TuneCore launches royalty splits to facilitate collaboration among creators

The Believe-owned digital music distributor says the introduction of Splits makes its platform the most comprehensive suite for artist support services.

The new feature allows artists to share streaming and download revenue with collaborators instead of paying an upfront fee, reducing financial barriers to collaboration.

Once splits are registered, TuneCore will provide automatic payouts and full visibility into payout details. Artists can edit splits at any time, adding or removing collaborators, and update percentages. This is expected to reduce the burden of accounting for all collaborators.

“Our goal at TuneCore is to make our artists’ lives easier so that they can focus on making music,” TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson said.

“For years, self-releasing artists at all stages of their careers have been required to take on additional support roles to sustain their artistic endeavours. By offering Splits, TuneCore artists can now spend less time being accountants and more time making great music.”

Artists on TuneCore’s paid Unlimited release plan are eligible to use Splits, while those on the free New Artist plan can access splits for $7.99 a year.

“As an artist, collaborating with other artists is very important; it can help bring out the best of our collective creativity while also allowing us to cross-promote and gain exposure to other artists’ audiences,” American rapper Papoose, who was appointed TuneCore head of hip hop in January, said.

“For independent artists, the business side of collaboration can be a burden, organising monthly payouts to make sure everyone gets their fair share. TuneCore’s new Splits programme allows us to enter the royalty percentages for each artist on a track and TuneCore handles the payouts. Once again, TuneCore continues to put artists first and make it easier for us to focus on making music together.”