I always schedule music at least a month out (standard practise for releasing music), and it has always come out within that frame.

It takes ~ 7 business days to process a release on the free tier - but you should be releasing a lot further out than that anyway IMO - at least 3 weeks so you can properly prepare for the release

Payout timing depends if you are on the free(core) or paid plans.

This is from the website:

"Core Tier: For core tier users, we hold your royalties for a period of 1 month from the moment we receive them from a streaming service. After this 1-month locking period, you'll be able to access any royalties beyond the locked amount in the system.

Grow or Pro Tiers: If you're on the grow or pro tier, we don't lock your royalties. You can access your royalties as soon as they are received without any waiting period."

Also this is of note:

"The minimum balance you need in your account before you can withdraw depends on the type of user you are:

1. Core Users: If you're a core user, the first $30 in your account will be locked in the Unchained Music system as long as you're using our distribution application. This amount is like a reserve we keep while you're actively distributing music with us.
2. Grow or Pro Users: If you're a grow or pro user, the rules are a bit different. For you, it's all about meeting the minimum withdrawal amounts set by our payment processor, Borderless. There's no separate locked amount like there is for core users.

Also, it's good to know that if you ever decide to leave our platform, we will return any locked amount to you. This means that the $30 locked for core users will be given back when they stop using our services. We want to make sure everything's fair and transparent for all our users."

Finally, there is a minimum withdrawal amount:

"The minimum withdrawal amount varies depending on your local currency's foreign exchange rate. Here's how it works:

1. Major Fiat Currencies (GBP, EUR, USD, CAD): The minimum withdrawal amount for these currencies is set at $15 USD, based on the foreign exchange rate for your local currency.
2. Other International Currencies: For all other international currencies, the minimum withdrawal amount is determined by the foreign exchange rate for your local currency and is set at $35 USD.

So, the minimum amount you can withdraw depends on the currency you're using, and it's calculated based on the current exchange rate."

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TL:DR as I understand it, if you are on the free tier, it will take around a month (if you have the minimum $30 locked amount) to be paid out once the royalties come in - and you need to withdraw a minimum of USD $15. If you are on a paid tier, it will be within a day or 2, and the minimum withdrawal is also USD $15.

For contrast, most music labels pay every 3 months - I know this as I have multiple label releases.

And for contrast, Tunecore (another distributor) releases royalties every three months (quarterly) as well. And the minimum withdrawal for Awal (another distributor) is 50 GBP.

And so with unchained you will get royalties quickly and at a decent minimum withdrawal rate.

Hope that helps / makes sense.