Store Specific

You can submit a request to link your music on Instagram to your Instagram profile here: Instagram Profile Linking

Once we receive the request, we'll send it to Instagram so they can link things up manually. 

Streaming services sometimes group artists together who have the same (or similar) names, or create a new artist page instead of using your existing page. DistroKid's fixer tool can help!

Before we can submit a separation request...

We need to determine whose artist page is whose. Head over to the page where your music is currently being hosted. Check to make sure you have the earliest release on the artist pages in services where you are experiencing mis-mapped releases.

If you do not have the oldest release on your page...

This indicates that you were accidentally mapped to another user's page and you can actually use the fixer to request a new page! Here's how to request a new artist page:

1. Visit https://distrokid.com/fixer
2. Select "My music is on the incorrect page"
3. Select the service where you are incorrectly mapped
   • Please submit multiple requests if its wrong in more than one service
   • If your release is incorrectly mapped in Spotify or Apple Music / iTunes, skip to step 5
4. Select the release that is incorrectly mapped
5. Select the Artist that is incorrectly mapped
   • If your release is incorrectly mapped in Spotify or Apple Music / iTunes, skip to step 7
6. Add a link to the incorrectly mapped release
7. Select whether or not you have a pre-existing artist page for the specified service
   • Selecting "No" will send a request to create a new artist page for your music
   • Selecting "Yes" will send a request to map your releases to the specified artist page
8. Click "Finished", and you're done!

If you do have the oldest release on your page...

1. Visit https://distrokid.com/fixer
2. Select "Someone else's music is incorrectly on my page"
3. Select the service where an artists music has been incorrectly mapped to your page
   • For Amazon, Spotify, and YouTube you can follow up with those services directly via the links on the fixer, as those services handle these types of artist separation requests on their end.
   • Please submit multiple requests if its wrong in more than one service
4. Enter the link to your artist page on the service you selected
5. Enter the links to all the releases that have been incorrectly mapped to your artist page.
6. Click "Finished", and you're done!

How long will it take for services to fix my mapping issues

Services typically process these requests within several days, but it can sometimes take several weeks to complete them. We won't get notification if/when it's done, so the best thing to do is just keep checking the store when you have the chance.

Note: Some stores are also capable of directly helping with mapping issues, such as Spotify and Amazon.

You can submit these requests directly through Spotify for Artists, as well as Amazon Music for Artists.

Click here for more information on how to get access to Spotify for Artists, and click here for more information on how to access Amazon Music for Artists.

We totally get it: you have set up everything about your release to be perfect, but on release date, you find out your music is on another artists profile. 😱😭

This is one of the most frustrating thing artists face in the modern landscape of streaming services. While DistroKid has set up a bunch of tools to try and get the artist page mapping correct on the first try, ultimately mapping is not something your distributor has direct control over as it is handled by stores.

THAT BEING SAID, DistroKid has ALSO built some tools to help you verify your music is on the right page after submission.

To check which profiles your release will be mapped to on release day prior to your release date, you can simply request your URI's or Apple ID's using DistroKid's Spotify URI and Apple ID Looker Upper Tools! You can find these tools at the following links...

Spotify URI Looker-Upper: https://distrokid.com/uri/spotify

Apple ID Looker-Upper: https://distrokid.com/uri/apple

Let's try it out with the Spotify URI Looker Upper tool. First head over to https://distrokid.com/uri/spotify. Then, select your release from the drop down menu. I only have one release on this account so it has already been selected. Note that if you are not seeing a release, it's possible that we may not have delivered it to Spotify quite yet, please check back tomorrow!

After you have selected your release, go ahead and click on the "What's the Spotify URI" button. If your release has already been ingested by Spotify, you should see your album, track, and artist URI's

If you have multiple artists on your release you are trying to confirm are headed to the correct profiles, not to worry! All artist profiles and their roles will be listed under the "Artist:" section. Check it out!

If your release hasn't been ingested by Spotify yet, you will likely come across this screen:

Not to worry! It generally takes a day or so for Spotify to ingest releases. Your URI information will be available in the next day or so!

If this is the case, check back in the next few days. Spotify will have likely ingested your release and it will be available for URI request on this page. 

Once you have located your artist URIs / Apple IDs via the looker upper tools, make sure those artist profiles match your existing profiles in stores. You can do this by following the URLs provided on the looker upper pages, or by entering the URI directly into the Spotify search. 

If your profiles match, woohoo!! Everything has been mapped correctly, and you should be all set for release day. 

If your profiles do not match, please hit us up so we can get those profiles properly mapped for you before your release date. 

What the heck is a URI?

URI stands for Uniform Resource Indicator. It is effectively an identifier of a specific or element. In Spotify's case, URIs are used to indicate Artists, Tracks, Albums, Playlists, Songwriters, Users, and more! Apple has a similar resource indicator called Apple IDs that function much the same way.

How do I use URIs?

Artists can need URIs / resource identifiers for a variety of reasons. To name a few examples, sometimes blogs and radio stations might ask for your Track URI for your new single before release date so that they can add it to their playlists on release date immediately.

Additionally, Artist URIs can also be used in mapping requests so that distributors like DistroKid can request particular releases be mapped to your correct artist page.

In these and many more ways URIs can be useful in your own career. 

How do I find my URI?

You can use our Spotify URI and Apple ID Looker Upper Tools! You can find them at the following links...

Spotify URI Looker-Upper: https://distrokid.com/uri/spotify

Apple ID Looker-Upper: https://distrokid.com/uri/apple

...or by finding the links in the Goodies menu. Click on Goodies in the upper right corner of your DistroKid dashboard, scroll down and click on the "Helpful when needed" menu. From there you will find the Looker-Upper tools!

Facebook & Instagram are building a music catalog. DistroKid can get you in! For more information, see our blog post here: https://news.distrokid.com/facebook-507b5e567593

How do I send my music to Facebook?

To get your music into Facebook’s music catalog:

• New music: Just select the “Instagram & Facebook” checkbox when uploading your music to DistroKid.
• Old music: Sign into DistroKid → Click your album → Click “Add to more stores” → Choose “Instagram/Facebook” → Click “Add”. If you don’t see “Instagram/Facebook” here, congrats, you must’ve opted in when uploading your music & it’s already been added.

How does Facebook's Monetization service work?

Opting into distribution to Facebook/Instagram allows users to put your music in the content they create and share on Facebook and Instagram. This includes features such as a searchable Audio Library. Sending your music to Facebook allows your music the chance of earning revenue.

Note: Some videos may be muted due to product restrictions. In general, Facebook/Instagram videos that mimic an audio-only listening experience are not permitted. Examples include still-image, videos, or live streams with large amounts of matched audio.

How much does it cost to monetize my music on Facebook/Instagram?

There is no charge for opting into distribution to Facebook/Instagram.

My music was live in instagram and now it's gone

Check out this article for more info!

Spotify
Updating your artist pic & bio is done through Spotify for Artists. Get instant access to Spotify for Artists.

iTunes/Apple Music
You can edit your artist image directly via Apple Music for Artists. If you're not already registered, sign up for Apple Music for Artists through Apple directly: https://artists.apple.com. When asked for contact info, you can use your own.

YouTube Music
To manage your profile on YouTube Music, claim your Official Artist Channel through DistroKid by following these steps.

Amazon
To update your profile on Amazon, claim your artist name on Amazon Music for Artists by following these steps.

Musixmatch
Get verified and update your profile on Musixmatch by following these steps

Pandora
Pandora offers a similar service which you can sign up for via https://amp.pandora.com/

Deezer

Deezer has a Creator feature, which allows you to edit your artist profile, as well as view your stats on their platform. Detailed instructions on how to claim your Deezer profile can be found here:
https://support.deezer.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360018607978-Claiming-an-artist-profile-on-Deezer

*When asked for your distributors email, feel free to list support@distrokid.com.

Shazam
See your Shazam statistics in Apple Music for Artists!

Jaxsta

Ensure that you have your profile and music credits on Jaxsta.com , the only Official Music Credits Database. Watch Jaxsta’s video on How to Claim and verify Your Profile here.

Other Services

You may need to reach out to streaming services individually or check their FAQ. There's a company called AllMusic Guide that manages a database of music releases. They provide bio and review information to services including iTunes, Spotify, and other outlets. So try them.

 

This can occasionally happen when you upload an album that includes singles where the album has a release date later than the singles. The most recent release date per track is what Instagram looks at, so it's likely those previously live singles simply had their release date overwritten by the album release date on Instagram's end.

To get this fixed up, please submit an Instagram Resubmission Request here: Instagram Resubmissions Form

For future reference, you can avoid this by uploading the album before the singles, or by making a request to "update" the release date for the singles in DistroKid to their original release dates after uploading an album that includes those singles on it. 

It can take up to a week or so for your first DistroKid upload to go live in all streaming services. (For more information about the time it takes for releases to go live to streaming services, please check out the FAQ article, here) 

Even after your release has gone live, it may require some additional processing time before DistroKid detects your release(s) in streaming services. That said, you can still access your Spotify links prior to release by visiting https://distrokid.com/uri. Check it out!!

If you're trying to instantly verify your Spotify for Artists Profile and you see a message saying that your release has not yet been detected, please try again later or verify directly through Spotify the old fashioned way. 🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽

If you searched by artist name or release title and still cannot find your music, it is likely that one of the following has occurred: 

• Music is not live yet: See here for live times

• Services are still indexing your artist name. Until your name is indexed, it may not appear in search, despite your music being live. Services handle this internally (we don't control search results), but it shouldn't take too long for them to index your name shortly after your release is live. This generally happens if this is the first time using your artist name.

• Your release title is too common. If you have a common song or album title, such as "Home," it may not show in search results at the top, if other releases are very popular in rank.

Music Missing in Instagram more than three weeks after submission?

Sometimes stuff will appear in streaming services before it has fully processed. If you’re ever worried about something, we recommend giving it 48-72 hours or so to sort itself out.

From the time you upload, it can take 1-2 business days for your release to be reviewed, approved, and sent to streaming services. Then the streaming services have additional processing time on their end before they push your release live.

For more information about the time it takes for releases to go live to streaming services once approved, please check out the FAQ article here. 

Delays are rare, but they do happen, and are often out of our control. Please double check this article in regard to release dates--Particularly the "Note" section.

Each streaming service has their own style guide--the way in which they show information. 

When you upload music to DistroKid, we reformat the data & deliver it separately to each services, complying with each services' style guide.

Below is an example of how featured artists look differently in Apple Music vs Spotify.

Apple Music: 

Spotify: 

DistroKid's Musician Plus and Label accounts give you access to Estimated Daily Stats from Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, and Amazon. Sometimes, the numbers in Daily Stats differ somewhat from the figures shown in your monthly earnings statements. They may even drop to zero on occasion. Have no fear! ​That's normal, usual, and nothing to be concerned about.

It's generally an issue with how the streaming services are reporting to DistroKid (API), and these types of issues generally clear up within 24 hours or so.

Also, it's important to remember that estimated stats come from a completely different system than earnings reports, and any fluctuations will have absolutely no affect on your actual earnings from streams/sales.

Uploading your music and getting paid from Spotify through DistroKid is super easy. In fact, we're one of Spotify's preferred partners!

In addition to making it easy to get your music on Spotify, DistroKid also makes it incredibly easy to receive earnings from Spotify! You'll keep 100% of your revenue from Spotify (and all other store partners we work with!) when using DistroKid. 

To get started:

1. Create a DistroKid account!

2. Select your preferred DistroKid subscription plan! Keep in mind, the Musician Plus and Label plans come with tons of awesome features, including daily stats and custom release dates.

3. Head to the upload form to upload your work! On the upload form, just make sure that Spotify is selected from our list of partners.

4. Once your music has been listed and is live on Spotify, you can verify and access your Spotify for Artists account from within your DistroKid account too!

That's it. It really is that easy!

Getting verified on Spotify is easy when you use DistroKid and takes less than a minute.

To get instantly verified on Spotify:

1. Sign into DistroKid
2. Click "Goodies" in the upper right
3. Click "Special Access"
4. Click "Spotify for Artists" and follow the instructions. 

Verification also gives you access to "Spotify for Artists" which is Spotify's app that offers:

• ​Stats you can't get anywhere else

• The ability to update your Spotify artist pic & bio

• Access to the Spotify team to answer your questions

• A blue verified checkmark

FYI, it can take up to a week or so once your first DistroKid upload is live in Spotify before your release is fully processed and recognized in the system to be able to verify your artist page. If you see a message that says "Looks like you don't have anything live in Spotify (or we haven't detected it yet)," check back in 24-48 hours or so.

If you need to get verified before your first release goes live, you can look up your Spotify Artist URI here, so you can verify directly with Spotify the old fashioned way.

Enjoy! 

 

Your Spotify URI is a unique identifier Spotify assigns to every artist, album, and track. If you need to find yours for any reason, here's how!

If you have uploaded a release via DistroKid and need to grab your Artist, Album, or Track URI, you can use DistroKid's URI Looker Upper! Check it out at here: https://distrokid.com/uri

Note that for super recent uploads, you may need to wait a day or two for a URI to populate.

If you need a URI for a release that you didn't upload through DistroKid, follow these steps in the Spotify Desktop application (not the web version):

1. Click to the three dots next to the artist name/album/track title
2. Click 'Share'
3. Click 'Copy Spotify URI' from the second menu*

*Spotify recently rolled out a new version of their application which hides the "Copy Spotify URI" menu item. You can still get your URI by holding down the option key on Mac or the alt key on Windows when hovering over the share menu. 

Additionally, if you happen to select the URL on accident, not to worry! You can actually convert URLs to URIs pretty simply! The URI and URL utilize the same internal code! Check it out:

URI:  spotify:artist:EXAMPLE
URL: https://open.spotify.com/artist/EXAMPLE

Both links share the same ID: EXAMPLE

The only difference is the prefix:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/ vs spotify:artist:

Spotify gives artists an easy way to pitch music for playlist consideration.

To be considered, your release date must be at least 3-weeks in the future (only possible with DistroKid's "Musician Plus" or "Label" plans). 

Here's info from Spotify on how to pitch:
https://artists.spotify.com/blog/share-new-music-for-playlist-consideration

Here's an article that explains how Spotify's curators make decisions:
https://artists.spotify.com/blog/behind-the-playlists-r-and-b

Good luck! 

Spotify Canvas is automatically available to all DistroKid artists through Spotify for Artists! 💪

Canvas allows you to enhance your listeners’ experience by showing looping videos when they listen to your music in a Spotify mobile app.

It’s also a great tool to drive increased shares, streams, saves, adds to user playlists, and visits to your artist page.

To get started (mobile app):

1. Go to https://distrokid.com/spotify/ to claim your Spotify for Artists page.
2. Once you have claimed your page, sign into the Spotify for Artists mobile app (iPhone, Android)
3. Click the “library” icon at the bottom (looks like books)
4. Pick a song that you distributed using DistroKid.
5. Click “Create Canvas” and pick a video from your camera.

To get started (desktop):

1. Go to https://distrokid.com/spotify/ to claim your Spotify for Artists page.
2. Once you have claimed your page, head to your Spotify for Artists dashboard, and click on "Music"
3. Select a release.
4. In the top right corner of the page, you can "Add Canvas" to any DistroKid upload!
   

Click here for more information on Spotify Canvas.

You can also check out Spotify’s guide to Canvas, along with their content policy, here. 

Please note that Spotify Canvas is currently not available to Spotify users in the following countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and MENA (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates).

Apple offers a variety of audio formats and quality standards that they indicate to listeners using various badges. Let's take a look at what each badge means and how you can qualify your music for Apple's listening features and standards.

Lossless Audio

For much of music streaming history, audio had to be compressed so that the large file sizes of the audio files could be played back in realtime on slower connections. As mobile internet has gotten faster, and bandwidth has increased, services have been able to offer uncompressed, full quality masters for your listening enjoyment! The Lossless Audio badge on Apple Music indicates that you are listening to an effectively uncompressed audio file that delivers the full fidelity of the original recording exactly as the artist, mixing engineers, and mastering engineers intended. 

How do I get the Lossless Audio badge on Apple Music?

It's simple! Absolutely every release that is delivered to Apple with a lossless codec is opted in automatically to Lossless Audio playback and will have the Lossless badge. All you need to do is upload a lossless audio file format to DistroKid when you upload your music. Lossless file formats include: FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF

Hi-Res Lossless

Remember all that stuff about lossless audio? Well Hi-Res Lossless audio is just that but even more hi resolution. This badge lets listeners know that the audio file they are hearing is at least 24bit and has a sample rate higher than 48khz! Talk about hi-def!

How do I get the Hi-Res Lossless Audio badge on Apple Music?

The same as with Lossless Audio, every release that is delivered to Apple with a lossless codec is opted in automatically to Lossless Audio playback and will have the Lossless badge. To get the "Hi-Res" designation, all you need to do is upload a hi resolution lossless audio file format to DistroKid when you upload your music. In order to be considered "Hi-res", your lossless audio file must be at least 24bit and have a sample rate higher than 48khz. You can use the same lossless audio formats: FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF

Dolby Atmos

You have heard of stereo, but have you heard of... ULTRA STEREO? 

...nah, but for real, Dolby Atmos is a new audio playback format that creates a three-dimensional, immersive sound experience. You can read more about Dolby Atmos here:  https://distrokid.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403029574675 

How do I get the Dolby Atmos badge on Apple Music?

In order to get the Dolby Atmos badge, you first have to upload a compatible Dolby Atmos mix for your work. You can learn how to create a Dolby Atmos mix of your music here:https://distrokid.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4405783945363

Once you have a Dolby Atmos mix, it's easy to upload your Dolby Atmos content to DistroKid. Artists can add a Dolby Atmos version of their mix per track for $26.99 each - it will be available on supported devices and streaming services including Apple Music and Tidal. Just make sure to select "Yes" under the "Dolby Atmos/Spatial audio" section of the upload form.

Apple Digital Masters

Apple Digital Masters (formerly 'Mastered for iTunes') allows you to deliver high-resolution masters with the highest quality audio to Apple. You can learn more about it here: https://distrokid.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013534534

How do I get the Apple Digital Master badge on Apple Music?

If you already have your music mastered via an approved Apple Digital Masters mastering house, let us know by selecting "Apple Digital Masters (MFiT)" on our contact form, and we can enable you to upload this audio with the Apple Digital Masters designation. 

Uploading your music and getting paid from Apple Music through DistroKid is super easy. In fact, we are one of Apple's preferred partners!

In addition to making it easy to get your music on Apple Music and iTunes, DistroKid also makes it incredibly easy to receive earnings from Apple! You'll keep 100% of your revenue from Apple Music/iTunes (and all other store partners we work with!) when using DistroKid. 

To get started:

1. Create a DistroKid account!

2. Select your preferred DistroKid subscription plan! Keep in mind, the Musician Plus and Label plans come with tons of awesome features, including daily stats and custom release dates.

3. Head to the upload form to upload your work! On the upload form, just make sure that Apple Music is selected from our list of partners.

4. Once you have at least one live release on your Apple Artist Page, you can register for Apple Music for Artists and claim your page at https://distrokid.com/am4a. 

That's it. It really is that easy!

Pre-adds allows your fans to listen to one or more songs on Apple Music from an Album or EP before it is available for sale on iTunes. Bonus points, this also automatically adds the Album or EP to their library once it is available for sale.

[it looks like this]


Pre-add is only available for EPs and Albums where at least one track has been opted into Instant Gratification. For more information on Apple's requirements for pre-add, check out this article: https://itunespartner.apple.com/music/articles/rights-and-pricing_pre-adds-for-apple-music

For more information on how to opt into an Instant Gratification track on iTunes (which you need to do in order to use pre-add) check out this article: https://distrokid.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013647873

ROCK ON 🤘🏼

Yes!

Apple Digital Masters (formerly 'Mastered for iTunes') allows you to deliver high-resolution masters with the highest quality audio to Apple. 

Make sure your audio is a 24-bit resolution WAV file, with a sample rate of 44.1kHz or higher. By encoding from high-resolution masters, Apple music engineers are able to capture all of the detail of a recording in a size that is convenient for streaming and downloading. Using 24-bit files means less noise and higher encoding efficiency, making your uploads virtually indistinguishable from the original master recordings.

If you already have your music mastered via an approved Apple Digital Masters mastering house, let us know and we can enable you to upload this audio. 

Once enabled, you'll be asked to enter the email address of your Apple-approved Apple Digital Masters mastering house on the upload form.

Note: All former Mastered for iTunes songs will continue to be available under the Apple Digital Masters program

Congrats! This means that your album has been successfully delivered to iTunes, and they're in the process of making it live in all iTunes stores across the world. Albums sometimes go live in your country after a few hours, and sometimes a few days. Only thing to do now is wait. 

There's nothing else DistroKid needs to do at this point, as your album is safely in Apple's hands now. 

FYI re: pre-orders:

iTunes links default to Apple Music on mobile, where the release won't be available until the actual release date.

You'll still be able to find your pre-order in the mobile and desktop versions of iTunes, though.

You can also try adding ?app=itunes to the end of your iTunes link, which may help force mobile devices to check iTunes directly, rather than Apple Music.

iTunes Match is a service where music fans pay Apple $25/year to be able to upload their entire music collection to the Apple cloud and stream it from Apple's cloud to any device. Music fans can even upload & stream music they didn't buy from iTunes.

Artists like you get paid every time one of these subscribers streams one of your songs. 

There are two reasons why iTunes Match is great for artists:

1) Artists get paid every time a fan streams their song -- even if the fan already bought the song. In this case, it's like the artist is getting paid twice (once for the download, once for the stream).

2) In the event that a fan downloaded your song illegally or through some other means where they didn't pay for it -- the artist still gets paid every time that song is streamed by an iTunes Match subscriber. Which is cool.

 

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

How to claim your YouTube Official Artist Channel:

1. 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 that you can apply for a blank, new channel to be designated as an Official Artist Channel, but if there is no existing, independent content on that channel, the request may take longer to process.
   
   
2. Make sure your artist has at least one release that has selected "YouTube Music" as a streaming service within DistroKid.
   
   
3. Go to the YouTube Official Artist Channel section of your DistroKid account. To get there:
   
   - Select the Goodies menu in the upper right
   - Select "Special access"
   - Select  "YouTube Official Artist Channel"
   
   
4. Select the artist you want to associate with your YouTube channel.
   
   
5. Authenticate into your YouTube account.
   
   
6. Claim your channel!
   
   
7. Done!

*A few notes:

• Official Artist Channels are still in Beta, while we can help with troubleshooting issues, any support requests may take longer than normal to be processed
• You can only link one artist to a YouTube account. A label channel cannot be converted to an Official Artist Channel.
• 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 3 weeks for your channel to be designated as an Official Artist Channel. 

---

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

• Increased visibility through YouTube search
• Access to artist specific tools and analytics in YouTube Studio
• The ability to update your YouTube Music pic & bio
• Exclusive access to data and analytics through YouTube Analytics for Artist
• A verified music note next to your channel name

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!

If you have existing music on YouTube Music, you can head to your YouTube Music artist profile to retrieve your Artist URL. YouTube Music is located at https://music.youtube.com/. 

Once there, you can search for your artist name in the search feature located on the upper menu bar:

After you have located your YouTube Music Artist Page, you can find your YouTube Music Artist URL by clicking on the three dots next to your artist name and clicking the "Share" option:

You should see a dialog box and you can click the "Copy" button. 

Your URL should look something like this: https://music.youtube.com/channel/EXAMPLEURL

As an artist, if you distribute your work to YouTube via DistroKid, we send your work to YouTube Music. YouTube Music is a music streaming service.

When you distribute your work to YouTube Music, your music also generates what are called Art Tracks, which are still image, audio only releases that populate a Topic Channel. Topic Channels show exactly what your YouTube Music Artist Profile has available for streaming. The only difference is that Topic Channels are available on YouTube's main website, whereas your artist profile is available on YouTube Music. 

You're paid for each monetized play of your music. A "monetized" play is when YouTube displays an ad on the video, or when a YouTube Music paying subscriber listens (in which case you're paid, pro-rata, based on how much they're paying and what percentage of the time they listened to your tracks). 

YouTube Music is currently available in the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Canada, Norway, Ireland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and South Korea, and will be available anywhere YouTube has a subscription music service as new territories are supported. If you're trying to play YouTube Music Art Track videos from outside of these supported territories, you may see a message that the content is not available.

Here's some more information: 

http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2014/11/youtube-music-2014.html
http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/12/7201969/youtube-music-key-new-subscription-service

YouTube Content ID is an annually charged DistroKid Album Extra that gets you paid when other people use your music in their YouTube videos.

Here's how it works:

• First, opt-into YouTube Content ID in the DistroKid upload form. You'll see pricing information there. Price is per release (album or single). You can also opt-in a release after it's been uploaded to DistroKid, if you prefer.

• Once you've opted in, DistroKid will add your music to YouTube's Content ID database. This is YouTube's system that's able to identify when your music appears in any YouTube video. Here's a video that explains Content ID. 

• When YouTube detects your music in a video, monetization (ads) will be turned-on for that video. If there is a text or banner ad on the YouTube video with your music in it and the watcher clicks on the text or banner, or if there is a commercial before or after the video and the watcher watches up to 30 seconds or the entire commercial, ad revenue is collected.

• The ad revenue (minus 20%) will go to you, instead of the person who uploaded the video. These earnings will be shown in your DistroKid "Bank" tab.

If you opt into YouTube Content ID but want to allow specific videos to use your music without Content ID claims, you can do so here.

YouTube Music is YouTube's streaming service. DistroKid lets you easily add your music to YouTube Music - just select "YouTube Music" on DistroKid's upload form. 

When you upload your music using DistroKid, you can also upgrade your artist YouTube channel to an "Official Artist Channel". You can do this when you upload your next new release, or by going to the Official Artist Channel page in your DistroKid settings. 

If you haven't upgraded your artist YouTube channel to an Official Artist Channel, then YouTube Music will post your music on what is called a Topic Channel. That is to say, that these Topic Channels are populated with the music that you submit to YouTube Music. There are two separate kinds of Topic Channels YouTube Music may create for you:

• Personal Topic Channels: Many artists are automatically assigned a topic channel. This is usually your name, followed by  “-Topic”. For example, Drake - Topic. Note that this a different channel than his Official Artist Channel, Drake. Both of those channels contain his music.
  
  If you do not claim your Official Artist Channel, fans will be directed to your Topic Channel on YouTube.
  
  
• Various Artists - Topic: Many times, YouTube adds artists' music to a channel called "Various Artists - Topic". This is usually for undiscovered artists with smaller play counts. When an artist becomes more popular, their music is often moved (by YouTube) to a hashtag channel.

If you want your YouTube Music releases available on your own artist channel, as well as the topic channel, you'll want to request that your own channel (also known as an Owned and Operated Channel) be converted to an Official Artist Channel.

Click here to learn more about how to claim your Official Artist Channel.

DistroKid offers an optional upgrade called "YouTube Content ID." We'll add your audio to YouTube's Content ID system, which scours YouTube for videos that use your music. When a match is found, ads show on the video and you'll get the ad revenue.

If you have a video on YouTube that uses your own music, you'll likely get an email from YouTube that there's been a copyright claim against it. This is nothing to worry about--it's YouTube's Content ID system doing its thing. You can safely ignore the message. Ads will appear on your video & we'll send you the money earned. 

YouTube may say the copyright claim is from "Audiam" or "Interstreet Recordings." These are the services that help power DistroKid's "YouTube Content ID" feature. You can safely ignore the email. They'll send the ad revenue to DistroKid, and DistroKid will send it to you.

If you opt into YouTube Content ID but want to allow specific videos to use your music without Content ID claims, you can do so here.

Note: If your video says 'provided to YouTube by DistroKid,' (in other words, the video is a generated 'Art Track') it is ineligible to be allowlisted.
 

Yes!

We can distribute your work to Soundtrack by Twitch, and Pretzel. Both are services that allow streamers to share music on stream. Each store front offers something a little different for their audience, and we'll highlight those differences below. 

Twitch has their own music service called Soundtrack by Twitch, which gives artists the ability to potentially get their music played on Twitch streams.

You can find more details about this service in Twitch's FAQ, here:
https://help.twitch.tv/s/article/soundtrack

For streamers, Soundtrack by Twitch operates as an artist or genre radio station. 

Please note: Soundtrack by Twitch is curated. We are more than happy to submit your work there, but there is no guarantee that your work will be listed. 

We also distribute to Pretzel, which is a service that allows streamers to choose exactly what they want to listen to, when they want to listen to it. 

You can find more details and frequently asked questions about Pretzel here:
https://help.pretzel.rocks/pretzel#faq

If you want your work to be distributed to Pretzel, please reach out to us via our Contact Form, and we can enable Pretzel submissions on your account. You can request access to Pretzel by clicking on "Managing Music and Profile in Stores" on that contact form, and then submitting a ticket under "Opt into Pretzel". 

Pretzel also requires that artists fill out this form after their work has been submitted there, for full rights clearance. 

To send your music to Twitch, just select "Soundtrack by Twitch" and "Pretzel" on the DistroKid upload form.



To add previous releases to Twitch:

1. Sign into DistroKid
2. Go to your album page
3. Click your album (or single)
4. Click "Add to more stores"
5. Select "Twitch" and/or "Pretzel" from the list that populates.

Also! If you have a Twitch channel, you can link that channel to your music. That way, Twitch will link to your Twitch channel (and your Spotify page) whenever your music is streamed. To do this, visit: http://distrokid.com/twitch-connect.

One more important note: Cover songs are not eligible for Soundtrack by Twitch at this time. 

We'll try to keep this page up-to-date as more announcements are made about these services. Stay tuned!

DistroKid and Twitch have partnered to offer qualifying DistroKid artists more opportunities to grow their communities and earn money from music. Streaming on Twitch lets artists interact directly with their fans in a shared, live experience like nowhere else.

Through our partnership, DistroKid artists have the opportunity to be considered for joining The Collective. Artists selected by Twitch for the program will get ongoing support from Twitch, and be eligible for prioritized discovery, promotion, and activations from Twitch, Discord, and other industry partners. 

Twitch has all the info you need to go live, build your community and earn money doing what you love.

Apply to join The Collective today!


Notes: Currently, this program is only open to artists who live in the US or Canada and who are 18+.

Need more help? Join the Twitch Music Assist community on Discord for advice from Twitch music creators on hardware, software and setting up your channel.

Please visit the Twitch Support Center for information about Twitch payouts: https://help.twitch.tv/s/article/affiliate-payout-faq