Greek music distribution startup SongDistro is considering moving to an invite-only model after facing what its founder describes as a growing volume of problematic submissions, including already-released material, allegedly stolen third-party music and AI-generated tracks.
Falcos Panagiotis, founder of SongDistro, says the company is spending an increasing amount of time reviewing submissions that ultimately violate the distributor’s terms.
According to Panagiotis, more than 90% of new content submitted to SongDistro for distribution is either already released, unauthorized third-party material, or AI-generated music.
The figure represents a serious challenge for a company whose model is built around supporting independent artists and legitimate music teams.
“It’s too bad that we’re trying to support real artists, but fake artists are trying to take advantage of legitimate services,” Panagiotis said.
He stressed that SongDistro’s approach is deliberately different from a completely open distribution platform.
“SongDistro is designed for real artists and teams only. We will not accept any fake or content without permission distributed.”
Could SongDistro Become Invite-Only?
The volume of submissions requiring investigation has reportedly led SongDistro to consider making its distribution service invite-only.
For an independent distributor, such a move would represent a significant change. Open registration makes it easier for emerging artists to access distribution, but it also creates an opportunity for users to submit material they do not own or content that fails to meet a distributor’s quality and licensing requirements.
Panagiotis says the company is now weighing whether the current open-access model is sustainable.
SongDistro has also discussed potentially bringing back a €15 setup fee if necessary. The company currently offers distribution without a setup fee, making the additional screening workload particularly significant when large numbers of submissions fail to meet its requirements.
Free Distribution — But With Quality Control
SongDistro’s business model is based on a revenue-share structure rather than charging artists for every release.
The company’s Partner plan allows artists to distribute music for free while retaining 85% of received royalties.
However, “free” does not mean automatic approval.
SongDistro describes its model as “Quality-controlled distribution,” meaning releases are reviewed and selected before being distributed. According to the company, music can be rejected when it does not meet its standards, including content that is unauthorized, problematic, or of insufficient quality.
The approach is particularly relevant as AI-generated music becomes increasingly common across the digital music ecosystem.
Rather than positioning itself as a high-volume upload pipeline, SongDistro appears to be emphasizing a more selective model aimed at artists who can demonstrate legitimate ownership or authorization of their recordings.
What Does SongDistro Offer Artists?
Despite its selective approach, the Greek startup offers a broad set of features typically associated with modern digital music distributors.
Under its free revenue-share Partner model, SongDistro says artists can:
- Keep 85% of received royalties
- Distribute an unlimited number of releases
- Manage unlimited artists
- Avoid per-release fees
- Access quality-controlled distribution
- Set up royalty splits
- Distribute to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, Tidal and other major music services worldwide
- Use YouTube Content ID
- Create smart links
- Receive payouts through PayPal
- Track royalties in USD
- Receive payouts once reaching a $25 minimum per participant
- Contact email support, with responses typically provided within 2–5 business days
For independent artists and small teams, the combination of unlimited releases and no per-release charges can make the model particularly attractive.
A Different Bet on Music Distribution
The traditional digital distribution model has largely moved toward scale: make uploading music as easy as possible, distribute huge numbers of releases and automate as much of the process as possible.
SongDistro is taking a different position.
Its stated philosophy is that not every piece of submitted content should automatically enter the distribution pipeline.
That could become increasingly important as streaming platforms deal with growing quantities of AI-generated music, fraudulent uploads, manipulated metadata, impersonation and unauthorized releases.
For legitimate artists, stronger screening can potentially provide another layer of protection against abuse of distribution infrastructure. For distributors, however, maintaining that screening process requires time and resources.
That tension appears to be at the center of SongDistro’s current situation.
“Designed for Real Artists”
Panagiotis’ message is ultimately straightforward: SongDistro wants to remain accessible to independent artists, but not at the expense of the artists it was created to serve.
The possibility of an invite-only system — alongside the potential return of a €15 setup fee — suggests the company is looking for ways to discourage abusive submissions while keeping its core service free for legitimate artists.
Whether SongDistro ultimately changes its registration model remains to be seen.
But its founder’s warning highlights a broader issue facing the modern music industry: as the cost of creating and distributing music continues to fall, identifying who actually owns the music being submitted may become just as important as getting that music onto streaming platforms in the first place.
For SongDistro, the challenge is finding the balance between keeping distribution accessible and making sure its infrastructure is being used by the artists and teams it was built to support.
