DistroKid Leave a Legacy: Cost, How It Works & Alternatives | Kinjari Blog ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1772224890303752&ev=PageView&noscript=1) [Distribute your music worldwide for just $3 - get started today](https://app.kinjari.com/register) [ ![Kinjari logo](/imgs/logo.png) ](https://www.kinjari.com) [For Artists](https://www.kinjari.com/music-distribution) [For Labels](https://www.kinjari.com/music-distribution-for-independent-labels) [For Distributors](https://www.kinjari.com/music-distribution-api) Features [ All Features ](https://www.kinjari.com/features) [ Biolinks ](https://www.kinjari.com/biolinks) [ YouTube ContentID ](https://www.kinjari.com/youtube-contentid) [ Release Calendar ](https://www.kinjari.com/release-calendar) [ File Manager ](https://www.kinjari.com/file-manager) [ Revenue Splits ](https://www.kinjari.com/features/revenue-splits) [ Artist Tools ](https://www.kinjari.com/artist-tools) [Blog](https://www.kinjari.com/blog) [FAQ](https://www.kinjari.com/faq) [Sign In](https://app.kinjari.com/login) [Get Started](https://app.kinjari.com/register) ![Kinjari logo](/imgs/logo.png) [ Home ](https://www.kinjari.com) [ For Artists ](https://www.kinjari.com/music-distribution) [ For Labels ](https://www.kinjari.com/music-distribution-for-independent-labels) [ For Distributors ](https://www.kinjari.com/music-distribution-api) Features [ All Features ](https://www.kinjari.com/features) [ Biolinks ](https://www.kinjari.com/biolinks) [ YouTube ContentID ](https://www.kinjari.com/youtube-contentid) [ Release Calendar ](https://www.kinjari.com/release-calendar) [ File Manager ](https://www.kinjari.com/file-manager) [ Revenue Splits ](https://www.kinjari.com/features/revenue-splits) [ Artist Tools ](https://www.kinjari.com/artist-tools) [ Blog ](https://www.kinjari.com/blog) [ FAQ ](https://www.kinjari.com/faq) [ Sign In ](https://app.kinjari.com/login) [ Get Started ](https://app.kinjari.com/register) Fri, Aug 28, 2026 DistroKid Leave a Legacy: Cost, How It Works & Alternatives =============================================================== DistroKid Leave a Legacy costs $29 per single or $49 per album. Work out what it protects, the real catalogue cost and whether you need it. On this page - [ What Leave a Legacy actually does ](#what-leave-a-legacy-actually-does) - [ What it does not do ](#what-it-does-not-do) - [ How much does DistroKid Leave a Legacy cost? ](#how-much-does-distrokid-leave-a-legacy-cost) - [ Can you add it after release day? ](#can-you-add-it-after-release-day) - [ What happens without Leave a Legacy? ](#what-happens-without-leave-a-legacy) - [ Do you actually need it? ](#do-you-actually-need-it) - [ Think about permanence and access separately ](#think-about-permanence-and-access-separately) - [ How Kinjari handles cancelled subscriptions ](#how-kinjari-handles-cancelled-subscriptions) - [ DistroKid vs Kinjari for catalogue permanence ](#distrokid-vs-kinjari-for-catalogue-permanence) - [ Other alternatives ](#other-alternatives) - [ LANDR ](#landr) - [ CD Baby ](#cd-baby) - [ TuneCore ](#tunecore) - [ Which option is cheaper for you? ](#which-option-is-cheaper-for-you) - [ Bedroom artist releasing two singles a year ](#bedroom-artist-releasing-two-singles-a-year) - [ Prolific singles artist ](#prolific-singles-artist) - [ EDM artist who needs Beatport ](#edm-artist-who-needs-beatport) - [ A sensible way to decide ](#a-sensible-way-to-decide) - [ Frequently asked questions ](#frequently-asked-questions) - [ Is DistroKid Leave a Legacy a one-time fee? ](#is-distrokid-leave-a-legacy-a-one-time-fee) - [ Is the fee per account or per release? ](#is-the-fee-per-account-or-per-release) - [ Can I add Leave a Legacy after uploading? ](#can-i-add-leave-a-legacy-after-uploading) - [ Does it cover every store? ](#does-it-cover-every-store) - [ Will a failed card remove my music immediately? ](#will-a-failed-card-remove-my-music-immediately) - [ Can I stop paying the annual membership after buying it? ](#can-i-stop-paying-the-annual-membership-after-buying-it) - [ Is Leave a Legacy an estate or inheritance service? ](#is-leave-a-legacy-an-estate-or-inheritance-service) - [ Is switching distributor cheaper? ](#is-switching-distributor-cheaper) **DistroKid’s Leave a Legacy add-on currently costs $29 per single or $49 per album with two or more tracks.** It is a one-off charge for one release. Add it, and DistroKid says that release will stay in stores if your membership payment lapses or you cancel your subscription. Pricing checked 20 August 2026 against the [DistroKid Help Center](https://support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013534274-What-Are-Album-Extras). The awkward bit is that Leave a Legacy sounds broader than it is. It is not a lifetime DistroKid plan, an account-wide safety net or an estate service. It protects one opted-in release from one particular cause of removal: your DistroKid membership ending. What Leave a Legacy actually does --------------------------------- DistroKid works on an annual membership. While the membership is active, your releases stay under that account and you can upload more music. If a renewal fails or you cancel, DistroKid normally expects those releases to come down. Leave a Legacy changes that outcome for the release carrying the add-on. DistroKid’s current wording covers two situations: - a membership payment lapses, including when a card is rejected; and - you cancel the DistroKid subscription. In either case, the opted-in release can remain available in streaming services and stores. You can still choose to delete it later. The protection is attached to the release, not the recordings hidden inside it. A one-track single costs $29. A release with two or more tracks falls into the $49 album price. If you upload the same track later as part of an album, that album is a separate release and needs its own add-on if you want the whole package covered. What it does not do ------------------- Leave a Legacy does not replace your annual membership while you are using DistroKid. You still need an active plan to upload new releases and use plan features. Paying $29 on a single does not give you permanent access to the service. It also does not protect a release from every possible takedown. A store can remove content under its own rules. DistroKid can act on copyright claims, fraud, manipulated streams or other policy problems. You can ask for a takedown yourself. Leave a Legacy only addresses removal caused by a lapsed or cancelled membership. And despite the name, it is not a plan for passing your catalogue, account access or royalties to someone after your death. Artists thinking about that need separate instructions for their executor or business partner, along with a will and clear records of account access, rights ownership and royalty arrangements. How much does DistroKid Leave a Legacy cost? -------------------------------------------- CatalogueLeave a Legacy cost1 single$295 singles$14510 singles$29020 singles$5801 album$492 albums$9810 singles and 2 albums$388Those are non-recurring add-on charges, before tax, and separate from the DistroKid membership. The arithmetic is simple: multiply every one-track release by $29 and every release containing two or more tracks by $49. That release-based pricing creates a slightly odd result. A ten-track album costs $49 to protect, but the same ten songs released as ten separate singles cost $290. If those singles are later collected into an album, protecting all eleven release pages would cost $339. You do not have to protect the whole catalogue. An artist with two durable releases and eight experiments could pay for the two that matter and leave the rest dependent on the subscription. That selective use is where Leave a Legacy makes the most sense. Can you add it after release day? --------------------------------- Yes. DistroKid says the extra can be selected during upload or added later from the release page. That means you do not need to make the decision while a track is still earning nothing and your subscription is active. Waiting can be sensible. A release may turn out to be a short-lived remix, an old version you later replace or a song you do not want to carry indefinitely. You can reserve the extra for catalogue titles with steady listeners, useful playlist placements or sentimental value. Do not wait until after the account has lapsed and the release has disappeared, though. If cancellation is planned, deal with the catalogue while the membership and dashboard are working. What happens without Leave a Legacy? ------------------------------------ DistroKid’s help centre says releases may be removed if you stop paying the annual fee. It also says you keep access to the account and can receive earnings already owed to you. See its [lapsed-payment guidance](https://support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013535494-What-Happens-If-I-Stop-Paying-the-Annual-Fee). A failed renewal is not described as an instant takedown. DistroKid says it gives ample notice. If music is eventually removed because the payment lapsed, the releases are automatically restored after you update the card and the past-due charge succeeds. That is useful, but a temporary gap can still cause trouble. Links may stop working. Fans can see an unavailable track. A release campaign or playlist run can be interrupted. The restoration also depends on you returning and paying the outstanding membership. Intentional cancellation is more straightforward: DistroKid says releases without Leave a Legacy will be removed from services. If you want to leave DistroKid without buying the add-on, the practical alternative is to move the catalogue to another distributor before cancelling. Do you actually need it? ------------------------ Start with your real plan for the account. If you expect to keep paying DistroKid for as long as the catalogue is live, the add-on solves a problem you are not planning to have. Keep a valid payment method on file and respond to renewal emails. Leave a Legacy is more useful when one of these sounds familiar: - You expect to stop releasing but want a small finished catalogue left online. - You are closing an artist project and do not want another annual account to manage. - A particular single has valuable playlist history and a payment interruption would be costly. - You want to protect only the releases that still earn or matter. - You prefer paying once now to depending on future renewals. It is less convincing for a large singles catalogue. Paying $29 across dozens of releases quickly becomes more expensive than moving them. It is also unnecessary if you are happy to remain subscribed or if another distributor’s cancellation policy already suits you better. Think about permanence and access separately -------------------------------------------- A release staying in stores is not the same as an account remaining fully usable. After cancellation, you may still need to read statements, withdraw late royalties, answer a copyright question or request a future takedown. DistroKid says you can continue to log in and receive earnings owed after you stop paying. That answers part of the access question. Before cancelling any distributor, it is still worth downloading: - the ISRC for every recording; - the UPC for every release; - the exact audio masters and artwork; - the full metadata and original release dates; - royalty statements and tax records; and - links to each release and artist profile. Those files give you a way out if a store removes something, a policy changes or you decide to move later. Our guides to [ISRCs](https://www.kinjari.com/blog/isrc-codes-101-what-they-are-and-how-to-use-them-as-an-artist) and [UPCs](https://www.kinjari.com/blog/what-is-this-upc-thing-a-musicians-guide-to-universal-product-codes) explain which code belongs to which part of a release. How Kinjari handles cancelled subscriptions ------------------------------------------- Kinjari includes catalogue continuity without a per-release permanence add-on. If an Artist or Label subscription is cancelled, the paid features continue until the renewal date. The account then moves to a free, management-only state. Existing releases stay live after an ordinary cancellation. You can still receive and withdraw royalties, but you cannot upload new music until you start a paid plan again. That gives you catalogue continuity without choosing and paying for protection release by release. Existing catalogue management and royalty withdrawals remain available, while the [current terms](/terms) cover the full account arrangements after cancellation. The usual rights and store rules still apply, as they do with any distributor. The [distribution agreement](/distribution-agreement) covers those details. An ordinary subscription cancellation, on its own, does not take your existing releases down. DistroKid vs Kinjari for catalogue permanence --------------------------------------------- QuestionDistroKidKinjariActive entry plan$24.99/year in the US$3/month ($36/year)Active royalty shareArtist keeps 100%Artist keeps 90%Per-release stay-live fee$29 single; $49 albumNoneAfter ordinary cancellationOnly opted-in releases stay liveExisting releases stay liveCatalogue management after cancellationEarnings owed remain accessibleRoyalties and withdrawals remain availablePolicy or rights takedowns still possibleYesYesKinjari keeps catalogue continuity simple: there is no release-by-release permanence bill, even as your catalogue grows. DistroKid suits artists who prioritise a lower entry subscription and 100% of distribution royalties while active. Compare the fixed cost, release count and features you will actually use. Other alternatives ------------------ ### LANDR LANDR says distributed releases stay live after a distribution subscription is cancelled. Its commission then becomes 15%, so the artist keeps 85%, unless the release is removed at the artist’s request or under the agreement. This resembles Kinjari’s management-only model, but with a different post-cancellation share. ### CD Baby CD Baby currently charges a one-off fee per release rather than an annual distribution subscription: $9.99 for a single and $14.99 for an album. It takes 9% of download and streaming revenue. There is no recurring fee just to maintain the artist account, so it is a direct alternative for artists who value one-time release pricing. See the [CD Baby price breakdown](https://support.cdbaby.com/hc/en-us/articles/213125406-How-much-does-CD-Baby-cost). ### TuneCore TuneCore is not a stay-live-without-renewal option. Its current support guidance says cancelling an Unlimited plan removes the music when the plan expires, with no grace period for a planned cancellation. Pay-per-release subscriptions also need renewal; an unpaid release comes down after the grace period. See TuneCore’s [renewal policy](https://support.tunecore.com/hc/en-ca/articles/13805351236884-Renewing-your-TuneCore-Unlimited-Plan). These services package cost differently. One-off release fees, annual subscriptions and post-cancellation commissions can all look cheap in the first year. The useful comparison is what you pay over the years the catalogue remains online. Which option is cheaper for you? -------------------------------- These examples use public US prices checked on 20 August 2026, before tax, and Kinjari’s current royalty shares. They are not predictions of what your music will earn. ### Bedroom artist releasing two singles a year If you stay subscribed, [DistroKid’s $24.99 entry plan](https://distrokid.com/pricing/) has the lower fixed price and keeps 100% of royalties. Kinjari costs $36 a year and keeps 10%. If you plan to cancel after that first year and want both songs left up, DistroKid’s fixed total becomes $82.99: $24.99 for the plan plus $58 for two Leave a Legacy extras. Kinjari’s fixed total stays at $36, with no separate stay-live charge for either release. For an early-stage catalogue, that lower fixed cost and simpler continuity policy can be attractive. CD Baby’s one-off $19.98 for two singles plus its 9% commission is another model worth comparing. ### Prolific singles artist One single a month means $348 to protect a year’s releases with Leave a Legacy. Add the $24.99 entry membership and the first-year fixed spend is $372.99. Three years at that pace would create 36 protected singles and $1,044 in add-ons alone. Kinjari’s fixed active subscription stays at $36 per year regardless of release count. Against $348 in Leave a Legacy charges for those 12 singles, that keeps the fixed-cost side simple. The royalty share scales with earnings, so include it when you compare the full cost of an established catalogue. This is why release count and revenue belong in the same calculation. ### EDM artist who needs Beatport DistroKid’s Beatport Album Extra costs $9.99 a month, or $119.88 a year. With its $24.99 Musician plan, the fixed annual total is $144.87 before Leave a Legacy or any other extras. Kinjari includes [Beatport distribution](/beatport-distribution) in the $3 monthly Artist plan. Its fixed annual cost is $36 plus the 10% royalty share. On those figures, the fixed-cost gap is $108.87. Ten per cent of $1,088.70 is also $108.87, so that is the rough annual break-even before tax and other features: below it, Kinjari has the lower combined cost; above it, DistroKid’s fixed fee can be cheaper. Kinjari does not add a per-release permanence charge if you later cancel. With DistroKid, add the appropriate $29 or $49 fee for every release you want protected. A sensible way to decide ------------------------ 1. Count your current singles, EPs and albums. 2. Calculate the Leave a Legacy bill for the releases you genuinely want online after cancellation. 3. Add the DistroKid plan and any recurring extras you use. 4. Estimate annual catalogue royalties conservatively. 5. Compare that total with percentage-based alternatives over three to five years. 6. Check the non-price differences: stores, support, artist slots, split payments, label names and migration tools. If you are already on DistroKid, the decision is not only “buy it or risk removal”. You can keep the subscription, protect selected releases, or move the catalogue before cancelling. For a fuller comparison of those routes, read our [DistroKid alternative guide](/distrokid-alternative). Frequently asked questions -------------------------- ### Is DistroKid Leave a Legacy a one-time fee? Yes. DistroKid lists it as a non-recurring $29 fee for a single or $49 for a release containing two or more tracks. ### Is the fee per account or per release? Per release. Buying it for one single does not protect another single, an album containing that song or the rest of the account. ### Can I add Leave a Legacy after uploading? Yes. DistroKid says it is available during upload and later from the release page. ### Does it cover every store? DistroKid describes it as keeping the opted-in release available in stores and streaming services after a payment lapse or cancellation. A particular service can still remove content under its own rules, and rights or policy issues are not covered. ### Will a failed card remove my music immediately? DistroKid says it gives ample notice before removal. If a lapsed payment eventually causes a takedown, it says the music is restored automatically once the card is updated and the past-due charge succeeds. ### Can I stop paying the annual membership after buying it? You can cancel and the protected release should remain online, but you lose the active membership used for new uploads and subscriber features. Every other release needs its own protection or another distribution arrangement. ### Is Leave a Legacy an estate or inheritance service? No. It is a release add-on for subscription cancellation or payment lapse. It does not replace a will, catalogue ownership records or instructions for whoever should manage your music and royalties. ### Is switching distributor cheaper? It can be, especially for a large singles catalogue. The move requires the original audio, ISRCs and matching metadata, and you should get the replacement live before requesting a takedown from DistroKid. **Prefer distribution where keeping releases online is not a per-release add-on?** [See how Kinjari works](/distrokid-alternative). *Prices and policies checked 20 August 2026. Providers can change prices, regional charges and terms.* You got the music. We'll get it out there. ------------------------------------------ Just $3/mo. You keep 90% of the royalties. [ Let's Do This ](https://app.kinjari.com/register) More from the Blog ------------------ Read even more from our blog. [### Independent Label Distributors Compared: Roster, Splits & Cost How label distributors differ on roster access, approvals, statements and cost. Kinjari Label is $39/mo for your first 200 tracks. ](https://www.kinjari.com/blog/best-music-distribution-for-independent-labels) [### DistroKid Beatport Cost: Fees & Alternatives Explained DistroKid charges $9.99 a month for account-wide Beatport delivery. See the full annual cost, eligible genres and fair alternatives for artists and labels. ](https://www.kinjari.com/blog/distrokid-beatport-cost) [### What Happens When You Cancel Your Music Distributor? Cancelling a music distributor can leave your releases live, schedule them for removal or stop future uploads. 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