This is my first time distributing a release to stores.  Do you have any tips?

When it comes to distribution, stores like Spotify and Apple Music have very specific metadata, audio, and artwork guidelines that we, as a distributor, have to enforce.  Not following these guidelines can lead to your release being temporarily rejected and delay the time it will take to get to stores.

To reduce the time it will take for your release to be approved for delivery, check out some of the most common errors we see from artists on our platform:
 

Artwork 

Use Original Artwork. Only submit artwork that you control the rights to (e.g., heavily editing copyrighted images does not permit you to use the original image).  If you have the rights to use a copyrighted image in your release, please send documentation to our support team.
 

Make Sure Your Artwork is Appropriate. Please do not submit artwork that is inappropriate for stores.  This includes artwork that contains overly blurry content, nudity, excessive violence, etc.
 

Don't Use Artwork That Is Too Generic. Please do not submit overly generic artwork, as it will be rejected by some stores (e.g., single color / plain images).  Please consider personalizing this by adding an artist or track title, or replacing it with something new.
 

The Text on Your Artwork Should Match Your Metadata Any text in the artwork needs to match the information on your release (artist, title, label, etc). Please fix either the artwork or the release information so that they are consistent.

Make Sure Your Artwork Is Not Misleading. Please do not submit content that is overly derivative of popular culture and can confuse listeners (e.g., artwork that mimics famous album covers, TV shows, movies, or other popular reference points).
 

For further information regarding our artwork guidelines, please refer to our article here.

Audio 

Only Distribute Content that You Have The Rights To. Please do not attempt to distribute content where you do not control all aspects of the release (e.g., unofficial remixes, uncleared samples, etc.).

Royalty-free samples and third-party beats still require licensing documentation in order for us to verify your rights to distribute. If you have the necessary permissions, please attach the documentation to your submission, or feel free to send it to our support team if you continue to experience any issues.

If your release includes any cover songs or music that you don't fully own the exclusive rights to, it probably won't qualify for delivery to UGC fingerprinting services like YouTube Content ID, TikTok, and Meta. For more details on eligibility, please check out our article on Digital Rights Management here.

Metadata 

Don't Misspell or Mis-case Your Artist Name. Please be sure to spell your name exactly as it is written on stores such as Spotify and Apple.  Not doing so may send your release to the incorrect artist page.

Don't Add Main Artist Names to Your Release and Track Titles. Please be sure not to include the Main artist's names in your titles and only add contributors in the Contributor field.

Add Contributors Individually and Do Not Add Multiple Artists in one Contributor Field. Not doing so may send your release to the incorrect artist page.

Flag Explicit Tracks as Explicit when Appropriate - Some stores will hide content that is incorrectly labelled, so remember to flag tracks that contain profanity, drug references, etc.

Don't Add Misleading Metadata to your Release - Please do not submit metadata that is intended to mislead or confuse listeners.  This includes content that includes popular artists or song names (e.g., Lil Tecca Type Beat), generic SEO terms (e.g., Meditation, Chill), etc.

Use Legal Composer Names - Please only submit full legal names in the Composer field (no initials).

Do Not Include Social Handles - Please do not include social handles in the artist name or album metadata.