While the majority of the releases you distribute via your Identity Music dashboard are approved within 3 working days, sometimes your music may be returned to you if we believe the music platforms will not approve it.
One of our core focuses is maintaining the quality of releases we distribute. Every release distributed through our dashboard is reviewed as part of our Quality Assurance processes, making sure that the release meets our requirements and is suitable for all of the selected distribution platforms.
If we have any questions about a release or are not confident it meets platform requirements, we will return it to you with details of what you need to confirm before it can be delivered to DSPs.
What happens if a release is returned to you
When our team review your release and find something that needs your attention before it can be delivered, they will return the release to you along with a brief note to explain why.
Once you have resolved the issue or confirmed the answers to any questions we had, we will be able to re-review the release and get it delivered to platforms for you.
Common reasons for a release being returned
Each release is different, so it is always best to check the specific return note you receive, but there are a few things that commonly cause a release to be returned - to ensure a smooth distribution process, it's worth checking your release doesn't fall into any of these traps before hitting the distribute button!
Audio Matches Detected
Every track is scanned during our Quality Assurance process to identify any audio matches with existing tracks live on streaming platforms. If your release uses samples/beats, it will likely flag audio matches to other tracks using those same samples - and won't be eligible for distribution to Rights Management Platforms.
If you distribute a track that uses samples/beats but you don't mark your track as such in the Track Properties section, we will return the release to you to confirm a) that samples have been used and Track Properties should be updated, and b) that the track is ineligible for distribution to Rights Management Platforms.
Find out more about Rights Management Platforms and why your track might be ineligible here.
Occasionally, audio matches will be detected incorrectly. If you believe the audio matches are inaccurate, or if you have used samples but have an exclusive license fr them, please reach out to our Client Management team for further support.
AI Usage Detected
As part of our commitment to independent human creativity, we do not distribute any tracks that are fully AI-generated. Our Quality Assurance process includes AI detection scans that give us an indication of whether AI has been used in the creation of a track. If AI is detected, we will return a release to you and ask you to provide confirmation of how AI has been used. We may ask for a video recording of your DAW or other information to confirm the extent of AI usage.
While we do not distribute fully AI-generated music, we do distribute AI-assisted or partially AI-generated music to a limited selection of DSPs.
Missing or Inaccurate Metadata
Metadata might feel like a dull admin task, but it's really important to get it right! Not only does accurate metadata make sure everyone gets paid properly, but it's also what algorithms rely heavily on when recommending your music to listeners. If your metadata is inaccurate, you'll suffer in terms of discoverability.
Common metadata issues include:
misspellings of track titles, artist names, or other information
artists at Release level not being the same as at Track level
missing properties in Track Properties, including Samples, Lyrics, Explicit
missing lyric language and/or Composer role (needed for tracks with lyrics)
tracks marked as Instrumental but have lyrics
The release return note will highlight the metadata that's inaccurate or missing so you can resolve it before distributing again.
Silence at the Start or End of Tracks
While a couple of seconds of silence at the start or end of a track might be intentional, most DSPs will reject tracks that have an extended period of silence of more than 2 seconds. If we identify this during our review process, we will return the release to you to adjust the audio file before we can distribute.
Artwork Issues
Some platforms have specific guidelines when it comes to acceptable artwork. If we spot artwork that is likely to be rejected by DSPs, we will let you know so you can adjust or change the artwork as necessary.
One of the most common causes of releases being rejected due to artwork is where the artwork includes barcodes, phone numbers or other 'identifiable' features like that.
Also bear in mind that if your artwork contains nudity or other explicit content, your release will need to be marked as Explicit before distribution.