ComplaintsforDistroKid
Music Distribution Companies
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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
07/22/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
My release of a cover song through DistroKid. "Send in the Clowns," was deleted from stores June 14, 2024. However, on July 1, 2024, I was still charged the $12 music licensing fee.My release of a cover song through DistroKid. "Summer ******** was deleted from stores June 2, 2024. However, on July 15, 2024, I was still charged the $12 music licensing fee.DistroKid refuses to refund the two full amounts fraudulently auto-debited to my credit card, though the error was completely on their part, and instead refunded only half of both amounts.This is online consumer fraud.DistroKid charges $12/year licensing fees for online streams of less than ***** streams annually that would normally cost less than half that amount from ***************** directly. Their markup is over 100%. They are a scam that refuses full refunds after they auto-debit their fraudulent charges.Customer response
08/16/2024
Better Business Bureau:
At this time, I have not been contacted by DistroKid regarding complaint ID ********.I am still due a refund of $12.
Though the amount seems *****, the serious issue here is that DistroKid automatically charges a consumer's credit card without warrant and the refuses the refund the amount due to their internal error.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
***************Initial Complaint
07/15/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
Date of the Transaction:The issue began on Thu, Jul 4, 8:16AM when I attempted to withdraw my earnings from Distrokid.Which didnt go through and i was promoted me to update my payout information with Distrokid.Amount of Money Paid to the Business:I have $2,097.89 in earnings that I am unable to access due to a payout issue.What the Business Committed to Provide You:DistroKid committed to providing timely payouts of my music earnings and allowing artists to update their payout information as needed.Nature of the Dispute:The feature to edit my payout information has been blocked with a notification instructing me to contact support to enable the feature. Despite reaching out to DistroKid support multiple times over the past weeks, I have not received any assistance or resolution. This delay has caused significant hardship, including the inability to pay a hospital bill which contributed to the death of my father. I am devastated and urgently need access to these funds.Whether or Not the Business Has Tried to Resolve the Problem:I have reached out to DistroKid support numerous times over the past week, but I have not received any response or resolution. I also contacted *******, who stated the issue must be resolved by DistroKid.Additional Information:I have also sent an email directly to the *** of DistroKid, *************************, but received an automated response with no further follow-up. My support ticket number with DistroKid is [*******], and the email associated with the account is ******************************Customer response
08/09/2024
Better Business Bureau:
At this time, my complaint, ID ******** regarding DistroKid has been resolved.(By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)
Sincerely,
*******************Initial Complaint
07/15/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
The details of the issue are as follows:Unauthorized Plan Upgrade and Charge: DistroKid changed my plan without any authorization from me. They initially informed me that my plan was canceled, which I accepted. However, they subsequently upgraded my plan without my consent and charged my account more than the amount I had originally agreed to on my old plan. Inadequate Customer Support: I have attempted to resolve this issue through DistroKid's customer support. Unfortunately, their chatbot on their website does not work, rendering me unable to contact their support team to address this unauthorized transaction, and they do not provide other contact methods that are clear.This unauthorized action and lack of support are unacceptable. I am seeking an immediate refund of the unauthorized charges and a resolution to prevent such issues in the future.Initial Complaint
07/12/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
I had a subscription under my business email address because I manage music artists. I was charged $39.99 for two music artist songs to get a cut of the music spilt sheet percentage.Everything was going great until Apple iOS emailed me a receipt last month under my personal email address stating that they paid distrokid $89.99 for something I didn't authorize. I reached out to Apple to dispute the charge and Apple said I would have to reach out to Distrokid for a refund.I informed distrokid and at first they claimed they didn't charge my personal email address under my Apple iOS account and said they have no record of these charges. I then sent the Apple iOS receipt charge and my credit card charge. They still kept denying that they didn't make this charge under my personal email address despite both reciepts.Then, when I threaten to report the company to BBB and to my credit card company they replied back that they recognize both email addresses and they in fact confirmed that they made the unauthorized charges and they will not provide me a refund. This is why I'm reporting this company. I canceled my business email account for this illegal and unethical company and have the email receipts to prove how brazen they are to charge me without my authorization.Customer response
08/05/2024
Better Business Bureau:
At this time, I have not been contacted by DistroKid regarding complaint ID ********.
Sincerely,
******************************************Initial Complaint
07/08/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
Well here I am not even a step closer to Having any of my problems resolved I'm not even one step closer, Too having DistroKid respond Even though I sent thousands of emails hitting them up even on all social media. Funny it all started When I was 3 days late on my yearly payment which I made as you You can see On the screen shots I provided, on May 29th. Just to have had them already take my music temporarily out of the stores After making payment they never did put my music back even though it's in there distribution agreement contract. Then I get Ran in circles because the only form of help is an AI chat bot. Which in return only gives you generic answers even generic emails that have nothing to do with your problem I've tried to cancel And request my money back No luck as you can see I got a new email Telling me to update my credit card and please make a payment if I want my music to remain in stores!!!! Well my payment went through So they took By payment wich I got the receipt to prove it and here they are now trying to scam me for another payment To keep music that's not even put back stores!!! This the WORST ******************** I have ever Release my music through They stole all of my royalties Screwed me on 20 albums that I was making royalties on I even spent all that extra money on THERE legacy option so they couldn't pull it from stores but they did it anyway So if you want to work really hard for years and you want to get all your money stolen then pick them.Customer response
08/02/2024
Better Business Bureau:
At this time, I have not been contacted by DistroKid regarding complaint ID ********.
Sincerely,
*******************Initial Complaint
06/24/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
Royalties paid by streaming services to Distrokid on my Behalf which Distrokid has Deleted all earnings statements but i have some downloaded statements that i downloaded before they removed access to my earnings statements and earnings dissapeared . I upgraded my account on the 13th June paid for the upgarde never recived the upgrade and instead recived email attached stating they was no longer my distributer and to find a new one and literally stolen all my earnings , they refuse to respond to any email and i keep getting closed ticket and they never respond , ive requested refund and my fees and royalties and they wont answer or refund monies paid for subscription or earned royalties for my own music that they have taken payment for, im not to the only one they have done it to thousands of people. I have loads of emails where i have submitted a ticket on their online help service page chat bot that submits a query and it keeps coming back ticket closed so they are closing my ticket and not responding , ive reached out on ******* and i got a cut and paste response the same as the email but no further response , They have my royalties from my music earned from streaming services , they have monies i paid for membership subscription and I never recived the subscription upgrade and they wont respond to me or thousands of other people. I dont know where else to turn to as im in the ** (hence the issue with my postcode which is NP2 2nw but your system wouldnt accept ) I am appalied by the way i have been treated by this company , they have given no explanation why they are no longer my distributor they have stolen my royalties which are legaly mine from my music that they are keeping of which i have some attached proof of earnings from when i first started with them , as they can take 90 days to updare their systems its only a tiny part of my royalties a huge chunck is missing and they stopped my access to statements of earnings and removed earnings i had banked.Initial Complaint
06/18/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
Distrokid said that they were going to charge my card 7.45 instead they charged my card ***** and took all my money literally stole my money and I want it back I need my money asap I dont have ***** to be giving themInitial Complaint
06/10/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
around early February this year, the particular charge is the 6th, I signed up for Distrokid, paid for a yearly payment plan for them to have all my music/albums submitted to streaming services and online retailers. they offer a perk called "Leave a Legacy" for an additional optional charge if you wish to do that to keep your music up "indefinitely" so for the first album I submitted, I paid this.back in May now, I'm unsure of what exact date, all my stuff was just gone, all the albums, EPs, singles and everything without any reason, took me a while to get any response and it was just very vague claiming they couldn't tell me more and can't be involved any further regardless of the yearly payment plan, I specifically paid the extra $50 for my album to stay up no matter what and they've removed all my stuff, I paid for 1 cover license from them too, I sent multiple refund requests but they seem to be ignoring as it's been nearly 2 weeks, I have tried reaching out to them on social media pages as well and same resultsCustomer response
07/05/2024
Better Business Bureau:
At this time, I have not been contacted by DistroKid regarding complaint ID ********.
Sincerely,
*****************************Initial Complaint
05/31/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
My subscription has been cancelled with this company since September 2021 and they continuously take money from my account they took money 3 times and only refunded me one time and have not responded to any of my emailsInitial Complaint
05/22/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
On March 1, 2024, I discovered my new release of an entire cd (Jazzy **** Cool) of 14 songs was removed from Spotify by DistroKid. This was done without notification and all streaming money for over ****** streams were confiscated. I contacted Spotify and was told they didn't request anything be deleted and to contact DistroKid. I contacted DistroKid and was told without any proof that it was because artificial streams were created. I had 2 songs that were on playlists and these major playlists are still listed on Spotify, but DistroKid deleted the whole cd. In addition, my followers dropped from ***** to 7 because the busted all of my links from all my advertising, websites and posts. Attached is DistroKids chatbox text and Spotify's chat stating they request any deletion.Customer response
06/16/2024
Better Business Bureau:
At this time, I have not been contacted by DistroKid regarding complaint ID ********.
Sincerely,
*************************
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Customer Complaints Summary
110 total complaints in the last 3 years.
70 complaints closed in the last 12 months.