd love to pick your brain further on this!

[@unclesamsavageamericanmusi9447]

Im a nobody, but Ive had a great experience using CDBaby.

[@tomix1970pl1]

What it is?

[@certainlyjoel7778]

Men I Trust use them

[@nevermindgaming6848]

Same but I rather have an account that's sub rather than pay them

[@VolkorX]

Exact same thing happened to me. Banned without notice. I'm with Amuse Pro now. So far, so good!

[@VolkorX]

@Murangi The Christian Gamer Still good. Music can be online within 2 weeks with Pro, 4 weeks if you use the free service.