Signing artists by Dreamweavers Record Label through Tunecore or Distrokid

Navigating independent digital distribution while safeguarding rights, managing expenses, and ensuring fair compensation is critical for every artist joining the Dreamweavers Records International roster.

Under our guiding ethos—"Forging melodies, shaping dreams"—the goal is to bridge raw creative talent with modern digital infrastructure.

This guide ou1. Publishing Original Music Under Dreamweavers Records International

​Releasing original music requires coordinating technical metadata and branding to maintain label identity across all Digital Service Providers (DSPs) such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal.

• ​Account Setup & Ownership: The master recording can be distributed either directly through a central label account managed by Dreamweavers Records International or via the artist’s own distributor account linked to the label.

• ​Label Imprint: To ensure formal cataloging, the release metadata field marked Record Label Name must strictly be entered as: ​Dreamweavers Records International

  ,Feature / RequirementDistroKidTuneCore

• Label / Multi-Artist PlanUltimate Plan (~$89.99/year)Professional Plan (~$49.99 to $54.99/year)

• Initial Artist Slots IncludedUp to 5 artists included in base Ultimate tier1 primary artist included in base Pro tier

• Cost to Add Additional ArtistsScaled tiers (e.g., 10 artists for ~$139.99/yr, up to 100 artists for ~$239/yr)$14.99/year per additional artist slot

• Custom Label NameIncluded in Musician Plus & UltimateIncluded in Professional tier

• Automated Royalty SplitsFree built-in feature ("DistroKid Splits")Built-in splits feature available

• Cover Song Licensing~$12.00/year per song (automated via HFA)~$15.00 one-off/annual per track

• Best Suited ForHigh volume of releases across a fixed roster of 5+ artistsLabels scaling slowly one artist at a time with predictable per-artist additions

​Dreamweavers Records International

• ​Audio & Asset Specifications:

  • ​Audio Master: Uncompressed stereo WAV files (24-bit / 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz recommended).

  • ​Cover Artwork: Square format (1:1 aspect ratio), minimum 1400 \times 1400 pixels up to 6000 \times 6000 pixels in JPG or PNG format. Artwork must be crisp and free of blurriness, pricing, barcodes, URLs, contact details, social handles, or misleading logos.

• ​Songwriting & Publishing Metadata: Artists retain ownership of their underlying musical compositions. All songwriters and composers must register complete legal names alongside their Performance Rights Organization (PRO) affiliations (e.g., SAMRO, BMI, ASCAP) and IPI/CAE numbers during the submission process.

​2. Platform Comparison: DistroKid vs. TuneCore

​Both distributors are industry-standard aggregators that allow independent artists to retain 100% of their streaming earnings on paid tiers. However, their pricing structures and handling of multiple artist rosters differ substantially.

DistroKidTuneCore

Label / Multi-Artist PlanUltimate Plan (~$89.99/year)Professional Plan (~$49.99 to $54.99/year)

Initial Artist Slots IncludedUp to 5 artists included in base Ultimate tier1 primary artist included in base Pro tier

Cost to Add Additional ArtistsScaled tiers (e.g., 10 artists for ~$139.99/yr, up to 100 artists for ~$239/yr)$14.99/year per additional artist slot

Custom Label NameIncluded in Musician Plus & UltimateIncluded in Professional tier

Automated Royalty SplitsFree built-in feature ("DistroKid Splits")Built-in splits feature available

Cover Song Licensing~$12.00/year per song (automated via HFA)~$15.00 one-off/annual per track

Best Suited ForHigh volume of releases across a fixed roster of 5+ artistsLabels scaling slowly one artist at a time with predictable per-artist additions

3. Cost Analysis for Adding Multiple Artists

​When growing a label roster, your distribution overhead scales differently depending on the chosen platform:

​DistroKid

​DistroKid does not sell individual add-on artist slots on demand. Instead, you purchase or upgrade to bracketed plans under the Ultimate umbrella:

​5 Artists: ~$89.99 / year

​10 Artists: ~$139.99 / year

​20 to 100 Artists: Scales up to ~$239.99 / year

​Advantage: Unlimited song and album uploads across all active artist slots without per-track distribution fees.

​TuneCore

​TuneCore’s modern unlimited tier operates on an itemized add-on model for labels:

​Base Professional Tier: ~$49.99 – $54.99 / year (covers the 1st artist profile).

​Each Additional Artist: Exactly $14.99 / year per artist slot.

​Formula: Annual\ Cost = \$49.99 + (N - 1) \times \$14.99 (where N is the total number of artist profiles).

​Advantage: Highly cost-effective when managing 2 to 4 artists, avoiding large bracket jumps until the roster expands substantially.

​4. Cover Song Licensing: Mechanics and Legalities

​Distributing a cover song requires securing a compulsory mechanical license to pay statutory mechanical royalties to the original composition's copyright owners. Neither artists nor the label can distribute cover songs to streaming and download platforms without this license.

​How DistroKid Handles Covers:

DistroKid charges $12.00 per song per year. They automatically secure the required license through the Harry Fox Agency (HFA), track sales and streams across digital stores, and deduct statutory mechanical royalties owed to publishers directly from your streaming payouts.

​How TuneCore Handles Covers:

TuneCore partners with third-party licensing administrators to secure mechanical clearance, typically charging an administrative fee of ~$14.99 – $15.00 per cover track.

​Crucial Cover Song Rules:

​You cannot alter the core melody or lyrics of the original work without explicit permission from the original publisher (derivative works require manual publisher clearance, not compulsory licenses).

​You cannot sample the original audio recording. A cover must consist solely of newly recorded audio performed by the artist.

​Public domain songs do not require mechanical licenses, though arrangements of classical pieces can still carry copyright claims.

​5. Automated Splits & Direct Distributor Payouts

​One of the greatest operational advantages of modern distributors is eliminating manual label bookkeeping. Rather than the label collecting all revenue, calculating accounting ledgers, and transferring funds to artists manually, distributors provide automated revenue routing:

​Setting Up Splits:

​On DistroKid, the account administrator enters each collaborator's email address and designates their earnings percentage (e.g., 50% Artist, 30% Producer, 20% Dreamweavers Records International).

​TuneCore offers a comparable splits module within its platform dashboard.

​Account Onboarding:

​Each collaborator receives an automated invitation to accept their split.

​If a collaborator does not already have an account, the distributor prompts them to create a free account to input payout and tax details.

​Automated Direct Payouts:

​Streaming revenues earned across platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc.) are routed automatically according to the locked percentages.

​Funds are deposited directly into each collaborator’s chosen payout method (e.g., Direct Deposit/ACH, PayPal, or Wire Transfer) without ever passing through the label's personal bank account.

​Tax Compliance:

​The distributor handles the end-of-year tax reporting (such as IRS 1099-MISC or W-8BEN forms for international creators), shielding the label from distributing tax documents manually for collaborator splits.