The song is still changing
Keep source files, compare versions and avoid permanent store records until the creative direction is stable.
Return to Find Your Sound →AI Music Release Router 2026: Finish, Hold or Distribute Your Song
Stage 4 Support · Release Readiness · Updated October 2026
Finish it, hold it or release it?
A song can sound exciting and still be unready for distribution. Route the missing job first: production, rights, identity, documentation, audience testing or distribution.
Before using the release router, use Single, EP or Album? for the plain-language version and My First AI Music Release Plan for the editable worksheet.
The direct rule
Distribution is not a finishing tool. If the master, source chain, contributor approvals, artist identity or metadata are still changing, hold the release. If those are stable, use Store Eligibility and the AI Music Release & Distribution Planner before choosing a distributor.
If the released recording is primarily AI-generated: use the AI-Generated Song Journey as the broad method owner: Generate → Finalize → Document → Prepare → Distribute → Verify → Improve.
Already have a finished Suno v6 song? Skip directly to the Suno v6 Distribution Guide for the Suno-specific requirements and equal TuneCore, DistroKid and BandLab routes.
BEFORE PREPARE · RIGHTS CHECKPOINT
If you cannot explain the rights position yet, route that job before you route the release.
Use AI Music Trust & Proof when you have one exact project and need to separate platform permission, human contribution, outside rights, intended use and proof. The course ends with a Green, Yellow or Red decision so uncertainty becomes a visible release condition instead of a guess.
Green means continue to the next planned step. Yellow means verify a material unresolved question. Red means hold this version until the known conflict is fixed, replaced, permitted or professionally reviewed.
Start AI Music Trust & Proof →Build the free Trust & Proof record →
This is a creator workflow checkpoint, not a legal certification or guarantee of platform acceptance.
PREPARE · Enter with one documented asset
Do not restart the song here. Decide what should happen to the exact version you documented.
Bring the exact final master or selected test version from your Creator Project Record, including its version identifier, current rights/source status and any unresolved conditions. PREPARE is the decision layer between DOCUMENT and DISTRIBUTE.
Exact asset
Name the final master or test version by filename, link, generation ID or other stable identifier.
Release purpose + rail
Choose why the release exists and the intended rail: HOLD, TEST, SOCIAL / YOUTUBE, DSP DISTRIBUTION or DIRECT / HYBRID.
Readiness conditions
Record rights/source status, identity and metadata stability, artwork/package status and any destination eligibility still requiring verification.
Decision + next action
State the route you chose, why, any blocker or condition, and the one next execution step.
Release Readiness Record v1: exact asset/version + release purpose + chosen rail + rights/source status + package/metadata status + eligibility checks still required + route decision + blockers/conditions + next action.
PREPARE completion gate: you can name the exact asset, the chosen rail, why it fits, every unresolved condition that could stop release, and the next execution step. Do not submit anything to a distributor yet unless the decision is DISTRIBUTE and the required checks for that route have passed.
Artwork or visual package is the missing job? Use From AI Song to Release Visuals for the Direction → Anchor Asset → Motion workflow, teaser testing and visual release record before returning here.
Choose the missing job
The audio still needs work
Repair vocals, timing, arrangement, mix or mastering before distribution.
Validate the Track →Using BandLab? Open BandLab Mastering 2026 →
A source or intended use is unclear
Start with the guided project review so you can identify exactly what is resolved and what still needs verification. Then use the deeper ownership guide or Label Edition record when the stakes or documentation needs are higher.
AI Music Trust & Proof →Rights & Ownership →
Rights Record — Label Edition →
The song needs audience evidence
Use a controlled private, community or short-form test when learning matters more than immediate catalogue permanence.
Open Release Support →The release is explainable
The master is final, rights are sufficiently documented for the intended use, identity and metadata are stable, and the listener has a next step.
AI-Generated? Open the Canonical Journey →Finished Suno v6 song? Open the Suno v6 Guide →
Check Store Eligibility →
Build the Release & Distribution Plan →
Streaming is not the main job
Use your own site or direct-support route when downloads, supporter editions, project context or client delivery matter more.
Review Direct-Sale & Monetization Routes →FREE RELEASE JOURNEY · LEARN → APPLY → EXECUTE
Know where you are before choosing a paid next step.
1 · LEARN / CHECK
Use the full pre-distribution checklist to decide whether the song, rights, identity, metadata, artwork and audience path are actually ready.
Run the free readiness check →
2 · APPLY
Move the decisions into the free Release & Distribution Planner so the release is organized before you pay a distributor.
Use the free planner →
3 · EXECUTE
If this is your first release, use the free seven-day path to select, finalize, document, schedule, audit and submit one single.
Run the free 7-day release path →
4 · PLATFORM DEPTH
Once you choose TuneCore, DistroKid or BandLab, use the free platform guide first. Member Release Packs add field-by-field execution records, correction tracking and live-verification depth.
Choose the distributor route →
5 · PAID VALIDATION
When the release package already exists and you want the whole system stress-tested, Member Milestone 7 validates the master, rights evidence, metadata, distributor fit, submission evidence and campaign handoff.
Validate the first release →
6 · NEXT JOURNEY
After submission and live verification, move into the teaser/campaign path. Release is not the end of the creator journey.
Continue to the campaign stage →READY TO PLAN THE RELEASE?
Use the free planner before paying a distributor.
The Planner keeps one track's readiness, rights status, destination checks, distributor decision, package, submission and delivery verification in one working record. For an AI-Generated release, use the canonical AI-Generated Song Journey first, then move into the distributor implementation that matches the project. If the finished song was made in Suno v6, the Suno v6 Distribution Guide owns the generator-specific answer. TuneCore, DistroKid and BandLab are equal supported implementation routes inside that guide.
Open the AI-Generated Song Journey Free Release & Distribution Planner → · Distribution Strategy →
After distribution
Record what was submitted, where it went live, which identifiers were assigned and what needs follow-up. Then move into active-release tracking and measurement.
Free Release Command Center →WHEN FREE EXECUTION TURNS INTO PAID DEPTH
Pay for the job that remains—not for another copy of the free guidance.
The free path can take a creator through readiness, planning and a first submission. Paid access becomes useful when the release needs deeper platform execution, formal validation or connected project support.
Chosen a distributor?
TuneCore Pack →
BandLab Pack →
Use the matching Member Release Pack for submission records, correction handling and live verification.
DistroKid Pack →TuneCore Pack →
BandLab Pack →
Want the whole release validated?
Use Member Milestone 7 after the release package exists. It checks the master, rights record, metadata, distributor fit, submission evidence, campaign readiness and governance as one system.
Open Member Validation →
Need connected human support?
Complete Access →
Use Creator Pro or Complete Access when several release decisions are interacting and you want consultation in addition to the training system.
Creator Pro →Complete Access →
Platform rules, AI policies, distributor requirements and Content ID eligibility can change. Verify current official terms for the exact release. Jack Righteous provides creator education and workflow guidance, not legal advice or a guarantee of platform acceptance.
First release: DistroKid, TuneCore or BandLab?
For a first AI music release, choose the distributor based on the workflow you actually need—not the biggest brand name.
- DistroKid: a direct distributor-first workflow with broad platform delivery and a large existing creator ecosystem.
- TuneCore: a strong option when you want a traditional distributor relationship and clear release administration.
- BandLab: useful when creation, collaboration and finishing inside the BandLab ecosystem are already part of your workflow.
Before choosing any of them, confirm the current AI-content rules, fees, rights requirements and release timing. The best first distributor is the one whose rules and workflow match your actual release—not the one with the loudest marketing.
