Cancelling a distribution subscription? How to protect earnings that are still on the way

Why earnings can still be pending

Streaming services report and pay earnings with a delay, often one to three months after the streams happen. Your distributor then pays you on its own schedule, usually once your balance reaches a minimum. So when you cancel, part of your earnings may not have reached your account yet.

What to check in your plan's terms

• Your releases: whether they stay live, are taken down or can be kept for a fee when the plan ends. Some subscription services remove releases when a plan lapses; check the renewal and takedown terms of your service.
• Account access: whether you can still sign in and withdraw after cancelling, and for how long.
• Minimum payout: what happens to a balance below the minimum when the account closes.
• Late income: how earnings reported after cancellation, for example from YouTube Content ID, are paid.

Steps before you cancel

• Withdraw your available balance first.
• Keep the account open until the last statement you expect has arrived, if your plan allows it.
• Download your statements and keep a record of streams and earnings.
• Ask support in writing how remaining earnings will be paid, and keep the answer.
• Keep your ISRC and UPC codes in case you deliver the same releases elsewhere.

Our distributor comparison lists the renewal and takedown terms that individual companies publish, with a source link for each row.

How this works at Mazufa

Mazufa charges no upload fee, no subscription and no per-release fee, so there is no renewal to keep up. The revenue share and payment terms are set out in your written agreement, which you can read before you sign, and you keep ownership of your recordings. See how pricing works.

Summary

Cancel when you know where every pending payment stands, not before. Reading the cancellation and payout terms first is the simplest protection.