Get Your AI Music on Spotify: The DistroKid Guide

Generating AI music is the beginning of a workflow, not the end. A track that only exists on your hard drive or your Suno account generates no income and reaches no audience. Distribution — the process of getting your music onto Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, and other streaming platforms — transforms AI-generated audio into a working creative business. DistroKid is the most popular distributor for independent artists and AI music creators, charging a flat annual fee of around $22.99 for unlimited uploads rather than taking a percentage of royalties.

This guide covers the complete workflow from Suno generation to Spotify placement, with specific attention to the metadata decisions that affect discoverability, the licensing considerations that affect monetisation, and the catalogue strategy that affects long-term streaming income.

Step 1: Generate and Download Your Track

Start in RaagEngine. Use the generator to build a precise prompt for the style of music you want to release. For Spotify distribution, you need a complete, polished track — not a demo or a rough generation. Generate multiple variations of your prompt and select the best one. Download the audio file from your Suno account (requires a paid plan for commercial licensing — the free tier does not include commercial use rights).

Audio quality matters for streaming platforms. Suno exports at high quality MP3, which Spotify accepts. If you are targeting audiophile platforms like Tidal or Qobuz, consider whether WAV export is available for your Suno plan. DistroKid accepts both MP3 and WAV uploads.

Step 2: Understand Licensing Before You Upload

This is the step most AI music creators skip, and it is the most important. Suno's commercial licensing terms specify what you can and cannot do with generated music. As of 2026, Suno Pro and Premier plan subscribers receive commercial rights that allow streaming distribution. The free plan does not. Read the current terms at suno.com before uploading anything to DistroKid. DistroKid's terms also require that you own or control the rights to everything you upload — uploading AI music you do not have commercial rights to is a terms of service violation on both platforms.

Step 3: Metadata — The Most Underestimated Part

Metadata is the information attached to your track in the streaming databases: artist name, track title, album title, genre, release date, ISRC code, and songwriter credits. Getting metadata right determines whether your music is discoverable on Spotify and whether you collect all the royalties you are owed.

Artist name: Choose a consistent, searchable name. If you are building an AI music channel around a specific genre — Indian classical ambient, for example — your artist name should reflect that identity. Consistency across all releases builds a recognisable catalogue.

Genre selection: Spotify uses genre tags to place your music in algorithmic playlists. Being specific and accurate matters. "Ambient" and "New Age" are the most appropriate primary genres for sleep and meditation music. "Hip-Hop/Rap" for lo-fi and trap beats. "World Music" for Indian classical and global fusion. If your music genuinely spans multiple genres, the primary genre should be the one with the largest relevant audience for your specific track.

ISRC codes: DistroKid automatically assigns ISRC codes to each track — these are the unique identifiers that ensure royalty payments are attributed to the correct recording. Keep records of your ISRCs as your catalogue grows.

Step 4: Cover Art Requirements

Every Spotify release needs cover art at minimum 3000x3000 pixels, in JPEG or PNG format, with no streaming platform logos, no explicit content, and no misleading artist/title information. For AI music creators, generating cover art using tools like Midjourney or DALL-E is common practice. Match the visual aesthetic to the musical aesthetic — a Raag Yaman ambient track should not have Western rock concert artwork.

Building a Streaming Income Strategy

Single tracks on Spotify earn fractions of a cent per stream. The business model for AI music on streaming platforms is volume and catalogue depth, not individual track performance. Creators who release 50–100 tracks across multiple genres and styles — particularly high-demand genres like sleep music, study music, and meditation — build passive income streams that compound over time. RaagEngine's generator makes creating this volume of varied, high-quality content feasible in a way that was impossible before AI music generation existed.