UnitedMasters $5 tier giving artists 100% royalties

The UnitedMasters app, which is available on iOS and Android, lets users release their music, check their streams and keep track of how much money they’re making directly from their device.

Select costs $5 per month and gives artists 100% of their royalties. The alternative option is the free tier where artists keep 90% of their royalties with the remainder going to the music distributor.

“Disruption and democratisation are in our DNA,” UnitedMasters founder and CEO Steve Stoute said. "We’re tearing down the construct of ‘gatekeepers' and putting independent artists in front of the biggest brands, allowing them to choose the terms of their deal, and maintain 100% ownership of their careers – all from their phone.”

The company says musicians using Select will have their music live on major streaming platforms in 10 days or less. Users will also get exclusive distribution opportunities through its growing partnerships with big brands in music, video games and sports. Some of the brands include Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, the NBA, Cash App and Twitch.

Additionally, UnitedMasters also announced a new partnership with sports broadcaster ESPN. The deal will see ESPN choosing music from artists on Select to use in its sports shows and promote their content. The collaboration is expected to deepen ESPN’s reach with diverse audiences.

“ESPN has always covered the intersection of sports and culture, and music plays a key role in that," ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro said. "We’re looking forward to strengthening that connection through this new collaboration with UnitedMasters, while at the same time giving up-and-coming artists a platform for national exposure to showcase their music to a broad, diverse and engaged audience of fans.”

UnitedMasters was launched in 2017 and says more than 50 000 artists have signed up to the platform in the last 18 months. It boasts over 500 000 distributed tracks and 5 billion streams.

Interested users can sign up for Select here.