Here, we’ve compiled answers to the most commonly asked questions to provide you with quick and easy solutions.
Whether you’re curious about our products, services, policies, or anything else, you’ll find helpful information here. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to reach out to our friendly support team. Let’s get started

These are places you can listen to music online.
A Digital Service Provider (DSP) is an online store (iTunes, Amazon Music) or streaming service (Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube Music) that features digital albums and singles. We collect mechanical royalties and performance royalties from DSPs on behalf of our clients and pay those royalties to you directly.

Digital Service Provider (DSP)
A Digital Service Provider (“DSP”) is an entity that provides digital music services (whether streaming, downloads, or both), via computer or phone networks. DSPs tend to focus on driving almost all interactions online and across devices. Examples are Apple Music, Spotify, and Deezer.

Mechanical royalties
Royalties earned through the reproduction of copyrighted works in digital and physical formats. Songwriters are paid mechanical royalties per song sold, downloaded, and streamed via “on-demand” streaming services.

Mechanical rights music refers to the rights associated with the reproduction and distribution of musical compositions. These rights are typically managed by music publishers or organizations that specialize in music licensing.

When someone wants to use a musical composition for purposes such as recording it on a CD, streaming it online, or using it in a film or advertisement, they need to obtain permission from the copyright owner to do so. This permission is granted through a mechanical license, which allows the licensee (the person or entity using the music) to reproduce and distribute the composition in a specified format or medium.
The term “mechanical” originated from the era when music was reproduced mechanically, such as through player pianos or phonograph records. Today, mechanical rights cover a wide range of digital and physical formats, including CDs, digital downloads, streaming services, and more.

Mechanical rights music services help manage the licensing process, ensuring that composers, songwriters, and publishers receive proper compensation for the use of their music. They handle the legal aspects of obtaining licenses, collecting royalties, and ensuring compliance with copyright laws, allowing both music creators and users to navigate the complex world of music licensing efficiently and fairly.

How do I earn “Mechanicals”?
While the term “mechanical royalties” dates back to the early 20th century, it’s evolved quite a bit over the years and now refers to when your music is reproduced and sold through either physical editions or digital files. This means you earn them whether your label just sold a batch of limited vinyl LPs or you just racked up millions of streams on leading platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.

Other oft-overlooked ways you can earn mechanical royalties include ringtones/ringbacks, cover song/karaoke recordings, film soundtracks, and interactive greeting cards.

What are the rates for “Mechanicals”?
Mechanical license royalty rates were first established by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal as part of the Copyright Act of 1976. The current statutory rate for physical or download mechanical royalties is 12.4 cents for recordings less than five minutes long and 2.39 cents per minute for songs longer than five minutes. Streaming royalty rates are based on the overall revenue a particular service brings in and how much of that they are legally required to share with songwriters.

However, these rates change often and are determined by a number of factors within the digital streaming platforms themselves. Information Is Beautiful has a helpful infographic exploring the relationship between rates and web traffic here.

Rest assured that if you have your songs distributed to many streaming platforms and you’re effectively marketing your music to earn more streams, you have money coming your way through mechanical royalties.

Who collects these royalties for me?
Artists should be aware that earning royalties is only one step in the monetization process. Actually getting paid is another. Good record-keeping is essential. If you don’t know where your music is being used and played, it will be difficult to know whether you are collecting everything you earned.

Collecting global royalties can also be challenging. It’s nearly impossible for a creator to register their music with every collection society around the world. Utilizing a publishing administrator like Songtrust is the most efficient method of monitoring, managing, and collecting these funds all over the world. We’ll register your songs with mechanical organizations (and other publishing royalty sources) in the U.S. and internationally, and track your funds down, leaving you more time for the art of actually making music.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of royalties, it’s important to remember how a song is split into two halves: the composition and the master recording.
The composition, or publishing, side refers to the lyrics and underlying melody within a piece of music. The master refers to a specific recording of the song.
While songwriters typically control their composition rights until they sign an agreement with a publisher, master recording rights are often partially or fully owned by their label or distributor.
Publishing is divided further into performance royalties and mechanical royalties. Unlike performance royalties — which generate both a writer and publisher share — mechanical royalties only generate the latter.

1. What is music publishing?
Music publishing involves the management of musical compositions’ copyrights. It encompasses activities like licensing, administration, and collection of royalties for the use of musical works.

2. How does music publishing benefit songwriters?
Music publishing allows songwriters to earn royalties when their compositions are used in various ways, such as recordings, performances, and synchronization in media like films and commercials.

3. What is the difference between a songwriter and a music publisher?
A songwriter is the individual who creates the musical composition, while a music publisher is responsible for managing the rights and commercial exploitation of that composition.

4. What rights do music publishers manage?
Music publishers typically manage mechanical rights (reproduction and distribution), performance rights (public performances), synchronization rights (use in audiovisual works), and print rights (sheet music).

5. How do music publishers earn money?
Music publishers earn revenue through various channels, including licensing fees, royalties from sales and performances, synchronization fees, and advances on future royalties.

6. What is a publishing deal?
A publishing deal is a contractual agreement between a songwriter and a music publisher, where the publisher obtains the rights to exploit and administer the songwriter’s compositions in exchange for a percentage of the royalties earned.

7. How do I protect my music through copyright?
You can protect your music by registering it with a copyright office, such as the U.S. Copyright Office, which provides legal proof of ownership and exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, and perform your compositions.

8. How do I get my music published?
Getting your music published involves either signing a publishing deal with a music publisher or self-publishing your compositions. Each option has its advantages and considerations, depending on your goals and resources.

9. What are performing rights organizations (PROs), and how do they help songwriters?
PROs are organizations that collect and distribute performance royalties to songwriters and publishers for the public performance of their compositions. Examples include ASCAP, BMI, SACEM, ECAD and SESAC.

These are the different codes used to identify your music.

What is a UPC or EAN code?
A UPC (Universal Product Code) or EAN (International Article Number) is a unique code used to identify a release.

What is an ISRC code?
ISRC, the International Standard Recording Code, is the internationally recognized identification tool for sound and music video recordings.

How to assign UPC and ISRC codes to a release
There are two ways of assigning a code in the platform:
1. Automatically
2. Manually

Automatically
To assign automatic codes users have to select the following fields:

– Tab 1. “Release info” for UPC code:
– Track edition for ISRC code:

In this case, UPC and ISRC codes are assigned during the distribution process (after the release approval).

Manually:
To assign manual codes users have to fill in the following fields:

– “Release UPC code*” (in tab 1. Release info)
– “ISRC Code*” (inside the track edition)

This can be done by record labels or artists that own legitimately registered UPC and ISRC codes.
Note that UPC and ISRC codes cannot be modified once they have been assigned or confirmed (after the distribution of the release).

The GRid is a unique identifier for digital albums. GRid stands for Global Release Identifier, and it’s part of a system that allows digital music files to be identified, constituting the electronic version of the UPC.

Why the GRid in addition to the UPC?
Although UPC codes are effective when tracking physical sales of specific content, they are not as effective when it comes to songs that are sold digitally.

The GRid, consisting of a unique code assigned to each digitally distributed content, ensures that artists are rewarded for each digital sale made on the internet.

Even though, for now, it is NOT a mandatory requirement to distribute your music.

How can I get the GRid code?

GRid codes can be obtained from the official IFPI website, you can directly access the form by clicking here.

The DDEX Party Identifier (DPID) is an identification resource applicable only to distributors. If you are an artist or a label, it is not required to fill out the platform field.

What is DDEX?
DDEX (Digital Data Exchange, typically pronounced “Dee-Dex”) is a consortium of leading media companies, music licensing organizations, digital music service providers, and technical intermediaries focused on creating standards for use by businesses in the digital media supply chain. Adoption of the standards improves efficiency, reduces cost, and generates higher revenues for all businesses operating in this market.

You can find more information here on DDEX FAQ main page.

How to get the Party ID?
If as a distributor you can’t find your Party ID, please check it here: http://dpid.ddex.net/index.php

Generally, stores like iTunes, Amazon and others keep 30% off of a sale. Orbit gets 70% of a sale (this is called the wholesale price) and shares 100% of this amount with the client. It means you are receiving 70% of royalties. Please, keep also in mind that:

– Sales reports issued by music services include only the amount after deducting the service’s share on the revenue.

– For stores that offer full-track streaming, there is a proportionate share worked out differently for every store.

Therefore, monthly payouts for music streaming sales can vary each month. You can check all the information shared by channels on your Sales Reports. 

BMAT focuses on activities around music monitoring services, including the tracking of any public communication of music.

By distributing to BMAT, contents can be identified across televisions, radios, venues, and digital services globally; and then reported and rewarded. 

Vericast — their audio recognition and music identification platform — uses audio fingerprinting technologies to service venues, digital and broadcast monitoring data for royalties distribution.
The company has grown to service more than 100 Collective Management Organizations and over 2 thousand Record labels and publishers. Their monitoring platform delivers 92 million identifications monthly and overviews 230 million digital transactions hourly.

As per DSP’s guidelines, the following genres and content types are not allowed: production loops, sound effects, karaoke recordings, classical music recordings of compositions in the public domain, DJ sets or continuous mixes, prayer recordings.

When will you receive your Statement?
We issue statements between the 25th and 30th of every month.

How long does it take for DSPs to report after the music is streamed or downloaded?
It varies. Most DSPs have a delay of 60 to 90 days between streams/downloads and when they report and pay out to Orbit Elements.

In general:

•Apple, YouTube: 2 months (you’d be paid in March for January)
•Amazon: varies between 2-3 months
•All other DSPs: 3 months (some smaller DSPs can take longer)

Here’s an example of the timeline from stream/download to payout:

If a stream/download happens in September, most DSPs report monthly. Reports for September would be received around mid-late October. Payment for this report won’t be received until mid-late November. Payments are made during the royalty run around the 22nd of each month, so if the payment hasn’t been received by that date, it won’t be included in that month’s statement. Typically, the December 25th royalty run will include statements for most DSPs, with Apple and YouTube being exceptions as they tend to pay out only 2 months later.

When will you receive your payment?
Payments are triggered within 24-48 hours after your statement is generated. The exact arrival date may vary depending on your country and payment method.

Important steps in the process:

•DSPs typically send revenue reports for September streams/downloads by mid-October.
•Larger DSPs (Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Deezer, Amazon) usually do not experience delays, but smaller DSPs may.
•Some DSPs report quarterly, and delays are common for many.
•Occasionally, DSPs identify missed transactions from months or years prior, issuing adjustment reports and payments.

When Orbit Elements receives historical reports and payments from DSPs, these will be reflected in your statement, listed in the Transaction Date column of your detailed transactions.

After receiving the DSP’s revenue report, we still need to receive the payment before generating your statement.

Additional Notes:

•Your month X statement may include streams/downloads from previous months, reflected in the detailed (raw data) page of your statement.
•You can see which DSPs are included in your report by checking the summary tab, or filtering the ‘sales raw data’ tab by columns B and C for reporting month and DSP transactions.
•We can only include in your statement what has been paid out in the month before we send out your Orbit Elements Statement.
•Our general payout policy: Orbit Elements will payout funds within 30 days of receiving them from DSPs or Merlin. For example, funds received by October 31 will be reported in Orbit Elements’ November statement.

Licencing

If you distribute a cover to all channels, we recommend you provide a license that allows you to do it. Orbit Elements QC team may create a ticket to recommend this license.

Given the new legislation related to the MLC* which became effective in 2021, the requirement of a license for covers on certain cases (especially streaming), is not mandatory anymore in the American territory. Despite the fact that this is not an international paradigm, its appearance forces us to review our current licensing processes.

Therefore, from this moment, in case there is a release with covers to be distributed, the QC team may ask for a license, without thereby supposing an obligation, but more like a recommendation.

The reasons why the licenses will still be recommended are the following:

– We recommend still providing them for download platforms since the flexible legal terms are related to streaming platforms

– The original authors of the content can exercise their right to prevent the publication of any version or reinterpretation of their opus.
Both cases can cause the takedown of the distributed content or the claim from the DSPs.

The transformations (medleys, lyrical or compositional changes, translations, use of original masters, etc.) may still require a license that can be obtained as official permission from the editor of the original piece.

COMPULSORY LICENSES: these are licenses that should look like the attachment of this article.

CUSTOM LICENSES: these are licenses that are issued by both parts involved (owner of the original piece and owner of the cover), and must include, at least,  the following:

  • Name of the person who is making the cover
  • Name of the original piece artist
  • Publisher of the original song
  • Signature of the original author, or at least the publisher, and the person who is making the cover.

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) is a nonprofit organization created to administer blanket mechanical licenses to eligible DSPs in the U.S., and to pay the resulting royalties to songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers.

It is having a major effect on the way that covers are managed by all agents in the industry since this system allows DSPs to easily license musical works’ reproduction and distribution rights through a more transparent system, making them liable for the licensing process.

Unfortunately, it exclusively operates on the commercialization DSPs make of any given cover in the US territory only, as long as the appropriate authors are correctly listed by the MLC.

On our platform, you have the possibility to distribute remixes, but not all of them can be distributed freely and without restrictions. In this article, we will explain the reasons behind the impossibility of distributing unofficial remixes and what is considered as such.

An unofficial remix is considered one that has not been approved or authorized by the copyright owner of the original song. This means the remixer has not obtained the necessary permissions to use the original song in their creation.

Exclusive Rights and Ineligible Content

When it comes to remixing the work of other artists, creating a remix involves the reuse of previous material whose authorship belongs to other artists, publishers, or other entities. Therefore, it will be necessary to provide the corresponding licenses to use this content; otherwise, it will be rejected by the quality control team.

So, you’ll need to have exclusive rights to the material you want to distribute. For example, the following cases are not eligible for use:

  • Content licensed non-exclusively from third parties.
  • Content released under licenses similar to Creative Commons or open licenses.
  • Public domain content.
  • Clips from other sources used under fair use principles.
  • Game recordings (by someone other than the game’s publisher).

The content you distribute to channels must be distinct enough to be eligible for distribution. Therefore, the following examples are not eligible for YouTube Audio Fingerprint and other channels, so they will not be approved:

  • Karaoke recordings, remasters, and similar recordings.
  • Covers of instrumentals and/or with covered lead vocals.
  • Unofficial remixes, rearrangements of an original track not published on any official release of the original artist.
  • Sound effects, soundbeds (nature sounds, generic sounds, etc.), or sample loops.
  • Compilations, continuous DJ mixes, mashups, playlists, and full album recordings.

⚠ Even if you exclusively own all the content in these examples, you must separate them into individual tracks.

To distribute DJ mixes or remixes, you must pay attention to the following details:

  • It is not possible to upload songs with unauthorized samples unless you have permission from all involved parties.
  • You can upload remixes of your own work without the need for special credits.
  • If you are remixing another artist’s work, you need explicit permission from the original content owner (label, publisher, artist, among others).

By following these guidelines, you can efficiently and smoothly distribute remixes on our platform.

For the quality control process of your release, our audio analysis tool can detect if a sample has been added or if the release corresponds to an existing song, so we will need licenses to distribute it.

However, our audio analysis tool is not exclusive. In other words, if the Quality Control team detects through other means that the release consists of third-party material mixed unofficially, the content will also be rejected.

If you distribute an unauthorized remix, you could face the following consequences:

  • Copyright infringement lawsuit: The original artist or copyright holder could sue you for copyright infringement. This could result in damages, and you might even face criminal charges.
  • Removal of the remix from distribution platforms: Digital distribution platforms like Spotify and Apple Music have strict policies against distributing unauthorized copyrighted content. If they discover that you are distributing an unauthorized remix, they could remove it from their platforms.
  • Reputation damage with Orbit Elements: If it is revealed that you have distributed an unauthorized remix, it could damage your reputation on our services. This could make it challenging for your catalog to pass the review process in Quality Control, and it might even lead to an inspection of your catalog, halting your platform’s activities during the inspection period.

There are several possibilities in order to use a sample on a release, and you must justify the use of it depending on each case:

  1. If the sample was obtained directly from the original owner: the original owner must provide a valid document that expresses his agreement with the obtainment, use and commercialization of his sample, by the artist who intends to distribute it through the platform.
  2. If the sample was obtained from an instrument, either physical or virtual instrument: the license or any other evidence that can demonstrate that the sample has been obtained from an instrument must be presented. Similarly, if applicable, you must present the license that is usually available with the instrument.
  3. If the sample was obtained through a payment service (per unit or per subscription): A proof of payment must be presented for the unit, or the registration of the subscription to said service, as well as evidence that the sample has been obtained through this specific payment service.
  4. If the sample was obtained through a free legal service: Any valid evidence that could demonstrate that the sample has been obtained through the free service, must be presented, and also valid evidence that could prove authorized commercialization of the obtained sample.
  5. If the sample has not been obtained by any of the aforementioned means. It must be justified and in the same way, present a document or any evidence that could prove that:
  • The use of the sample is allowed
  • It has been provided by legal means
  • It has been obtained in a legal manner
  • It grants permission to the commercialization of the sample or derivative works
  •  

If the provisions of this policy are not met, then the content involved will not be approved, nor will its distribution be accepted.

Orbit Backstage

In order to avoid possible errors concerning profile assignment, we recommend all End Users to fill the credentials found in their artist profiles, for their SoundCloud profile, Apple Artist ID, and the Spotify artist ID, in the “Catalog / Artists” tab. 

Important: this functionality only works with existing profiles, it is not necessary when the end-users need to create a new Artist ID.

How to add the SoundCloud profile?
End-users can link their SoundCloud profile to the platform by only copying their profile URL:
https://soundcloud.com/artist

How to get the Apple Artist ID?

End-users can get the Apple Artist ID from the link to their profile. It corresponds to the numbers that follow the artist’s name, at the end of the link:
https://music.apple.com/en/artist/stephen-please/1467880022

How to obtain a Spotify Artist ID?
There are several ways for users to get an existing Spotify Artist ID.

Desktop App
1. Navigate to the Artist page in the Spotify desktop app.
2. Click the “…” icon below the Artist’s name.
3. Click Share > Copy Spotify URI.
4. Paste the Spotify URI in this field, and delete “spotify:artist:”.

Alternative to Desktop App
It is also possible to obtain the Artist ID if using the web app:
1. Navigate to the Artist page in the Spotify web app.
2. See URL, for instance, https://open.spotify.com/artist/7uDTeA3whn6z2NNm5dkSF5 
3. The Artist ID is the alphanumerical value after “artist/”, for instance, https://open.spotify.com/artist/0bOrkDLzYe57Zl803Zv8ww

Also, the link to the artist page can be copied via the web app:
1. Navigate to the Artist page in the Spotify web app.
2. Click the “…” icon below the Artist’s name.
3. Click Share > Copy the link to the artist.
4. The Artist ID is the value between artist/ and ?, for instance: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0bOrkDLzYe57Zl803Zv8ww4-h3WOczRjes3njThgUs4Q?si=g1V5aDGPSpm2LRMXZuaKdw

When the field is clicked, a pop-up is displayed to guide the user through the process of obtaining the ID.

 

In this article, you can find information about the new audio analysis tool.

What is it and what does it do?
The “Audio Analysis Issues” information icon and popup are visible next to each track when a copyright match has been detected.

In case of a match, it displays detailed information about any copyrighted audio already distributed to DSPs and corresponding to the track uploaded by the user into the platform.

This allows you to detect any potential fraud attempts (upload of infringing material by end-users) and helps our Quality Control to prevent copyright infringement issues with DSPs.

How does it work?
Each audio uploaded into the platform is analyzed by a fingerprinting algorithm and matched against any existing copyrighted asset.
The section of the audio track eventually containing a positive match will be displayed as shown below:

What happens if an audio analysis issue is detected?
Any release containing infringing material will be rejected and not distributed to DSPs.

Our backstage dashboard is available in 19 different languages for a user-friendly experience for all.

The sales process works in 2 stages: Estimated Sales and Confirmed Sales.

Estimated Sales: Sales information we uploaded to the platform (from 10th to 20th each month) after receiving the data from the DSPs

Confirmed Sales: Each sales report is validated once the channel’s payment is done (from 20th to 25th monthly)

NOTE: The process to confirm a sales report isn’t something immediate as some channels pay in 60 days (invoice date) and we receive the sales reports with a time lag from 45 to 60 days. Please, keep in mind that since you deliver your release until you can see your account balance it can take 3 to 4 months. 

To collect the royalties on your account you have to request the desired amount by clicking the green button “Request outpayment” inside your user’s account Sales > Balance.

You will be able to request your royalties as soon as your balance overcomes the corresponding threshold, if not, the “Request outpayment” button won’t appear. You can find the current threshold applied to your account from My Account > Pricing.

Note for the Admin: This information may vary depending on the setup being applied.

Here below you can find detailed information about cover art requirement

1. Quality of images
The cover art must not be any of the following: blurry, pixelated, mismatched, misaligned, rotated, incorrect, or have other quality issues. 

2. Dimensions of cover art
The cover art of all releases must accomplish with all following requirements:

– Proportion: Exactly squared
– Minimum size: 3000 x 3000px
– Maximum size: 5000 x 5000px
– Accepted formats: JPG, TIFF or PNG
– Mode: RGB (CMYK is not acceptable)
– Maximum size of file: 36 MB

The images which do not accomplish with all the above requirement will not be acceptable and may not be shown in the channels.

3. Links and webpages
The cover art must not contain website addresses, websites that sell music, mention to social media, logos of any store or services related to entertainment, mention to phisical formats, or any external reference of the digital release.

4. Credits and collaborations
The cover art can include credits or other artist’s names who are not the primary artist of the release, always in a precise form and without any type of abbreviattion. The introduced information in the cover will have to be reproduced with extreme precision in the metadata and vice versa.

And, similarly, expressions like “all rights reserved” – or equivalent – cannot be used. Not even other redundant or unnecessary information.

The release reference number can appear in the cover, but not the release’s UPC or any track’s ISRC codes. 

5. Tracklisting and illegible texts
The cover art must not contain track listing, as the image will be generally visualized in small formats and it won’t be able to appreciate small size texts.

In general, is recommended to use legible fonts in the cover, specially for the sizing. 

6. Descriptions and biographies
The cover art must not include albums’ descriptions, nor artist’s biographies.

7. Telephone or email addresses
The cover art must not contain any telephone number and email addresses.

8. Digital Product
The cover art must not include references to it being a digital product. 

9. Pricing
The cover art must not include references to pricing, nor any information with promotional purposes.

10. Pornography
The cover art must not contain pornography or to do any violence apology, neither a URL of any website that contains or links to pornography content.

11. Misleading information
The cover art must not be misleading. For example, prominently depicting or referencing an artist even though the artist does not perform on the album.

12. Missing Content 
The cover art must not contain references to content that the album doesn’t contain, such as “included DVD” or “includes lyrics.”

13. Offensive Symbolism
The cover art must not contain any kind of symbolism that offends a specific group of persons or ethnicities, such as nazi symbolism restricted by the Strafgesetzbuch section 86a.

14. Irrelevant information
The cover art must not include additional information which are irrelevant to the content’s identification, such as album descriptions, artist biography, music genre, instrument with which the album is executed, credits or any text incorporing merely ornamental characters that do not guard an explicit relation with the content.

Preferably in occidental languages contents, it is necessary to avoid the use of extraoccidental or special characters – such as the Asian or Arabic characters, among others – until they guard an explicit, justifiable and coherent relation with the content.

15. Logos, images and registered brand
Every logo appearing in the cover must be justified in the metadata, including the involved texts. These logos will be accepted if they guard clear relation with the album’s content and explain some relevant information – producer, artist, label, etc. Designers or artists -who created the cover design- mentions won’t be accepted as any other external content that isn’t involved with the release directly. 

Any registered brand can appear in the cover, or any other person / company / property images institution. Is totally prohibited the explicit or implicit promotion of them.

Their appearance in the cover will only be accepted if they are visually irrelevant and it can only  help to clarify the cover’s intention, and not to promote any product, brand, institution or company.

Note: a company name or logo will be able to appear in the cover and/or in the metadata only if it accomplishes some relevant role in the release (in a musical or/and publishing point of view), and remain justified in the metadata (for example: as a producer or publisher). 

In addition, it will be necessary to report documentation to prove the consent of the involved mentioned institution to use its name.

Minimum audio resolution

The minimum requirements for uploading audio masters are:

  • WAV at 16 bit depth, 44.1KHz, stereo.
  • FLAC at 16 bit depth, 44.1KHz, stereo.

Hifi/HD audio

We also support these Hifi/HD files:

 Bit depthSampling rateStereoFormat
Basic Audio master1644.1KHzmandatoryWAV or FLAC
HD master2496KHz
Studio HD master24192KHz

We also support other sampling rates above 44.1KHz.

  • Mastering. In order to ensure good audio quality, and meet the standards of today’s music industry, all audio files, must have undergone professional mastering before their distribution.
  • Audio quality. The audio files should not have any sound imperfections. Audio files containing any background noise and other sound imperfections will not be accepted for distribution. Silence, cuts, pauses, or extended silences are not allowed. The audio cannot have more than 10 seconds of silence neither at the beginning nor at the end of the track. Other kinds of silences, such as cuts, long pauses, or sudden endings, should be avoided too as they can be misunderstood as audio errors.
Audio typeFormatRequirements
AudioflacMinimum of 16 bit, 44.1 Khz, stereo. Recommended 24 bits, 48Khz or 24 bits 96Khz.
AudiowavMinimum of 16 bit, 44.1 Khz, stereo. Recommended 24 bits, 48Khz or 24 bits 96Khz.
    • Hidden tracks and ghost tracks. This content must be included separately in digital releases, indicating the corresponding expression in the version field. The silence rules apply equally to this kind of audio.
    • Silent tracks and white noise tracks. This kind of audio is not allowed. Its use will be interpreted as fraudulent, leading to the application of our Anti-Fraud Policy.
  • Audios and titles. Audio files and track titles must always match. Audios uploaded to non-corresponding tracks are not accepted.
  • Minimum length. If it is a single, a song has to last more than 30 seconds, otherwise, the channels can interpret the release as click fraud. If it is part of an EP or album it can be permitted as long as it has coherence with the whole release or if the song is an intro, interlude, or outro. Generally speaking, unless it is artistically justified, we recommend audio longer than a minute.
  • Previews, commercials, snippets and trailers. None of these formats are permitted.

Orbit is designed to help your business thrive. The application is divided into focus areas around different types of users or workflows. Let’s take a quick tour so you know where to find everything you’re looking for.

Primary navigation
: A constant companion at the side of the screen. Quickly access the core modules you access most often, like Catalog, Royalties, Analytics, and Finances.

Secondary navigation: Once you’ve chosen your core module, secondary navigation acts like a detailed map. Dive deeper into subsections within each module. Under Catalog, for example, you’ll find subsections like Releases, Tracks, Artists, and Labels, guiding you directly to the specific entities you need to manage and grow your business.

The Interface is designed to make it easy to perform every workflow as quickly as possible. Learn the most common workflows using the walkthrough videos below.

 

Releases

Once a release is delivered, we do not control the way that partner sites categorize your release. When they receive your content, they have their own designations for a Single, EP, or an Album based on how many tracks are on the project and the total run time.

(*How Apple Music and iTunes designate the following.)

Single
Releases that meet the requirements below will automatically have “- Single” inserted in the release title within Apple Music and iTunes Store.

– The release is one to three (1-3) tracks.
– The entire release is 30 minutes or less and all individual tracks are less than 10 minutes.

EP
On all releases that meet the requirements below, Apple will automatically insert “- EP” to the title if you do not already have “- EP” in the title of your album.

EP’s must meet one of the following two requirements:

– The release has a total of one to three (1-3) tracks, one or more of the tracks is/are 10 minutes or longer and the entire release is less than 30 minutes.
– The release has a total of four to six (4-6) tracks and the entire release is less than 30 minutes.

Album
Releases that meet the requirements below will be distributed to Apple as an Album:

– The release has seven (7) or more tracks AND/OR
– The release is over 30 minutes in duration.

Compilation
Releases with 5 or more primary artists or albums that have multiple tracks released over an 18 month period will be categorized as a compilation on Apple.

(*Spotify designates the following.)

Single
Releases that meet the requirements below will be distributed to Spotify as a single:
– The release has three (3) or fewer tracks.
– The release is under 30 minutes in duration.

EP
Releases that meet the requirements below will be distributed to Spotify as an EP:

– The release has four to six (4-6) tracks.
– The release is under 30 minutes in duration.

Album
Releases that meet the requirements below will be distributed to Spotify as an Album:
– The release has seven (7) or more tracks AND/OR
– The release is over 30 minutes in duration.

Various Artists
If a release has 4 or more artists (including Remixers), the release will say “Various Artist” on the album level. The artists’ names will be listed on the track level. On the artists’ individual pages, the “Various Artists” release will appear in the “Appears On” section.

Lyrics

Depending on each DSP, you can add lyrics to your tracks as we explain here:

Table of channels

Channel

Lyric provider + How they use it

Spotify

Genius: Spotify will only display lyrics in their app if selected by Genius’s in-house editorial team.


MusixMatch: For non-curated catalogue, displays lyrics synchronized with Spotify on the MusixMatch app.

Apple Music / iTunes

Lyrics field of your tracks on the platform


MusixMatch: As technology for an enhanced search experience, letting users search songs by lyrics, and for time synced lyrics.

FBRM (Instagram and Facebook stories)

MusixMatch

Tidal

MusixMatch

JioSaavn

MusixMatch

Amazon

MusixMatch + LyricFind 

Amazon Alexa

Musixmatch’s data allows playback to be initiated by simply quoting a line or chorus.

Deezer

LyricFind 

Pandora

LyricFind 

Spotify Lyrics

Spotify lyrics are provided by Genius and MusixMatch.

In order for artists to have their lyrics on Spotify, they need to add their repertoire to MusixMatch.

In addition, Musixmatch has launched a new service Musixmatch for Music Creators, where artists and/or labels can sign up to upload and sync their lyrics.

Also, everyone can create an account on Genius and start transcribing lyrics and adding new songs and lyrics. However once this is done, does not mean it will be updated in Spotify. Genius + Spotify integration is solely handled by the Genius in-house team, which picks out songs based on popularity, brand collaborations, and the tastes of our content team. If you think an artist might qualify for the Spotify integration, please send a message to streetlights.

If a song does not currently have lyrics available, you will see “Lyrics aren’t available for this song”. Facebook Rights Manager team is working diligently to add new lyrics every day. Lyrics are being compiled and delivered to the channel by their lyric partner MusixMatch.

So, if you want to ensure that your lyrics are available in Stories you must register them to their lyric partner MusixMatch. Anyone can sing up and add lyrics to their song! 

FBRM is asking labels to ensure their artists’ lyrics are available in time for their next release, and to have them sign up to become a Verified Artist at Musixmatch and use their New Release form

Playlist Pitching

DSPs generally ask for 3 to 5 bullet points when it comes to Marketing Drivers accompanying an elevator pitch. The basic question of “How are you marketing your release?” can be interpreted in several different ways. Below we outline some guiding principles to assist you in your upcoming submissions.

Marketing Drivers can consist of any of the below:

1. What is the Artist, Label, and/or team doing online to push listeners to DSPs to listen to the
music?

2. Future planning vs past success. Always provide context for all future planning for your artist up through this current release as well as what is happening next. The more long-term vision provided, the better! For example: is there a long lead timeline? Tour dates? Especially if they are sold out, highlight this information.

3. Identify who your priority target audience is and how are you marketing towards them?

4. Include any/all relevant social reach and engagement to show the reach of your artist. Showing recent growth percentages is always a plus.

5. Identify the marketing teams for this release (PR, Radio, etc) including which territories. Also, pinpoint local teams relevant to the artist. For example: if the Artist is based in Italy, identify what is being done marketing-wise in Italy.


Example:
1. First single ‘XX (Feb 2021) garnered public support from FINNEAS and One Republic’s Ryan Tedder and was supported by American YouTuber Roomie to his 7.21 million YouTube subscribers.

2. Sold out EU/UK tour starts on October 2021 + confirmed for Reeperbahn 2021. North America tour dates and the second leg of the EU tour for Spring 2022 are to be announced soon.

3. Artist will support the release across social channels with a combined reach of 1.87 million followers (1.29M YouTube / 297K Instagram / 280.4K TikTok) in the week prior and during release week.

4. Recent press coverage from MTV.com, Earmilk, Clash, Wonderland, Riptide Mag (FR), Essentially Pop, Tonspion (DE)

Every marketing submission requires an elevator pitch. This can also be considered a hype sticker or blurb.

However you shake it, this is a staple item for a baseline editorial pitch to any DSP. So… what goes into an effective elevator pitch? We’re here to help.

A suitable elevator pitch should include:

1. Background sentence about the artist;

2. Two sentences about the release (story, featuring artist or collaborator, what the track sounds
like, similar artists/recommended if you like, etc.);

3. Sentence about the bigger picture. What’s coming up next for the artist? Or engaging marketing
drivers to support the release?

4. Give DSPs a reason to care… what’s the hook?

Examples:
1. XX is an Italian DJ & Producer based in Bologna. Born and raised in Sicily, he was inspired by the sound of the sea and wind. His new single “XX” is the final part of XX’s debut release series. “XX” is a hymn for love, playful lyrics and elegant sound design are what make XX’s music special.

2. This is the second single and EP announcement coming from XX’s debut. Previous lead single “XX” received coverage from The New York Times and The Guardian. The track release coincides with a music video by famed director Derrick Belcham (Mitski, Spoon, Paul Simon). Recently featured on Bing & Ruth’s Divergence: Species Remix EP + for fans of Mary Lattimore, Julianna Barwick, and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

Fix and Repair

Some channels have enabled the option to request a new profile or relocate their content from their own applications, while others can be contacted through Orbit Elements.

Channels that manage the modifications independently 
The following channels have their own forms or tools to relocate content:

Anghami: 
If they have their own and/or verified profile:
Request it through Anghami for Artists. 

If they do not have their own and/or verified profile yet:
– Complete this form.

Amazon: 
Create an account on the Amazon Music for Artists platform (it doesn’t matter if the artists are already verified or not). 
Fill in the form https://artists.amazon.com/reportArtistProfile.

Apple Music: 
Create an Apple ID (it doesn’t matter if the artists are already verified or not. In the second case, it will help them to get verified later)
Fill in the form https://artists.apple.com/contact-us.

Deezer:
Use the following form: https://creatorsupport.deezer.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

Spotify:
If they have their own and/or verified profile:

A) Fill in the form https://artists.spotify.com/c/content-mismatch or

B) Include Artist ID on the platform and request an update on all the artist’s content.

If they do not have their own and/or verified profile yet:

Please, raise a ticket to
[email protected].

Tidal:
If they have their own and/or verified profile:

Request it through Tidal Artist Home. 
If they do not have their own and/or verified profile yet:
Complete this form.

TikTok:
TikTok has just activated a “report problem” option in the Sounds Tab, where TikTok accounts can directly report mapping problems.

Boomplay: 
Fill in the form https://www.boomplay.com/artist-center/faq/releases/music-under-the-wrong-profile.

If in the process of verifying your artist find any problems, contact: [email protected] 

Other channels
If your users need to relocate their content, report an homonym in their artist page or create a new profile in the channels mentioned below, please raise a ticket to [email protected] with the necessary information and we’ll get in touch with them to make sure they fix your issue:

– Spotify (only new artist page requests)
– YouTube Music
– Claro Musica
– AWA
– KDigital
– KKBox
– Rhapsody/Napster
– Tencent

Artist ID from the platform for Spotify, Apple & SoundCloud

If the artist already has a Spotify, Apple and/or Souncloud profile, they can indicate before distributing content what their artist profile is. This can be done from the artist section by adding their Artist ID in the corresponding boxes and then requesting the distribution of their content.

If the content has already been distributed, request the change through the platform by updating the Artist ID section. Please note that in addition to adding the information in the artist section, an update request from the Orbit Elements platform is required.

Timings
These processes can take up to 15 days, however, this depends on the case and the times of each channel to manage this type of request.

Download Price

Some channels allow you to decide the price band for your music. The price band you select will apply to all channels. MID is the standard price on iTunes of 0.99€/track and the price band most often used around the world. BUDGET is 0.69€/track. FULL is 1.29€/track. PREMIUM 1.69€/track. Other channels use a single price band and your choice won’t affect them.

Streaming channels pay an amount based on their ad income and premium account fees. A % from this combined income is divided between all tracks played on a time period, calculated from the play times.

ChannelOutpayment
Amazon MP3Budget: EU: €3.55/Release, €0.55/Single. UK: £2.43/Release, £0.43/Single. US: $4.00/Release, $0.63/Single
Mid: EU: €4.27/Release, €0.55/Single. UK: £3.04/Release, £0.43/Single. US: $4.9/Release, $0.63/Single
Full: EU: €4.88/Release, €0.55/Single. UK: £3.65/Release, £0.43/Single. US: $5.60/Release, $0.63/Single
Premium: EU: €5.49/Release, €0.61/Single. UK: £4.26/Release, £0.49/Single. US: $6.50/Release, $0.70/Single
iTunesFull corresponds to a sales price of 1.29/track, 12.99/album.
Budget: EU: €3.00 €/Release o EP, €0.50/Single. Latin America: $3.60/Release o EP, $0.41/Single. US: $4.20/Release o EP, $0.49/Single
Mid: EU: €4.80 €/Release o EP, €0.71/Single. Latin America: $5.40/Release o EP, $0.60/Single. US: $6.30/Release o EP, $0.70/Single
Full: EU: €7.40 €/Release o EP, €0.71/Single. Latin America: $6.50/Release o EP, $0.60/Single. US: $7.00/Release o EP, $0.705/Single
Premium: EU: €7.20 €/Release o EP, €0.92/Single. Latin America: $7.20/Release o EP, $0.79/Single. US: $8.40/Release o EP, $0.91/Single
ShazamShazam is an app which recognizes playing music and do not generates income
GracenoteGracenote is a metadata database that feeds iTunes and other channels and do not generates income

NOTE: The prices indicated above are for information purposes only. The company is not responsible for any direct or indirect damages caused in relation with the information contained on this page, which are provided “as is”, without any expres, implicit or legal warranty. No information on this page creates any garanty warranty or representation of the company, its affiliates, providers o licensors. This page does not modift the terms and conditions that define the use of the distribution service and the platform. This page indicates indicative prices only and does not imply any contractual binding. The prices and calculation methods are subject to change without previous warning. Channels reserve the right to establish sales prices on their discretion.

DSP GUIDE

Introduction
Spotify is a commercial music streaming service providing digital rights management-restricted content. Music can be browsed or searched by artist, album, genre, playlist, or record label. Free subscriptions can listen to music, interrupted by targeted advertisements. Paid “Premium” subscriptions remove advertisements and allow users to download music to listen to offline.
The service has also introduced social functions such as the “Follow” feature which allows following friends or artists and verified artist profiles.

Spotify was launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB.  As of November 2020, the service has approximately 320 million monthly active users with 144 million paid subscribers.

Service Type
Spotify offers music via on-demand streaming only.
Streams are offered in DRM-enforced Vorbis q5 or q9 format.

Pay rate
Paid Streams: You get paid a proportionate share of subscription revenue per month calculated on terms set out in our agreement with the store (this usually excludes streams during a subscriber’s free trial). Payments will fluctuate each month, depending on the amount of subscription revenue generated and how many times your music was streamed.

Spotify for Artists
Spotify for Artists puts you in control of your profile on Spotify. You can promote your music and the music you’re into, add your bio, update your images, dig into listener stats, and much more.

Click Claim Your Profile at the top-right of this page to get started. Once we confirm who you are and give you access, you’re in charge.

Spotify for Artists allows artists, labels, and distributors to get the most out of Spotify by understanding their audiences, personalizing their artist profiles, and taking action to build their fanbases.

If you run a label that has music on Spotify, you can now use Spotify for Artists to access a number of features —including album-level data across your entire catalog, custom date ranges, playlist pitching, Canvas upload, and more. Labels will be able to add multiple people to their teams, and see a log of actions taken across their team in Spotify for Artists with a new Activity Page. Both artist and label teams will be able to make changes to an artist profile — whether it’s updating a bio or sharing a playlist through Artist Pick. If you’ve never used Spotify for Artists, you can check out our label onboarding guide here. We’ve also shared all the useful things you can do with the tools, with some helpful case studies on this new site.
To sign up to Spotify for Artists and get access to your catalog, you’ll need a Spotify account and your work email address. If you’re the first person from your organization to request access, you’ll need the URIs of at least 3 tracks that you’ve previously delivered to Spotify. If your organization has already been set up with us, your request will go to your S4A Label Team’s Admin.

Head to artists.spotify.com/claim to get started.

Have a new release coming up? Pitch a song to Spotify before it drops. It’ll be included in a list the editorial team picks from for their playlists. Spotify will also add it to your followers’ Release Radar playlist.

With Spotify for Artists, you can pitch an upcoming, unreleased song to our playlist editors. We’ll also add your pitched song to your followers’ Release Radar playlists.

Spotify Discovery Mode is a new tool that allows artists to boost the reach of their tracks and make them more discoverable for listeners. When an artist activates Discovery Mode, Spotify’s algorithms will prioritize the selected tracks in algorithmic recommendations, such as Radio and Autoplay. This can help artists reach new listeners and grow their fan base. 

Eligibility
To be eligible for Spotify Discovery Mode, a track must meet the following criteria:

– Released on Spotify for at least 30 days.
– It has been streamed on Radio or Autoplay in the last 7 days.
– Distributed by a participating licensor.
– Have an active Spotify for Artists account and meet the minimum monthly listener requirements.
– When a track meets these criteria, Spotify automatically adds it to the references eligible for discovery mode, which we will approve as soon as we receive the request.

Opt-in Process
Orbit has automated the Discovery Mode process for our artists. This means that we will automatically opt-in for all of your eligible tracks (Requested by Spotify).

Discovery Mode on Spotify for Artists
When an artist’s catalog meets a series of requirements, they are given the power to manage their own campaigns and status in discovery mode through a tool that is enabled in their Spotify for Artists account:

An artist may be eligible for Discovery Mode if the artist team meets all the following requirements:

– You have an active Spotify for Artists team that’s registered in Australia, India, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, or the United States. Learn how to set your team’s billing country
– You have at least 3 tracks that meet the track eligibility criteria.

You have at least 25,000 monthly listeners.

Royalties Deduction
Streams coming from Discovery Mode (Radio or Autoplay) get a cut in royalties of 30% from the usual Premium/ad-supported rate. This means that artists will earn 30% less royalties for streams of their tracks that are played through Discovery Mode. These deductions will be reflected in your confirmed sale reports as a negative (-) balance.

However, if a listener who discovered a track through Discovery Mode later adds it to their library or playlist, the artist will earn the total royalties for those streams.

Introduction
To get your Spotify Artist Profile verified and to manage it yourself, you’ll need to request access to Spotify For Artists. Once you’ve done that, you’ll get the blue check on your artist profile (the hallmark of Spotify-recognized profiles).

You will find all the necessary information to claim your artist profile at: artists.spotify.com.

How to request an artist verification
To request access to Spotify for Artists just fill out this form by following the steps below:

1. Indicate whether you have a Spotify user account (you must have one to manage an artist profile on the platform).
2. Log in with your user account.
3. Indicate your role (artist, manager, label, etc.), your name, the Spotify user account you want to associate with the profile, and an email to send the notifications.
4. Indicate the name of the artist or the band whose profile you want to claim and verify.
5. Lastly, verify the Twitter account of the artist or the band and provide links to the website or social networking profiles.

Spotify will check the information and then the blue checkmark will be added to your profile. This is what indicates that you are a verified artist by Spotify.

Then, Spotify For Artists will allow you to change your profile and background pictures whenever you want, create playlists, and check stats as to how, how much, and where your songs are being listened to or who are your listeners, among many other interesting data. 

Moreover, you’ll be able to synchronize your profile with Songkick  or Bandsintown to show your concert dates at your profile and with Shopify or  Merchbar to sell your merchandising with Spotify

If a client doesn’t have any reply from Spotify after a month, they have to contact directly with them through: https://artists.spotify.com/contact.

How to request a label verification
The former tool Spotify Analytics was closed and merged into the Spotify for Artists platform. This free tool is now giving not only to artists but also to labels and distributors, the data they need from Spotify by providing streaming stats and helping to understand performance across your entire catalogue. 

To request access to Spotify for Artists as a label just fill out this form by following the steps below:

1. Go to artists.spotify.com to log in with your Spotify account username and password. Next, you’ll confirm your work email address, or provide it if your Spotify account is associated with a different email address.

2. Search for your company or organization using the exact same label name that you used when submitting your music through your platform.

3. If you are joining an existing company, Spotify may ask you for some details about your role. If you’re the first person on your team to request access to Spotify for Artists, you may need to create your organization in their database. Enter the URIs for at least 3 albums or songs for which your label has the right to view data. If you have sub-labels, or you’ve used more than one distributor or licensor, select tracks that represent each of those combinations. You’re able to provide more than 3 URIs if necessary.

Hit submit, and Spotify’s support team will review your request. If they have all the information needed to grant you access, you’ll receive a confirmation email from [email protected].

Note: If you manage multiple labels and require content from all labels to be accessible via your Analytics account, contact [email protected] from the email address linked to your Analytics account requesting the labels to be added. This process may take some time as it is a manual process. 

Correct artist tagging in a release is crucial for an optimal user experience. This article addresses considerations and suggestions related to artist categorization to determine whether a release should be sent to the “Various Artists” profile.

The proper application of these rules will ensure that your releases are published on the correct Spotify profile of the interpreting artists.

For example:

– Release with 3 primary artists + 1 remixer = Categorized as “Various Artists”.

– Suggestion: 2 primary artists + 1 remixer + 3 featuring = Avoids automatic categorization as “Various Artists”.

Specific Considerations
Individual Identification
If you intend to publish your release as “Various Artists,” note that although the album is categorized as “Various Artists,” each artist must be identified independently in their respective tracks.

Incompatible Roles

The roles “featuring,” “performer,” and “primary artist” are not compatible with each other. An artist cannot be listed with more than one of these roles simultaneously.

For more detailed information or to resolve specific issues, we recommend you contact us at [email protected].

Introduction
The artist roles that Spotify currently publishes on the main page are just two: “Primary Artist” and “Featuring Artist“.

So, from now on, if you assign an artist as “With” or “Featuring“, in Spotify it will be published as “Featuring Artist” indistinctly.

All other assigned roles than those listed above will not appear in the album information published in Spotify. However, the listeners can access certain information by clicking on the ellipsis next to the track title:

As Spotify users, when we click on a song > “Show credits”, it shows to us additional information.

Which equivalence does it have with the metadata we specify in our platform?

– Performed by: Equals our platform’s “Primary Artist”, “Featuring Artist” and “Remixer”
– Composed by: Equals our platform’s “Composer”, “Conductor” and “Lyricist”.
– Produced by: Equals our platform’s “Producer”.
– Source: Equals our platform’s “Label”.

Spotify has implemented new measures to address the issue of artificial streaming and improve fairness in royalty payments to artists. Read Spotify’s communication here.

In this article, we will explore in detail how these penalties affect platform users and how Orbit Elements is facilitating the management of this process.

How do Spotify penalties work?
Penalties are applied each time it’s detected that a song has received fraudulent plays, whether through the use of bots or other non-organic practices. For each track with over 90% artificial streaming, Spotify will apply a penalty of €10 per month.

It’s important to note that these fees are not set by Orbit Elements but directly by Spotify as part of their efforts to maintain the integrity of their platform.

Management of penalties from Orbit Elements
In our Service Agreement, provisions are stipulated for managing these processes to comply with the new measures implemented by Spotify, considering the possibility that other DSPs may also adopt similar practices.

Given these changes, we will provide each client with all the necessary information to be aware of these penalties. Additionally, penalties imposed by Spotify will be included in service invoices, separate from confirmations.

This means that any penalties received from Spotify will be reflected in your next billing cycle.

I’m not responsible for my users’ Artificial Streaming, what can I do?
A recommendation we can make, based on the experience of other clients, is to notify end-users about this new Spotify policy. Additionally, add that, if any penalties are applied to their content, these will be deducted from their generated royalties.

When making payment to a user with penalties, you can charge them from their royalties and indicate it in the user payment notification (Manage>Payments section).

How does Spotify detect artificial streaming?
Spotify uses advanced analysis systems to detect suspicious playback patterns, such as the use of bots or click farms. For more details on their policy against artificial streaming.

Pre-save” campaigns for Spotify are those campaigns where the artists can allow their fans to save a new release in their Spotify’s collection/library before its release date.

Orbit does not offer this kind of service but you can contact us requesting the URI of your release to use any service of your choice. Here you will find two suggestions of external services that you can use:

Listento
Feature.fm
Linkfire*

Here you have all the information regarding Spotify Lyrics, how to add them and how to find them on different devices.

Introduction
Spotify created an experience that’s simple and interactive —and even shareable. By partnering with Musixmatch, Spotify is bringing song lyrics to life through in-app access across the majority of their extensive library of tracks. 

Lyrics are available to all Free and Premium users globally across iOS and Android devices, desktops, gaming consoles,*, and TV.

How do I add my lyrics on Spotify?

For artists, to get their Lyrics live on Spotify, they have to add their repertoire to Musixmatch.

Also, Musixmatch has launched a new service Musixmatch for Music Creators, in which artists and/or labels can sign up to upload and synchronize their lyrics. In this link, you can find further details about how to sync your lyrics.

How to find Lyrics
Spotify Mobile app
1. Tap on the “Now Playing View” on a song.
2. While listening, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
3. You’ll see track lyrics that scroll in real-time as the song is playing!
4. To share, simply tap the “Share” button at the bottom of the lyrics screen and then select the lyrics you want to share — and where you want to share them — via third-party platforms.

Spotify Desktop app
1. From the “Now Playing” bar, click on the microphone icon while a song is playing.
2. You’ll see track lyrics that scroll in real-time while the song plays.

Spotify TV app
Open the “Now Playing View” on a song.
Navigate to the right corner to the “lyrics button” and select if you want to enable Lyrics.
Once enabled, you’ll see the lyrics in the “Now Playing” View.

*The Lyrics feature will be available across Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and Xbox One, along with Android TV, including FireTV, Samsung, Roku, LG, Sky, and Comcast.

The following article explains the new Spotify launch, DJ Mixes, and how to get involved.

Introduction
Spotify launched its DJ Mixes, where some DJs are sharing their own mixed-music content, in addition to high-quality compilations directly on Spotify through its new DJ Mixes. Available for all users in the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand, this latest innovation opens up a completely new format for artists to get their music mixes in the hands of their fans and further expand their global audience. DJ Mixes provides one integrated place where artists can seamlessly create and connect with their audiences.

DJ Mixes is just beginning to roll out, so fans should expect the experience to continue to evolve over time. Users on iOS and Android who have the Spotify app downloaded can listen for themselves.

How to get involved?
If you’re interested in suggesting a DJ from your roster who would like to be involved, we will need to fill out this form. If you have a popular existing compilation or mix that you’d like to submit for potential inclusion in this new DJ Mixes hub, please submit the relevant information here: Mix On Platform – DJ Mixes Form.

Introduction

TikTok is a global video community powered by music. With this app, you can discover, create and edit amazing videos, and easily share them with your friends and the whole world. Create and edit videos instantly using special filters, funny stickers and much more.

Whether it’s dance, free-style or performance, creators are encouraged to let their imagination run wild and set their expressions free. Designed for global creators, TikTok allows users to quickly and easily create unique short videos to share with friends and the world.

TikTok is the new cultural benchmark for global creators. They strive to empower more creative minds to be part of the content revolution.

– Mobile Studio
The perfect marriage between artificial intelligence and image capturing.
Enhancing product offering through rhythm synchronization, special effects, and advanced technology.
Turn your phone into a full-blown creative studio.

– Massive Music Library
A sea of music libraries with fresh editor’s pick daily.
Take your creative potential to the next level and unlock the world of endless possibilities.

Territories

Worldwide

What is TikTok Music?

TikTok Music is a music streaming service that allows users to listen to full versions of songs that are popular on TikTok. It also offers features like personalized music recommendations, lyrics in real-time, and the ability to create collaborative playlists with friends. The service also includes a Shazam-like feature that can identify the music that you’re listening to.

Where is TikTok Music available?

TikTok Music is currently available in Brazil and Indonesia. It is expected to launch in more countries in the future.

Resso will shut down on September 2023 in Brazil and Indonesia. This channel also operates in India, but TikTok hasn’t said when or if TikTok Music will launch in the country.

How is TikTok Music related to Resso?

Resso is a music streaming app that allows users to listen to music as well as generate their visual content to be displayed in the background while a song is playing. This app is from ByteDance, the same company that owns TikTok.

TikTok Music is essentially a rebranded version of Resso, with some additional features that are designed to make it more appealing to TikTok users.

Here are some of the key differences between TikTok Music and Resso:
– TikTok Music is more focused on TikTok-related content. For example, it offers personalized music recommendations based on the songs that users have seen on TikTok.

– TikTok Music has a more social focus. It allows users to create collaborative playlists with friends, and it also features a comments section where users can discuss songs.

– TikTok Music is only available in Brazil and Indonesia, while Resso is also available in India.

More about TikTok Music here

Artists can request a Sounds tab to be displayed on their profiles.

This tab compiles all of the artist’s tracks previously distributed by a label or distributor. Now, fans can access their favorite artist’s sounds to use in their clips not only by searching for them in the sounds library but directly from the artist’s profile on TikTok.

– Learn more about the Artist account on TikTok here
– You can request the Artist Tab here

TikTok pays royalties based on the videos that use that content and not based on the views that the content gets.

Therefore, as informed by the DSP, the monetization goes for each video created and it is possible that even if your users’ content has been used to upload a video with a lot of streams, it may not generate high revenue.

There are two reasons why TikTok may be muting your audio:

– This channel allows for two types of accounts: content creator accounts and brand/commercial accounts. When a commercial account publishes a video for which they do not own the copyright, this content will automatically be blocked by the channel. Regarding these issues, TikTok does not offer a whitelist, but a safelist, where copyright owners can allow a commercial account to make use of their content.

– TikTok doesn’t allow music to be used in a video longer than 60 seconds. If a video is longer than 60 seconds, the music will be automatically muted by the channel.

Therefore we recommend checking the following article about Tiktok Start Time.

A new feature has been implemented – at the Track level – allowing users to select the song starting point to be reproduced when distributing to TikTok.

– The format is mm:ss
– TikTok system expects full-length audio files to be delivered so they can cut the 60s.
– The length cannot exceed the song’s duration.
– For content already delivered, an Update can be used to send the new Start-Time, with no need to request a Takedown.
– Due to the current contractual agreement with the channel, songs are sent with a duration of 60 seconds. However, TikTok users will be able to shoot a minimum of 15 seconds and a maximum of 60 seconds.

TikTok today announces Add to Music App, a new feature which will give music fans the ability to save the songs they discover on TikTok on the music streaming services of their choice. Add to Music App is launching for users in the US and UK in partnership with the major music streaming services, including Amazon Music and Spotify.

TikTok is known for being one of the world’s best places to discover both new and catalogue music, constantly creating viral trends which drive music listening on streaming services. The new Add to Music App feature has been designed to help music fans capture songs that they love on TikTok in the moment of discovery, and to easily save the song to their preferred music streaming service to enjoy whenever they like.

The feature will appear as a button that says Add Song next to a track name at the bottom of a TikTok video in the For You Feed, inviting users to save the song to the music streaming service of their choice. The first time a user* presses the Add Song button, they can choose to save it to their preferred music streaming service**.

The track will then be saved to a default playlist in the preferred music streaming service***, but users can also choose to add the track to a new playlist or an existing playlist that they have created. Following the first use of the Add to Music App feature, the music app selected will then become the default music streaming service for future track saves, although users can select to change the default music streaming service at any time under settings. Users can also use the Add to Music App feature from an artist’s Sound Detail Page.

Ole Obermann, TikTok’s Global Head of Music Business Development, said: “TikTok is already the world’s most powerful platform for music discovery and promotion, which helps artists connect with our global community to drive engagement with their music. Add to Music App takes this process a step further, creating a direct link between discovery on TikTok and consumption on a music streaming service, making it easier than ever for music fans to enjoy the full length song on the music streaming service of their choice, thereby generating even greater value for artists and rightsholders.”

Karolina Joynathsing, Director of Business Development for Amazon Music, said: “Some of the best parts of being a music lover are those serendipitous moments when you discover a new song or artist that you connect with instantly. At Amazon Music, we’re looking to make it easier to convert those moments into enduring fandom. That’s why we worked together with TikTok on the Add to Music App feature, which makes it easier for fans to listen to the music they love and for artists to build fandom.”

“No matter where you are, or the moment you’re in, we want to create less work to get to the audio you love,” says Sten Garmark, Vice President, Global Head of Consumer Experience at Spotify. “That means being everywhere our users are and creating seamless ways to save songs to Spotify to enjoy when and how they choose to listen.

“As the world’s largest audio streaming subscription service, our mission is to bring artists and fans together, so you can listen to more of what you love, across any platform or device. Essentially, you won’t need to find audio to suit the moment. It will find you.”

Add to Music App is currently rolling out to users in the US and UK, with more markets to follow.

*Update: December 14th, 2023: TikTok is pleased to announce that it is now rolling out Add To Music App for users in 19 new countries: Canada; Japan; Germany; France; Italy; Spain; Saudi Arabia; Ireland; Sweden; Thailand; Malaysia; UAE; Argentina; Colombia; The Netherlands; Turkey; South Africa; Vietnam and The Philippines.

*Update: February 22nd, 2024: TikTok is pleased to announce that it is now rolling out Add To Music App for users in 163 new countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, Chile, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

*Update: March 7, 2024:
Add to Music App is now available in Indonesia and Brazil, where users have the additional option to save songs to TikTok Music if they choose

If you follow your favorite singer, brand, celebrity, or professional sports team on TikTok, you may have noticed a blue check mark displayed next to their username. This is a verified symbol or badge that TikTok provides to help you make informed choices about the content you watch or accounts you follow.

If you’re approved for TikTok verification, you’ll recieve a verified badge. A verified badge means that we’ve confirmed the account belongs to the person or brand it represents. This means you can be sure to know that the verified accounts you’re following are exactly who they say they are, rather than a parody or fan account. As a creator, the verified badge helps build trust with your followers. Whether you’re an individual, nonprofit, institution, business, or official brand page, the verified badge adds an important layer of clarity within the TikTok community.

How to tell if an account is verified on TikTok

A verified badge is the blue check mark symbol that appears next to a TikTok account’s username in search results and on the profile.

If an account doesn’t have the verified badge next to the username but displays it somewhere else on the profile (such as the bio), it’s not a verified account. Only we can apply verified badges on TikTok accounts and it’ll always appear in the same place.


You can complete a TikTok verification application to be considered for a verified badge. We consider a number of factors before granting a verified badge, such as whether the account is active, authentic, notable, and unique. We don’t consider the number of followers or likes on an account when granting a verified badge.

Some account requirements we consider for verification include:
•  Active: Your account must have logged in within the past 6 months.
•  Authentic: Your account represents a real person, business, or entity. We accept one verification per business or person except in unique situations, such as language-specific accounts or other branded and affiliated accounts. If you’re a business, institution, or entity, the email domain you provide in your application must represent you, such as @tiktok.com. If you can’t provide your email domain, we may request additional documentation. Your username should also be similar to your business name.
•  Complete: Your account must be public and have a completed profile with a username, bio, profile photo, and at least one video.
•  Notable: You must be featured in multiple news sources. We don’t consider press releases and sponsored or paid media.
•  Secure: Your account must have 2-step verification with a verified email. This ensures the account retains the authentic owner and is safe from bad actors. Learn how to turn on 2-step verification.

It’s also important that all accounts, including verified ones, adhere to our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service in order to ensure that TikTok remains a safe, fun platform for everyone, and verified accounts are no exception to that. A verified badge does not imply an endorsement by TikTok and we reserve the right to deny or revoke verification on accounts that meet any of the above criteria through artificial or inauthentic activity.

Additionally, we don’t directly contact users through email, direct message, or other forms of communication to request an application for a verified badge. If you receive a suspicious email or other message asking you to verify your account, please report the problem.

To request verification of your TikTok account:
1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top.
3. Tap Settings and privacy.
4. Tap Account, then tap Verification.
   ༚  If you’re registered as a Business Account, then you can only apply for a business verification.
   ༚  If you’re registered as a Personal Account, then you can apply for personal and institution verifications
5. Follow the steps in the app to submit a verification request.

To support your application for a verified badge, you must provide credible written media coverage, such as news articles. If we don’t grant you a TikTok verification badge after reviewing your application, you can submit another request. Keep in mind that we only review subsequent verification requests after 30 days.

Note: This feature is currently not available everywhere. If you can’t submit a verification request in the app, you can submit a request through our online form.

Can you request to remove your verification?
It’s not currently possible to request to remove your verified badge. However, we’ll remove your verified badge if you change your username.

How much does it cost to get verified?
We don’t charge you to get verified. Any entity claiming to sell TikTok verifications is not affiliated with us.

TikTok may remove a verified badge at any time and without notice.

Some removal reasons may include:
•  The account transferred to another owner making verification inauthentic.
•  The username changed so the account owner needs to re-apply for verification.
•  The account type changed between business, personal, or institution.
•  The account repeatedly or severely violated our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.

Channel Description

YouTube Music allows watching and listening to music videos. YouTube Music Key automatically pairs your song with your album cover art (YouTube calls this an “Art Track”), allowing you to earn money when these Art Tracks are streamed on YouTube.  With a reach of one billion unique users monthly, YouTube Music Key gives you the power to connect with more fans worldwide.

The service offers ad-free, audio-only playback for background listening in addition to video viewing, as well as offline listening.  It will also include a subscription to Google Play Music, with 30+ million songs, expert-curated playlists, and in the future, the ability to watch many YouTube official music videos right from the app.

When you deliver an album to this channel, it will be made available and monetised in the YouTube Music Key service. Even if you have your music videos already on YouTube, adding YouTube Music Key gives you broader distribution and access to an additional income.

Service Type

YouTube Music makes your music available via the creation of Art Tracks. An Art Track is an automatically generated YouTube version of a sound recording. An Art Track consists of the sound recording, the album art, and metadata about the recording, such as its title and artist name.

The purpose of Art Tracks is to provide a single official, label-sanctioned YouTube version of every sound recording. Currently, official music videos are available for recordings only when a label or artist invests (non-trivial) time and resources into producing one. Art Tracks automate the creation of versions for recordings that don’t have a produced music video.

Art Tracks are available to either free or premium users on YouTube. You can find more information about art tracks here.

When the administrator or a user wants to distribute a release to YouTube Content ID, they must take into account that the label assigned to that release must have permission for distribution to this channel.

In this article, you will find all the details related to our Label approval process for YouTube Content ID; all the procedure to follow, the label requirements and also the terms for validation.

Procedure
If a user requires label approval, they can request it from the “DSP Approvals” section of the label linked to the releases they wish to deliver to YouTube Content ID.

Once the user clicks “Request Approval”, the admin will receive a Label Approval request notification by mail indicating that a Label Approval request has been generated. This email indicates which user initiated the request and which label it corresponds to.

The following steps must be followed to process the review of this request:

The Admin sends a request to the Orbit Elements Quality Control team using the YouTube Content ID Label Approval form (Click Here).

The form is reviewed by the Orbit Elements Quality Control team for validation. If the form is complete and the minimum required criteria are met, the Label will be approved within 5 business days.

You can check the result from the “Permissions” tab of the label’s profile.

Required information

DescriptionExample
Administrator email

The email to use for this box corresponds to the email registered as an administrator in our system.

Using another email may cause delays in the request.

 
Label name*Public or default labels are not eligible for Content ID approval. “Example Label”.
Label URL on the Orbit Elements platformFind the information in Catalog > Label (click on the label and copy the URL)

https://ADMINCODE.

orbitelements.com/labels/166

Label sales data (Optional)If the label already generates profits, you can attach a document or link that demonstrates these profits. 
Brief description of the catalog and artists/rosterThis information should be available in the Label tab in the Orbit elements platform.

Share a description. Any information that can support and explain the
plan and trajectory of the
label will be helpful, as will the artists represented.

Official video content available on YouTube (links)Artists represented by the label should have their content available on YouTube (video clips, live performances, etc.)Share links to
official channels and videos
– a minimum of 50% of represented artists must be indicated.
URL of 3 releases distributed across your platformThe label should have content distributed to other DSPs through Orbit Elements (At least 3, otherwise it will not be approved).

https://ADMINCODE.

orbitelements.com/albums

/1234567

Label/artist representative identity verificationA legitimate label should have a representative who can verify their identity. This document can be any legal identification document such as ID or Passport. 
Presence on social networksAny label and its artists must have a presence on social networks with a flow of healthy and organic content.Links to the social networks of the label and the artists –
A minimum of 50% of the artists represented must be indicated.
Official website of the label  
Will this content be promoted online?Some pitching services can lead to abusive behavior/click fraud/artificial streaming, so we recommend that you communicate this to your users.Please share relevant information
(like what the
PR company is, the type of
service, etc.)

Confirmation that the label, user account and catalog have been verified by the Admin

[Minimum requirements]

As an administrator, by submitting the form you declare that you have reviewed the information, that it is verified and true.The Admin must review the following:
– User profile and catalog type.
– History of previous fraud cases.

⚠️ It is strongly recommended to complete the form, including the most complete information possible, to avoid delays in the approval of the label.

Additional considerations
After the application is created, it may take up to 5 working days to validate the application. The review and validation of the application is strictly related to:

The consistency and completeness of the information shared:
-Tthe information must be complete.
– The user account must have no incidents of fraud.
– The user account must not be blocked.
– The user profile must be correctly completed.
– The label must not be public or by default.*
– If a label was approved on one user account, it does not mean that a label with a similar name is approved on another user account. Each user must request approval of the label created from their account, and each label will be approved from each different user account separately.

The Administrator is responsible for the activities of the label and must undertake to review the following before proceeding with the application:
– User profile and catalog type.
– History of previous fraud cases.

⚠️ In the event that information is missing, or the quality of your catalog is not suitable for distribution to this channel, the 5-day review period will not be guaranteed. Furthermore, in the event that the information does not meet the minimum requirements (for example, 3 releases have not been distributed through the label), it is very likely that the request will be rejected.

Why do labels require approval?
Due to the User Generated Content nature of the Youtube service and Orbit Elements’s effort together with the DSP to fight copyright infringements and abusive usage, the distribution to Content ID is subject to a label approval process.

Label approval varies depending on the requirements of each DSP, so Orbit’s Label Approval Process works for customers who do not currently have their own contract with YouTube.
Customers with their own agreement have the ability to manage the entire process without Orbit validating their content.

The Content-ID Label Approval process is similar to any other content validation managed by the Orbit Elements Quality Control team, which will check that the label meets the necessary set of requirements to be able to distribute to the channel. These criteria have been defined following YouTube Content ID guidelines.

These measures are intended to facilitate the validation process prior to distribution to YouTube Content ID, filtering the type and quality of content uploaded by labels and users. Our objective is to obtain a greater knowledge of the labels and their catalogs and provide useful information, which will help your project to distribute your catalog in a prosperous way, achieving a successful long-term collaboration.

Description
Content ID is a popular digital fingerprinting system that content creators can use to easily identify and manage their copyrighted content on YouTube*. Videos uploaded to YouTube are compared against audio and video files registered with Content ID by content owners, looking for any matches.

When the audio of a video is matched to Content ID registered content, a copyright notice will appear on the video, and the content owner may choose to take certain actions, such as:

– Clearing the claim and taking no further action
– Tracking the video’s viewership statistics
– Monetizing the video by running ads against it
– Muting the audio that matches their music
– Blocking a whole video from being viewed
– As a YouTube Partner platform, we use the audio part of the Content ID system to manage and administer copyrighted audio content on behalf of content owners.
– When you send your audio to YouTube Audio Content ID, your audio is matched against videos that contain this audio.
– Automatically, we monetize those videos and the generated revenue will be reported together with the rest of the channels in your distribution account.

*Important: Do not confuse Youtube Content ID with Youtube Music.

Service Type
YouTube Audio Content ID is not a public music service, but an invisible tracking system. YouTube creates a reference that allows claiming all videos that contain your audio. You can only activate YouTube Audio Content ID if you are the rightful owner of the copyright. 
See video: https://youtu.be/9g2U12SsRns

Go Live Time
It takes between 2-5 business days for a Content ID to start generating claims.

Pay rate
When a video containing your music is reproduced on YouTube, you get paid a proportionate share of YouTube ad and subscription revenue for that video per month calculated on terms set out in our agreement with YouTube. Payments will fluctuate each month, depending on the amount of ad or subscription revenue generated and how often your music was streamed.


YouTube Shorts is a feature on YouTube that allows users to create and share short videos, up to 60 seconds long.

These videos can be uploaded with music, and YouTube has a library of music that users can choose from.

By following the requirements listed in this article, you can ensure that your tracks are available for use in YouTube Shorts. This will give your songs more exposure to potential listeners and help you grow your audience.

YouTube Shorts Track Availability

Not all songs are available in the Shorts’ music library. This is because the music publisher’s information is mandatory for a track to be included in the library. The music publisher is the company that owns the rights to the song, and they need to agree to allow their songs to be used in shorts.

Requirements for Track Availability

In order for a track to be available in the YouTube Shorts music library, the following requirements must be met:

  • The music publisher must have signed a Shorts agreement with YouTube.
  • The track must not be blocked from use in shorts by the music publisher.
  • The track must be playable in all territories where YouTube Shorts is available.

Introduction

Official Artist Channels on YouTube automatically organize the music catalog of an artist into two sections: albums & singles, and music videos.

Conditions

Having an Official Artist Channel on YouTube is related to having a “Topic Channel”. That means, if an End User wants to have an Official Artist Channel it is necessary to accomplish the following conditions:

To have their own Topic Channel.
At least one music video was provided by a music distribution partner in the Artist YT Channel.
The Topic Channel and the Own Channel must have the same artist name.

When is an owned channel not eligible for the application?
Owned channels that contain the following characteristics will not be managed by YouTube:

– Empty channels
– Fan channels
– Wrong artists (different names)
– House channels
– Multi-artist channels
– Non-music channels
– Vevo channels

How to request the Youtube Official Artist channel?
If the artist meets the requirements you can proceed with our official artist channel request service through our team on which you will be asked the following:

– YouTube Artist Channel URL (where they upload all their videos)
– YouTube Artist Topic Channel (YouTube Music)

You can get more info on the YouTube Artist Resources site, the Official Artist Channel Playbook, and Youtube’s Help Center.

About Apple Music

Apple Music is Apple’s premium subscription service, accessible via the iTunes interface. After an initial 3 months free trial, which users will only be able to access after providing credit card information, Apple Music will only be available to paying subscribers. The service has a strong focus on editorial and artist features, including “Artist Connect”, which will allow approved artists to post free content directly on the service and interact with fans.

Please note that by distributing to this channel you are also distributing to Shazam.

About iTunes

iTunes is a media player, media library, online radio broadcaster, and mobile device management application developed by Apple Inc. It is used to play, download, and organise digital audio and video on personal computers running the OS X and Microsoft Windows operating systems. The iTunes Store is also available on the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad.

Through the iTunes Store, users can purchase and download music, music videos, television shows, audiobooks, podcasts, movies, movie rentals in some countries, and ringtones, available on the iPhone and iPod Touch (fourth generation onward).

Introduction

Shazam is a commercial mobile phone-based music identification service. Shazam uses a mobile phone’s built-in microphone to gather a brief sample of music being played. An acoustic fingerprint is created based on the sample and is compared against a central database for a match. If a match is found, information such as the artist, song title, and album are relayed back to the user. Relevant links to services such as iTunes, YouTube, and Spotify allow users to find your music in these services.
Currently, around 350 million users are tagging more than 10 million tracks a day. The service was expanded in September 2012 to enable TV users in the US to identify featured music, access cast information and get links to show information online, as well as add social networking capabilities. Some of the features that both free Shazam and Shazam Encore include the following: Rdio integration, YouTube playback, Lyric search, Artist news, Sharing tags with friends, Buy tracks from iTunes, seeing popular tags on a map, and more.

Shazam offers two types of applications; a free app simply called Shazam and a paid app called Shazam Encore. Shazam and Shazam Encore provide the same music tagging and identification functionality, with unlimited tagging of music and TV content. However, Shazam Encore removes the advertising that helps to support the free version of Shazam. Shazam Encore users can also enjoy Full Track playback with Spotify.

Currently the distribution to Shazam is made through Apple Music. So, by requesting a distribution to this channel, you are also distributing to Shazam. 

Pay rate
Shazam does not sell music so artists do not receive payment, but Shazam drives sales in other outlets through music discovery and by generating links to other services.

Territories
Shazam is live in over 200 countries.

Normally, releases go live within 24-27 hours in both services simultaneously.

Important Note
: a random percentage of releases go through an internal iTunes review process, which can take up to 16 business days from the day they are received by the store.
If your release is placed in iTunes’ content review, unfortunately, it will take longer than the normal 24-72 hours to go live. We can’t speed up the internal iTunes review process. If you have a required release date please make sure that you distribute your music more than 16 business days in advance of the digital release date.

  • iTunes offers music through the sales of downloads.
  • Apple Music is a streaming service.
  • Shazam is capable of identifying your music and generating relevant to your music in third party services such as YouTube, iTunes or Spotify.
    The service offers also advanced promotional opportunities for songs that have high exposure on TV or Radio.

Where Album Motion Artwork Shows Up

Your album motion will appear on the Album Page on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, as well as on smart TVs. Motion on the album page guidelines can be found here.

Your album motion may also appear on the Listen-Now tab, which is based on a user’s music preferences. Only subtle motion is appropriate here, so if you’re planning to create an album motion that is fast and dynamic you’ll want to pay extra attention to our Listen Now Design Guidelines, and plan to deliver a separate toned-down asset for this space.

Artwork Specifications:
If you want to provide album motion artwork, download the templates and follow the guidelines to create your deliverables and provide them to Orbit Elements.

Artwork must be delivered to these technical specifications. Unsolicited artwork is not accepted.

Note: Static artwork is also required. It’s used as a loading image when users have a slow connection or if the motion is turned off in their settings.

Template Name

File Type

Size

Resolution

Length

Device

Album Page Motion 3×4

.mov

2048×2732 pixels

72 dpi

15–35 seconds

iPhone

Album Page Static 3×4

.png

2048×2732 pixels

72 dpi

N/A

iPhone

Album Page Motion 1×1

.mov

3840×3840 pixels

72 dpi

15–35 seconds

Mac, iPad, smart TVs

Album Page Static 1×1

.png

3840×3840 pixels

72 dpi

N/A

Mac, iPad, smart TVs

Listen Now Motion 1×1 (as needed)*

.mov

3840×3840 pixels

72 dpi

10–25 seconds

iPhone, Mac, iPad, smart TVs

Safe Area examples can be found here and motion asset output settings here

End-users can get the Apple Artist ID from the link to their profile. It corresponds to the numbers that follow the artist’s name, at the end of the link:

https://music.apple.com/en/artist/stephen-please/1467880022

The Apple Artist ID is automatically assigned to each artist created in the iTunes Store.

Once the works of an artist are available, the artist ID can be obtained via Apple’s artist page. To obtain the artist ID follow these steps:

  1. Search any album of the artist on iTunes or directly the artist name.
  2. Click on the artist’s link and go to their artist profile.
  3. Click on “Share artist” and get the URL. The ID number corresponds to the code you can find in between the “artist/” and the “?” symbol.

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ARTISTNAME/ARTISTAPPLEID
    ?…

Note: Please, ensure that the URL is the artist page, not the album page.

This article details all the features that Apple Music for Artists offers and how to request access to the profiles.

Introduction
This tool by Apple Music offers the artist access to analytics and statistics of their songs and albums distributed to this channel. Find out how many plays and sales has their catalogue, in which radios they have been included and how many times they have been played. Moreover, artists will get to know where their main listeners come from, as well as their trends and habits when they listen to the catalogue.

How to claim a profile?
To claim a profile in Apple Music for Artists the end-user has to do it through this link.

Any artist can log in with his Apple ID and fill out a form in which they will be asked to write the profile name they wish to claim, to select the albums associated with that profile and to point their role in the project (artist, manager or label manager) as well.  

Apple Music will also ask to fill in the contact information as well as with the label’s / distributor’s and the manager’s and to link it at least, with one of the artist’s verified profiles on Facebook or Twitter. Apple Music for Artists will verify all the information and the identity before giving access to the platform.

iTunes is one of the leading platforms for distributing multimedia content, including music and videos. With Orbit Elements, you can distribute videos to this platform, and in this article, we’ll explain how.

Process for Submission
Orbit Elements can distribute videos on Apple’s behalf. For this, we need the following information from you:

Video Information

  • Artist
  • Video Title
  • Release Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
  • Label
  • Genre
  • Copyright Line
  • Publishing Line
  • Territories
  • Thumbnail Timecode
  • Video Link: You can use WeTransfer, Google Drive, Dropbox, or similar platforms.

Technical Requirements for the Video

  • File Title: Must match the video title.
  • Compression Type: H.264
  • File Format: .mov | .mp4
  • Dimensions: 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720
  • Frame Rate: 29.97 fps or higher
  • Bit Rate: Minimum of 24mb/s, maximum of 50mb/s
  • Speed Adjustment: Two-step coding preferred.
  • Audio Format: AAC
  • Channels: Stereo (L-R)
  • For HD: The minimum acceptable bit rate is 50mb per second, but 150mb per second is preferred.
  • Video Submission: You can use WeTransfer, Google Drive, Dropbox, or similar platforms.

Additional Requirements

  • All videos should only display the musical content, with no distractions on the screen.
  • Inclusion of URLs, hashtags, dates, mentions, or other promotional text on the screen is not allowed.
  • Logos in the corners of the video are not permitted.
  • Initial/final slates, title cards, or video endings (white text on black screen) are prohibited.
  • End credits cannot exceed 3 seconds in TOTAL.
  • iTunes requires at least one black frame at the beginning and end of the video; otherwise, we’ll add it.
  • iTunes does not allow widescreen black format; if your video has it, it will be cropped.

Price and request Information are avaiable on Orbit Backstage, Services & Marketing tab.

Introduction

Unlike other content-related issues, what Apple Music calls “Editorial hides”, cannot be fixed by redelivery or metadata update. Editorial Hides is the most serious type of content rejection from the channel, which is related to potential frauds and copyright issues. It can severely penalize your content distribution to this channel.

Types of Editorial Hides Curated Artist

Content will be hidden using the reason Curated Artist when: 

  • Apple Music has curated an artist’s page and decided there are sufficient instances of a song or catalogue available.
  • Public domain content: the channel accepts only one version created from the best available source.

Repeated Submissions

Content will be hidden using the reason Repeated Submissions if multiple copies of the same content and/or audio files are submitted with a slightly different title and/or artist.

Do not send duplicate versions of the same content (such as the same album with a rearranged tracklist, or near-identical greatest hits albums).

Misleading

Content will be hidden using the reason Misleading if designed to mislead customers by mimicking popular content or search terms

  • This includes but is not limited to the artist name, album, or song titles that are similar or identical to the movie, musical theatre, book, podcast, social media, studio, and TV show titles or characters. This also applies to the imagery, logos, and fonts associated with those pop culture franchises.
  • Sound-alikes, cover versions, or tribute songs that sound very similar to the original, aren’t accepted. Recordings that include a similar name, title, or image of a popular artist in the content title or cover art may be hidden for editorial reasons. This content may not violate copyright law, but it can cause customer confusion.

Refusal

  • Cultural Sensitivities: Content sold must be legal and appropriate for the country or region where the content is cleared.
  • Nazi Propaganda: Content must not depict Nazi symbolism as restricted by the Strafgesetzbuch section 86a if the content is cleared for sale in Germany (DE), Austria (AT), Switzerland (CH), or any other country or region that restricts Nazi propaganda.
    If content violating this rule is submitted, your entire catalogue may be subject to suspension in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and any other applicable country or region.
  • Other Content Not Permitted:
    • Subliminal content
    • Karaoke music videos and ringtones
    • Karaoke tracks with lead vocals or vocal versions
    • Ringtones delivered as tracks on music albums
    • DJ Mix albums delivered as a single audio file
    • Snippets and advertisement tracks

As you can see, there can be some content that does not violate copyright law, but it can cause customer confusion and definitely, iTunes doesn’t accept this. 

iTunes reviews accurately all the content delivered and takes really good care of its whole catalogue quality and variety, playlists included. Because of this, if iTunes decides to hide content, this is a final and serious decision that can penalize content delivery to the channel. Depending on the volume of hides applied to your content, it can lead to your whole catalogue takedown on this DSP.

Other types of Hides refers to clearly fraudulent content and are already included in our Anti Fraud policy:

  • Fraud (Royalty)
  • Legal

Introduction

Apple Music is one of the main channels and one of the first ones that has established a Style Guide for content delivery. iTunes guidelines are the most strict among the DSPs. This is to ensure that Apple Music is the most complete music experience available, with a catalogue of good quality and variety and free of legal and rights issues.

Most important considerations
Here we share a list of the most important guidelines to consider when preparing your content for delivery to Apple Music:

Asset quality
Quality of the audio. We expect to receive the highest-quality assets available, which must meet or exceed the quality of the physical product is already out in the marketplace.

Artist accuracy and formatting
Pay attention to the format and accuracy of artist names and roles. The information should be correct and remain consistent across all content of the artist. The artist’s name must not be generic and include any additional information. Also, take into consideration that the Songwriter/Composer/Lyricist role is considered very important and will become a mandatory role in the future.

Localizations and phonetics
Localizations and phonetics enhance the discoverability of your content. If your content is available in more than one language, localizations have to be considered. Please contact our team for more information. 

Explicit or Clean version
Explicit and clean content must be flagged.

Lyrics
Lyrics can improve the quality of the content and the overall experience related to it. Promote and make sure your content includes lyrics and that they are written correctly.

This is extremely important for content that you are promoting directly with Apple itself (ie. you are in touch with the Apple Editorial team). This content has to be delivered with lyrics, otherwise, severe penalties can incur.

Artist ID
It is very important in order to have a release correctly published

Rejections
The following kinds of content lead to rejections:

  • Public domain content
  • Misleading content (sound-alike artists or performers)
  • Content with legal or rights issues

We recommend checking the above points before delivering content to Apple Music, this will fasten up the delivery process and will ensure the successful publication of your catalogue on this channel. Not following these guidelines will result in content not being published on Apple Music and the possible Takedown of your whole catalogue from the channel.

Audiomack icon

About Audiomack

Audiomack is a streaming and discovery service that features an ad-supported and subscription tier. It is currently available in multiple territories, and the app is particularly popular in the US and in a number of African countries. It has an ad-supported as well as a premium subscription model. Audiomack focuses mainly on new, independent, and up-and-coming artists.

Yes. To request access to a profile, email [email protected]. Include the URL for the artist’s public profile and an email address for the account. Ensure that the email address is not associated with another account on the Audiomack service.

Through the iTunes Store, users can purchase and download music, music videos, television shows, audiobooks, podcasts, movies, movie rentals in some countries, and ringtones, available on the iPhone and iPod Touch (fourth generation onward).

Yes. If a label representative or artist manager has the login credentials for the accounts they wish to monitor—which would require claiming each account with a unique email—they can use our “switch accounts” feature to log in and toggle between profiles. This option is available on desktop and through our Creator App.

Yes. Please email [email protected] and include the URLs for both public profiles. Indicate which profile you want to keep and which you want to remove. Public-facing plays and engagement stats can be transferred, but comments are not.

Please email [email protected]. Include the product UPC and the URL for the mismapped product, and indicate the correct profile URL.

Please email [email protected]. Include the UPC(s) for the missing product, and, if available, include the artist’s profile URL. If an artist profile does not exist at the time of the first product delivery, Audiomack will create one.

Yes. Please email [email protected]. Include the relevant information (bio), social media (links), and/or assets (profile photo, banner image).

What are the dimensions of the artist’s profile photo
800×800 pixels

What are the dimensions for the artist’s profile banner (header) image?
1500×500 pixels

Yes. Please email [email protected]. Include the URL for the account you want us to review for verification. To qualify, an artist must achieve:

  • Authentication
  • 500,000-lifetime plays, minimum

Authentication (grey badge) allows Audiomack to verify a profile holder’s identity and helps to distinguish the profile as official. 
Verification (orange badge) is based on overall performance and editorial discretion.

Who do I contact about the removal of UGC on Audiomack?
Submit a DMCA notice using our online form.

Yes. Pitch emails can be directed to our curation team. An up-to-date list of our team members is available here. A guide to our editorial playlists, filtered by genre, is available here.

Please include the following information:

  • Artist name
    • Link to Audiomack account, if available 
  • Product (song, album) title      
    • If an album or EP, please note the focus track(s) 
  • UPC (if available) 
  • Release date 
  • Brief description of the release
  • Target playlist(s) 
  • Preview stream 
  • Link to download approved publicity photos
  • Links for artist’s social media accounts

SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website based in Berlin, Germany that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio.   Features   SoundCloud’s key features include the ability to access uploaded files via unique URLs, thus allowing sound files to be embedded in Twitter and Facebook posts. A file may be embedded by clicking a share button corresponding to the target site (e.g., Twitter).   Registered users can listen to unlimited audio and may upload up to 180 minutes of audio to their profile at no cost.   SoundCloud distributes music using widgets and apps. Users can place the widget on their own websites or blogs, and then SoundCloud will automatically tweet every track uploaded.   SoundCloud depicts audio tracks graphically as waveforms and allows users to post “timed comments” on specific parts of any track. These comments are displayed while the associated audio segment is played.   Users are allowed to create playlists and to “Like” (specific tracks, which will then be saved to the user’s “Like” page), “Repost”, “Share”, to “Follow” another user, and to make complimentary downloads of their audio available.   SoundCloud supports AIFF, WAV, FLAC, ALAC, OGG, MP2, MP3, AAC, AMR, and WMA files.It then transcodes them to MP3 at 128 kbit/s and Opus at 64 kbit/s for streaming purposes.      Soundcloud supports Creative Common licences.   Soundcloud is currently available in every country except:   Antarctica; Afghanistan; Cuba; Bouvet Island; British Indian Ocean Territory; Central African Republic; Christmas Island; Equatorial Guinea; Haiti; Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands; Iran; Islamic Republic of Iraq; Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; Lebanon; Liberia; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Myanmar; Pakistan; Sudan; South Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic   Updated list available here

When you distribute to SoundCloud, upon receiving the content, the channel automatically generates a new topic profile in which it places it. This may lead to having two artist profiles for the same artist, if there was already one.

If you already have your own profile on Soundcloud, we can ask the channel to join both profiles in one, the one you already have and the one automatically generated by the channel. In order to do this we need you to send us the following information to Support via email.

* Links of both profiles (the one managed by you and the one created automatically by the channel).

* Which one you want to keep as the main one.

Once both profiles are synchronized, you will only have one that you can directly manage yourself.

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