Autohype vs CD Baby — distribution vs promotion. Do you need both?
CD Baby gets your music on Spotify and Apple Music. Autohype gets people to listen to it. They're not really competitors — but if you're deciding where the next slice of your budget goes, here's the honest comparison.
What is CD Baby?
CD Baby is one of the oldest independent music distributors. They distribute your music to 150+ streaming platforms, collect royalties, and offer add-on services like CD Baby Pro Publishing (for publishing royalty collection) and CD Baby Music Supervision (for sync pitching). Cost: $9.95 per single, $29 per album (one-time), plus 9% revenue share on royalties.
Side-by-side comparison
| 🎵 Autohype | CD Baby | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary function | Marketplace of real promoters you hire to grow your listener base | Music distribution to streaming platforms |
| Cost | From $10 per order — you pay only for what you book | $9.95/single or $29/album + 9% royalty cut |
| What it does for discovery | Puts your track in front of a creator's or curator's existing audience | Makes your music available on platforms — no active promotion |
| Spotify growth | Active — hired promoters send listeners toward your streaming profile | No active listener growth — passive availability only |
| Royalty collection | Not applicable — Autohype is a promotion marketplace | Collects streaming + performance royalties via CD Baby Pro |
| Publishing admin | Not included | CD Baby Pro: $39/year for publishing royalty registration |
| Revenue share | None — you pay per order, nothing recurring | 9% of all royalties collected |
| Best use | Post-distribution: driving the audience to find your music | Pre-promotion: getting your music onto platforms where listeners can find it |
Information verified June 2026. Competitor pricing and features may change, check their official site for current details.
Autohype may not be right for you if…
- You want guaranteed streams, followers or virality — no Autohype seller guarantees results, only real promotional work with a defined deliverable.
- You're looking for label deals, radio plugging or A&R introductions — Autohype sells promotion services, not industry access.
- You want a fully managed, hands-off campaign — on a marketplace, you choose the sellers and place the orders yourself.
- You haven't distributed your music yet — you need a distributor (DistroKid, TuneCore, etc.) so listeners can find your track before promoting it.
Which is right for you?
Artists who are already distributed and want real people promoting the release, booked order by order from $10.
Explore the marketplace →Artists who need to distribute their first track and want a legacy platform with royalty collection built in.
Find the right promotion service
Compare real sellers, clear deliverables, prices and delivery times before you order.
Browse services →Frequently asked questions
Should I use CD Baby or DistroKid?
For most independent artists in 2026, DistroKid ($23/year for unlimited releases, no royalty cut) is better value than CD Baby ($9.95/single + 9% royalty share). CD Baby Pro has strong publishing admin if you need that. For pure distribution + royalty collection, DistroKid + Songtrust is the better stack.
Can I use Autohype with CD Baby distributed music?
Yes — Autohype sellers promote any music that is live on Spotify and TikTok Sound, regardless of distributor. CD Baby, DistroKid, TuneCore, LANDR — doesn't matter. The distribution platform and the promotion marketplace are completely separate.
Does CD Baby have any TikTok promotion features?
CD Baby distributes your music to TikTok's sound library, so other creators can use it. What they don't do is put anybody behind that sound. On Autohype you hire the creator who actually posts with it — the active step CD Baby's distribution makes possible but doesn't provide.
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