What actually happens after you hit submit.

The review process, roughly

Once you submit a release, it goes through an automated and human review before it's sent to stores. Most reviews clear within a few days, though turnaround varies by distributor and can stretch to a few weeks during high-demand periods.

What commonly causes delays or rejection

• Poor audio quality, including clipping or obvious compression artifacts.
• Copyright concerns, especially unlicensed samples or covers submitted incorrectly.
• Incorrect image formatting, low resolution, or artwork containing store logos or contact details.
• Incomplete or inconsistent metadata, such as a mismatched artist name across tracks.

How much lead time to plan for

Even when review itself only takes a few days, it's worth building in a longer buffer. Major platforms' editorial teams generally want submissions several weeks ahead of a release date to consider a track for playlist placement, and that deadline is separate from the distributor's own review time.

Before you hit submit

• Double-check artist name spelling and featured-artist credits match across every track.
• Confirm your audio file has no clipping and is exported at full quality.
• Make sure your cover art is square, high resolution, and free of any text that isn't part of the actual artwork.
• Set your release date with a real buffer, not the earliest date the calendar allows.