Upload Your Release: A Step-By-Step Guide

How do I upload my music (Cover art + Music section)

Let's start!

First, log in to your account https://app.trac.co/login or create a new account
In your dashboard, you will see Music. From there click the button that says "Drop New Music"
From here, you will see the first section of the upload process which is (Cover art + Music). This is where you will add your release title, upload your artwork and audio.

Release title - This section is where you will name the entire release. Whether it is a single, an EP, or an album.

NOTE: If you are releasing a one-track single the release title should be the same as the track title.

Listed below are the following requirements when it comes to the release title:

Artist name should not be included in the release title unless it's a self-titled release then the format should be like this (i.e. "The Weeknd" Self-titled album)
Featured artists and producer names should not be included in the release title. (Featured artists should be added in the collaborators section while producers should be added in the credits section).
Release title should not have a remix/version in the title (i.e. This Is My Song Remix, This Is My Song instrumental version). This should be added in the version field in the next upload process section.
But there is one exception: such versions as Skit, Intro, and Outro should stay in the title and be put in parentheses, for example: "I love music (Intro)"
Title can contain two languages as long as they are not side-by-side translations. For example: "My Love (Mi Amor)" is NOT OK, " Girl (Mi Amor)" is OK
No track numbers! Tracks are listed in order, as you upload them
Generic titles are not welcomed by stores as well ("Relaxing Chill Meditations Music" or "Track 1" is not a good option for the title)
Parts and Volumes in the title should be formatted in the following way:

My Song, Part 1 - My Song, Pt.1

Dancing Sun Volume 1 - Dancing Sun, Vol.1

No dashes or underscores in the title.

Cover art - This section is where you will upload the release's artwork. In order for the artwork to be accepted, it should follow the guidelines listed below:

The current acceptable format for an artwork is a perfect square with a minimum of 3000x3000 pixels, and not blurry.
Make it simple! Having the release title and/or artist name should be enough.

❌No Extra text that isn't in the metadata (artistic freedom is allowed, but in this case, artist name(s) and the release title should be more prominent)

❌No Extra logos. (Label logo is acceptable)

❌No Copyrighted images

❌No celebrities/Public figures in the artwork

❌No Social Media handles

❌No Contact information

❌No Cutoff images

❌No Stretched out images, blurry images, pixelated images

❌No QR codes, Barcodes

❌No Movie rating labels (PG-13, R, etc.) Anything used by Motion Pictures Association.

❌No Video game rating labels (T for Teens, M for Mature) used by ESRB.

Track(s) - This section is where you upload your music. In order for your audio to be accepted, it should follow the guidelines listed below:

The currently accepted file formats are the following: M4A, FLAC, MP3, MP4, WAV, WMA, AAC.
Singles must be at least 60 seconds long.

NOTE : For EP and album releases, you can have tracks that are less than 60 seconds as long as they do not exceed 50% of the release's total volume. For example, if an EP has 5 tracks, you can have an intro and an outro that is less than 60 seconds provided, which means 2 out of 5 tracks are more than 60 seconds long.

Audio should not have the following:

❌Too distorted

❌Poor quality

❌Extremely pitched up/down

❌Long amounts of silence (10 seconds and more)

❌Abrupt cuts in the middle of words/vocals at the beginning or at the end

❌One-sided (only coming out of the right or left speaker)

❌Non-musical (such as Podcasts, Spoken poetry, Audiobooks, Nature Sounds, Interviews etc.)

❌Generic Audio Submissions (Learn more about what is generic here: Why is my music considered generic?)

Once this section is done, click the next step and proceed to the next section!

How do I upload my music (Names + Genres section)

Once you have finished the first section, you are lead to the next section which is Names +Genres. In this section, this is where you put your main artist name, Label name, and choose the genre that best fits your release.

Main artist(s) - In this section, this is where you put your main artist/s names for the release. You can have a maximum of 3 main artists in each release. 4 or more main artists will change your artist name in DSPs as various artists instead of showing each main artist's name.

How do I add my main artist/s?

By default, the main artist for your profile is the artist that you have created in your Trac account. If you wish to add another main artist, please click on the "Add another main artist?" field and add the name of the main artist. Make sure to add their phone number or email address as well to make sure this information gets sent in our system. Once all information has been added, click invite. From here, please click on the "Add another main artist?" field, and a drop-down menu will appear showing the main artist you have invited. Simply select their name, and it will be added to your metadata information.

NOTE: Adding another main artist is not the same as adding a featured artist. Featured artists should be added in later in the collaborators section.

Record Label- This section is specifically for your label name. A label name would be registered as (P) owner of the masters within the DSPs (Digital Service Providers)

If you are not under any record label, you can create your own record label name or leave it blank and we will automatically use your artist name as the label name.

NOTE: Your label name cannot be any of the following:

An existing major or indie record label that you are not affiliated to (Warner, Universal, Sony, OVO, Interscope, etc.)
A PRO or publishing company (such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, Songtrust, etc.)
A third-party distributor (trac.co, etc.)
A generic phrase (“unsigned”, “no label”, “independent”, etc.)

❌'Self-Released'

❌Independent'

❌'No Label'

Genres - this section is where you choose the genre of your release.

You can choose up to 2 genres. a Primary one and a Secondary one. If you can't find the specific genre for your release in the first 10 options shown, you can go to the search bar below and you can look for the specific genre within our 1,400 available genres in our platform!

NOTE: Your release will be categorized and labeled based on genre. Please select a genre that is more in tune with the musical aesthetic of your release.

Once this section is done, click the next step and proceed to the next section!

How do I upload my music (Distribution Options)

Moving into the next section, this is where you choose your release date, set your release history to choose the DSP platforms you wish to distribute your music, any add-ons you wish to add in your release and input your existing UPC/EAN code.

New Release vs. Previously Released - In this section, you will choose if your release is a new release or a previous release.

If it's a new release, you can go ahead and proceed in the release date section and from there, you can choose your release date. For previously released, here you will be asked regarding the previous release date of the release and right under this, you will be asked to choose the future release date you wish to have this be published.

To know more about New Release vs. Previously Released, please check this article.

By default, all releases submitted with Trac are distributed within 72 hours. However, if you would like your release to be delivered in 48 hours, we offer a "speedy delivery" option for a nominal fee of $2 for a one-track single and an additional $1 per track with a maximum price of $5.

NOTE : Please keep in mind that review doesn't necessarily mean that your release will be approved. Make sure you check messages from us if your submission needs corrections or changes, it can take more time for your release to go live.

Distribution Options - In this section, you choose the DSPs you wish to distribute your music to. This is also the section where you choose which countries your song would be available.

With Trac, your releases get distributed to 40+ Stores connected to us.

Full list of DSPs:

7Digital, ACRCloud, Amazon, Anghami, Apple Music, Audible Magic, AWA
Beatsource, Bmat, Boomplay, Bugs!
Deezer, Dreamus Company
Facebook Audio Library, Instagram, Feed.FM, fizy
Genie Music, Gracenote
Hungama, iHeartRadio, iMusica
Jaxsta Music, JioSaavn, Joox
KkBox, Kuack Media
LINE Music
MePlaylist, Mixcloud, Muska
Napster, Naver Music, NetEase Cloud Music, Nuuday A/S
Pandora, Qobuz
Rocks, Resso
Shazam, Simfy Africa, Slacker, SoundCloud, Spotify
Tencent, TIDAL, TikTok, TIM Music, TouchTunes / PlayNetwork, Triller
United Media Agency
Xiami, Xite
Yandex Music, YouTube Music & Content ID
ZVOOQ.

And many more to come!

Add-ons

In this section, you can select several add-on features for your releases

Stores Plus - This option allows your release to be automatically delivered to any new stores that we will add in the future
Youtube Content ID - This option lets your release have a Youtube content ID. To learn more about content ID click here
Remove Branding?- This option lets you remove the "Distributed by trac.co" in your releases

UPC/EAN- In this section, if your release was previously released, this is the section where you will add your existing UPC code.

Once this section is done, click the next step and proceed to the next section!

How do I upload my music (Summary)

You're almost done! In this last section the Summary page, is where you update the track title and the track version, choose if the release is instrumental or not, add the track/s ISRC code/s, add your collaborators, Songwriters, Owners, and credit people that helped you create this release. This is also the section where you can choose which part of your release would show up in your audio preview. Lastly, this is the section where you choose if your produced 100% of the material for this release or if you purchased beats, samples, or cover/remix an existing release.

Single Info - In this section, you update each track title in the correct format

declare the version of your release as well (you can choose no version if there is no specific version for this release)
choose if your track release is instrumental or not
choose if this release is a previously distributed release or if you have purchased an ISRC code, you will add each ISRC code to each track you have for this release

Collaborators - In this section, this is where you will add your featuring artist/s or if you have multiple main artists for the release.

NOTE: Four or more main artists will cause your release to be listed as "Various artists". To avoid this, if you already have 3 main artists in your release, you can declare the other artists as featuring artists so that you will not be declared as various artists in your selected platforms.

When adding a featuring artist, make sure to put their artist name/stage name and add either their phone number or email address in the bottom section and make sure to click the arrow ➡️ to ensure that the information gets sent through our system.
Next section is where you choose the role either the main artist or the featured artist.

Songwriters(Publishing) - In this section, this is where you add & assign splits to all songwriters (music & lyrics) so they can be paid.

NOTE: When splitting royalties, make sure that the value would be equivalent to 100%. (i.e. Artist 1 gets 75%, Artist 2 gets 25% = 100%)

Owners(Master recording) - In this section, this is where you add & assign splits to the people that will own the master recording rights for your release so that they can be paid.

NOTE: Owners are the people who have exclusive rights to your release's master recording.

Credits - In this section, you add your producer, mix & master engineer, and anyone else who helped to bring this song to life, especially if they appear on your cover art.

NOTE: When crediting a composer/lyricist/writer, please make sure to only use legal first and last names. Artist/stage names can be used in any other roles except for the composer/lyricist/ writer

Audio preview - In this section, this is where you choose which section of your song would you want to be your release's audio preview. This audio preview will be used primarily in TikTok, Apple Music, and iTunes. You have a maximum of 30 seconds for your audio preview.

Covers and Copyrighter materials - In this last section, this is where you declare if your release has been 100% produced by you or if you purchased beats, samples, or cover/remix an existing release.

Choose produced if you're sure that you produced 100% of the material for your release
Choose purchased if you used free beats, purchased beats, samples, used a royalty-free website (i.e. Bandlab, Splice, etc.) or if your release is a cover/remix of an existing release.

NOTE: If you click "Purchased" please make sure to attach all necessary documents to clear your release for any copyright infringements.

After this proceed to the last section.

Make sure to thoroughly read the boxes below, and click the green "check" to confirm that you agree to all terms, that your music is 100% original, and that you're not a robot!

Click "Go to Checkout" to enter your payment information so we can process your release.

Then... Boom. You're all set. You did it. As long as you followed all directions here, your track should be approved in no time.

Thank you for choosing trac to distribute your tunes. Can't wait to hear more.