Yelen Lüle
Co-Founder of Lay Distribution
Yelen Lüle is a co-founder of Lay Distribution UG (haftungsbeschränkt), the music distribution company based in Karlsruhe, Germany, and one of its two managing directors.
Yelen writes the guides on this blog: how to release music, how royalties and payouts work, how to protect your rights and what the Lay plans include.
Guides by Yelen Lüle
- Releasing music on Spotify for free: what free actually costsSpotify takes no uploads of its own, a distributor has to deliver them. What a free route includes, where the hidden costs sit, and when a yearly fee is cheaper.Streaming and your rights10/25/20267 min read
- Music royalties explained: recording, publishing, and what reaches youTwo royalty streams, one distributor and a payout minimum. How streamshare works, why there is no per-stream rate, and what is left of a stream when it arrives.Streaming and your rights10/25/20268 min read
- DistroKid alternatives in Germany: fee, per release, or a shareDistroKid starts at 23.99 euro a year. TuneCore, CD Baby and Lay price differently. The three models with dated numbers, and what changes for artists in Germany.Digital distribution essentials10/25/20267 min read
- Releasing music without a label: what you take on, what stays yoursYou do not need a label to reach Spotify, but you do need a distributor. The rights you keep, the six jobs a label used to do, and what a release really costs.Digital distribution essentials10/25/20267 min read
- The Lay Free plan explained: $0, 70 percent yoursFree costs nothing and you keep 70 percent of Net Receipts. Why Lay reviews every application instead of self-signup, how payouts work, and where Pro differs.How Lay works10/22/20265 min read
- Spotify's 2026 rules for artists: 1,000 streams and fake streamsSpotify counts a track for recorded royalties only after 1,000 streams in 12 months, and artificial streams cost money. What that means for your next release.Streaming and your rights10/22/20266 min read
- How to release an album, step by stepA step-by-step album release plan: set a date, line up singles and pre-saves, get into the stores and keep the momentum after release day.Digital distribution essentials12/20/20248 min read
- How to promote your music on a small budgetSeven low-cost ways to get your music heard, from short videos and collaborations to playlists, email lists and local press.Digital distribution essentials12/12/20246 min read
- How to grow your streams on Spotify and beyondSix ways to grow your streams: a strong Spotify profile, playlists, social content, Spotify for Artists, other platforms and a steady release schedule.Digital distribution essentials12/12/20244 min read
- Payouts: when and how you get paidYour share of store revenue lands in your Lay Credit Account. From USD 20 you can request a payout, processed monthly by PayPal. Here is how it works.How Lay works2/1/20244 min read
- Switching distributors: how to move your catalog to LayMoving from another distributor? Keep your ISRC and UPC codes, match your metadata and time the switch so your music stays available. Here is how.Digital distribution essentials1/23/20246 min read
- How to protect your music rights worldwideWho owns what in a song, how to prove it in other countries, and what to check in an international record deal. A rights guide for artists.Digital distribution essentials1/15/20246 min read
- Why digital distribution matters for your musicTo reach Spotify, Apple Music and other big stores, you need a distributor. What distribution does for your music, and how to start with Lay.Digital distribution essentials1/11/20243 min read
- How to take down a release from the storesYou can take a release down from all stores or only some, at any time. Send us the release details by email or ask on the platform, and we tell the stores to remove it.How Lay works1/7/20244 min read
- Song licensing and copyright: what artists need to knowThe licenses that matter for your music, the rights copyright gives you, and why to sort both out before you upload to Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube.Streaming and your rights1/5/20246 min read
- How to get your music on Spotify and earn from itYou can't upload to Spotify directly. How to release through a distributor, set up your artist profile, promote your music and earn from streams.Streaming and your rights11/14/20236 min read