Too Lost vs RouteNote: The best music distributor for independent artists
New comer ‘Too Lost’ offers many of the features expected by distributors, but with no free option, how do they stack up against RouteNote?
Too Lost launched their music distribution service in 2020 and quickly made a name for themselves. Founded in 2007, in the industry’s shift from physical to digital, RouteNote has seen steady growth over the past 17 years. How does Too Lost’s distribution stack up against established players RouteNote?
Features
Too Lost and RouteNote both offer many of the same features, such as payment splits, statistics/sales reports, advance earnings, release links, free ISRC and UPC codes, publishing royalty collection, promotional asset creation, YouTube MCN, Spotify Discovery Mode, multiple payout methods, instant access to Spotify for Artists, file conversion and more. RouteNote are partnered with a few services, such as PUSH.fm for additional marketing tools, RouteNote Create for sample packs, and Affordable Song Licensing for cover song licenses.
Stores
RouteNote and Too Lost distribute to many of the same global stores, streaming services and social media platforms, like Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok and TIDAL, plus many localized stores in growing markets across Asia and Africa. Additionally, RouteNote offers some extra stores, such as Asian music streaming services Zing MP3 and AllSaints, as well as video editing app CapCut.
Too Lost pricing
- Artists – $2.99/month or $19.99/year
- One artist
- Label – $5.99/month or $35.99/year
- Unlimited artists
Too Lost does also have a third tier. Collaborator accounts are free, but they are just for royalty collection and cannot create releases. With no true free option, artists are required to pay upfront for distribution.
RouteNote pricing
- RouteNote Free – free – artist keeps 85%
- Unlimited artists
- RouteNote Premium – priced per release – artist keeps 100%
- Unlimited artists
- RouteNote All Access – custom pricing – artist keeps 100%
- Unlimited artists
- Additional features
Between RouteNote and Too Lost, RouteNote is the only distributor that offers a real Free plan. With the addition of a free plan, this offers new artists an entry point, with zero upfront costs.
RouteNote’s Premium plan is priced differently to Too Lost, with accounts charged per release. You are never locked in with RouteNote. Artists can freely switch between our Free and Premium tiers based on the performance of their release.
For artists with larger catalogues or labels, RouteNote also offers an All Access tier, with custom pricing, tailored to your needs.
Conclusion
For new artists, without an established following, RouteNote Free is the only free way to get your music on stores. For established artists with small catalogues, RouteNote Premium may be the most cost effective option, offering 100% of revenues for a small per-release fee. For established artists with large catalogues, RouteNote All Access offers 100% of revenues for a custom, affordable subscription.