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Find information and requirements below regarding the fields located in the Release section of the upload form.
Your cover image must adhere to the following requirements:
- Square (1:1 ratio)
- Minimum 1400px (3000px preferred)
- .jpg | .png format Max. 10mb
Important considerations:
Avoid using the same artwork across your catalog unless the release is an alternate or deluxe version.
We highly recommend displaying the release title and artist name as text.
You must have the explicit right to use the images, logos or artists displayed in your cover art.
Artwork cannot be pixelated, poor quality, contain URLs, UPCs/ISRCs, social media handles, prices, track lists, dates or pornographic imagery.
Parental Advisory sticker must be displayed if the audio and/or imagery contains explicit content.
For more detailed information about cover art requirements, please review the following articles:
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/what-are-the-cover-art-requirements-for-my-release
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/how-can-i-avoid-being-flagged-for-generic-cover-art
If this release in it's entirety was previously made available in stores digitally, please provide the date is was made available. This will help stores accurately display your work in the chronological order it was made available. If this is a new release, please select "This is a new release."
Important: If an original release date is provided, you must provide the original ISRC that was assigned for each audio on the track level.
Reusing the same UPC is strongly discouraged and unnecessary for track linking on platforms. Unless you have a specific reason to re-use your old UPC, we will generate a new UPC for you for free.
Please provide the language of the release and track titles. This may differ from the audio language.
For a full list of languages we support, please see the following article:
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/what-languages-do-you-support-for-releases
Do not include version information in the title field. Use the Title Version field instead to indicate a Remix, Cover or Year version of your release. Including the version in the title may result in an editorial hide from Apple. Do not censor explicit language in your release or track titles with asterisks or other symbols.
If your release is a single, the Release Title and Version must match the Track Title and Version fields exactly.
Input the primary artist that is involved on the majority of the tracks in your release.
If your release is a compilation, please provide the rest of the primary artists in the "Additional Primary Artists" field below.
Input the additional primary artists that are involved on the majority of the tracks in your release. They will be displayed on the release level in platforms.
If your release is a compilation, please provide the rest of the primary artists from the track level in this field.
If 4 or more primary artists are involved on the majority of the tracks in your release, "Various Artists" will be displayed on the release level in platforms.
Input the key artists that are involved on the majority of the tracks in your release. They will be displayed on the release level in platforms.
Important: Do not include a participant in the "with" role if they are already included as a primary artist, featured artist or remixer. Doing so will result in delivery issues to Apple.
For a full list of roles, please refer to the following article:
Input the performers that are involved on the majority of the tracks in your release. They will be included in the metadata on the release level depending on the platform.
For a full list of roles, please refer to the following article:
A producer role is always required in this section to adhere to store requirements. They will be displayed in the metadata on the release level in platforms.
For a full list of roles, please refer to the following article:
The record label will be displayed in platforms. The record label saved in your account settings will appear here. Please only input a record label that you have the explicit rights to. If you don't have a record label, you can provide "Independent".
Please provide a genre(s) that is most closely associated with the overall audio content of the release.
For a full list of genres we support, please refer to the following article:
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/what-genres-do-you-support
Please provide the copyright and publishing rights owner and year. Important: the year must be within one year of the original release date for this release or it may affect the way stores display your release in your catalog.
In general, the following applies:
Publishing ©
Publishing/Composition Copyright (The Song): Owned by songwriters or publishers. It protects the melody, lyrics, and chords. There is only one set of publishing rights per song, which remain even if the song is covered by other artists.
Copyright ©
Master Recording Copyright (The Sound): Owned by recording artists or record labels. It protects the specific recorded version of a song. Every new version (remix, cover) creates a new master copyright.
N.B. If a cover artist records a song, they own the master (the new recording), but the original songwriter retains the publishing (the song itself).
This isn't legal advice! Consult with a legal representative for your particular case.
Find information and requirements below regarding the fields located in the Track section of the upload form.
Your audio file must adhere to the following requirements:
File type: flac or wav
Format: Stereo
Bit depth: 16 or 24 bit
Sample rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, or 192kHz
The audio file must be of high quality. Silences or blank audio greater than 10 seconds at any point is not permitted.
For more information about audio requirements, please refer to the following article:
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/what-are-the-audio-file-requirements-for-my-music
Please input this value in mm:ss format. Where supported, stores will begin a preview or clip of your track at this provided time.
Important: If an original release date is provided on the release level, you must provide the original ISRC that was assigned for each audio on the track level.
Do not include version information in the title field. Use the Title Version field instead to indicate a Remix, Cover or Year version of your track. Including the version in the title may result in an editorial hide from Apple. Do not censor explicit language in your release or track titles with asterisks or other symbols.
If your release is a single, the Release Title and Version must match the Track Title and Version fields exactly.
Please provide the language of the lyrics in the audio. If there are no lyrics, speech or spoken word in the audio, please indicate that the track is an instrumental.
Important: If a lyric language is selected, a lyricist role is required in the Writers section
For a full list of languages we support, please see the following article:
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/what-languages-do-you-support-for-releases
If your audio content contains explicit content such as sex, drugs, violence, or contain obscene language or insults, it must be indicated to the consumer. Failure to do so may result in an editorial hide in platforms. A Parental Advisory sticker must be displayed if the audio and/or imagery contains explicit content.
For more information surrounding how we handle explicit content, please refer to the following article:
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/how-does-unchained-music-handle-explicit-content
Please provide a genre(s) that is most closely associated with the audio content of the track.
For a full list of genres we support, please refer to the following article:
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/what-genres-do-you-support
If your release is a single, the artist information on the track level must match the release level. For information about a particular role, please see the role on the release level of this guide.
For a full list of roles, please refer to the following articles:
A Composer role is mandatory for all tracks in your release. If a lyric language is selected, a lyricist role is required.
All writers involved on the track level must be a full legal name consisting of a first and last name, and each name must be at least two letter characters.
For a full list of genres we support, please refer to the following article:
Please provide the publishing rights owner for the track. In general, the following applies:
Publishing/Composition Copyright (The Song):
Owned by songwriters or publishers. It protects the melody, lyrics, and chords. There is only one set of publishing rights per song, which remain even if the song is covered by other artists.
Master Recording Copyright (The Sound):
Owned by recording artists or record labels. It protects the specific recorded version of a song. Every new version (remix, cover) creates a new master copyright
.N.B. If a cover artist records a song, they own the master (the new recording), but the original songwriter retains the publishing (the song itself).
This isn't legal advice! Consult with a legal representative for your particular case.
It's important that you indicate who owns the publishing, or the composition, of the track in this field.
Original Work:
This is a composition original to you and you are not using another artist's composition (including melody, lyrics and structure). While a remix often uses the original composition, it's considered an original work if it substantially changes the original recording.
Cover Song:
You are creating a new performance of a song previously recorded by another artist and you are not substantially changing the original composition (including melody, lyrics and structure). A mechanical license will be required if you are distributing to download stores or in other particular cases.
Public Domain or Traditional:
Any music or content that is in the public domain, the copyright has expired or is otherwise free of copyright. This includes religious music and traditional songs/melodies.It's important that if you are using someone elses work in any way that you are providing the proper documentation and/or licenses in the Copyright Documents section of the upload form!
It's important that you indicate who owns the recording, or the master, of the track in this field.
Remix or Derivative Work
Anytime you are altering or creating a new version of an existing work, it is considered Derivative. This includes heavily modified versions such as sped up or slowed content. The proper clearances will be required whenever you're utilizing someone elses work.
Contains Samples, Beats, Loops or Stock Sounds
Recordings that contain a royalty free beat, a beat purchased from someone else, samples from sample packs or Digital Audio Workstation. If your sample was obtained through a third party, including a producer, through a platform like Splice or from a Digital Audio Workstation like Logic or Ableton, you should provide the clearance for the audio in the Copyright Documents in the upload form.
Alternate Version of an existing trackVersions of tracks that you have distributed before, including Live, Remastered, Lofi or Radio Edits.
Special Genre
White noise or sleep music, ambient, new age or meditation, karaoke or instrumental, classical (not contemporary music in the classical genre) — or any other similar genre where your recording is likely to be mistaken for another recording in User Generated Content platforms.
Non-Musical Content
Including ASMR, sound effects, nature sounds, speech, spoken word, etc.
Includes AI generated or assisted content
Includes music generated through artificial intelligence (AI), either in whole or in part. The AI model must have disclosed it's training data.
For more information about our policies, please see the following articles:
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/legal/content-policy
Whenever you're using someone elses work, it's imperative to provide the proper documentation and/or licenses that display where you obtained the material and that you have the explicit rights to distribute it digitally. To prevent any unforeseen issues and delays distributing your release to stores, please provide this information at the time of distribution in this section. All licenses and documentation must be clear and detailed.
For a more information about our requirements, please refer to the following articles:
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/when-do-i-need-a-license-for-my-samples-cover-songs-and-remixes
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/when-do-i-need-to-provide-licenses-for-my-music
https://www.unchainedmusic.io/faq-g/what-information-do-i-need-to-provide-in-my-licenses
Find information and requirements below regarding the fields located in the Distribution section of the upload form.
Input the date you wish for the release to go live on platforms.
Important: once your release is approved by our team and sent to stores to processing, it can take anywhere from 24 hours to 7 days for the store to ingest the release and make it available depending on the store's processes, the time of year and load. These factors are unfortunately out of our control. We highly recommend to choose a release date 2-4 weeks in the future if you wish to have the release go live in all stores simultaneously and have the opportunity to market the release to your fans or pitch to editorials.
Input the time and time zone you wish for the release to go live on platforms.
Important: once your release is approved by our team and sent to stores to processing, it can take anywhere from 24 hours to 7 days for the store to ingest the release and make it available depending on the store's processes, the time of year and load. These factors are unfortunately out of our control. We highly recommend to choose a release date 2-4 weeks in the future if you wish to have the release go live in all stores simultaneously and have the opportunity to market the release to your fans or pitch to editorials.
Input the date you wish for the release to go live on platforms for pre-order by your fans where supported by download platforms.
This date must be at least one day before your Release Start Date.
Input the territories you wish to include or exclude from distribution for this release.
For a full list of territories, please refer to the following article:
Different store type will have their own set of requirements that you must adhere to in order to make your entire release available on the platform.
Streaming platforms allow fans and consumers to stream your release digitally. As these actions are monetized, it's important that you've obtained the proper rights to distribute the product if you've used third party material.
Download Stores such as Apple and Amazon provide fans and consumers to the ability to purchase and download content available in their platforms. If you are release a cover song, for example, it will be necessary to have obtained a cover song license before distributing your content to the platform.
User Generated Content (UGCs) platforms and
Exclusive Deliveries such as Facebook, Snap, TikTok and Youtube Content ID have a strict set of requirements of what can be Monetized for Digital Fingerprinting. In order for your release to qualify for these platforms, you must have the exclusive rights to the entire audio (among other requirements) as these platforms will scan their libraries and user content against your reference files for monetization. Attempting to claim a sound that doesn't belong to you in these stores will result in negative actions taken against your catalog by the store. If your release doesn't qualify, you can always upload the audio directly to the platform for fan use and discovery!
For more information about stores and their requirement, please see the following articles: