Nobody publishes real numbers, so every artist relearns this from scratch. Here's the honest range for a single release, line by line — not a package deal, not an influencer's course, just what things cost.

These are 2026 US indie ranges — your city, your genre, and your relationships move every one of these numbers. The point of our Shipped gallery is real figures from real projects, not estimates like these.

A few things worth knowing going in. Studio day rates swing with the engineer, not just the room — a well-reviewed freelance engineer working from a home setup can beat a name studio on price and turnaround. Mixing and mastering are frequently bundled by the same person for less than buying them separately, ask. Distribution is nearly free (most aggregators are a flat annual fee or free-with-cut), so if someone quotes you hundreds for "distribution," that's a markup, not a real cost. Cover art scales entirely with whether you're paying a working illustrator or licensing a photo and doing type yourself — both are legitimate, they're just different budgets. PR is the widest range on this table because it's the least standardized service in the industry: a single well-connected playlist pitcher can cost less than a full agency retainer and get better results for a bedroom release.

Eight weeks is the minimum runway for a release that wants editorial playlist consideration and a real press push. You can ship faster — plenty of great records do — but you're trading away pitch windows you can't get back once they've closed.

The single biggest mistake we see: treating editorial pitching as an afterthought. Spotify and Apple Music editorial teams generally want submissions at least four weeks before release — miss that window and you're relying entirely on algorithmic and fan discovery, which is fine, but it's a different plan than the one you probably had.

Nobody tells emerging artists this until it's a surprise in April, so we say it up front, to everyone, whether you apply to us or not.

Grants of $600 or more are taxable income. If a fund, foundation, or company gives you $600+ in a calendar year, US tax law requires them to report it to the IRS on a 1099-MISC, Box 3 ("other income"), and to send you a copy. That form isn't optional paperwork — it means the IRS already knows you received the money, so it needs to show up on your return.

Practically, that means: set aside roughly 25–30%of any grant for taxes, in a separate account you don't touch, the day it lands. Self-employment tax plus federal (and possibly state) income tax adds up fast on 1099 income, since nothing was withheld the way it would be from a paycheck. If your total freelance/grant income for the year is meaningful, you may also owe quarterly estimated taxes, not just a lump sum in April.

This is also why we collect a W-9 at acceptance, not at payout. It's the standard form that gives us your legal name and taxpayer ID so we can file the 1099 correctly and on time. Every legitimate grantor asks for one; if a fund never asks you for a W-9, that's worth asking about.

One more thing that surprises people: vendor-direct payments reduce what lands on your 1099. We pay your studio, your mastering engineer, or your venue directly whenever possible instead of routing the full amount through you first. Money paid straight to a vendor for services rendered isn't income to you the same way cash in your account is — it lowers your reportable total and your tax bill, while the work still gets fully paid for.