Cancelling DistroKid might sound as simple as cancelling any other online subscription.

There’s one major difference.

Your subscription controls the distribution of your music.

That means artists should think carefully before clicking cancel.

How do you cancel DistroKid?

DistroKid allows users to manage their subscription through their account and membership settings.

But before cancelling, make sure you have records of:

  • your masters
  • artwork
  • ISRC codes
  • UPC codes
  • song titles
  • artist names
  • original release dates
  • contributor details

You may need all of this if you move your catalogue somewhere else.

What happens to your music when you cancel?

This is the important part.

DistroKid’s own Leave a Legacy documentation states that the extra prevents removal due to lapsed membership payments and allows covered releases to remain in stores after account cancellation.

If a release isn’t covered, you should not assume it will stay online indefinitely after ending the distribution relationship.

That makes planning essential.

Move your music before cancelling

If you’re switching distributor, the safest process is normally:

  1. Choose the new distributor.
  2. Upload your existing masters.
  3. Use the same ISRCs.
  4. Keep the same artist and track metadata.
  5. Wait for the replacement versions to arrive.
  6. Confirm they’re correctly matched.
  7. Then remove the old distribution.

Doing things in this order can help minimise disruption.

Spotify and other services can often preserve existing stream counts when the recording and identifiers match correctly, although store-side matching isn’t something any distributor can absolutely guarantee.

Don’t lose your identifiers

Your ISRC is especially important.

It identifies the individual recording.

If you’re transferring the exact same recording, preserving that ISRC gives streaming platforms a much better chance of understanding that this is the same track rather than an entirely new release.

Should you cancel DistroKid?

If DistroKid still works well for you, there may be no reason to.

But if you’re tired of annual fees or want a model where keeping your catalogue distributed isn’t tied to a yearly subscription, alternatives exist.

RouteNote Free, for example, has no upfront or annual distribution fee.

The main point is simple:

Don’t cancel first and work out what happens to your music afterwards.

Move the catalogue first.

Then cancel.