Question 1

What is ONCE?

Accepted Answer

Music distribution for all. ONCE gets your songs — human, AI, or hybrid — onto Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, and every other major streaming and download store worldwide. Upload ONCE, own it forever.

Question 2

Who's behind ONCE?

Accepted Answer

Five musicians in Nashville, Tennessee. Built by musicians, for musicians.

Question 3

Where does ONCE distribute my music?

Accepted Answer

Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, iHeart Radio, and every other major streaming platform worldwide.

Question 4

What happens to my music if I stop paying?

Accepted Answer

Nothing. There's no subscription to stop paying. You paid ONCE. Your music stays up, your royalties keep flowing, and your data stays yours. Forever.

Question 5

Do I keep my rights and royalties?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your rights stay yours on every release, AI or human, and ONCE takes 0% of your royalties. Every penny we receive is passed on. If you used an AI generator, its terms still apply: Suno tracks need a Pro or Premier plan plus a permitted download (Remixes and trial downloads never qualify), Udio output cannot currently be released under Udio's terms, and other generators vary.

Question 6

What does "own it forever" actually mean?

Accepted Answer

You pay once per song. It stays in stores, registered and earning, with no renewal fees and nothing to cancel. Take it down whenever you want — it's yours.

Question 7

How much does ONCE cost?

Accepted Answer

One credit per human song. Two credits per AI song — the extra credit feeds the Artist Compensation Fund. Paid once, forever. No subscription, no renewal fees, no revenue share.

Question 8

Why do AI songs cost an extra credit?

Accepted Answer

AI music exists because real musicians' work trained the models. The extra credit on every AI release feeds the Artist Compensation Fund — same deal whether the track came from Suno, Udio, or anywhere else.

Question 9

What is the Artist Compensation Fund?

Accepted Answer

A dedicated fund that holds the extra credit from every AI release on ONCE. We partner with established music non-profits to route it to working musicians today, and we publish quarterly transparency reports showing exactly what came in and where it went.

Question 10

Is there a free tier?

Accepted Answer

Release prep is free. You only spend credits when you release a song. Referrals earn free credits too.

Question 11

Do you really take 0% of royalties?

Accepted Answer

Yes. ONCE is paid by the flat release fee, not by your streams, so we add no revenue share of our own. Every penny that reaches ONCE is passed straight through to you. The distribution pipeline we use today does take a cut (6–8%) before the money gets to us, and we're working on getting that to zero.

Question 12

Where do my royalties actually go?

Accepted Answer

Three steps. Stores like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music pay out 100% of your gross royalties. Our distribution pipeline partner — the plumbing that delivers your release to every store, then collects, audits, converts, and reports the money coming back — deducts 6–8% before ONCE ever sees it. ONCE adds 0% of its own and passes on 100% of what is left, which works out to roughly 92–94% of what the stores paid.

Question 13

Is AI music welcome?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Human, AI, hybrid — good music is good music. Every upload gets an AI detection scan and honest disclosure to every store.

Question 14

Can I distribute my Suno song with ONCE?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if Suno's terms allow it: the track was made on a Pro or Premier plan and obtained through a permitted download within your monthly allocation (free, trial, and Remix downloads are non-commercial). Upload the WAV (MP3/FLAC also work) plus 3000×3000 cover art, and ONCE ships it to Spotify, Apple Music, and every other major streaming platform. Same flow for any generator whose terms allow commercial release (Udio's current terms do not). Commercial permission is not a copyright guarantee.

Question 15

What about hybrid workflows?

Accepted Answer

Welcome. AI stems under human vocals, human songs finished with AI, whatever. Tag what's AI honestly and we handle the disclosure.

Question 16

How long until my song is live?

Accepted Answer

Most releases go live within 24 to 72 hours of submission. Best case: 2.

Question 17

How does ONCE support work?

Accepted Answer

No email, by design. Like Amazon, help happens right where you are, in three stages: first, the chat inside the ONCE app; second, the ONCE community on Discord, where the team hangs out too; third, an easy, no-questions-asked refund. Full details: https://once.app/support

Question 18

What audio formats does ONCE support?

Accepted Answer

WAV (recommended), FLAC, and MP3 — exactly the formats Suno, Udio, and most AI generators export. Cover art must be square JPG or PNG at 3000×3000 pixels minimum.

Question 19

What genres can ONCE distribute?

Accepted Answer

All of them, no matter how complex the metadata (yes, even Classical). The ONCE agent walks you through composer, conductor, movement, performer, instrumentation, and any other DSP-specific fields a release needs.

Question 20

How do ONCE referrals work?

Accepted Answer

Grab your personal invite link from your ONCE dashboard. When a friend signs up with it and submits their first release, you earn 5 free credits. There is no cap.

Question 21

Does ONCE have an API for developers or AI agents?

Accepted Answer

Yes — two ways. A REST API at https://once.app/v1 (OAuth 2.1, OpenAPI 3.1 spec at https://once.app/v1/openapi.json) and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server at https://once.app/mcp for AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT. Both can upload audio and cover art, run AI detection, submit releases, and monitor delivery.

Question 22

Where is ONCE based?

Accepted Answer

Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Built by musicians, for musicians.

ONCE Status

Checking systems…

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Distribution

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AI

Release assistant

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