Mira Sol, a singer from Baku, releases her first single and opens Spotify to see it. The song is there, but on the page of a DJ from São Paulo who happens to use the same name. This is one of the most common problems in distribution, and one of the most avoidable.
Why it happens
Platforms organise music by artist profiles, and each profile has its own internal ID. When a release arrives, the platform has to decide which profile it belongs to. If the delivery does not say clearly which existing profile to use, the platform may match by name, and names are not unique.
The usual causes:
- Same or similar names. Short, common or one-word names are shared by many artists around the world.
- Missing or wrong profile IDs. If the release was not linked to a specific profile, or was linked to the wrong one, it goes wherever the matching leads.
- Featured artists. A guest's name is matched too. If you did not give their profile link, their part of the credit can land on a stranger's page.
- Inconsistent spelling. "Mira Sol" on one release and "Mira-Sol" on the next can create a second profile instead of landing on the first.
The opposite also happens: instead of joining your existing page, a new release creates a duplicate profile, and your listeners are split between two pages.
The worst part is that a song on the wrong profile starts living with that profile's followers, statistics and recommendations. A new listener searching for you sees someone else's photo and bio.
Prevent it before you submit
Most of this is solved by doing the same thing every time.
- Check your name before your first release. Search it on the main platforms. If several artists already use it, consider adding something that makes you distinct, such as a surname or initial.
- Ask for a new profile when you do not have one. On a first release, many distribution forms let you choose between linking an existing profile and creating a new one. Do not leave it to chance.
- Save your profile links after the first release. Once your profile exists on each platform, keep the links or IDs in one note and use them for every later release. Share this note with your manager and bandmates, so whoever submits a release uses the same links.
- Collect links from featured artists. Before you submit a collaboration, ask each guest for their profile links on the main platforms.
- Spell your name exactly the same way. Same letters, same script, same spacing, same use of "&" or "and".
Check after release
Do not assume the release went to the right place. As soon as the status shows the release is live on a platform (in the CULT portal you can see the status on each platform), open your profile there and confirm the new song is on it. Check the featured artists' links as well. Do not stop at Spotify: Apple Music, YouTube Music and other platforms match profiles separately, so everything can be right in one place and wrong in another. Problems are much easier to fix in the first days, before playlists and fans start pointing to the wrong page.
How to get a mix-up fixed
If the song landed on the wrong profile, contact your distributor first: they delivered the release and can request a correction from the platform. Send everything in one message:
- the release title, artist name and release date
- the link to the wrong profile where the song appears now
- the link to your correct profile, if one exists
- the name of the platform or platforms affected
- for featured artists, the same details for each person
Keep the message short and precise, and add a screenshot if you can.
Corrections are handled by each platform on its own schedule, so it can take some time, and the fix on one platform does not automatically apply to the others. Some platforms also have forms in their artist tools for reporting music on the wrong profile; check their help pages, but the request is usually most effective coming from whoever delivered the release.
While you wait, do not share the wrong page or send it to playlist curators. Until the fix is through, share a direct link to the song itself rather than the artist page, so people are not sent to someone else's profile.
When someone else's song lands on your page
Sometimes the problem goes the other way: you open your profile and find a stranger's song on it. You cannot fix their delivery, but you can report it. Use the artist tools of the platform where you have access, explain that the release is not yours, and include the link to the release. Keep an eye on your profile for a while afterwards, because if the other artist keeps releasing under the same name without linking their profile, it can happen again. If you can reach that artist, a polite message to them can help too.