Spotify

• On a computer, go to your Spotify profile.
• Find your artist profile and click the ‘...’ button on the profile.
• Scroll down to ‘Share’ and press the ‘ALT’ or ‘OPTION’ key.
• Copy the Spotify URI and paste in the corresponding field in your settings.

Apple Music/iTunes

• On a computer, go to the Apple Music/iTunes app.
• Search for your artist name and go to your profile.
• Click the three dots next to the artist name, click ‘Copy Link,’ and paste in the corresponding field in your settings.

While each platform has slightly different requirements, we require cover art to fit the following guidelines in order for it to be accepted by every streaming service:

Image Quality

The cover art must not be any of the following: blurry, pixelated, mismatched, cut, misaligned, rotated, incorrect, stretched, mirrored or have any other quality issues. Also, the textual information given must be fairly readable.

Accuracy

The information shown in the cover image should always match the information of the metadata as accurately as possible and without any class of abbreviation.

Dimensions

The cover art of all releases must meet the following requirements:

• Proportion: 1:1 (ie. Square)
• Minimum size: 3000 x 3000px
• Maximum size: 5000 x 5000px
• Accepted formats: JPG or PNG
• Mode: RGB (We do not accept CMYK)
• Maximum size of file: 36 MB

Any images that do not meet the requirements will either be rejected by our quality control process, or not be displayed correctly on the online platforms.

White Covers

Full-white covers are not allowed because channels tend to interpret it as an error.

Links and Webpages

The cover art may not contain website addresses, links, logos of any store or service, mention of any physical formats, or any references to releases outside of the digital platform.

Credits and Collaborators

The cover art may include credits or other collaborator’s names, as long as they are correct and used without abbreviation. The information on the cover will need to be represented in the metadata.

Expressions like "all rights reserved" cannot be used.

The release reference number can appear in the cover, but not the release's UPC or ISRC codes.

Prohibited Content

The cover art must not contain:

• A track list. It will be too small when displayed in stores.
• Descriptions or the artist biography
• Telephone or email addresses
• References to the release being a digital product
• Pricing information
• Pornography
• Extreme Violence
• Misleading information (ie. referencing an artist that does not perform on your album)
• Missing content (ie. DVD included)
• Offensive symbolism that offends a specific group of people of ethnicities such as, but not limited to, Nazi symbolism. Symbolism of this kind will be grounds for immediate removal of the user from the platform.
• Irrelevant information

Logos, Images and Registered Brands

Every logo appearing in the cover must be justified in the metadata, including any text. These logos will be accepted if they have a clear relation with the album's content and explain some relevant information - producer, artist, label, etc. Designers or artists who created the cover design won't be accepted as they are not related to the musical release itself.

Any registered brand, person, property, or company that appears on the cover will be accepted as long as they are visually irrelevant, help to convey the cover’s intention, and the artist has explicit permission from the owners or rights holders. If requested, it will be necessary to report documentation to prove the consent of the involved mentioned logos, images, or registered brands.

If you have any other questions, please contact us through our support form and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

• The title of your albums and tracks should match the cover art information as accurately as possible. Try to avoid additional information in the track or album titles that isn't included in the cover art. If an album or track has multiple titles, separate them with a slash ("/"). Include a space in between the slash: "Track Title / Track Title"
• Titles should have proper capitalization and spelling. Titles have to contain capital letters at the beginning of each sentence and in proper names. If a title consists of full uppercase or full lowercase letters, or blatant misspellings, there may be an issue with individual stores.
• Abbreviations. The words "Part" and "Volume" should be abbreviated as "Pt." and "Vol." The titles that require the use of any of those two words should have the following format: "Title, Vol. X" and "Title, Pt. X" (where "X" is a number). You can use either Arabic or Roman numerals, as long as it's consistent throughout the album. Preferably, "Pt." is used for tracks and "Vol." for albums. If you're uploading a single, try to avoid using "Vol." unless it belongs to the real track title. Shorthand attributes for composers or producers (i.e. "Prod." or "Composed by") are not allowed in the track title and may be flagged by our QC process. If you wish to make a unique attribute to a performer in the metadata, please contact support.
• Language. The language at the album level should match the language of your track titles. For instance, if you are releasing an album in the English language, the language at the track level should be in English. If there are a variety of languages in your release, choose the most-used language.
• Don't include links, emails, social media handles or special characters. Special characters (#, @, $, ¢, ∞, ¬, _, +, =, ≠, ´‚ `, *, etc.), links to web pages, email addresses, social media handles or similar networks, or references to commercial content not related to you will generally not be accepted by stores.
• Side by side translations such as “Rise 이카루스” should be avoided. Either language on its own in the title, for instance “이카루스” or "Rise," is acceptable.

A Primary Artist is the principal artist(s) or band(s) who participate in every track of the release. Generally, if an artist is credited on the cover art and had a hand in composing the work, they should be included on the album and track level as Primary Artists.

A Featured Artist are the artists who accompany the primary artist in the release. In the case of an multi-release album, the use of this role generally implies that the featuring artist did not have a hand in composing a majority of the album, and is present on a minority of the tracks within the album.

Mastering

In order to ensure good audio quality and meet the standards of the contemporary music industry, all audio files must have undergone a mastering process before distribution. If they have not, they risk being rejected by our quality assurance process.

The minimum requirements for uploading audio masters are:

• WAV at 16 bit depth, 44.1KHz, stereo.
• FLAC at 16 bit depth, 44.1KHz, stereo.

Audio Quality

Audio files containing background noise, and/or other sound imperfections will not be accepted for distribution.

Silences or Pauses

Silences, pauses, or extended dead space at the end of the tracks are not allowed by DSPs. If a song ends with a final silence it should last no longer than ten seconds. You may not distribute tracks that are mostly or entirely silent.

Minimum Track Length

If it is a single, a song must last more than 30 seconds, otherwise channels may interpret the release as click fraud. Streaming services generally won’t accept albums if the average track length is less than 60 seconds.

If your track is a remix, please select "Yes" on the field "Is this track a remix?" when uploading audio on the second tab. It will be necessary to indicate whether or not this is a remix of music that you own the copyright to.

• When remixing other artists' work: The creation of a remix implies the reuse of previous material whose authorship belongs to other artists, publishers or other agents. Therefore, it will be necessary to provide the corresponding licenses to use this content. If you want to release a remix legally, you need to obtain a Master License and the song copyright. The master license covers the actual use of the original sound recording, while the song copyright covers the lyrics and written composition.
  
  The master rights are usually held by the original recording artist(s) themselves, while the copyright is generally held by a music publisher. You will need to get permission from both of these groups of people in order to legally remix a song.
  
  You must provide documentation that you have these permissions upon request.
• When remixing original work: When the release is a remix from a previous original release it will not be necessary to provide the licenses to use. In addition, the new release should be distinguished from the previous one by selecting that "This is a remix of a track I wrote" in the version field. If it is a specific style of remix, for example "Hardstyle Remix" or "Rock Remix," please enter that info into the custom version info section instead.
• When another artist has remixed your work: Select "Yes" in the "Is this track a remix?" field, and select "This is another artist's remix of my track." It will be necessary to add their artist name as a remixer in the field above in order to credit that artist in the title of the release. Please note that a remixer is not the same as the mixer or sound engineer of an album.

Samples

If you are using a sample in your music, in order to make sure you're releasing 100% legal music you need to prove you have permission and provide documentation if requested. There are several possibilities to use a sample on a release:

• If the sample was obtained directly from the original owner: the original owner must provide a valid document that expresses his agreement with the obtainment, use and commercialization of his sample, by the artist who intends to distribute it through the platform.
• If the sample was obtained from an instrument, either a physical or virtual instrument: the license or any other evidence that can demonstrate that the sample has been obtained from an instrument must be presented. Similarly, if applicable, you must present the license that is usually available with the instrument.
• If the sample was obtained through a payment service (per unit or per subscription): A proof of payment must be presented for the unit, or the registration of the subscription to said service, as well as evidence that the sample has been obtained through this specific payment service.
• If the sample was obtained through a free legal service: Any valid evidence that could demonstrate that the sample has been obtained through the free service, must be presented, and also a valid evidence that could prove that the commercialization of the obtained sample, is authorized.
• • If the sample has not been obtained by any of the aforementioned means. It must be justified and in the same way, present a document or any evidence that could prove that:
  • The use of the sample is allowed
  • It has been provided by legal means
  • It has been obtained in a legal manner
  • It grants permission to the commercialization of the sample or derivative works

If you are sampling off other records or works by other artists, you need to obtain a Master and Mechanical License for worldwide distribution.

Cover Songs

If you are distributing a cover song, to fulfill the legal requirements of a cover song, the recording must fit these criteria:

• You use your own vocals and instrumentals to re-record the song
• You do not alter the melody or arrangement

If your track fulfills the above criteria, then you do not need a license to distribute to streaming services worldwide, however if you want to offer your music in stores that offer downloads you may need a mechanical license depending on the country. We reserve the right to request a license in any case.

• USA: songfile.com
• Canada: cmrra.ca or sodrac.ca
• Mexico: emmacsacm.com.mx
• Japan: jasrac.or.jp
• India: Contact the owner of the rights to the song
• Pakistan: Contact the owner of the rights to the song

Remixes

Legally, a remix contains one or more of the following:

• You use any part of another artist's original recording
• You change the melody of another artist's music
• You change the harmony of another artist's music
• You change the arrangement of another artist's music
• You change the genre of another artist's music

If you do any of the above with another artist's work in your music, in order to release the remix legally you must obtain a Master License and the song copyright. The master rights are usually held by the original recording artist(s) themselves, while the copyright is generally held by a music publisher. In order to release the track legally you must get permission from both of these groups. It's your responsibility to present these permissions upon request.

You are welcome to upload remixes of your own work. However, if your remix is of another artist's song, or contains any part of another artist's original music, streaming services require permission from the original artist.

Version information is separate from the track title and helps to differentiate between multiple versions of the same track or indicate that a track is different from its original version. Here are some helpful tips when deciding what version info is appropriate:

• Avoid inputting version info into the track title. The original, or standard version of the track should not include any additional information such as "Original Version," "Album Version," "Original Mix," etc. Avoid including phrases like "Exclusive" or "Limited Edition" in the track or album title.
• Avoid references to physical content, digital content, video content or content which isn't included on the release. The track or album titles should not include terms referring to contents which are not included in the album, such as physical formats, digital formats or geographic location. Some examples: “Mono,” “Stereo,” “E-Release,” “Digital Version,” “Digital Only,” “Digital Download,” “Booklet Included,” “European Edition,” “American Edition,” etc. “BPM,” “Hz” and other technical sound aspects cannot be included either, including references to the video format or specifications like “Video,” “Clip,” “PAL” or “Music Video.”
• “Deluxe Edition” / “Extended” and “Bonus Tracks.” A "Deluxe Edition” or “Extended” release can be published when a previous album version exists, providing additional material to the first one. The incorporation of the old material can't be omitted. As well, a “Bonus Track” will be accepted if it is included in this type of release. It must be indicated on the “Custom Version” field. In no case should a track be titled as “Bonus Track.”
• Live Version. If a track is recorded live, it must be indicated in the version field as "Live," "Ao Vivo," "En Vivo," etc, accordingly to the language of the album.
• Custom Versions. To indicate that a version track is different from the original, please use the corresponding field for this purpose (for instance: “Pop Version,” “Piano Version,” “Rock Mix,” etc). The information should follow the standard spelling, without abbreviations, and make a proper use of capitalization.
• Clean Version. If there is a pre-existing version of a track which is originally explicit, use the expression “Clean Version” in the version field in order to mark the difference. If you have any questions regarding the distribution of explicit content, please contact our support team prior to distribution.
• Remixes. In case certain content is remixed, please select that "This is a Remix" in the upload form in the “Version” field. If a track is marked as remix, the use of the “remixer” role is mandatory.

If you’d like to distribute one or multiple singles before distributing the album, upload the singles one by one, as you would any other release.

When you distribute the entire album, you need to create a new release of the entire album, and make sure that all of the information from the singles, including sound file, title, metadata, etc matches the previously distributed single. This includes the ISRC number that is provided to you in your profile. If you do not use the ISRC number, the DSPs may not recognize the single as a part of your album.

A UPC, or Universal Product Code, is a unique code used to identify a release.

ISRC, or International Standard Recording Code, is the internationally recognized identification tool for sound and music video recordings.

You can view your release’s codes by clicking on the release’s information section in your profile. A code will be assigned to all new, never previously released music distributed through the Unchained Music platform.

If you are moving a catalogue from a previous distributor to Unchained Music, please visit your previous distributor's website and enter the existing UPC/ISRC code in our upload form. This is required information and will increase the success of synchronizing existing releases. For more information, see the next question about transferring catalogues.

In order to increase the success of tracks linking across DSPs (Digital Service Providers), we recommend following these steps:

• • Create the releases in the Unchained Music Platform
  • Create the releases in our platform by using the same metadata you previously used to distribute your music. The most important data needed to synchronize the releases are:
  • ISRC codes
  • UPC codes
  • Release title and track title(s)
  • Artist(s) name(s)
  • The exact same audio files from the previous release
  • The same cover art file used in your previous release

  This will increase the success of tracks linking across DSPs.

• • Distribute the content
  • Set the release date 5 business days in the future from when you are uploading the release in Unchained Music.
  • Distribute the releases to all the channels where they were previously published.

  This step may take a while, as releases have to be processed through our own Quality Control, as well as the individual DSPs ingestion and publication processes.

• Wait for the synchronization
• • It's important to wait until your release appears online on all channels. DO NOT take down the content from the previous distribution service until:
  • The transferred content appears as duplicated in all stores (one set from the former distributor and the other set from Unchained Music).
  • To be safe, we recommend that you wait up to one week after the duplicates appear before requesting a takedown from your previous distributor.
  • DO NOT take your tracks down from the other distributor until all DSPs have synced the catalog.

Once the synchronization has been successfully completed across all DSPs, you can request a take down from the previous distributor.

Note: While this is the process that we found works best, the synchronization is done by the DSPs, not us. By following these practices, you are increasing the chance that there will be no issues or conflicts, however this is ultimately on the DSPs to sort out. On some platforms, you may lose reviews.

Sure. It’s your music, you can do what you want with it. That being said, when you use multiple distributors, you could create issues with royalty payments and which distributor has takedown permissions. If there is a conflict, our support team can only deal with royalties on our side. We will not engage with a different distributor on your behalf.

Generally all stores will make your music available within a week once it has passed our quality control process. During peak times, especially during the end of year holiday period, times may be longer. If you want all of your music to go live at the same time across all DSPs including Apple Music, we strongly suggest that you set a date 3-4 weeks or more in advance.

Generally, all tracks will pass quality control within 3-7 business days (Monday-Friday). If your release is rejected or you update the metadata during this review period, the review process will start again and require another 3-7 business days.

You should upload all documentation necessary, including copyright documentation, at the time of release in order to prevent delays.

You must be at least 18 years old. If you’re under 18, you may have a parent or legal guardian sign up on your behalf.

Digital Service Providers (DSPs) set different ranges for music to purchase for their users. Our prices are set in a general range to accomodate this. This does not ensure an identical price in all channels, since DSPs have the right to determine the final price of a product, depending on the territory and currency of the sale. The categories are indicative of the range of price you desire for each track/album individually.

At the moment, we release to everywhere that each of the individual DSPs does. For example, Spotify will release to every country that Spotify works in, QQ Music will release to everywhere QQ Music works in, etc.

We are currently in beta, and are working hard to give you the ability to choose which locations to release to, or restrict your release based on country and region. If you need to geo-restrict your release, please contact our support team.

We support all of the languages below, however each DSP has it’s own way of processing languages. There may be certain circumstances where languages will be changed within the DSP’s platform. We do not control this process, and it is up to the individual DSPs. ex: Some platforms may change Cantonese to Chinese, Basque to Spanish, or Tamazigh to Arabic.

• Afrikaans
• Arabic
• Bengali
• Bulgarian
• Cantonese
• Catalan
• Chinese
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch
• English
• Estonian
• Finnish
• French
• German
• Greek
• Haitian
• Hebrew
• Hindi
• Hungarian
• Icelandic
• Indonesian
• Irish
• Italian
• Japanese
• Kazakh
• Korean
• Lao
• Latin
• Latvian
• Lithuanian
• Malay
• Norwegian
• Persian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Punjabi
• Romanian
• Russian
• Sanskrit
• Slovak
• Slovenian
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Tagalog
• Tamil
• Telegu
• Thai
• Turkish
• Ukrainian
• Urdu
• Vietnamese
• Zulu

At the moment we do not support classical music, spoken word or comedy. We are currently in beta and are working hard to provide you the ability to distribute in those genres. If you’d like to see those genres supported, please contact our support team.

We currently support all of the following genres:

• Alternative
• Alternative/Experimental
• Alternative/Gothic
• Alternative/Grunge
• Alternative/Indie Pop
• Alternative/Indie Rock
• Alternative/Rock
• Ambient/New Age
• Ambient/New Age/Meditation
• Blues
• Blues/Contemporary Blues
• Blues/New Orleans Blues
• Blues/Traditional Blues
• Children's Music
• Children's Music/Classic
• Children's Music/Holiday
• Country
• Country/Bluegrass
• Country/Contemporary
• Country/Honky Tonk
• Country/Nashville
• Country/Pop
• Country/Square Dance
• Easy Listening
• Easy Listening/Bar Jazz/Cocktail
• Easy Listening/Bossa Nova
• Easy Listening/Lounge
• Easy Listening/Traditional
• Electronic
• Electronic/Acid House
• Electronic/Breaks
• Electronic/Broken Beat
• Electronic/Chill Out
• Electronic/Dance
• Electronic/Deep House
• Electronic/Downtempo - Experimental
• Electronic/Drum & Bass
• Electronic/Dub/Reggae/Dancehall
• Electronic/Dubstep/Grime
• Electronic/Electro House
• Electronic/Glitch Hop
• Electronic/Hard Dance
• Electronic/Hard Techno
• Electronic/Hardcore
• Electronic/Hardstyle
• Electronic/House
• Electronic/Indie Dance/Nu Disco
• Electronic/Jazz
• Electronic/Minimal
• Electronic/Pop Trance
• Electronic/Progressive House
• Electronic/Psy-Trance
• Electronic/Tech House
• Electronic/Techno
• Electronic/Trance
• Electronic/Trip Hop
• Experimental
• Fitness & Workout
• Flamenco
• Folk
• Funk/R&B
• Hip-Hop/Rap
• Hip-Hop/Rap/Gangsta & Hardcore
• Holiday/Christmas
• Inspirational
• Jazz
• Jazz/Bebop
• Jazz/Big Band
• Jazz/Brazilian Jazz
• Jazz/Classic
• Jazz/Contemporary
• Jazz/Dixie/Rag Time
• Jazz/Free Jazz
• Jazz/Fusion
• Jazz/Jazz Funk
• Jazz/Latin Jazz
• Jazz/Nu Jazz/Acid Jazz
• Jazz/Smooth Jazz
• Jazz/Swing
• Jazz/Traditional
• Jazz/World
• Karaoke
• Latin
• Latin/Bachata
• Latin/Banda
• Latin/Big Band
• Latin/Bolero
• Latin/Bossa Nova
• Latin/Brasil/Tropical
• Latin/Christian
• Latin/Conjunto
• Latin/Corridos
• Latin/Cuban
• Latin/Cumbia
• Latin/Duranguense
• Latin/Electronica
• Latin/Grupero
• Latin/Hip Hop
• Latin/Latin Rap
• Latin/Mambo
• Latin/Mariachi
• Latin/Norteño
• Latin/Pop
• Latin/Ranchera
• Latin/Reggaeton
• Latin/Regional Mexicano
• Latin/Rock en Español
• Latin/Salsa
• Latin/Salsa/Merengue
• Latin/Sierreño
• Latin/Sonidero
• Latin/Tango
• Latin/Tejano
• Latin/Tierra Caliente
• Latin/Traditional Mexican
• Latin/Vallento
• New Age
• Pop
• Pop/Contemporary/Adult
• Pop/J-Pop
• Pop/K-Pop
• Pop/Mandopop
• Pop/Singer Songwriter
• Punk
• R&B
• Reggae
• Rock
• Rock/Brit-Pop
• Rock/Classic
• Rock/Glam Rock
• Rock/Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
• Rock/Heavy Metal
• Rock/Progressive
• Rock/Rock 'n' Roll
• Rock/Singer Songwriter
• Ska
• Soul
• Soundtrack
• Soundtrack/Anime
• Soundtrack/Musical
• Soundtrack/TV
• Spiritual
• Spiritual/Christian
• Spiritual/Gospel
• Spiritual/Gregorian
• Spiritual/India
• Spiritual/Judaica
• Spiritual/World
• Trap
• Trap/Future Bass
• Trap/Future Bass/Twerk
• Vocal/Nostalgia
• World
• World/African
• World/Afro-beat
• World/Afro-pop
• World/Americas/Argentina
• World/Americas/Brazilian
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Axé
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Black Music
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Bossa Nova
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Chorinho
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Folk
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Funk Carioca
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Marchina
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Pagode
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Samba
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Samba-Rock
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Samba-de-Raiz
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Samba-enredo
• World/Americas/Brazilian/Sambalanço
• World/Americas/Cajun-Creole
• World/Americas/Calypso
• World/Americas/Colombia
• World/Americas/Cuba-Caribbean
• World/Americas/Mexican
• World/Americas/North-American
• World/Americas/Panama
• World/Americas/Peru
• World/Americas/South-American
• World/Arabic
• World/Asian/Central Asia
• World/Asian/China
• World/Asian/India
• World/Asian/India-Bollywood
• World/Asian/Japan
• World/Asian/South Asia
• World/Australian/Pacific
• World/Ethnic
• World/Europe/Eastern
• World/Europe/French
• World/Europe/German
• World/Europe/Northern
• World/Europe/Southern
• World/Europe/Spain
• World/Europe/Western
• World/Mediterranean/Greece
• World/Mediterranean/Italy
• World/Mediterranean/Spain
• World/Russian
• World/Worldbeat