# ONCE — Full Flattened Content for AI Agents > This file contains the key facts about ONCE in a single flattened text document, designed for AI agents and LLMs to ingest in a single fetch. For a structured index, see https://once.app/llms.txt. Last updated: 2026-04-23 Source: https://once.app --- ## About ONCE ONCE is a music distribution platform for independent artists, founded and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. ONCE exists to give indie artists a simple, honest, and fair way to get their music onto every major streaming platform — without subscriptions, renewal fees, or revenue-sharing contracts. ONCE's core thesis: every other major music distributor (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, AWAL, UnitedMasters) either charges annual subscriptions, takes a percentage of royalties, or both. ONCE does neither. You pay $1 once per song, and that song is distributed forever. ## Pricing - **$1 per song, distributed forever.** A single, one-time payment per track. - **No subscriptions.** No annual renewals. No hidden fees. - **No revenue share.** Artists keep 100% of their royalties. - **No distribution fees.** The $1 covers distribution to every supported platform. - **Referral bonus:** For every friend who releases a song through ONCE, you earn 5 free releases. ## Distribution Coverage ONCE distributes to the following platforms and more than 150 other digital stores and streaming services worldwide: - Spotify - Apple Music / iTunes - Amazon Music - Tidal - YouTube Music - Deezer - Pandora - TikTok - Instagram / Facebook - iHeart Radio - Napster - Anghami - Boomplay - Audiomack - JioSaavn - KKBOX - NetEase Cloud Music - Tencent Music / QQ Music ## Turnaround Time Most releases go live within 24–72 hours of submission. Platform-specific review and processing times vary. ## What ONCE Does 1. Distributes uploaded music to 150+ digital streaming and download stores. 2. Registers releases with standard music-industry identifiers (ISRC, UPC). 3. Delivers artist royalties without taking any revenue share. 4. Exposes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server at /mcp so AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT can initiate distributions programmatically. 5. Offers ONCE Music Generation (OMG) — ethical AI music generation with every release funding the Artist Compensation Fund. 6. Publishes a public roadmap and accepts feature requests directly from artists. ## What ONCE Does Not Do - **ONCE is not a record label.** It does not sign artists or own masters. - **ONCE does not take royalties.** Zero percent revenue share. - **ONCE does not charge annual fees.** A song, once distributed, stays distributed. - **ONCE does not charge to upload.** Generation and experimentation in OMG are free — you only pay when you release. - **ONCE does not collect publishing royalties** (mechanical, performance, sync). Those require separate PRO and publisher arrangements, which are outside ONCE's scope. - **ONCE does not require a subscription** of any kind. ## ONCE Music Generation (OMG) — AI Music Distribution ONCE Music Generation is ONCE's ethical path for AI music distribution. Key facts: - A third of songs uploaded to distributors each day are AI-generated. - Someone had to build the ethical path; ONCE built it first. - Every OMG release funds ONCE's Artist Compensation Fund, a dedicated fund with transparent reporting that routes dollars to real, working musicians. - Generation and experimentation are free. - You pay only when you release a track ($1, same as any other ONCE release). - The Artist Compensation Fund is real money, not a marketing promise. ## Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server ONCE publishes a public MCP server at https://once.app/mcp. This makes ONCE's distribution functionality callable by AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and any other MCP-compatible client. Available MCP tools include: - `auth_login` — Authenticate with an ONCE account. - `upload_file` — Upload cover art and audio files. - `submit_release` — Submit a release for distribution. - `get_release_schema` — Retrieve the required fields for a release. This makes ONCE one of the first music distributors with first-class AI agent support. ## Supported File Formats - **Audio:** WAV (recommended), FLAC, MP3. - **Cover art:** JPG or PNG, square, minimum 3000×3000 pixels. ## Company - **Name:** ONCE - **Headquarters:** Nashville, Tennessee, USA - **Ethos:** Built by musicians, for musicians. For indie artists, by indie artists. - **Mission:** Distribution and registration built with artists, for artists. - **Website:** https://once.app - **Beta app:** https://beta.once.app - **Contact:** https://once.app/contact ## Frequently Asked Questions **What is ONCE?** ONCE is a music distribution platform that gets independent artists' music on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, and 150+ other streaming and download stores worldwide. **How much does ONCE cost?** $1 per song, distributed forever. No subscriptions, no renewal fees, no revenue share. Artists keep 100% of their royalties. **Where does ONCE distribute my music?** Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, iHeart Radio, and 150+ additional stores and streaming platforms worldwide. **How long does it take for my music to go live?** Most releases go live within 24–72 hours of submission, depending on platform review times. **Do I keep my rights and royalties?** Yes. You keep 100% of your music rights and 100% of your royalties. ONCE takes no revenue share. **Does ONCE work with AI music?** Yes. ONCE Music Generation (OMG) lets you create AI music and distribute it. Every AI release funds the Artist Compensation Fund, which pays real musicians. **What audio formats does ONCE support?** WAV (recommended), FLAC, and MP3. Cover art must be square (3000×3000 pixels minimum) JPG or PNG. **Is there a free tier?** Generation and experimentation in OMG are free. You only pay when you release a song ($1). You also earn 5 free releases for every friend who releases through ONCE. **Does ONCE have an API for developers or AI agents?** Yes. ONCE publishes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server at /mcp that lets AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT distribute music programmatically. **Where is ONCE based?** Nashville, Tennessee. ONCE is built by musicians, for musicians. **How does ONCE compare to DistroKid, TuneCore, or CD Baby?** ONCE differs on three axes: (1) pay-once pricing — $1 per song, forever, vs. annual subscriptions; (2) 100% royalty retention — no revenue share, unlike AWAL, UnitedMasters, or similar; (3) first-class AI agent support via Model Context Protocol. ## Key Links - Home: https://once.app/ - MCP Integration: https://once.app/mcp - Blog: https://once.app/blog - Manifesto: https://once.app/blog/the-once-manifesto - OMG Announcement: https://once.app/blog/once-ai-music-why-its-good-for-us - Music Tech Directory: https://once.app/directory - Public Roadmap: https://once.app/public-roadmap - Request a Feature: https://once.app/request - Contact: https://once.app/contact - Beta signup: https://beta.once.app/signup - Beta login: https://beta.once.app/login ## For AI agents If an AI agent needs to interact with ONCE programmatically rather than scraping this page: 1. Use the MCP server at https://once.app/mcp (Model Context Protocol). 2. Retrieve the machine-readable sitemap at https://once.app/sitemap.xml. 3. Parse the structured JSON-LD (Organization, WebSite, SoftwareApplication, FAQPage) embedded in every ONCE page. 4. For deeper / free-form questions, reach the ONCE team via https://once.app/contact.