How it works · Side A · 6 tracks
From the songs you have to the money they make
Split n Spin puts a band’s songs in the stores, shows every member their split, and maps every dollar a song earns. Here are the six steps, with pictures from the app as it runs today.
About the picturesThey show Copper Kettle, the made-up three-piece from our guide: Ana, Ben and Cass. Every name, code and dollar in them is invented. Split n Spin hasn’t opened yet; a private beta for about 100 bands comes first.
A1 Track 1 of 6
Bring your catalog. Keep every code.
Moving from another distributor? Bring the releases you already have. Every ISRC (the recording’s ID number) and UPC (the release’s barcode) comes across exactly as it was.
Once a code is saved, it’s locked: the padlock means nobody can change it by accident. The stores see the same recordings under the same codes, so play counts and playlists carry over.
Bring your old sales reports too. Each line is matched to its recording by ISRC, so past money lands on the right song.
In the guide ISRC, UPC, ISWC and IPI, explained
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Set every store field once
Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TikTok and the rest each want slightly different things. You fill in one master record. The store grid shows what each store will get: a tick where it matches, and the value where that store gets something different.
Store-only fields sit in their own rows, like Spotify’s pitch note for editors, the second where a TikTok clip starts, or whether YouTube’s Content ID (its system that finds your recording in other people’s videos) is on.
Every field has a short note in plain words. The code underneath is its name in DDEX, the format distributors use to send releases to stores.
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Agree on the splits and sign them
Set each song’s split once: who wrote what, in percent, adding up to 100. Each writer gets their own link, checks the shares on their phone and signs by typing their name. No account needed.
The sheet is a PDF with a fingerprint (a SHA-256 checksum, which changes if a single character does). If anything on it changes after it’s sent, the signatures are void and everyone signs again.
When the last writer signs, the split is approved, and every bandmate sees the same numbers from their own login.
In the guide Split sheets and band agreements
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See every dollar on the Money Map
A song can earn in eight places. Some pay the recording (stores, YouTube, digital radio), others pay the song itself (performance royalties, the publisher share, mechanicals). Each comes through a different organization, and only to people who signed up with it.
The Money Map shows each one as collected, in progress or leaking: the money exists, but nobody has signed up to collect it. Statuses come from real statement lines, not from ticked boxes.
Here, “Porch Light” collects its store money, but Cass never joined a PRO (a performing rights organization, like BMI or ASCAP) and nobody registered the song with The MLC. Each leak comes with the fix and a rough idea of what it’s missed so far.
In the guide Every song is two copyrights
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Release with readiness checks and store previews
Before a release goes out, it’s checked against each store’s own published rules, from cover size to TikTok’s clip start. Each check is a blocker, a warning or a tip, with the store’s help page behind it. A blocker stops the release until it’s fixed.
The store preview draws the release the way each store shows it, so a wrong title or a missing version shows up before release day, not after. These are our own drawings, not the stores’ pages.
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Promote it with the marketing kit
Every release gets a link page with listen and pre-save buttons. It sets no cookies and runs no trackers; it only counts visits and taps.
The post, story, YouTube thumbnail and Spotify Canvas images are drawn from the cover. A release-week plan sets out five moments, from the announcement 14 days before to one week after, for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook.
Every caption starts as a draft. Nothing posts by itself: you approve a post, then copy it into the app.
Side B · Compared
What DistroKid doesn’t do
DistroKid is the biggest name in distribution, so here’s the honest comparison, including what it does too. We checked each DistroKid answer on its own pages on October 31, 2026; links are below the table. Split n Spin’s column describes the plan for launch, and may change before then.
| Question | Split n Spin | DistroKid |
|---|---|---|
| You stop paying. What happens to your releases? | They stay up. While unpaid, we keep 15% of store money. Renew and it’s back to 100%. | Taken down, unless you bought Leave a Legacy for that release: $29 per single, $49 per album, once each. |
| Price for a band | $36 a year for the whole band, with up to 3 artist names for the same members (side projects). | $24.99 a year for 1 artist or band; $44.99 for 2; $89.99 for up to 100. |
| A signed split sheet for each song | Yes. Each writer signs from their phone; any change voids the signatures. | Not that we could find. Its Splits feature shares out store money; it isn’t a signed agreement about who wrote the song. |
| Every income stream of a song in one view | Yes, the Money Map: store money, digital radio, PROs, the publisher share and mechanicals, each collected, in progress or leaking. | Not that we could find. It reports the money DistroKid collects. |
| Pays each collaborator their share of store money | Yes. Every member sees their share. | Yes, it does this too (Splits). |
| Collects songwriting money for you | No, not at launch. The Money Map shows which free sign-ups are missing (BMI or ASCAP, The MLC, SoundExchange), and they pay you directly. | Yes, through DistroKid Publishing: $75 per songwriter once, and it keeps 20% of those royalties. |
DistroKid sources, checked October 31, 2026
- DistroKid pricing: plans and prices, and Splits on every plan.
- DistroKid Publishing: the $75 setup fee per songwriter and the 20% commission.
- DistroKid help centre: Leave a Legacy: what happens to releases when a plan ends, and the per-release price.
DistroKid is a trademark of its owner. Split n Spin isn’t connected with it. Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and we’ll fix it.