Guides
Release metadata guides
Short, sourced answers to the questions that hold up releases: rejections, featured artists, ISRCs and UPCs, version titles, AI disclosure and spam rules. Every rule links to the platform or standard that published it.
Why releases get rejected
Why Distributors and DSPs Reject Releases (and How to Fix Each Reason)
Most rejections come down to four things: metadata formatting (extra text in titles, artists in the wrong field, inconsistent names), artwork (URLs, logos, low resolution, text that doesn't match the metadata), audio and language mismatches, and rights the distributor can't confirm (samples, covers, AI-generated parts). Your rejection notice names the specific reason. Fix that item, check the rest of the release against the same rules, and resubmit.
DistroKid rejection fixes
DistroKid Rejected Your Release? The Fixes for Each Rejection Reason
Read the rejection email: it says what was flagged. For artwork or artist verification issues, don't delete anything. Replace the artwork or complete verification on the existing release. For most other issues, DistroKid says you'll need to delete and re-upload the release with the corrected metadata. If you think the rejection was a mistake, reply to the email.
TuneCore rejection fixes
TuneCore Release Rejected or "Needs Action": How to Fix It
A Needs Action or Denied status means TuneCore's Content Review team flagged something. Find the email from contentreview@tunecore.com, make the requested changes, then reply to that email. TuneCore only re-reviews and delivers the release after your reply.
Featured artist formatting
How to Format Featured Artists (feat.) for Spotify and Apple Music
Put each featured artist in its own artist field with the Featuring (or With) role, never in the primary artist field. Don't type "ft.", "featuring" or "w/". Where a title does show a featured artist, Apple's format is lowercase (feat. Artist) in parentheses or brackets, e.g. "Body Language (feat. Usher & Tinashe)".
ISRC codes
ISRC Codes Explained: Format, Validation and When to Reuse One
An ISRC identifies one sound recording (not a song or a release). It's 12 characters: a 5-character prefix (2 letters + 3 letters or digits), a 2-digit year of reference, and a 5-digit designation code, e.g. AA6Q72000047. Hyphens and the word "ISRC" are only for display. Reuse the same ISRC wherever the same recording appears. A different mix, edit or version needs a new one.
UPC / EAN codes
UPC and EAN Barcodes for Music Releases: Format and Check-Digit Errors
A UPC (12 digits, GTIN-12) or EAN (13 digits, GTIN-13) identifies a release: one product, the same for every track on it. The last digit is a check digit calculated from the others with the GS1 formula, so a typo almost always makes the code invalid. Every track on a release shares its UPC, and each release needs its own.
Spotify AI disclosure
Does Spotify Require AI Disclosure? AI Credits Explained (2026)
AI credits on Spotify are optional and in beta. You add them through your distributor (only some distributors support them) by marking specific roles, such as lyrics, vocals, instrumental performance or production, as AI-generated. They appear in song credits and the Now Playing view on mobile, not as a label on the whole track. Spotify also bars AI vocal impersonation unless the artist has authorized it.
Releasing AI music
How to Release AI-Assisted Music in 2026: DDEX ContainsAI and Credits
Decide for each part (lyrics, vocals, composition, instrumentation, production, artwork) whether AI wasn't used, assisted a human, or generated it. That gives you DDEX ContainsAI: None if no part used AI, All if every part was generated, otherwise Partly. Credit generated parts to a GenerativeAI contributor and keep human contributors credited. Then deliver through a distributor that supports the fields, and keep your generation records.
Deezer AI tagging
Deezer AI Tagging: How the AI Label and the AI Music Toggle Work
Deezer uses its own detection tool to find fully AI-generated tracks. Albums containing them show listeners a notice, and the AI content is excluded from algorithmic and editorial recommendations. Listeners can't switch the label off. In October 2026 Deezer announced a toggle that lets listeners remove fully AI-generated tracks, albums and artists from search, to roll out globally before the end of 2026.
Spotify spam filter
Spotify's Spam Filter and Artificial Streaming Rules: What Gets Flagged
Spotify's spam filter, announced in September 2025, targets mass uploads, duplicates, SEO tricks and artificially short tracks. Separately, Spotify charges labels and distributors per track when flagrant artificial streaming is detected, and distributors generally pass that charge on. The metadata defences: no keyword titles or generic artist names, no near-duplicate uploads, and no padding a catalog with very short tracks.
Apple Music style guide
Apple Music Style Guide: The Rules That Trip Up Releases Most
The Apple Music Style Guide's most-broken rules: title case for English titles (never all caps or all lowercase), one artist per field, lowercase "feat." in parentheses, no generic names (White Noise, Lo-Fi, Workout…), no extra text like "Official" or "Dolby Atmos" in titles, the Explicit flag instead of "(Explicit)" in titles, and no emoji. Apple adds "- Single" and "- EP" itself.
Version titles (remix, live…)
How to Format Remix, Live, Acoustic and Other Version Titles
Put version information in parentheses after the title, not after a dash: "Summer Rain (Acoustic Version)". If there's more than one reference, the first goes in parentheses and the rest in brackets: "Love Letter (Live Version) [Radio Edit]". Credit remixers in the Remixer role. Never put version text on the standard original version.
Artist name rules
Artist Name Rules: Generic Names, "Official", Consistency and Compound Artists
An artist name must be the artist's real performing name, spelled exactly the same on every release, with one artist per field and nothing else in it: no "Official", role, instrument, band affiliation or website. Generic or keyword names such as "Sleep Music", "White Noise" or "Lo-Fi" are rejected by Spotify and Apple.