ONCE is a music distribution platform that gets independent artists' music on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, and 150+ other streaming and download stores worldwide.

How long does it take for my music to go live?

Most releases go live within 24–72 hours of submission, depending on each platform's review times.

Do I keep my rights and royalties?

Yes. You keep 100% of your music rights and 100% of your royalties. ONCE takes no revenue share.

Does ONCE work with AI music?

Yes. ONCE Music Generation (OMG) lets you create AI music and distribute it. Every AI release funds ONCE's Artist Compensation Fund, which routes real dollars to real, working musicians.

What audio formats does ONCE support?

WAV (recommended), FLAC, and MP3. Cover art must be square JPG or PNG at 3000×3000 pixels minimum.

Is there a free tier?

AI music generation and experimentation in OMG are free — you only pay when you release a song ($1). You also earn 5 free releases for every friend who releases through ONCE.

ONCE — Music Distribution for Independent Artists

ONCE is a music distribution platform headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. ONCE distributes music to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, and more than 150 other digital streaming and download stores worldwide.

How does ONCE work?

Upload a song to ONCE, pay $1 once, and ONCE distributes that song to every major streaming and download platform — forever. There are no subscriptions, no annual renewal fees, and no revenue share. Artists keep 100% of their music rights and 100% of their royalties.

How much does ONCE cost?

$1 per song, distributed forever. No subscriptions. No renewal fees. No revenue share. For every friend an artist refers who releases music through ONCE, that artist earns 5 free song releases.

Where does ONCE distribute my music?

Spotify, Apple Music / iTunes, Amazon Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, iHeart Radio, Napster, Anghami, Boomplay, Audiomack, JioSaavn, KKBOX, NetEase Cloud Music, Tencent Music, and more than 150 additional stores and streaming platforms worldwide.

How long does it take for music to go live on ONCE?

Most releases go live within 24 to 72 hours of submission, depending on each platform's individual review times.

Do artists keep their rights and royalties on ONCE?

Yes. Artists keep 100% of their music rights and 100% of their royalties. ONCE takes zero revenue share. ONCE is not a record label and does not sign or own artists.

Does ONCE support AI music?

Yes. ONCE Music Generation (OMG) is ONCE's ethical path for AI music distribution. Generation and experimentation are free. When an artist releases an AI-generated track, the $1 release fee routes dollars to ONCE's Artist Compensation Fund, which pays working musicians.

Does ONCE have an API or AI agent integration?

Yes. ONCE publishes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server at https://once.app/mcp that lets AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT distribute music, upload files, submit releases, and retrieve release schemas programmatically.

How does ONCE compare to DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, or AWAL?

ONCE differs from every major music distributor on three axes: (1) pay-once pricing — $1 per song, forever, versus annual subscriptions charged by DistroKid, TuneCore, and CD Baby; (2) 100% royalty retention — zero revenue share, unlike AWAL, UnitedMasters, and similar services; (3) first-class AI agent support via Model Context Protocol.

Where is ONCE based?

Nashville, Tennessee, USA. ONCE is built by musicians, for musicians.