CD Baby Alternative

This is the one comparison where commission genuinely differs

Most distributors in this category pay out 100% of streaming royalties, so "zero commission" is usually marketing noise. CD Baby is the exception that makes it meaningful: it keeps 9% of your digital distribution revenue, with the artist receiving 91%, and that applies to download and streaming revenue as well as SoundExchange collections. LUCY takes 0% on every plan. On a small catalog that's a modest difference. On a catalogue that keeps earning for years, it compounds — and unlike a subscription, a percentage never stops scaling with your success.

CD Baby keeps 9% of digital distribution revenue; the artist receives 91%. LUCY takes 0% commission on royalties, on every plan including Free. A percentage grows with your earnings; a flat subscription doesn't

One-time fee versus subscription — which is actually cheaper

CD Baby charges a one-time fee per release with no annual fee, which reads as the cheaper structure and sometimes is. The honest answer depends on two things: how often you release, and how much you earn. A single release that never earns much is cheap to distribute through CD Baby and always will be. A release that earns steadily for years pays that 9% forever, and at some point the commission outruns what a subscription would have cost. Work out roughly what your catalog earns annually before assuming either model wins — the crossover is different for everyone.

CD Baby: one-time fee per release, then 9% of digital revenue indefinitely. LUCY: Free, or $9.99/mo Pro, or $29.99/mo Label — 0% commission at every tier. The more your back catalog earns, the more a percentage costs you

Start free, with no per-release cost

CD Baby has no free tier, and its structure means every new release is a new fee. LUCY's Free plan distributes to 150+ platforms at no cost, and paid plans don't charge per release — so an artist putting out a single a month isn't paying a fee each time. For prolific releasers, per-release pricing is the cost that quietly adds up, and it's the one most people forget to model when comparing headline numbers.

LUCY Free: 150+ platforms, basic analytics, full Academy, $0. No per-release fees on any LUCY plan. Pro adds unlimited releases, advanced analytics, and priority support

Where CD Baby still makes sense

We'd rather you make a good decision than an uninformed one. CD Baby has been around a long time, its per-release model genuinely suits artists who release rarely and earn modestly, and its publishing and royalty-collection services are well established. If you put out one record every few years and don't want a recurring subscription at all, a one-time fee plus 9% may cost you less in absolute terms than any monthly plan. The case for switching to LUCY gets stronger the more you release and the more your catalog earns.

Long-established distributor with mature publishing and collection services. One-time-fee model can suit infrequent releasers with modest earnings. The 0%-vs-9% gap matters most for growing catalogs and frequent releases

Frequently Asked Questions

How much commission does CD Baby take?
CD Baby keeps 9% of digital distribution revenue — the artist receives 91% — and that covers download and streaming revenue as well as royalties collected through SoundExchange. This is per CD Baby's own published help documentation as of September 2026; check their current terms before deciding, since these change. LUCY takes no commission on royalties on any plan, so you keep 100% of what the stores pay.
Is a one-time fee cheaper than LUCY's subscription?
Sometimes, and it depends entirely on your catalog. CD Baby's one-time-fee-plus-9% model can cost less in absolute terms if you release rarely and earn modestly — there's no recurring subscription to carry. But the 9% applies for as long as the music earns, so a catalog that keeps generating revenue eventually pays more in commission than a subscription would have cost. And LUCY's Free plan is $0 with no per-release fee, which beats a one-time fee outright at the entry point. Estimate your annual catalog earnings and compare 9% of that against $0, $119.88, or $359.88 a year.
Can I move my catalog from CD Baby to LUCY?
Yes. Catalog migration keeps your existing release dates and ISRCs intact, so your streaming history and playlist placements stay attached to your artist profile rather than resetting as a new upload. Sequence it so your new delivery is live before the old distribution lapses — that's what prevents a gap where your music isn't available. Our catalog migration guide covers the ordering and the metadata to have ready.
Does LUCY take any percentage at all?
No. LUCY takes 0% of your streaming royalties on every plan, including Free. We make money from subscriptions, not from a share of your earnings, which means our revenue doesn't grow when yours does. That's a deliberate structural choice: a distributor on commission earns more the more successful you get, and a distributor on subscription doesn't. Both models are legitimate — they just point different directions as your catalog grows.