Here’s something distributors don’t explain clearly until it’s too late. When your music is taken down for illegal or artificial streaming, your account doesn’t just lose songs — it gets limited. And once your account is limited, paying for distribution becomes pointless.

This isn’t theory. This is experience.

I paid $99 for a full year plan, expecting what any artist would expect: the ability to distribute music consistently. Instead, my account was restricted due to streaming issues, and even after paying for the annual plan, I was unable to release music through the platform.

You can pay in full, on time, and still be locked out of distribution.

That’s where the real problem starts. These platforms will still happily charge your card, but they don’t have proper systems in place to pause billing, offer partial refunds, or clearly warn users that paying while limited is a waste of money.

SoundCloud distribution works the same way. Once an account is flagged or limited, your access to upload and distribute is restricted. But the billing system? Fully functional. No warnings. No safeguards. Just charges.

DistroKid isn’t exempt either. If your account is limited or flagged, your ability to distribute is affected — yet subscriptions continue like nothing happened. There’s no real infrastructure to handle edge cases where artists are paying but can’t actually use the service.

If your account is limited, you are paying for a service you cannot use.

This creates a dangerous situation for independent artists, especially newer ones. You think you’re “covered for the year,” but in reality, you’re stuck paying for access that no longer exists. That money could be going toward marketing, content creation, or platforms that actually support independent creators.

Distributors are quick to enforce penalties for artificial streaming — and that’s fair. But they are slow, vague, or silent when it comes to protecting the artist financially once an account is restricted.

There needs to be a clear system:

• Automatic billing pauses when accounts are limited
• Clear notices before charging annual plans
• Transparent explanations of what access is removed
• Fair refund or credit options

Until that happens, artists need to be extremely careful. If your music is taken down for streaming violations, do not assume paying for a yearly plan will fix it. In many cases, it won’t.

Paying doesn’t restore access. It just confirms the charge.

This is why independent artists need platforms built by people who actually understand the grind. Transparency matters. Systems matter. Respect for creators matters.

If you’re serious about learning how to move smarter in this industry — not just upload blindly — MixtapeHustler.com breaks down the real rules, real risks, and real strategies artists need to survive and win.

Don’t waste money learning the hard way. Learn from experience. Learn from MixtapeHustler.com.