Choosing a distributor for cover songs is a different decision than choosing one for original music, because covers carry an extra legal requirement — mechanical licensing — that most distributors either ignore, upcharge for, or make you handle yourself. This checklist covers the seven criteria that actually matter for cover artists specifically: licensing automation, per-release cost, moderation speed, payout minimums, platform reach, ongoing fees, and catalog stability. Run any distributor you’re considering through these seven points before you commit.

Does the distributor handle mechanical licensing automatically?

This is the first filter, and it eliminates more options than people expect. A cover song is a derivative work — legally, you need a mechanical license from the original song’s publisher before you can distribute your recording of it, even if you play every note yourself. Some distributors don’t offer licensing at all and simply leave you to source it independently, which for most independent artists means going through a third-party licensing service, adding time and cost before you can even upload. Others bolt it on as a per-song add-on fee on top of your distribution charge. Globex Music includes automatic mechanical licensing for cover songs in the release process itself, so the licensing step doesn’t become a separate errand or a separate invoice. If a distributor’s cover song policy isn’t stated clearly on their pricing page, that’s itself a signal — ambiguity here usually means friction later.

What does it actually cost per cover release?

Per-release pricing determines whether you can afford to test multiple covers rather than betting everything on one. Globex Music charges $1 per single release. Compare that to the structural cost of alternatives: DistroKid runs $44.99/year as a subscription, TuneCore charges roughly $24.99/year as a base fee before adding per-cover licensing costs and a 20% commission specifically on social platform monetization, and CD Baby charges $9.95 per single plus a 9% royalty commission that applies indefinitely, for as long as that release stays live. The subscription and forever-commission models make sense if you’re releasing a large volume of original catalog every year and want no additional per-track handling. But a cover artist releasing three or four covers a year to test audience reaction is paying a fixed annual fee (or a permanent revenue cut) for a use case that’s fundamentally pay-per-release.

How fast is moderation and review?

Moderation speed determines whether you can capture a trend while it’s still a trend. Covers frequently ride momentum — a viral original, a holiday season, an artist’s resurgence after a movie or show placement — and a distributor that takes a week or two to review and approve a cover means you’re often uploading into a moderation queue after the relevant moment has already peaked. Fast review turnaround is one of the more overlooked criteria because it’s invisible until you need it, and then it’s the only thing that matters. Ask specifically about typical cover song review times, not just general upload turnaround, since some distributors flag covers for manual review separately from original tracks.

What’s the payout minimum, and how does it affect small releases?

Payout minimums decide whether a modest-performing cover ever turns into actual money in your account. If a distributor requires a high balance threshold before releasing funds, a cover song that earns steadily but modestly can sit in your account indefinitely without ever reaching a payout. Globex Music sets payouts starting from $10 USD, which is a low enough bar that a niche cover — a deep cut, an instrumental version, a regional-language cover — has a realistic path to an actual withdrawal rather than permanently pending earnings. When comparing distributors, check this number specifically; it’s often buried deeper in the terms than the headline pricing.

How many platforms does the release reach?

Platform reach determines your addressable audience before you’ve done any marketing. A release that goes to 200+ platforms captures listeners across the major services plus the regional and niche platforms that vary by market — important for cover artists specifically, since cover audiences are often more geographically or demographically distributed than an original artist’s core fanbase. Fewer platforms means narrower reach for the same release, regardless of quality or promotion effort.

Are there ongoing or hidden fees beyond the initial upload?

This is where annual-fee and forever-commission models quietly cost more than they appear to at signup. A $44.99/year subscription is a fixed cost whether you release one song or twenty, meaning a cover artist with a light release schedule is subsidizing a plan built for high-volume distribution. A 9% royalty commission that runs forever compounds over a song’s entire lifespan — a cover that keeps earning steadily for five years pays that commission for all five years, not just at release. Model this out before choosing: a distributor with no annual fee and a flat per-release charge is structurally cheaper for anyone releasing covers occasionally rather than continuously.

What happens to your catalog if you stop releasing or the distributor changes terms?

Catalog stability is the criterion most artists don’t think about until it’s a problem. Subscription-based distributors sometimes take catalogs down if a renewal lapses, which means a cover you released three years ago and haven’t thought about since can disappear from every platform the moment you miss a payment. A distribution model built around permanent catalog stability with no annual fee avoids this failure mode entirely — your release stays live because there’s no recurring bill it depends on, not because a company happens to keep it up as a courtesy.

The checklist, worked as one example

Take a cover artist planning four covers this year. Under a $44.99/year subscription model, that’s $44.99 regardless of how many of the four covers actually earn anything back. Under a $1-per-release model with automatic licensing included, that’s $4 total, plus whatever licensing fees the subscription model charges separately per cover — fees that are avoided entirely when licensing is already built into the release cost. Over three years and a dozen covers, the subscription model has cost roughly $135 in fees alone before a single royalty commission is factored in, while the per-release model has cost $12. That gap is the real argument for running your distributor choice through cost-per-release math rather than judging by subscription price alone.

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