You are not locked into one music distributor forever.

If DistroKid no longer suits your needs, you can move.

The key is doing it carefully.

Step 1: export your catalogue information

Before touching anything, collect:

masters

artwork

ISRCs

UPCs

release dates

artist names

track titles

contributors

versions

store links

Treat this as your catalogue backup.

Step 2: choose your new distributor

Don’t switch purely because another service looks £5 cheaper.

Think about:

cost

royalty model

support

UGC monetisation

publishing

neighbouring rights

analytics

catalogue permanence

payout fees

Step 3: redeliver identical recordings

Use the exact same masters.

Keep the original ISRCs.

Match your existing metadata as closely as possible.

Step 4: verify store matching

Once the replacement delivery appears, check:

Spotify artist page

Apple Music artist page

stream counts

album page

track links

playlist placement

Only then should you remove the older DistroKid version.

Step 5: cancel when you’re comfortable

Don’t create unnecessary downtime.

A distribution migration should look boring to your listeners.

Ideally, fans should never even notice that it happened.

Why change?

Artists switch distributors for all sorts of reasons:

cost

service

features

support

rights management

business model

There is no shame in changing.

Your distributor is a supplier.

Use the supplier that best fits your music business today.