Troubleshooting
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How to Check the Status of Your Uploads from Your DistroKid Dashboard
Your DistroKid dashboard has nifty indicators to let you know the status of any of your uploads. From your DistroKid dashboard at https://distrokid.com/mymusic, you'll see a circle to the left of the artwork for each upload you've made. This circle will be one of three colors based on its current status: Green: Your release was successfully processed and delivered to services. Yellow: Your release is currently processing or is currently being delivered to services. Red: There is an error with your release that is preventing it from being delivered to services. For more detailed information ...
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My Release is Stuck Processing
If your release appears to be stuck processing with the yellow circle next to your album/track/artwork, this typically means additional processing time is required.It can take several days for releases to be reviewed, approved, and sent to streaming services. If it's important that your release goes live on a specific date, click here to read about release dates.Delays are rare, but they do happen, and are typically outside of DistroKid's direct control. Cover License ProcessingSecuring cover song licenses can take up to 14 business days. Releases with cover songs will be submitted as soon ...
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Handling the "File Size Too Small" Error for Uploads
If you received a notification saying the file you uploaded to DistroKid is too small and is causing an error with the upload, the issue is likely related to an internet connection timeout or instability issue at the time of upload.If this occurs, we recommend taking the following steps:Delete the current upload with the errored track.Check your internet connection for issues and make sure it is as stable as possible (we recommend a wired internet connection, if possible).Re-upload the release with a stable internet connection.It's also worth checking to make sure your audio file isn't actu...
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Handling a Rejected DistroKid Release
Every service DistroKid delivers to has specific guidelines for how releases are formatted, and what kind of content they'll accept.If you were notified that your upload to DistroKid was rejected, you'll likely need to delete and re-upload your release in order to fix what was flagged during the review process. Details on the rejection will be included in the email you received. If you think your release was rejected in error, just reply to that email for more information.Note that deletion and re-upload is not necessary if services require verification for your upload, or if your artwork w...
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Verifying an Artist Name When DistroKid Requires It
Sometimes, stores require an artist to verify their artist name. This helps protect your content on DistroKid and within stores, and ensures that no one is uploading your music or using your artist name without your permission.Please note that artist name verification is only required when DistroKid asks it of you – it is not necessary to contact DistroKid to verify an artist name before then.To verify an artist name and provide permission to use it, the artist needs to contact us directly and verify the artist name via one of these options:If the artist uses Instagram, they can send a Dire...
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Handling the "File Has Zero Bytes" Error
If you see an error message for your upload that says "The file you uploaded is zero bytes," it means that your uploaded audio file can't be played. Sometimes this happens if you try uploading to DistroKid from a mobile device or cloud storage, as file storage is handled differently than a computer that has the file saved locally. If you see this error, you'll need to abort the previous attempt and re-upload your release. Uploading Files From an iOS Device CorrectlyIf you are uploading your music from an iOS device, you will need to make sure you select your files from the iOS file browser....
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Why Does the Volume of My Track Seem Different in Streaming Services?
We don’t do any loudness post-processing to your audio (unless you opt into our Loudness Normalization extra), we simply deliver it to streaming services as is, and they decide how it should be played back. You may need to Google around for what changes services make to audio files on their end - each service is different, and offers different audio formats to fans. Best practice: Submit a high-res copy of your songs to us, and let services convert them to their liking. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Why Does the Volume of My Track Seem Different...
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The Progress Bar is Stuck Uploading After Clicking "Continue" on the Upload Form
When there are file upload issues that occur on the upload form, it is usually due to a local issue with your network or connection. If the progress bar for your music is stuck or errors after clicking "Continue" on the upload form, try the following:Clear your browser's cache/cookies/browsing history.Log out, then log back into DistroKid and upload your release again.If the issues continue, it may be due to an issue with your internet connection. For best results, use a wired connection on your device to avoid upload issues from WiFi interruptions.If the above troubleshooting doesn't work,...
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My Music Keeps Failing to Upload Partway Through
If the upload progress bar turns red when uploading your album, it means something went wrong with your connection and you'll have to restart the upload.Before restarting your upload, check your internet connection to make sure there are no potential disruptions. If network issues persist, you can try uploading from another location, or try the upload again later.A wired internet connection is recommended, as any lapse in WiFi can cause issues when uploading – this is especially helpful when uploading large files.When this upload issue occurs, the error usually isn't on DistroKid's end. Whe...
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Releasing an Album That Has a Track With an Error
DistroKid cannot submit a release to streaming services if any part has an error, even if it's just one file. If one track has an issue, we can't deliver the others that aren't errored, as tracks cannot be deleted or edited after upload.If any tracks are errored on a release, you'll need to abort the upload and re-upload with any corrections.If your release was already uploaded and delivered to services and you need to change the audio file to one with minor changes, you can use the Audio Swap feature. For more information on Audio Swap, please see this article: https://support.distrokid.co...
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You See: Your Socket Connection to the Server Was Not Read from or Written to Within the Timeout Period.
Short version:Something's probably wrong with your internet connection. Or the internet in your area.Longer version:Transferring large files across the internet is hard. When you visit a website, any data you send, goes through dozens of connections before it gets to its destination. If anything goes wrong at any of those points, the connection will fail.DistroKid makes transferring large files easy. The proprietary technology on DistroKid's upload form actually creates a direct-connection between your browser, and our file host (Amazon S3). This takes DistroKid's servers (and any points be...
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