Why isn't my music published on Apple Music?

Apple Music requires very specific guidelines for distributors according to the deal between this store and the aggregator. If you have uploaded to Indiefy your release but it is not on Apple's music catalogue, the issue is probably that the track and/or its metadata does not meet the store guidelines. You can check the reasons that Apple Music could reject your music in this article.

Metadata (release information) 

Make sure that your release information (metadata) is correct in order to be on Apple's music catalogue. 

Cover

You can only upload photos that you have legal authorization to share.

Send the original album cover whenever possible, and don't use generic art templates. Do not use art that does not match the album you are submitting.

Images that do not meet the presentation guidelines or standards may be rejected or deleted by Apple Music.

Below, we show you two examples of cover art, one that includes elements not accepted by the store against an example of a cover that is accepted:

The elements marked with a red 'X' are not accepted by the store and must be removed; other elements not accepted on the cover are: featuring name on the cover, barcodes, unofficial explicit content label (this is added by the distributor), etc.

Things to Avoid

Make sure your image avoids these three common rejection issues: blurry or pixelated content, borders, and text.

1. No pixelation or low-resolution images.

2. No borders of any kind. 

3. No typography or logos of any kind.

Additional Tips

• No blurry, pixelated, mismatched, misaligned, or rotated images
• No advertisements for content (for example, “Includes DVD” or “Includes Lyrics”)
• No artist album cover art or artist logos
• No text, including artist names, roles, dates, instruments, or current and former bands
• It should not include references to it being a digital product.
• No borders
• If you are collaborating with an artist, add "FT" before the collaborating artist name (symbols like: & "", -, X or () are not allowed) you can only use these symbols when it is a main artist.
• No attempt to up-sell a product. The image should be a representation of the artist.
• No misleading images (for example, depicting or referencing an artist not associated with the original artist)
• No URLs for websites that sell music or compete with Apple Music or iTunes
• No use of the terms “Apple Music,” “MUSIC,” or “iTunes”
• It should not include price references, including "Reduced Price", "Low Price", "Available for $9.99" or "For Promotional Use".
• No pornography or website URLs that link to pornography
• No Nazi symbolism restricted by the Strafgesetzbuch section 86a, if the content is visible in DE, AT, or CH. Please be aware if this happens three times (where a photo in these territories is delivered with Nazi imagery), your entire catalogue will be suspended in DE, AT, and CH for up to six months.
• No images or themes not legal or appropriate for all countries, or that encourage unlawful conduct, or are otherwise obscene, objectionable, or in poor taste
• It should not include references to the physical packaging (e.g. CD or cassette) or any other retailer

Special Characters

Do not use emojis or special characters in titles, artist names, or other metadata (release information)

Track Version Information

(For some versions it is needed an original version on this platform previously)

• Live
• Radio Edit
• Instrumental
• Extended Version
• Remix
• Cover Version

Unnecessary Version Information

• Album Version
• Original Version
• Previously Unreleased
• Remix
• Direct translation of the release title (from one language to another)

Non-Standard Capitalization

Titles and artist names must not be in all capitals, all lower case, or random casing.

Explicit content and Parental Advisory logo

Explicit content will be considered when the song has bad words in your language, you must select this element in your track information. 

Automatically Censoring Words

Artist names, track titles, and album titles must be submitted in the original form that was intended by the artist. Explicit words are automatically censored on the iTunes Store and on Apple Music (for example, F**k, or S**t). Do not insert the asterisks yourself.

The Parental Advisory logo on artwork is not important, but if you want to add it to your artwork, be sure that it has high quality and it's not modified.

ONLY use this type of Parental Advisory logo:

Audio Cut-Off or unnecessary extended

Check that your audio file is complete, and don't extend silence for more than 5 seconds.

Apple Music REJECTS beats that have watermarks or the use of free beats, also when the audio duration is less than 30 seconds.

If you have more questions about Apple's guidelines, click here for more information.

If you consider your release needs corrections or a second review please fill out this form.