ST Digital and Gallery Vision are the two most searched free music distributors in India. Both genuinely charge ₹0 upfront to release your music on Spotify, JioSaavn, and 100-200+ platforms. The catch is how free models earn: typically through a revenue share on your earnings, and through paid add-ons. Neither publicly commits to caller tune payouts on all four Indian networks, so confirm your exact terms in writing before uploading.
That is the summary. The rest of this review explains how each platform actually works, where the free model helps you, where it quietly costs you, and the five questions to ask before you upload a single song.
Full disclosure upfront, as always in our review series: The Black Turn is a paid distributor, so we compete with free models. That is exactly why this review sticks to publicly verifiable facts and tells you honestly when free is the right choice. We followed the same approach in our RouteNote review and Amuse vs The Black Turn comparison, and both of those free platforms got genuine credit where deserved.
How “Free” Distribution Actually Works
No company distributes music for free out of charity. Free models earn in one of three ways:
- Revenue share: the distributor takes a percentage of everything your song earns, usually 10-20%, forever. RouteNote’s 15% is the transparent example of this.
- Freemium upsell: free tier is limited, and the features you actually need (faster delivery, analytics, Content ID, priority support) sit behind paid plans.
- Aggregation volume: thousands of free artists give the company catalogue scale and negotiating power, plus a funnel for their paid services.
Most free distributors combine all three. This is not a scam, it is a business model. The problem starts only when the exact terms are unclear, which brings us to our two subjects. If you are completely new to this world, read what music distribution is and how it works first.
ST Digital Review
What it is: ST Digital launched in 2012 and operates across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Australia, and the US. It positions itself as the first distribution company built around a free-first model, delivering to 150-200+ stores including the Indian platforms that matter: JioSaavn, Wynk, Gaana, plus Spotify, Apple Music, Instagram, and Boomplay.
What is genuinely good:
- Real ₹0 upfront. No joining fee, no credit card. For an artist with zero budget, the barrier to entry is truly gone.
- Strong Indian platform coverage. Unlike international free options, Indian stores are core to their delivery network, not an afterthought.
- Video distribution included. Music video delivery to platforms including Vevo is rare in free tiers anywhere.
- Long track record. 13+ years of operation is meaningful in an industry where distributors shut down regularly. What happens when one does is covered in our distributor shutdown recovery guide.
What to check before signing:
- The exact revenue share. ST Digital’s own material says artists “only pay when they start earning,” which describes a revenue share model, but the exact percentage is not clearly published. Get the number in writing.
- Caller tune terms. CRBT appears in their content, but a clear commitment to royalty-paying caller tune delivery on Jio, Airtel, Vi, and BSNL is not publicly stated. If caller tune revenue is part of your plan, and for most Indian genres it should be, confirm coverage and payout terms before uploading.
- Paid plan pricing. Free is the entry, paid plans exist. Compare those prices against one-time alternatives before upgrading, using the framework in our free-to-paid switching guide.
Gallery Vision Review
What it is: Gallery Vision is a distribution and rights management company offering free uploads with no joining fee to 100-150+ platforms, plus publishing administration, YouTube monetization, and sync services. It is a YouTube Certified and Spotify Preferred content provider, with claimed delivery speeds of 1-2 days.
What is genuinely good:
- Free with fast delivery. No upfront cost and a claimed 1-2 day turnaround is competitive even against paid services.
- Rights services under one roof. Publishing administration, neighboring rights, and DRM services are unusual to find attached to a free distributor.
- Platform certifications. YouTube Certified and Spotify Preferred status are real credentials that many small distributors lack.
What to check before signing:
- The 100% royalty question. This is the big one. Gallery Vision’s website says artists keep 100% royalties in several places, while its official partnership messaging describes the model as “purely revenue-sharing.” Both statements cannot describe the same deal. The likely explanation is different terms for different plans or deal types, which is normal, but it means the number that matters is the one in YOUR agreement, not the one on the homepage. This is exactly the vague-royalty red flag we documented in our distribution agreement red flags checklist.
- Cover song licensing costs extra. Mechanical licenses for covers are a paid add-on.
- Caller tune coverage. Same as ST Digital: no clear public commitment to royalty-paying CRBT across all four networks. Confirm in writing.
- Small public review footprint. Very few independent reviews exist online, which means less community experience to learn from. Not a red flag by itself, but it puts more weight on reading your own agreement carefully.
ST Digital vs Gallery Vision vs The Alternatives
| Factor | ST Digital | Gallery Vision | RouteNote Free | The Black Turn |
| Upfront cost | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹599-799 one-time |
| Revenue share | Not clearly published | Conflicting public info | 15% (transparent) | 5% (95% to artist) |
| Indian platforms | Strong | Good | Decent | Guaranteed |
| Caller tune (all 4 networks) | Confirm in writing | Confirm in writing | No | Yes, included |
| Video distribution | Yes | Yes | No | Plan dependent |
| Track record | Since 2012 | 20+ years claimed | Since 2007 | 10,000+ artists |
| Lifetime releases | Terms dependent | Terms dependent | Yes (15% forever) | Yes, one-time payment |
The Real Math: Free vs ₹599 One-Time
Here is the calculation every free-distribution artist should run. Assume a typical free-model revenue share of 10-20%:
- Your song earns ₹5,000 in year one. Free costs you ₹500-1,000. One-time ₹599 at 95% royalty costs you ₹599 plus 5% (₹250). Already roughly equal.
- Same song over 5 years earns ₹25,000. Free has cost ₹2,500-5,000 and keeps charging. One-time cost ₹599 plus ₹1,250 in royalty share, total under ₹1,850, and includes caller tune revenue that free plans never generated.
Free is cheapest only when your song earns almost nothing. The moment it works, free becomes the expensive option. The same math sank RouteNote’s free plan in our review, and it applies to every revenue share model. Full pricing traps across the industry are catalogued in our hidden charges guide.
When Free Genuinely Makes Sense
Honest section. Choose ST Digital or Gallery Vision if:
- You have literally ₹0 budget and an unreleased song sitting idle. A live song at any terms beats a dead file.
- You are testing whether music is for you, with no expectation of earnings yet.
- You release experimental or high-volume content where per-song economics do not matter.
Avoid free models if your songs earn or will earn, if caller tune revenue matters, or if you want terms you can read on a public pricing page. And if you start free and grow, move correctly: our switching distributors without losing streams guide covers ISRC carry-forward so your stream counts survive the move.
5 Questions to Ask Before Uploading (In Writing)
- What exact percentage of my revenue do you keep, on every source: streaming, YouTube, social?
- What is the payout threshold, schedule, and method?
- Do you deliver caller tunes to Jio, Airtel, Vi, and BSNL, and do I get CRBT royalties?
- If I leave, what is the takedown process, timeline, and fee, and do I keep my ISRC codes?
- What happens to my live catalogue if your company changes terms or shuts down?
Screenshot the answers. If any reply is vague, treat the vagueness as the answer. If a distributor is already holding your money or royalties, our royalty resolution guide and refund process guide walk through recovery step by step.
FAQ: ST Digital & Gallery Vision
Is ST Digital really free?
Yes, ₹0 upfront. The company earns as you earn, which means a revenue share. Get the exact percentage in writing.
Does Gallery Vision pay 100% royalties?
Its public pages say 100% in some places and revenue-sharing in others. Your agreement is the only number that counts. Confirm before uploading.
Do either offer caller tunes?
Neither publicly commits to royalty-paying CRBT on all four networks. Confirm in writing, or use a distributor where caller tune is standard.
Is free distribution worth it?
For testing with zero budget, yes. Once a song earns a few thousand rupees a year, one-time paid distribution becomes cheaper.
Which of the two is better?
ST Digital for Indian platform depth and track record, Gallery Vision for speed and rights services. Both need the same written-terms diligence.
What is the best alternative?
For India-focused artists, The Black Turn: ₹599-799 one-time, lifetime distribution, 95% royalty published openly, caller tune on all networks, and Hindi support. Full market comparison in best music distribution companies in India 2026.
Verdict: Both 3/5, With the Same Asterisk
ST Digital and Gallery Vision are legitimate free options, not scams, and for a zero-budget beginner either one beats leaving a song unreleased. ST Digital edges ahead for Indian artists on platform depth and history.
The shared asterisk: free means the price is somewhere else, and at both companies that somewhere is not clearly published. Ask the five questions, get answers in writing, and re-run the math the day your song starts earning. When that day comes, a one-time ₹599 with The Black Turn, 95% royalty in writing, and caller tune included is usually where the math points. If it is your first release, start with our first-time artist guide.
