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Drop in your artwork
The final JPG or PNG you plan to release with. The check starts the moment the file lands.
Drop in your cover art and watch it checked against the rules every store applies, before you upload it anywhere.
This check catches the most common reasons artwork gets rejected, not every rule. The full requirements we apply at Unchained are in our cover art guide.
Processed in your browser. Your artwork never leaves your device.
The final JPG or PNG you plan to release with. The check starts the moment the file lands.
Size, proportions, format, colour mode, blank-cover detection and file weight, inspected one by one on your own device.
Every result says what to change and why, in plain language. Green means stores will take it.
Every streaming service asks for the same core things. Cover art must be a perfect square, because every player, grid and embed renders it 1:1. It must be a JPG or PNG in RGB colour, because CMYK files are print artefacts that many store pipelines refuse to process.
Size has a floor and a ceiling. We accept artwork from 1400 x 1400 pixels, and 3000 x 3000 or larger is the sweet spot: stores print your cover on everything from a phone lock screen to a TV app, and headroom keeps it sharp on all of them. Above 5000 x 5000 pixels, files start failing ingestion instead of looking better.
Some rules live in the pixels rather than the file. A solid single-colour cover reads as an upload error and gets rejected. Text on the cover has to be readable and match the release metadata. Web addresses, store logos, pricing and social handles are not allowed on cover art at all.
This checker catches the technical rules automatically. The content rules, like what text may appear on the cover, still need your eyes. The full list we apply to releases at Unchained is in our cover art guide, linked under your results.
A square image between 1400 x 1400 and 5000 x 5000 pixels. 3000 x 3000 or larger is the sweet spot, giving stores enough resolution for every surface they display your cover on.
Every store renders cover art in a 1:1 frame. A rectangular image either gets rejected at ingestion or cropped unpredictably, so a perfect square is required everywhere.
CMYK is a print colour space. Screens work in RGB, and many store pipelines fail CMYK files outright rather than converting them. Export your artwork in RGB and the problem disappears.
No. This check catches the most common technical reasons artwork gets rejected. Content rules, like which text may appear on a cover, still apply, and the final review happens at distribution. The full requirements we use at Unchained are in our cover art guide.
No. The whole check runs in your browser on your own device. The file never reaches our servers, and we could not look at it if we wanted to.
Yes. The checker is free to use, with no account and no upload. It is one of a set of browser tools we build for artists and labels preparing releases.
Distribution, mastering and promotion for artists and labels, run from one account with a human checking every release.