How Do I Get an Official Artist Channel on YouTube? – DistroKid Help Center

Claiming your Official Artist Channel on YouTube is quick and easy when you use DistroKid.

How to claim your YouTube Official Artist Channel:

Make sure you already have a channel dedicated to your content as an artist on YouTube, and that this channel has artist content uploaded to it. If not, please create one, and name it after your artist name.*

Note you cannot apply for a blank, new channel to be designated as an Official Artist Channel. If there is no existing, independent content on that channel (at least one YouTube video, YouTube Shorts do not count), the request will not go through.
Make sure your artist has at least one release that has selected "YouTube Music" as a streaming service within DistroKid.
Go to the YouTube Official Artist Channel section of your DistroKid account. To get there:

- Click the DistroKid Features Menu in the upper right
- Select "Special access"
- Select "YouTube Official Artist Channel"
Select the artist you want to associate with your YouTube channel.
Authenticate into your YouTube account.
Claim your channel!
Done!

*A few notes:

You can only link one artist to a YouTube account. A label channel cannot be converted to an Official Artist Channel.
Your personal Channel name must match your artist name in order to apply for an OAC.
The entirety of applying for an Official Artist Channel is generally quick, though it can take anywhere from a few days, to a few weeks. Please allow up to 6 weeks for your channel to be designated as an Official Artist Channel.
Your Topic Channel remains a separate channel, even after the OAC is claimed
OAC requests cannot be undone or transferred to a new channel

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Once your Official Artist Channel is approved, you'll have access to some exciting new features on YouTube, including:

Here’s a video from YouTube with some additional info about what it means when DistroKid helps you qualify for an Official Artist Channel:

Enjoy!

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