DistroKid
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Digital music distribution |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Philip Kaplan |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Music distribution, DistroVid, Teams, talent matchmaking service |
| Website | distrokid |
DistroKid, originally known as Fandalism, is a U.S.-based independent digital music distribution platform founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Philip Kaplan. The service allows artists and rights owners to distribute their music for sale or streaming across various online platforms including Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube Music. Starting out as Fandalism, a social network tailored for musicians, the company rebranded to DistroKid in mid-2013, redirecting its primary focus toward music distribution.
History
Fandalism was launched in early 2012 as part of Kaplan's social media initiative for musicians, later transforming into DistroKid in 2013. By 2015, the original Fandalism platform had been separated into an independent entity. A significant achievement occurred in July 2015 when a release distributed through DistroKid by Jack & Jack reached the top position on the global iTunes charts. This success highlighted DistroKid’s business model of not taking commissions or royalties, enabling artists to retain all their revenue.
In May 2016, DistroKid rolled out "Teams," a feature designed to facilitate automatic royalty distributions among collaborators and stakeholders. By 2018, the company had established a partnership with Spotify that supported direct uploads across platforms for Spotify artists. In 2021, DistroKid introduced a data-driven talent matchmaking service aimed at record labels seeking new artists; Republic Records was the inaugural partner, with the company earning finder's fees from resulting signings.
Brazilian artist Dan Vasc publicly criticized DistroKid in 2020 over U.S. tax withholding practices on royalties despite assurances of full payments. In 2022, DistroKid broadened its product lineup by launching DistroVid, a subscription-based service for distributing music videos accessible to both members and non-members.
On June 7, 2023, indie label Doeman Music Group Media filed a lawsuit against DistroKid concerning an alleged improper copyright takedown that resulted in an artist’s EP being removed without any opportunity for dispute. Later, in September 2023, DistroKid expanded its offerings by acquiring Bandzoogle, a platform specializing in music distribution and website hosting, thereby enhancing its range of tools and services aimed at empowering artists worldwide.