Label-Ready 10 · Submit Distribution & Lock Release Data

DEPLOY · 2 of 6 · Label-Ready 10

Submit Distribution & Lock Release Data

WHERE YOU ARE: The date and distributor are chosen. Now convert the One-Song Release Package into an accurate distributor submission and preserve proof of what was sent.

YOU SHOULD ALREADY HAVE

  • Release Deployment Plan.
  • One-Song Release Package.
  • Existing artist-profile links/IDs where this is not a debut.
Submission is translation, not reinvention. Treat the approved package as the source of truth. Every important distributor field should be identifiable as COPIED FROM PACKAGE, DISTRIBUTOR-ASSIGNED or PLATFORM-SPECIFIC. If the package is wrong, repair the package first.

THE DECISION

Does the submitted release exactly match the package, and can you prove what the distributor received?

DO THE WORK

  1. Record the exact package manifest/version you are submitting from.
  2. Upload the approved master and cover from the controlled package.
  3. Copy artist name, title, version information, writers, contributors, language, explicit status and other metadata from the Release Metadata & Credits Record.
  4. Map the release to existing artist profiles when the distributor supports it. Do not guess which profile belongs to you and do not create a duplicate artist identity to solve uncertainty.
  5. Preserve an existing ISRC for the unchanged recording when appropriate. If the distributor assigns a new identifier to a new recording, record it after assignment rather than treating the identifier as ownership.
  6. Answer AI/synthetic-content or disclosure questions truthfully according to the distributor’s current form and policy.
  7. Confirm the target release date and store selection before final submission.
  8. Save the submission confirmation, release/album identifier, assigned UPC and ISRC where available, and screenshots or exported details sufficient to reconstruct the submission.
  9. Track store delivery status; a distributor acceptance is not proof that every service has mapped the release correctly.
Do not “fix” metadata inside the distributor form by memory. A distributor-form correction that changes a material release fact must flow back to the package source of truth so the live release and evidence remain consistent.

ROUTE & FOUNDATION

Back to 9 · Release Runway & Distribution Plan — repair timing, distributor or scope decisions there.

Back to the One-Song Release Package — correct package-level metadata, master or artwork at the source instead of improvising in the distributor form.

DEPLOY Hub — phase overview.

Free · AI Music Release Compliance Checklist 2026 — rights, disclosure and pre-release foundation.

JR SUPPORT

How to Distribute AI-Generated Music on Spotify Using DistroKid — step-by-step DistroKid reference.

DistroKid Setup Guide 2026 — metadata, artist mapping and HyperFollow support.

SAVE THIS

Create the Distribution Submission Record: package manifest/version reference, distributor, submission date, release date, stores, submitted metadata, artist mapping, each material field’s source category, UPC/ISRC where available, confirmation reference and current delivery status.

DO NOT ADVANCE IF

  • The uploaded master or artwork differs from the approved package without documentation.
  • Artist mapping is uncertain.
  • Credits or title spelling conflict with the package.
  • A material distributor-field change has not been reconciled back to the source-of-truth record.
  • The distributor has raised a rights/policy issue that is still unresolved.

READY TO CONTINUE WHEN

The submission is accepted or in processing, the material data is recorded, the package and submission agree, and no known Red distribution issue remains.

NEXT

Prepare the places listeners will meet you.

11 · Prepare Artist Profiles & Platform Assets