Your distributor just did a deal with AI - here's what that means for your music. Major distributors like DistroKid and TuneCore are signing AI training deals without your explicit consent. Learn what rights you're giving up, how royalties are affected, which distributors have opt-out options, and what to do now. Gavin Alexander Senior Marketeer Key takeaways. * Major distributors, including DistroKid, TuneCore, and CD Baby, have signed licensing deals with AI companies to use independent music catalogues for training data. * Most deals include opt-out mechanisms, but doing nothing means your music is in by default. * Artists retain master rights but give up control over how their catalogue trains AI tools unless they actively opt out. * Understanding these deals now lets you choose distributors strategically and protect your catalogue going forward. DistroKid signed a partnership with ElevenLabs in early 2024. TuneCore followed with deals covering Udio and Meta. Your distributor just licensed your catalogue to train AI audio tools, and unless you opted out within a specific window, your music is already in the dataset. What deals have been signed. DistroKid partnered with ElevenLabs to license music for AI voice model training. The deal covers the full catalogue distributed through their platform. Artists were notified via email with a 30-day opt-out window. If you did not respond, your catalogue was included by default. TuneCore signed separate agreements with Udio for generative music training and Meta for audio recognition models. The Udio deal is revenue-share based. Artists receive a portion of earnings generated when AI-created tracks use their music as training input. The Meta deal is a flat licensing fee with no artist revenue share. Both deals defaulted to opt-in unless artists explicitly opted out. CD Baby entered a data licensing agreement with an unnamed AI platform in Q2 2024. The agreement covers metadata and audio for training recommendation algorithms. No revenue share was disclosed. The opt-out process required artists to submit a form through their dashboard within 60 days of the announcement. These deals are not one-off experiments. They represent a structural shift in how distributors monetise the catalogues they handle. Your distributor is no longer just a pipeline to DSPs. They are now licensing your music to AI companies as part of their revenue model. What you are actually giving up. You still own your masters. That has not changed. What has changed is how your distributor uses the rights you granted them in your distribution agreement. Most distribution agreements include language allowing the distributor to "exploit, promote, and monetise" your music across platforms and services. That language was written before AI training datasets existed. Distributors are now interpreting those clauses to include AI licensing deals. You are not giving up ownership. You are giving up control over how your catalogue is used to train models that generate new audio. That means your vocal performance, production style, arrangement choices, and sonic signature can be ingested and replicated by an AI tool. Publishing rights are separate. If you control your own publishing, those rights are not included in these deals. If your distributor also handles publishing administration, check whether their AI licensing covers composition data or just master recordings. Royalty implications vary by deal. The Udio partnership includes a revenue share model. If an AI-generated track is trained on your music and monetised, you receive a percentage. The exact split is not public, but early reports suggest it sits between 5% and 15% of net revenue. The Meta deal pays nothing to individual artists. It is a flat fee paid to the distributor, and artists see none of it unless the distributor voluntarily shares proceeds. If you opted in by default, you are already part of the training set. Your music has been processed, tagged, and analysed. Opting out now does not remove your catalogue from models that have already been trained. It only prevents future use. How to opt out. Most distributors bury the opt-out process in dashboard settings or require email requests. DistroKid included an opt-out link in their original announcement email. If you missed that email or deleted it, you can contact support and request removal from the ElevenLabs dataset. Expect a response time of 7 to 14 days. TuneCore requires you to log into your account, navigate to account settings, and toggle off AI licensing under distribution preferences. The setting is not labelled clearly. Look for "third-party data partnerships" or "AI training opt-out." If you cannot find it, email support with your artist name and request manual removal. CD Baby requires a form submission. The form is located under the help centre, not in your main dashboard. Search for "AI opt-out" in their knowledge base. Fill out the form with your release titles and distribution dates. Confirmation emails take up to 30 days. If you do nothing, you remain opted in. That is the default position across all three distributors. Opting out is entirely manual. There is no automatic protection. Some distributors are clearer than others. Ditto Music and Amuse have not announced AI deals as of this writing. If you are considering switching distributors, ask directly whether they have signed or plan to sign AI licensing agreements. Get the answer in writing. How to position yourself. This shift is not going away. More distributors will sign similar deals. Artists who understand the structure now can make better decisions about where they distribute, what rights they protect, and how they position their catalogue. Start by auditing your current distributor agreement. Read the rights grant section. Look for language around "exploitation," "monetisation," or "third-party partnerships." If that language is broad, assume it covers AI licensing unless stated otherwise. If you are releasing new music, ask your distributor about AI licensing before you upload. Request written confirmation that your catalogue will not be included in training datasets without explicit consent. If they cannot provide that, consider switching. Track your agreements inside Music Artist Manager. Store your distributor contract, upload opt-out confirmations, and set reminders to review terms annually. Distributors update their terms regularly. If you miss an email notification, you miss your opt-out window. Negotiate better terms if you have leverage. If you deliver consistent streams or manage multiple artists, you can request custom clauses that exclude AI licensing or require explicit consent per release. Not every distributor will agree, but some will if your catalogue has value. Understand the revenue models. If you stay opted in, know which deals pay you and which do not. If the deal includes revenue share, track whether you actually receive payments. If the deal is flat-fee only, you are giving up data for free. This is not about being pro-AI or anti-AI. It is about knowing what rights you control, what rights your distributor controls, and how those rights are being monetised. Artists who treat this as a contract issue, not a culture war, will build better infrastructure. Music Artist Manager helps you track distribution agreements, store contracts, and stay on top of what your distributor is doing with your music. Visit musicartistmanager.com to start organising your catalogue and protecting your rights. Related reading: Further reading: Ready to streamline your workflow? Stop piecing together spreadsheets and scattered notes. Join the waitlist for Music Artist Manager and get your entire rollout in one place. Gavin Alexander. Senior Marketeer As the founder of Music Artist Manager, Gavin has spent years at the intersection of music and technology. Seeing firsthand how chaotic release rollouts and split sheets can be, he designed a platform that brings major-label infrastructure to independent artists and their teams. He writes extensively about industry trends, artist leverage, and workflow optimisation.

DistroKid launches new platform for artists to sell merch directly to fans. DistroKid has launched a new direct-to-fan sales platform marking the music distributor's push beyond audio and video distribution services and into merchandise sales. The new feature, called Direct, allows musicians to set up online stores to sell merch like T-shirts, tote bags and mugs printed with album artwork. The company is rolling out the platform in beta to select artists before a broader release in the coming weeks, DistroKid said on Wednesday (October 29). While DistroKid will handle production and shipping through on-demand manufacturing, artists using Direct will retain all revenue from sales. The service costs $6 per month. Matthew Ogle, Chief Product Officer, DistroKid, said: "Direct is one more way DistroKid helps artists at every step - before, during, and after they release music." "We're building simple tools that let artists share what they create, from music to merch and beyond, and connect directly with the people who care about them most." "Direct is one more way DistroKid helps artists at every step - before, during, and after they release music." Matthew Ogle, DistroKid The move represents DistroKid's effort to diversify. Founded in 2013, the New York-based company claims that it handles 30% to 40% of new music releases globally and serves more than 2 million artists. Direct builds on technology from direct-to-fan platform Bandzoogle, which DistroKid acquired in 2023. The company plans to add more merch options and fan engagement tools in the coming months. Several artists have started testing the platform. Jazz musician Devin Gray said: "DistroKid's new Direct store makes that process seamless. It takes the stress out of designing, setting up, and shipping merch, so I can focus on creating music." "DistroKid's new Direct store makes that process seamless. It takes the stress out of designing, setting up, and shipping merch, so I can focus on creating music." Devin Gray, Jazz Musician Singer/songwriter Raye Zaragoza added: "DistroKid just gave indie artists the freedom to run a full-scale merch store without needing to personally front the money or the space for the inventory. It's also more sustainable since you are only printing what is ordered. Not to mention DistroKid giving artists 100% of the earnings." Los Angeles - based singer/songwriter Jeddy Knox said: "I'd always wanted to launch merch, but it all felt too complicated to manage. DistroKid made it easy, though - I chose my artwork, picked the products, and my store was live within minutes. It made the whole process fast and painless." The merch push puts DistroKid in competition with platforms like Bandcamp, which already offer direct sales tools to musicians. Bandcamp was acquired by video game maker Epic Games in 2022, which sold it to music licensing platform Songtradr in 2023. Last month, Bandcamp launched a new subscription service called Bandcamp Clubs that gives users access to monthly record selections, listening parties, recommendations and exclusive artist content. For DistroKid, the new merch service marks its latest offering to users after integrating with Spotify in June to allow artists to upload music videos to Spotify via its DistroVid service.