The song is finished, the mix is approved, and there is a WAV file on your desktop. Between that file and a play button on Spotify there are several steps, and different people handle each one. Once you know who does what, most first-release surprises disappear.
Why you need a distributor at all
Most streaming services do not take uploads from individual artists. Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, TikTok, Deezer and the rest receive music from distributors, who deliver each release in the exact technical format the platform expects. The distributor sits between you and dozens of stores, so you prepare a release once instead of dealing with every service separately.
The distributor does not become the owner of your music. You keep your rights. What you give is permission to deliver the release to platforms and to pass the reports back to you.
The path of a release, step by step
Step 1: what you prepare
A release is more than an audio file. Before you upload anything, have these ready:
- Audio. A WAV file of the final master for every track. Avoid MP3s: they are usually not accepted, and even when they are, the sound degrades again when the platform encodes it.
- Artwork. A square cover image, typically a 3000 × 3000 pixel JPG.
- Metadata. Release title, track titles, primary artist name, featured artists, genre, language, release date, the explicit content flag, and credits for songwriters and producers.
- Codes. Every recording has an ISRC, and the release as a whole has a UPC or EAN barcode. If you don't have your own, distributors usually assign them.
Metadata deserves the most care. Platforms use it to attach the release to the right artist profile and to display the right names, and mistakes here are the hardest to fix after release day.
Step 2: review
After you submit, the release is checked before it goes anywhere. A reviewer looks at whether you hold the rights to the audio and artwork, whether the cover text matches the title and artist name, whether titles follow store style rules, and whether anything could mislead listeners, such as a famous artist's name squeezed into a track title.
If something needs fixing, you get a specific request rather than a silent rejection. In the CULT portal, for example, requested changes appear on the release itself: you correct them and submit again. Most delays happen at this stage, so a clean first submission is the simplest way to move faster.
Step 3: delivery
Once approved, the release is packaged into each platform's own format and sent through distribution partners. Every store receives the same music, artwork and metadata, but the package is built to its specifications.
Delivery is not the same as going live. The platform now has your release, but it still needs to process it.
Step 4: processing on each platform
Every service runs its own ingestion. It encodes the audio into its streaming formats, reads the metadata, matches the artist name to an existing profile or creates a new one, and schedules the release for the date you chose.
Processing time varies between platforms, which is why a song can appear on one service earlier than on another. If a release is rejected at this point, the reason is usually familiar: metadata, artwork or rights. The CULT portal shows the status on each platform separately, so you can see where a release is already live and where it is still in progress.
Step 5: release day and after
On the release date, the music becomes visible to listeners. A few things happen around that moment:
- Once your release is on a platform, you can usually claim your artist profile through its artist tools, such as Spotify for Artists or Apple Music for Artists.
- Platforms may start placing the track in algorithmic playlists based on how listeners respond. Editorial playlists are chosen by each platform's own editors.
- Streams begin to count, but reports do not arrive in real time. Platforms send them to distributors by reporting period, and the numbers appear after they have been checked.
Take Mara Vey, releasing her first single "Low Tide". She uploads in early May for a date in mid-June. Review asks her to remove her Instagram handle from the cover, she fixes it in a day, and the release still has weeks left for processing and for pitching to editors.
Who does what, in one place
- You: the music, the rights, the files, accurate metadata, and promotion.
- The distributor: review, codes, delivery to platforms, status updates, and passing reports back to you.
- The platform: processing, your artist profile, recommendations and editorial decisions.
How much time to leave
Timing depends on review, any requested changes and each platform's processing time. For a first release, leave several weeks between submitting and the release date. That gives you room to fix a metadata issue without moving the date, and time to pitch the song: Spotify's editorial pitching tool, for instance, only accepts music that hasn't come out yet.