Horus Music

United Kingdom • ManchesterFounded 2006Hybrid

Horus Music is a UK-based digital music distributor founded in 2006, offering unlimited distribution to 150+ stores for £20/year (approximately $25/year) with 100% royalty retention. Also offers pay-per-release pricing for artists who prefer not to subscribe. Distributes to stores in Asia and China through direct DSP deals. Based in Manchester, England.

Contact & HQ

No contact information listed.

Quick Facts

Pricing model:Hybrid

Royalty split:100% to artist on all plans

Stores:150+

Delivery speed:Not prominently stated

Distribution Features

Pricing Details

Unlimited Artist: £20/year (~$25/year, unlimited releases, 100% royalties). Label subscriptions: £30/year (2 artists), £70/year (5 artists), £120/year (10 artists). Pay-per-release: £25/single (1-3 tracks), £35/EP (4-6 tracks), £45/album (7+ tracks), 100% royalties, stays online forever.

Publishing Administration

Not prominently featured as a service.

YouTube Content ID

Yes. Distribution to Content ID services including YouTube Content ID.

Sync Licensing

Not prominently featured.

Royalty Splits

Not prominently featured.

Release Protection

Yes on pay-per-release. Releases stay online forever including posthumously unless you request takedown. No subscription needed.

AI Music Policy

Not publicly stated.

Horus Music is a UK-based digital music distributor founded in 2006 in Manchester, England. It offers unlimited distribution to 150+ stores for £20 per year (approximately $25) with 100% royalty retention, making it one of the more affordable subscription options. Horus Music also offers a pay-per-release model for artists who prefer not to commit to a subscription, with releases staying online forever. The company has direct deals with DSPs, cutting out middlemen to deliver a larger share of royalties back to artists, and distributes to stores in Asia and China that some competitors do not reach.

Pricing and Plans

Horus Music offers two pricing models:

Unlimited Distribution (Subscription)

Artist Account: £20/year (~$25/year). Unlimited releases for 1 artist, 100% royalties, distribution to 150+ stores worldwide including Asia.
Label Accounts: £30/year (up to 2 artists), £70/year (up to 5 artists), £120/year (up to 10 artists). All label features for every artist on the roster.

Pay-Per-Release (One-Time)

Single (1-3 tracks): £25 (~$32)
EP (4-6 tracks): £35 (~$45)
Album (7+ tracks): £45 (~$58)
100% of all royalties paid out on the 15th of each month
Releases stay online forever, including posthumously, unless you request takedown
No subscription needed
Free barcode and ISRC codes
Automatic delivery to new stores as partnerships are secured, including back catalog at no extra cost

The pay-per-release model is similar to CD Baby's approach: pay once, stay live forever. But Horus Music charges 0% commission versus CD Baby's 9%. The trade-off is higher upfront per-release costs.

What Sets Horus Music Apart

Direct DSP deals: Horus Music has direct agreements with DSPs rather than routing through aggregators. This means more of the royalty pie reaches the artist.
Asian market coverage: Distributes to stores in Asia and China that some competitors do not reach, including regional platforms.
Pay-per-release with 0% commission: Unlike CD Baby's 9% commission on its pay-per-release model, Horus Music charges 0% commission. You pay more upfront but keep everything you earn.
Posthumous release protection: On the pay-per-release model, releases stay online even after the artist's death unless explicitly requested for takedown.
Automatic new store delivery: When Horus Music secures new platform partnerships, your existing catalog is delivered automatically at no extra cost.

Submission and Upload Process

Create an account through the Horus Music client portal.
Choose between unlimited subscription or pay-per-release.
Upload audio files and cover art.
Enter release metadata. Horus Music generates ISRC and UPC codes for free.
Select stores and territories (150+ worldwide including Asia).
Submit for distribution.

Horus Music provides a dedicated support team available via email and phone.

Drawbacks and Things to Consider

Less feature-rich than competitors. Horus Music does not prominently offer publishing admin, sync licensing, automated royalty splits, or advanced analytics. It is a straightforward distribution service without the extras that DistroKid, TuneCore, or Symphonic provide.
Pay-per-release is more expensive upfront than CD Baby. £45 (~$58) for an album versus CD Baby's $14.99. The trade-off is 0% commission versus 9%, so it becomes cheaper once the album earns more than approximately $478 (9% of $478 = $43, the difference in upfront cost).
Limited online presence and reviews. Horus Music has a smaller market presence than DistroKid, TuneCore, or CD Baby. Fewer independent reviews and community discussions make it harder to assess reliability at scale.
No free tier. The cheapest entry point is £20/year (~~$25) or £25 (~~$32) per single on pay-per-release.
No publishing admin. You need separate PRO and MLC registration.
Limited information on delivery speed. Horus Music does not prominently publish delivery timeframes, making it harder to plan release schedules.

Who Horus Music Is Best For

Horus Music is best for artists who want simple, affordable distribution with 100% royalty retention and strong Asian market coverage. The £20/year unlimited plan is competitively priced, and the pay-per-release model with 0% commission is attractive for artists who want permanence without CD Baby's 9% cut. The direct DSP deals and Asian store coverage are genuine advantages for artists with audiences in those regions.

Horus Music is less ideal for artists who need publishing admin, sync licensing, automated royalty splits, or advanced analytics. It is a no-frills distributor focused on getting music to stores efficiently. If you need a full-featured platform, TuneCore, Symphonic, or Ditto offer more services at similar or slightly higher price points.