Streaming services have strict guidelines for music distribution, and releases that do not comply with these standards may be rejected (Especially Apple Music).
If your release has been rejected or is appearing on streaming services partially, it may be due to issues with the track or its metadata not aligning with these guidelines. We have compiled a list of the most common reasons this might have happened :
Metadata (Release Information)
Ensure that all metadata is accurate and correct before submitting your track.
- Titles and artist names should not be in all caps, all lowercase, or have random capitalization.
Examples:
RANJHA – ❌ (all caps)
ranjha – ❌ (all lowercase)
rAnJHa – ❌ (random casing)
Ranjha – ✅ - If a track contains explicit language, mark it as such. Do not manually censor words (e.g., F**K or S**T).
- If a Producer/Composer/Lyricist does not perform on the track then do not mention them as a Primary artist.
- Do not include emojis or special characters in titles, artist names, or other metadata.
- Please make sure your artists and contributors are consistantly named throughout the release.
Cover Art Guidelines
- Only use images for which you have legal authorization.
- Provide the original album cover if possible; avoid generic templates. (If you are uploading a lot of tracks with the same artworks it might be rejected)
- The cover must accurately represent the album being submitted.
- No featured artist names, barcodes, or unofficial explicit content labels.
- Avoid blurry, pixelated, misaligned, or rotated images.
- No advertisements (e.g., “Includes DVD” or “Includes Lyrics”).
- No logos, text, or artist names on the cover art.
- No references to digital or physical products (like CDs or cassettes).
- No price mentions or promotional text.
- No offensive or unlawful content.
- No borders of any kind.
- No text, including artist names, roles, dates, or logos.
Technical Specifications:
- Size: 3000×3000 pixels (do not upscale images).
- File Type: JPG or PNG.
Audio File Guidelines
- Ensure the audio file is complete, without unnecessary silence (no more than 5 seconds).
- Tracks using watermarked or free beats, or songs under 30 seconds, might be rejected.
Technical Specifications:
- Bitrate : 1,411 Kbps preferred, at a minimum sample rate of 44.1KHz.
- File Type: WAV, FLAC files preferred, MP3 acceptable.
