{"id":244621,"date":"2025-11-12T13:00:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T13:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=244621"},"modified":"2025-11-12T14:51:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T14:51:19","slug":"tunecore-has-paid-out-over-5-billion-to-self-releasing-artists-to-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/tunecore-has-paid-out-over-5-billion-to-self-releasing-artists-to-date\/","title":{"rendered":"TuneCore has paid out over $5 billion to self-releasing artists to date"},"content":{"rendered":"

MBW\u2019s Stat Of The Week is a series in which we highlight a data point that deserves the attention of the global music industry. Stat Of the Week is supported by\u00a0music data analytics firm\u00a0Chartmetric<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Believe-owned distribution platform TuneCore, a prominent player in the global independent music distribution space, revealed on Wednesday (November 12) that self-releasing artists have earned more than $5 billion via its platform since it was founded in 2006.<\/p>\n

TuneCore describes the milestone as \u201cthe first public achievement of its kind\u201d among distributors for self-releasing artists.<\/p>\n

The milestone comes over a year and a half after TuneCore crossed<\/a> the $4 billion <\/b>threshold.<\/p>\n

That means TuneCore has paid out around $1 billion<\/b> since June 2024, or about $59 million <\/b>per month between June 2024 and November 2025.<\/p>\n

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The figure represents cumulative earnings across TuneCore’s entire artist base over nearly two decades, spanning bedroom producers, emerging acts and established performers across all genres and markets.<\/p>\n

TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson<\/b> described the achievement as \u201ca defining milestone for independent music.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt shows that creative freedom and financial success can go hand in hand. Reaching this milestone didn\u2019t just happen; it\u2019s the result of listening closely to what artists need today and evolving TuneCore to power their growth,\u201d added Gleeson.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy combining innovation with intention, we\u2019ve built programs like TuneCore Accelerator<\/b> to help artists reach new audiences, and publishing services that ensure they collect every cent their music generates. This milestone reflects the extraordinary talent and drive of our artists around the world, and we\u2019re proud to be the partner helping to fuel their success.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“This milestone reflects the extraordinary talent and drive of our artists around the world, and we\u2019re proud to be the partner helping to fuel their success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andreea Gleeson, TuneCore<\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition to the payout figure, TuneCore also announced that artists in its Accelerator program have generated over 21 billion<\/b> new streams and facilitated 2.5 billion<\/b> artist discoveries.<\/p>\n

In February, TuneCore said nearly 450,000<\/b>\u00a0artists have signed up<\/a> for the\u00a0Accelerator program, up from\u00a0<\/b>80,000<\/b> reported a year ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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TuneCore\u00a0charges<\/a>\u00a0artists a flat annual fee to upload their music to DSPs like\u00a0Spotify<\/b>, Apple<\/b> Music<\/b>, Amazon<\/b> Music<\/b> and TikTok<\/b>, and it pays those artists 100% <\/b>of the royalties earned from their music.<\/p>\n

In its latest report, TuneCore also revealed that 75%<\/b> of new artists and labels joining the platform over the past year were from outside of the United States.<\/p>\n

TuneCore’s Digital service partners celebrated the milestone on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"Lyor<\/i><\/a><\/figure>“This achievement is a testament to TuneCore’s unwavering commitment to innovation for the independent artist community.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lyor Cohen, YouTube<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lyor Cohen<\/strong>, Global Head of Music, YouTube: “This achievement is a testament to\u00a0TuneCore’s unwavering commitment to innovation for the independent artist community. For almost two decades, they’ve been committed to providing the infrastructure for artists to build durable careers and monetize their work.<\/p>\n

“We share that mission\u2014ensuring that YouTube is the global destination for their artists to build meaningful connections with their fans. We are proud to partner with TuneCore and celebrate this monumental success!”<\/p>\n

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\u201cTuneCore artists make up a vital component of TikTok\u2019s music library and, as a longtime supporter of independence, we are proud to partner with them to amplify rising artists and help them find new fans among TikTok\u2019s global audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tracy Gardner<\/strong>, TikTok<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tracy Gardner,<\/strong>\u00a0 Global Head of Music Business Development, TikTok:\u00a0\u201cTuneCore\u00a0artists make up a vital component of TikTok\u2019s music library and, as a longtime supporter of independence, we are proud to partner with them to amplify rising artists and help them find new fans among TikTok\u2019s global audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“TuneCore paying $5B to artists is an inspiring milestone that reflects how far independent music has come in the streaming era.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie Hellman<\/strong>, Spotify<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Charlie Hellman<\/strong>, SVP, Global Head of Music, Spotify:\u00a0“We are proud to partner with\u00a0TuneCore\u00a0to uplift independent artists and enable countless songwriters, producers, and performers to turn their passion for music into a career.<\/p>\n

“TuneCore paying $5B to artists is an inspiring milestone that reflects how far independent music has come in the streaming era.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"Oliver<\/i><\/a><\/figure>

“We commend TuneCore for helping so many talented independent artists from around the world earn money and build careers on their own terms.”<\/p>\n

Oliver Schusser<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oliver Schusser<\/strong>, Vice President, Apple Music and Beats:\u00a0\u201cAt Apple, we celebrate the creativity and value of creators across every stage of development, and we commend\u00a0TuneCore\u00a0for helping so many talented independent artists from around the world earn money and build careers on their own terms. Congrats!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Oliver Schusser<\/b>, Vice President, Apple<\/b> Music<\/b> and Beats<\/b>, said: \u201cAt Apple, we celebrate the creativity and value of creators across every stage of development, and we commend TuneCore for helping so many talented independent artists from around the world earn money and build careers on their own terms. Congrats!\u201d<\/p>\n

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TuneCore also highlighted a couple of recent artist success stories from its platform.<\/p>\n

Among TuneCore’s users is California rapper Mike<\/b> Sherm<\/b>, who joined in 2015 after building an initial following on SoundCloud<\/b> and YouTube<\/b>.<\/p>\n

His tracks have accumulated \u201chundreds of millions of streams,\u201d establishing him as a prominent independent voice in the San Francisco Bay Area hip-hop scene.<\/p>\n

Sherm said: \u201cI think independent music is taking over the whole world because you have all the resources you need already on the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

South London neo-soul artist BINA.<\/b>, who has reached over 250,000<\/b> monthly Spotify listeners and won the One To Watch<\/i> award at the 2025 AIM Independent Music Awards, credited TuneCore with providing accessible tools.<\/p>\n

She said: “The future of music is independent. At TuneCore, we\u2019re not just celebrating earnings\u2014we\u2019re celebrating empowerment, creativity, and the artists who are rewriting the rules of the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/i><\/a><\/figure>Chartmetric<\/a> is the all-in-one platform for artists and music industry professionals, providing comprehensive streaming, social, and audience data for everyone to create successful careers in music.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TuneCore has paid out around $1 billion since June 2024, or about $59 million per month until November 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":244687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[3071,124425,1293,134771],"class_list":["post-244621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-believe","tag-stat-of-the-week","tag-tunecore","tag-tunecore-accelerator"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244621"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244679,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244621\/revisions\/244679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}