Amuse has dropped free distribution for artists
Music distributors Amuse have removed their free offering for artists, requiring them to pay to release their music with them.
In a move that is sure to leave users un-amused, music distribution service Amuse is ending their free Start tier. Amuse Start offered artists free distribution to a number of music streaming services.
Amuse cite a changing industry as the reasoning behind the pausing of Start, writing: “It was an offering that has served our artists and us very well in the past.” They state that they removed their Start offering on March 27th to put “more love” into their paid Boost and Pro tiers.
All this means that artists will now be required to pay a minimum of $19.99 a year for Amuse’s distribution services. Amuse Start accounts have now become “dormant”, meaning that users can’t release new music through them without upgrading to one of their paid tiers.
However, Amuse will be keeping previously uploaded releases on Smart accounts live on their chosen stores. Those users will also continue to have access to insights on their releases for the time being with the ability to withdraw their royalties.
As part of the change, Amuse are offering their cheapest tier at a lower rate than before. At $19.99 a year, Amuse claim that their Boost tier is “beating basically any other offer on the market”… Except, of course, music distributors who remain completely free – like RouteNote.
We’ve seen a number of distribution services offering free music solutions to artists who have had to drop their free offering or completely shut down, but not RouteNote.
At RouteNote, we have proudly offered free music distribution solutions to artists since we launched in 2007. Providing the best tailored options for each artist, artists can choose between free and paid distribution depending on what suits them best with the options to change at any time.
What’s more, with RouteNote there are no barriers to our offerings. So, whether you sign up for Free or Premium music distribution you gain access to all of our partner stores and user features.
We’re proud to serve independent artists and ensure that there is nothing stopping artists of any size reach global audiences at every step of their career.