Many superstar artists \u2013 from Ed Sheeran and Jack Harlow to SZA and Lizzo \u2013 have started on TuneCore. Until recently, however, many of its most popular acts seemed destined to move on to pastures new.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s changed since TuneCore Accelerator arrived in 2023. Through the platform, artists can use TuneCore\u2019s promotional programs, marketing and tech to help cut through the new-music noise, with TCA acts receiving over 20 billion streams in the last year alone. Plus, there\u2019s the option of upstreaming to Believe\u2019s Label & Artist Solutions\/Artist Services tiers for standout artists seeking more holistic label services.<\/span><\/p>\n Consequently, TuneCore is enjoying a stellar run with artists such as Russ, SAULT, Jimmy Eat World and Los Campesinos! (who scored their first-ever Top 20 album with 2024\u2019s TuneCore-released All Hell<\/i>\u00a0album) enjoying success across the 18 countries where TuneCore now has boots on the ground.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first decade of our career, we operated within the industry\u2019s traditional structure,\u201d Los Campesinos! frontman\/manager Gareth David tells\u00a0MBW<\/i>. \u201cSince embracing independence 10 years ago, TuneCore has been our digital distribution partner, providing us with a service that is both professional and personal. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey help ensure we are maximizing the impact of our digital discography, while minimizing the amount of income we\u2019re paying to third parties. We are being heard by more people and receiving more streaming income than ever before \u2013 and that\u2019s in no small part due to the relationship we have with TuneCore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just about the size of the check \u2014 it\u2019s about trust and long-term alignment.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Miller, TuneCore<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Artists, of course, have no shortage of options for releasing their music these days, even if many of TuneCore\u2019s contemporaries (AWAL, The Orchard, FUGA, CD Baby) have been snapped up by larger companies.<\/p>\n That\u2019s despite criticism from the likes of Sir Lucian Grainge (\u201cMerchants of garbage\u201d) and Rob Stringer (\u201cFlotsam and jetsam\u201d) over the quality of some of the music flooding streaming services from DIY services, with over 100,000 new tracks a day now hitting the likes of Spotify and Apple Music.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, TuneCore started 2026 with some changes of its own: CEO Andreea Gleeson stepped down<\/a> and will not be replaced, although she will stay on as a strategic advisor to Believe, as the two companies look to work ever more closely together.<\/span><\/p>\n There are, no doubt, challenges ahead \u2013 not least, dealing with the coming AI music tsunami. But the mood is celebratory as\u00a0MBW<\/i>\u00a0gathers two key TuneCore execs to mark its anniversary and map its future.<\/p>\n We catch up with Head of TuneCore UK, Sarah Wilson (who joined in 2021 after stints at Beggars Group, Universal Music UK and The Orchard) in Believe\/TuneCore\u2019s buzzy new London office (complete with in-office dogs brought in by various staffers).<\/p>\n And, first, we meet New York-based Chief Business Officer<\/a> Brian Miller (who joined in 2023 from a career mostly spent outside the music industry) on his flying visit to Believe\/TuneCore\u2019s Paris HQ\u2026<\/p>\n The core thing we do hasn\u2019t changed. We\u2019re always focused on getting independent music out in the world and making it easier for all artists to find a way to get their music heard.<\/p>\n How\u00a0we do it has changed tremendously. If we didn\u2019t strategically change how we approach our mission, we wouldn\u2019t be here, but adapting to how consumers listen to their favorite artists and how fans track down their favorite artists has been crucial.<\/p>\n Working with Believe for the last 10 years has given us more resources. If it was just TuneCore on its own, it would be more challenging, but working in tandem with Believe, which is the world\u2019s leading independent music company, gives us access to more resources that let us serve artists globally.<\/p>\n Yes, we are very proud of that achievement, because the $5 billion figure represents money that TuneCore has delivered into artists\u2019 bank accounts.\u00a0Beyond getting the music released, it\u2019s about getting heard and making sure artists get paid.<\/p>\n By aligning more closely with Believe, we\u2019re creating a more seamless pathway for artist growth. When an artist reaches a stage where they need expanded services \u2013 marketing, global release strategy, funding, or hands-on label support \u2013 we can At a certain point, it\u2019s not just about the size of the check \u2014 it\u2019s about trust and long-term alignment. Advances can be attractive, but artists are increasingly thinking about ownership, flexibility, and who will truly advocate for them over time. We offer continuity, transparency, and a model built around ownership and independence. For many artists, that stability and trust matter just as much as an advance.<\/p>\n [Laughs] It depends how mega [successful] they become! I\u2019d like us to keep more of them now; five, six or seven years ago, we weren\u2019t in a place to do that. We weren\u2019t as integrated with Believe, and didn\u2019t have scalable technology to support those high-performing artists as their careers progressed. Now we have teams at TuneCore that can serve them at a higher level and, if they\u2019re looking for additional services or a more traditional label partnership, the rest of Believe has that.<\/p>\n We\u2019re always going to be open at TuneCore. If this is your first release, we want you to come to us.<\/p>\n Where we\u2019ve really developed is, once you gain some traction, we can make it easier for you. We have to continue to look at what\u2019s sustainable for the long term; it\u2019s that constant reappraisal and adjustment that\u2019s why we\u2019ve been around for 20 years.<\/p>\n Earlier artists are looking at pure distributors to get their music out quickly. We\u2019ve found that, when they start getting more serious, they come to us, because we can provide more resources, more visibility. <\/span><\/p>\n Artists have become more like entrepreneurs as the industry has been democratized. They have the ability to manage their careers on their own, outsource certain elements to experts \u2013managers, booking agents, publicists, etc. \u2013 if they want to remain in control of their earnings, creative vision, and team members.<\/span><\/p>\n But as they grow, we have a lot of labels looking at who\u2019s on TuneCore, everyone sees the same data, and they have a conversation. If you\u2019re an up-and-coming artist and someone\u2019s offering you a large check, we get that it\u2019s tough to say no, even if that means compromising or giving up some of that control. Some really great artists have grown with us, they take that [label advance check elsewhere] and they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, that was a mistake\u2019. Then they come back, which is great, but sometimes they\u2019ve had a painful learning journey.<\/span><\/p>\n It is ultimately good for TuneCore, because when Downtown is fully owned by Universal, they will no longer be independent. Many artists do not want to be in the major label system and that\u2019s part of the reason artists should turn to TuneCore and Believe for support. Part of the reason it works is, we offer what majors do, but with an indie mindset \u2013 we have all of the features: we have TuneCore Publishing Administration [via which] early-stage artists can earn 15-20% more royalties by having their songs registered. <\/span><\/p>\n We have that integrated with this system and no one else at our level does. <\/span>As artists, it\u2019s hard to keep track of your royalties, where your performances are, where your fans are \u2013 and our Advanced Trends and Analytics Dashboard is super-easy to understand and use. And we have TuneCore Accelerator, which produced over 20 billion additional streams for artists last year. <\/span><\/p>\n Those things allow us to feel confident that, as the majors snap up our peers, they\u2019re no longer our peers, and they\u2019re no longer for independent artists. We\u2019ll keep investing in the services that allow us to serve artists who want to be independent and get their music out.<\/p>\n People are still going to be listening to music and will still want to hear independent musicians making it. How they make it and how we listen to it may change, but I feel pretty good about the mentality we\u2019ve adopted to stay flexible, reactive, and data-driven, always with artists at the forefront, as we develop new ways to help musicians get heard.<\/p>\n I worked extensively with Andreea over the years I\u2019ve been here, and she was a great captain of the ship. I\u2019m glad she\u2019s still advising us and it will be really interesting to see what this year and the next few years hold.<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019re working in such a different way now to when I joined. Then, we existed in our own orbit. We were part of the Believe group, but we didn\u2019t really do much explicitly together. We are now really working as one company.<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s been a huge sea-change in how all three parts of the business fit together and it brings the most value out of being part of the group, because we are all representing different parts of an artist\u2019s journey, but also different methods of release and getting access to success at each level.<\/span><\/p>\n We have some phenomenal artists who come to us \u2013 the Forever Living Originals [label] for example, with SAULT, Cleo Sol and Chronixx \u2013 that I\u2019m sure every major and every big indie has tried to tap on the shoulder and sign. But they\u2019ve found a model that works for them.<\/span><\/p>\n They\u2019ve built an infrastructure that works with them doing their thing and us doing our thing, and it\u2019s perfectly synergized. <\/span>Whereas some artists start on TuneCore, then want to stay within the group, like Adekunle Gold, who was upstreamed to Believe artist services. Now we\u2019re doing things in lockstep and that\u2019s maximized value across the three parts of the business, by making sure that people are at the right level.<\/p>\n I remember when I started, I used to do artist calls and a lot of managers would be like, \u2018This is really nice, but why are you taking my call?\u2019 Because at that point, it was pay-per-release and it made no difference whether they had contact with us or not, because we didn\u2019t have anything extra to offer.<\/p>\n We have moved from just being a volume platform, which worked very well for everyone at the beginning, when democratized access to release was new.<\/p>\n But, at this point, you need to find intentional listeners. There are 106,000 tracks being released on Spotify every day. The issue isn\u2019t access to release, it\u2019s access to audience, so programs where you can help people find their listeners is where you bring the maximum value. And that goes back into the Believe conversation, because their long-standing relationships with the DSPs help us to have more in the game than we would on our own.<\/p>\n It\u2019s certainly not on the roadmap at the moment \u2013 if it\u2019s a conversation that\u2019s happening, I\u2019m not party to it!<\/p>\n It\u2019s still an open platform. If you decide to become a musician, you can still come to TuneCore, sign up and release your music. No one\u2019s there going, \u2018This is a bit shit, we\u2019re not going to release this\u2019. Whether or not the algorithm will serve you in a way that benefits you, that\u2019s for the data scientists to tell you.<\/p>\n I worked with some incredible, culture-defining artists, but I also worked with a lot of baby artists. I was at Beggars for 13 years and I saw artists who you would think would be hugely successful, not be successful, and artists where you didn\u2019t think they would go anywhere, suddenly blow up. What it taught me is, there\u2019s no magic bullet. XL Recordings wouldn\u2019t work for every single artist, TuneCore wouldn\u2019t, Universal wouldn\u2019t. It goes back to, what is the model that makes most sense for you?<\/p>\n I\u2019d be incredibly annoyed [if they left] \u2013 as pissed off as I could be, because we\u2019ve now got systems that they didn\u2019t have then. The overall group offering now is so much stronger. So, if the Ed Sheeran of 2026 is on TuneCore, I\u2019d like to think we\u2019ve got the nous to find that.<\/p>\n Yes, knowing the system we have in place and the access across the group.<\/p>\n If we find someone that we\u2019re that confident in, we know the questions to ask now, in a way that we didn\u2019t necessarily before, when it was solely a volume platform. And that\u2019s the difference between being able to move from volume to artist development; knowing the point where we need to be having conversations with the DSPs, etc.<\/p>\n Last year was the year of the guillotine, wasn\u2019t it? There are two ways of looking at it \u2013 one, there\u2019s upheaval because people aren\u2019t picking up options and artists are getting dropped as restructuring happens. But the other way is, sometimes artists look at the restructures and go, \u2018This isn\u2019t my home anymore. The person I worked with at this label isn\u2019t here anymore, the team that I had isn\u2019t here anymore\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018Merchants of garbage\u2019 \u2013 that was a good one! I think I saw Merchants Of Garbage opening at the Bull & Gate in 1992\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d love to remind [the majors] of the number of artists that they\u2019ve signed off the back of the \u2018flotsam and jetsam\u2019 that comes through our doors. If you look through your roster and you\u2019re entirely free of artists that have ever used a DIY service, I\u2019ll eat my phone!<\/p>\n Not massively, no. If anything, that puts the responsibility back on us to look at programs that actually help people to find their listeners so they\u2019re not at zero streams, they\u2019re at 1,000 streams and start to monetize.<\/span><\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it will directly affect us. I\u2019m sad to lose players from the independent scene. I know a lot of people at FUGA and Downtown \u2013 if I was there, I would be sad that we were changing from independent to major, but let\u2019s see. I think it is. But we\u2019re growing in reputation where we should be growing: in the artist community. If the wider industry is taking a little more time to catch up to that, then they\u2019re behind!<\/p>\n One of the things people don\u2019t realize is, we exist in the world of BRITs and Mercury nominations, but it\u2019s the artist telling the story, as it should be.<\/p>\n “We\u2019re growing in reputation where we should be growing: in the artist community.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Wilson<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I\u2019d love to see us having more presence at something like that, and who\u2019s to say that won\u2019t be the case with the artists that are getting success from TuneCore Accelerator, building them to the point where they are noticed by the BRITs committee, getting the Critics\u2019 Choice or a Mercury nod.<\/p>\n I would like it to be in the same conversations as when people go, \u2018Do you want to sign to an independent or a major?\u2019 It should be, \u2018Do you want to sign to an independent, a major or use TuneCore?\u2019 That would be amazing.<\/p>\n
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\nBRIAN MILLER, CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n
Why has TuneCore survived for 20 years when so many other companies haven\u2019t?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nAnd it\u2019s paid out over $5 billion in revenue to artists\u2026<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nHow does working more closely with Believe help TuneCore and your artists?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nnow transition them within the broader Believe ecosystem. This helps with TuneCore\u2019s ability to retain and develop high-potential artists over the long term, and ensures they have access to the right level of support at the right moment in their careers. It\u2019s about building a continuum \u2013 from independence to global growth \u2014 without forcing artists to leave the family to get there.<\/p>\n
\nHow will you hang on to artists if the majors are offering big money?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nHow annoying is it when an artist leaves?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nWhy are you putting more resources into artist development at a time when many companies are doing less of it?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nSo, who\u2019s your competition these days?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nWill UMG\u2019s acquisition of Downtown create opportunities for TuneCore?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nWhat will TuneCore look like in 20 <\/b><\/span>years?<\/b><\/h6>\n
SARAH WILSON, HEAD OF TUNECORE UK<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n
It\u2019s been a busy start to the year for TuneCore, with Andreea leaving\u2026<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nHow have you found the shift to focusing more on artist development?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nSo, will TuneCore be taking on fewer artists in future?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nWhat did your label experience teach you that\u2019s relevant to TuneCore?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nIf the next Ed Sheeran is on TuneCore, will you be able to persuade him to stay?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nCan TuneCore really break an artist to that level?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nThere\u2019s been a lot of upheaval in the UK distribution and label landscape: is that an opportunity for TuneCore?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nMajor label bosses have been disparaging about some of the music being released on platforms like TuneCore\u2026<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nHas Spotify\u2019s 1,000 stream monetization threshold affected TuneCore\u2019s business?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nHow do you feel about the acquisition of Downtown\/FUGA by Universal?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
\nIs TuneCore under-appreciated by some elements of the wider industry?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\nHow much bigger can TuneCore get?<\/b><\/h6>\n
\n<\/i><\/a><\/a><\/figure>This article originally appeared in the first issue of MBW\u2019s new premium print publication, Music Business Worldwide Magazine, which is out now.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n