Comparison
CD Baby vs Amuse vs Symphonic Distribution
The short answer: all three collect your master streaming royalties, and that is roughly where the similarity ends. CD Baby, Amuse, Symphonic Distribution differ on 7 of the 8 royalty streams a released song generates. The most consequential split is US mechanical royalties, where CD Baby does not, Amuse not published, Symphonic Distribution partly.
Every cell below was read from that company's own published documentation on 2026-08-13. Where a company has not published an answer, this page says not published rather than guessing. Nothing here is affiliate-linked and no company paid to appear.
Side by side
What each one collects
Rows where the three companies disagree are marked. Those are the rows worth reading; the rest are industry-standard and would look the same whoever you signed with.
| Royalty stream | CD Baby | Amuse | Symphonic Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master streaming royalties | CollectsCore service. | Collects100% on all paid tiers — except YouTube Content ID. ⚠ If your subscription lapses, a 25% commission applies to keep releases live. | CollectsCore service. |
| US mechanical royaltiesthey differ | Does not⚠ CD Baby Pro Publishing was DISCONTINUED in August 2023. The current CDB Boost product does not replace it. | Not publishedThe MLC is named nowhere in Amuse's published material. Its international partner's rollout is described as covering the world OUTSIDE the US, so the US gap appears unaddressed — but Amuse has not said so, and this dataset does not infer it. | PartlyOnly if you separately take publishing administration, which is delivered THROUGH SONGTRUST. Not included in plain distribution. |
| International mechanical royaltiesthey differ | Does notNot collected since Pro Publishing ended. | CollectsVia an announced partnership with the global digital collection society AMRA, covering 200+ territories. Commission rate and current live status are not published. | PartlySame Songtrust-powered add-on. |
| Performance royalties (songwriter)they differ | Does notNot collected since Pro Publishing ended. Join a PRO directly. | Does notStated outright: Amuse pays the artist, NOT the writers. Join your PRO directly. | PartlyVia the same opt-in add-on, not via distribution. |
| Neighbouring rights / SoundExchangethey differ | PartlyThe only company in this group that collects any SoundExchange money — and it collects the 50% RIGHTS-OWNER share only. The 45% featured-artist share still requires your own SoundExchange registration. | Not publishedSoundExchange and neighbouring rights appear nowhere in Amuse's published material. | PartlyOpt-in enrolment, and it can collect the recording OWNER share only. Symphonic states outright that SoundExchange does not allow any third party to claim the featured-artist portion. |
| YouTube Content IDthey differ | CollectsOffered. | PartlyIncluded at no cost on the two higher tiers; a 15% fee applies on the entry tier. The release must also be delivered to YouTube Music or nothing is collected. | PartlyOpt-in, requires Symphonic distribution, reviewed by their team and can be rejected. Symphonic typically retains around 30% of Content ID revenue. |
| YouTube publishingthey differ | Does notNot collected since Pro Publishing ended. | Not publishedNot separated from the recording side anywhere in its documentation. | Not publishedFalls under the publishing add-on and is not itemised. |
| Sync licensingthey differ | Does notNot collected since Pro Publishing ended. | Does notNot offered on self-serve plans. | PartlyOffered via a separate brand as an approval-gated add-on at separate rates. |
What to know about CD Baby
CD Baby collects your master streaming royalties from the DSPs. The table above shows where that stops.
- ★ The single most out-of-date belief in music distribution: CD Baby Pro Publishing ENDED in August 2023, and a large share of blogs, videos and comparison articles still describe CD Baby as a full publishing administrator. If you signed up expecting publishing collection after that date, you do not have it.
- Its partial SoundExchange collection is genuinely unusual and genuinely partial. Collecting the rights-owner share is not the same as collecting your artist share.
What to know about Amuse
Amuse collects your master streaming royalties from the DSPs. The table above shows where that stops.
- "100% royalties" carries an admitted carve-out: Content ID ad revenue is cut 15% on the entry tier.
- The pricing page says music stays live with no extra payments when you downgrade. The support documentation says a 25% commission applies once a subscription lapses. The music stays up; a quarter of the money does not.
- ⚠ Tier names in nearly every comparison article are STALE. The older tier names are no longer purchasable, and existing subscribers on them cannot add new artists.
- Content ID is unavailable for exactly the artist most likely to buy the entry tier: non-exclusive beats, samples, toplines, remixes, mashups, stock and AI-generated music are all ineligible.
What to know about Symphonic Distribution
Symphonic Distribution collects your master streaming royalties from the DSPs. The table above shows where that stops. Pricing: Starter tier $29.99/year. Add-ons separately priced and approval-gated.
- "Earn 100% of royalties" applies ONLY to DSP distribution. Content ID takes around 30% and every rights add-on is separately priced.
- ★ Symphonic's publishing administration IS SONGTRUST white-labelled. Signing up for both pays twice for one pipe.
- Even with Symphonic enrolled on SoundExchange, the 45% featured-artist share is legally unreachable by them. You must open your own account.
The thing none of these three do for you
Whichever of CD Baby, Amuse, Symphonic Distribution you choose, the 45% featured-artist share of neighbouring rights is legally unreachable by any distributor. SoundExchange pays it directly to the performer, and no label, distributor or aggregator is permitted to claim it on your behalf. If you have never registered with SoundExchange yourself, that money is accruing to nobody.
The same is true in a softer way of US mechanical royalties: they flow through the blanket licence to The MLC, which is free to join and takes no commission, and a distributor deal does not register you there.