We recommend you submit your music at least two weeks before its streaming launch. We process quickly, but corrections for issues like metadata or artwork errors can extend this timeline. For complex genres (Classical, Soundtrack, etc), or if you might need help with the process, please allow extra time.
For these more complex releases we recommend allowing 4+ weeks for the process. Whether this is due to a sophisticated roll-out with complex marketing strategies or more nuanced meta-data requirements due to the genre it will allow time for the operational process outlined below.
- The Quality Assurance process: Each release uploaded is reviewed by our content operations team to ensure it meets the Digital Music Services’ requirements and specifications. If your release does not meet the specifications, it'll be queried and returned to your Workstation with an accompanying email explaining the changes that need to be made before the product can be approved.
- Delivery to the Stores: After the QA process, your release will be queued for delivery to the digital music services which you can monitor in the Catalogue tab on your Workstation. Each digital music service has its own ingestion time, varying between 2-7 working days. You should upload your release at least 4 weeks in advance of your desired release day to ensure we can guarantee (barring major issues) that the release will be delivered and ingested by each Service we deliver to before your release date. If the release is delivered to the digital music services after your scheduled release date, it’ll go live across different services on different days, and we’re unable to provide any information as to when exactly the release will be live.
Be sure to check out our Guide to Timelines for an overview of all our processes and lead time requirements.
Note: AWAL adheres to the Apple Music Style Guide. It's pretty heavy going so we've tried to guide you through the process in the product builder. You can review these guidelines prior to uploading your release to ensure your product meets the requirements first time.