Your first upload is simpler than you think. Pick a distributor like DistroKid, TuneCore, or CD Baby, and create an account with your legal name and payout details. Have your final mastered WAV file, cover art at 3000 by 3000 pixels, and songwriter splits ready before you start. The upload form asks for a release date, genres, and ISRC codes, which your distributor generates for you if you do not have them.
Schedule your release at least three to four weeks out so Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists can pitch your song to editorial playlists. Fill in every metadata field: primary artist, featured artists, composers, lyricists, and explicit-content flags. Wrong metadata means lost royalties later, so double-check spelling and splits with every collaborator before you submit anything.
Set your territories to worldwide unless you have a real reason not to. Decide whether you want your distributor collecting YouTube Content ID royalties and registering your song for sync licensing. These add-ons cost a little extra but stop money from leaking out of your catalog. Confirm the pricing model too, because some distributors charge per release while others charge a yearly fee for unlimited uploads.
Before you hit submit
Preview the store listing the way fans will see it. Check that the cover art looks sharp on a phone screen, the artist name matches your social handles, and the audio plays clean from start to finish. Once a distributor delivers to stores, edits take days and sometimes cost extra money. A careful ten-minute review now saves you weeks of corrections later.
About the Author – Ruben Burgos: Ruben Burgos brings over 25 years of music expertise and more than 15 years of model guidance to the table. He is the indie major pinnacle to retaining credits for musicians and helping them navigate this wicked industry without the fuckery.