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 September 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.
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 Rights for Creators 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 Rights for Creators →Build the working 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.
Choose the missing job
The audio still needs work
Repair vocals, timing, arrangement, mix or mastering before distribution.
Validate the Track →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 Rights for Creators →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 →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 → · Module 15 · Measure & Improve →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.
