TuneCore, the Believe-owned digital distribution platform for self-releasing artists, is rolling out a new royalty advance program for eligible independent artists through a new partnership with financial tech firm RoyFi.
Through RoyFi, TuneCore launched TuneCore Direct Advance, which lets artists apply for upfront financing in exchange for a flat fee. Repayment is drawn from future royalty earnings, according to a press release on Wednesday (April 8).
Artists can secure direct cash advances without giving up equity or transferring ownership of copyrights, said TuneCore. They can repay the advance through royalty income until the balance hits zero.
Once fully recouped, RoyFi’s claim on those earnings ends automatically and all future royalties revert to the artist. TuneCore says artists can choose between a larger upfront advance or a structure where they control how much of their catalog participates in repayment.
Brian Miller, TuneCore’s newly appointed Chief Business Officer, said: “At TuneCore, we are always listening to our artists to understand their challenges and develop solutions that can help them stay independent, retain their creative control, and keep releasing music on their own terms.”
“At TuneCore, we are always listening to our artists to understand their challenges and develop solutions that can help them stay independent, retain their creative control, and keep releasing music on their own terms.”
Brian Miller, TuneCore
“Whether artists need cash to pay for studio time, new equipment, tour transportation, marketing efforts, or a little help with their rent, we are now able—through our partnership with RoyFI—to give them the option to take an advance that helps them stay independent as they grow, with fair recoupment terms that don’t hurt them in the future.”
Peter Harvey, Chief Executive Officer, RoyFi, added: “TuneCore has long been the standard bearer of independent music distribution, and we’re excited to formalize our partnership to bring transparent, artist-first funding directly to independent creators.”
The partnership was led internally by Bennett Henson, TuneCore’s Senior Director of Strategy.
“TuneCore has long been the standard bearer of independent music distribution, and we’re excited to formalize our partnership to bring transparent, artist-first funding directly to independent creators.”
Peter Harvey, Royfi
TuneCore distributes music to more than 150 streaming and download platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and TikTok, and operates across five continents. It charges artists a flat annual fee and lets them keep 100% of their royalties.
In March, TuneCore reported that its Accelerator program has helped generate 50 billion streams for participating artists since its launch in 2023. The program also helped facilitate 15 billion track discoveries, with 515,000 independent artists currently enrolled. That’s up from 450,000 reported a year ago.
In November, TuneCore said self-releasing artists have earned more than $5 billion via its platform since it was founded in 2006. TuneCore described the milestone at the time as “the first public achievement of its kind” among distributors for self-releasing artists. The milestone came over a year and a half after TuneCore crossed the $4 billion threshold.
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