How to Release Music on Spotify and Apple Music: Step by Step

As an independent artist, you don't upload your music to Spotify or Apple Music yourself: it gets there through a distributor. Spotify's help pages say so directly: work with a distributor to get your music on Spotify (Spotify for Artists). Apple also encourages independent artists and labels with smaller catalogues to work with a distributor (Apple Music for Artists). The distributor delivers your audio, artwork and metadata to the stores and pays out the royalties the stores report.

The short version: prepare your masters and artwork, gather your metadata, sort out rights and splits, choose a distributor, fill in the release, and have it reviewed and delivered. After that, you follow your statistics, royalties and payouts. Below, each step is covered in turn, along with the mistakes that cause delays and how to avoid them. The examples come from the Crystal Distribution portal.

The whole process at a glance

Step 1: Prepare your masters

Your master is the final version of your recording, exactly as listeners will hear it. Crystal Distribution accepts WAV or FLAC at a minimum of 16-bit/44.1 kHz, in stereo. After upload, each file is checked on the server, including its duration, sample rate and number of channels; only then does it become the active version of your track.

If a file is rejected, the reason is shown with the upload, for example because it is mono or its sample rate is too low. You then upload a corrected file, without having to create the release again.

To avoid problems:

• Deliver the real final version. Once you submit, your release is locked. If you change anything afterwards, a new version is created and reviewed again.
• Don't convert an MP3 to WAV. What was lost in compression doesn't come back. Export directly from your project, or ask your mastering engineer for WAV or FLAC.
• Listen to every file all the way through. Check for unintended silence at the start, clicks and a cut-off ending.

Step 2: Gather your metadata

Metadata is all the information that travels with your music. Stores display it exactly as you deliver it, so a typo really does go live, and corrections cost time just before your release date. Have this ready:

• the release title and every track title, with a version label such as Remix or Live only when it is accurate;
• the main artists and any featured artists, spelled exactly as on your existing profiles;
• credits for each track: composers, lyricists and producers;
• the primary genre and, if relevant, a subgenre, plus the language of the titles;
• whether the release or any of its tracks contains explicit content;
• the ℗ line (name and year of the owner of the recordings) and the © line (name and year of the rights holder for the cover art and release texts);
• an ISRC for each recording and a UPC or EAN for the release.

A few examples, with made-up names:

For a single, the title of the first track has to match the release title; the wizard flags it if they differ.

An ISRC is the unique code for one recording; a UPC or EAN identifies the release as a whole. If a recording doesn't have an ISRC yet, one is assigned to it. When you move a catalogue to Crystal, your existing ISRC and UPC codes are kept. When you need a new code is covered in ISRC and UPC explained.

Step 3: Create artwork that passes review

Your cover is the first thing listeners see of your release. Crystal Distribution requires square artwork of at least 3000 × 3000 pixels, as JPG or PNG in RGB. Also make sure that:

• there are no URLs, social media handles, prices or store logos on the cover;
• any text on the cover matches the metadata: the same title and the same artist name;
• the image is sharp, with no visible pixelation or distortion;
• you hold the rights to the photos, illustrations and fonts you use;
• you state separately whether AI was used for the artwork.

If artwork is rejected, the reason is shown with the upload. Examples of rejections are covered in cover art requirements.

Step 4: Sort out rights and splits before you submit

When you submit, you declare that you have the right to release your music. That's why the portal asks, for each track, whether it is an original composition, a cover or a public domain work, whether it contains samples, and whether AI was used.

A cover needs a mechanical licence. Uncleared samples block submission. For covers, samples and remixes you add a rights file with evidence, such as a licence document, and Crystal staff review it. How to handle each situation is explained in releasing covers, samples and remixes.

Working with a producer, featured artist or co-writer? Agree in writing, before the release, who gets which share, and record that split for each track in the portal. Once they accept, collaborators get their own access to their streams, their share and their payouts. You can also agree recoupment with them, where costs are earned back first. More in royalty splits with collaborators.

Step 5: Choose a distributor

Spotify itself notes that most distributors charge a fee or commission, and suggests doing some research before you pick one. At the very least, compare:

• Rights: do you keep all rights to your masters?
• Pricing model: commission, subscription or a fee per release.
• Contract: how long does it run, and how do you end it?
• Payouts and statements: minimum amount, frequency, and detail per track and per store.
• Channels: which stores, and what about YouTube Content ID and the TikTok and Instagram/Facebook music libraries?

With Crystal Distribution you keep all rights: Crystal only receives a licence to distribute your music, and there is no subscription. Current terms are on the pricing page. For a fuller comparison, read choosing a music distributor. If your music is already with another distributor, read switching music distributor first, so you know in which order to do things.

Step 6: Fill in the release

In the portal, go to Releases and choose New release. Pick the label, the title and the release type: single, EP or album. Then work through six steps:

1. Basics: title, artists, genre, language and whether the release contains explicit content.
2. Tracks: for each track, the audio, the credits and the rights questions about composition, samples and AI.
3. Artwork: the cover, and whether AI was used for it.
4. Schedule & stores: the release date, the countries and the stores.
5. Rights: the ℗ and © lines, and an overview of what is still open for each track.
6. Check & submit: you review everything, sign the rights declaration and submit.

Each step shows what is still missing, and you can save along the way. Once you submit, that version is locked. If you change anything afterwards, a new version is created and you sign the declaration again.

Under Schedule & stores you choose the countries where your release will be available (everywhere by default) and the stores: all supported stores or your own selection. The distribution partner delivers to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, TIDAL, Audiomack, Pandora, Boomplay and Anghami, among others; the list can change (platforms).

YouTube Content ID and the TikTok and Instagram/Facebook music libraries are separate choices in your distribution agreement, and they require exclusive rights to the recording. Content ID recognises your recording in other people's videos. For TikTok and Reels, you choose where the clip starts; at least 30 seconds of the track must remain from that point. More in YouTube Content ID, TikTok and Instagram.

Step 7: Review, delivery and release day

After you submit, a Crystal Distribution staff member checks the metadata, rights and media. The release then goes to the distribution partner, which checks it and delivers it to the stores. How long a store takes is up to the store, not Crystal, so there is no fixed live date that anyone can promise you.

Reply quickly to any question: while your release is waiting on you, the rest of your plan slips (what each status means).

On Spotify, you pitch a song to the playlist editors through Spotify for Artists, and you can only do that once your release has been delivered there. Spotify asks you to deliver your music at least seven days before the release date, so its editors have time to listen. If you pitch an unreleased song at least seven days ahead, it also goes into your followers' Release Radar playlists (Spotify for Artists). A pitch is no promise of a playlist spot. So submit your release well in advance; a full timeline covering pitching, pre-saves and promotion is in plan your release.

On release day, check each store: is your release there, on the right profile, with the right title and cover?

After the release: statistics, royalties and payouts

Statistics

Spotify for Artists shows, among other things, your listeners and which playlists your song is on; Apple Music for Artists shows your listeners and placements in Apple Music's editorial playlists, among other things. If you don't have access yet, request it. In the Crystal portal you can also see what has been reported for each track and each store.

Royalties

Stores report through the distribution partner, usually one to three months later; Crystal doesn't control that delay. Crystal imports each report in full, checks the total and then allocates the lines to your releases. Your royalty statement is broken down by period, track and store, and you can export it as CSV. A published statement doesn't change; a correction appears as a new statement (royalties and royalty statements).

Watch out for a threshold on Spotify: a track only counts towards recording royalties once it has had at least 1,000 streams in the previous twelve months, and there is also a minimum number of unique listeners. The threshold applies per recording, which means per ISRC. According to Spotify, the single and album versions of a song should share one ISRC, while a live version and an acoustic version should each have their own (Spotify for Artists).

If you write your own songs, streams also generate songwriting royalties. These don't come through your distributor but through collecting societies (for example PRS for Music in the UK, or ASCAP or BMI in the US) or a music publisher. See music royalties explained and what a music publisher does.

Payouts

Reported revenue isn't money in your account yet: your available balance comes only from posted statements. The minimum amount and how often settlements happen are set out in your royalty agreement. A payout is prepared by Crystal, approved by a second staff member and then sent to your verified bank account. Changing your bank account requires a fresh two-step verification (payouts and bank details).

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Submitting too late. That leaves no room for questions, corrections or a pitch. Plan backwards from your release date.
• Spelling your artist name differently across releases. Choose one spelling, so your releases end up on the same profile.
• Covers or samples without permission. Get the licence or clearance before you submit, not afterwards.
• No agreements with collaborators. Put splits in writing before the release.
• Buying streams. Income from established artificial streams is not paid out, and a store's fine can be passed on to you if it is shown that you caused the streams. Read artificial streaming before you pay for promotion.
• Taking your old releases down first when you switch. Make sure the new delivery is live, with the same codes and metadata, and only then remove the old one.

Ready for your first release? See how distribution with Crystal Distribution works, and prepare your release step by step in the portal.