Most labels that want to leave a distributor do ではない stay because they are happy. They stay because moving looks dangerous. Years of stream counts, playlist placements および algorithmic history feel like they belong to the old distributor、および nobody wants to be the label that switched および watched its catalog reset to zero.
That history does ではない belong to お客様の distributor. It belongs to お客様の recordings、および it is held together by a handful of identifiers. Get those right および a migration is an administrative job. Get them wrong および it really can cost お客様 everything the catalog has built.
What a ストア actually remembers
A ストア does ではない know or care who delivered a track. When a 新着 delivery arrives, it tries to decide whether this is a recording it already has or a 新着 one. That decision rests mostly on two codes:
- ISRC identifies the recording. One recording, one ISRC, for life, whoever distributes it.
- UPC (or EAN) identifies the product: the single, EP or album the recording was released on.
When the ISRC on the 新着 delivery matches the old one、および the rest of the metadata lines up、 ストア can リンク the two versions および carry play counts, saves および playlist positions across. When the ISRC changes、 ストア sees a brand 新着 recording with no history at すべて. That is the whole risk、および it is almost always self-inflicted: a 新着 distributor minted fresh codes because nobody gave it the old ones.
Linking is ではない guaranteed even when the codes match. Spotify's own community moderators are clear that track linking works best when the audio is identical および the title, version, artist および duration match as closely as possible、および that every difference lowers the chance of a clean リンク. Treat "same ISRC" as necessary, ではない sufficient.
The migration checklist
1. Export everything before お客様 give notice
Pull a full catalog export from お客様の current distributor while お客様 still have access: every release, every track, with UPC, ISRC、またはiginal release date, label name, P-line および Cライン, genres, explicit flags, contributors および splits. If the export is incomplete、 ストア pages themselves are a fallback source for UPCs および ISRCs, but do ではない wait until お客様の account is closed to find that out.
2. Get お客様の masters および artwork, ではない ストア copies
ストア give お客様 lossy, protected streams, ではない masters. You need the original WAV or FLAC files および the original cover art from お客様の own archive or お客様の artists. If a cover is below the resolution stores 今 require, fix it before redelivery, ではない after a rejection.
3. Check every code before it goes anywhere
The most common way to destroy an identifier is a spreadsheet. Open a CSV of UPCs in Excel および a 12-digit code quietly becomes 8.40E+11. Save it および the original number is gone for good. Before import, validate every UPC check digit および make sure no ISRC is duplicated across two different recordings.
4. Keep the original release date
Redeliver with the original release date, ではない today's. It keeps the catalog in the right order on artist pages、および it tells the ストア this is an existing product rather than a 新着 launch.
5. Overlap、n take down
Keep the old releases 稼働中 until the 新着 deliveries are 稼働中 および, where お客様 can check, linked. Only then ask お客様の previous distributor to take down its copies. A gap between the two is lost income. A takedown before the 新着 version is 稼働中 can break links および playlist positions that will ではない come back.
6. Watch the first statement closely
お客様の first statement from the 新着 distributor is where migration problems surface: a track 収益 nothing on a ストア where it used to earn、または earnings still landing with the old distributor for a period. Reconcile the first two or three periods track by track before お客様 call the move finished.
ToneGridの handles a migration
ToneGrid's catalog migration was built around one rule: identifiers are never invented. A label's existing UPCs および ISRCs are brought across exactly as they are, with the original release dates.
There are three ways in, depending on what the label has:
- A spreadsheet, one row per track.
- A ストア lookup, where the team pastes UPCs, ISRCs or album links および the release details are read from the 稼働中 ストア listings, so a label with a thin export does ではない have to rebuild its metadata by hand.
- A DDEX package from the previous distributor, read directly (both ERN 3.8 および ERN 4.x).
Every row is checked before anything is created. A UPC with a bad check digit, a code mangled into scientific notation、または an ISRC that already belongs to someone else stops the import instead of slipping 経由. Missing codes are flagged clearly, because a release imported without its original UPC will be treated by stores as a 新着 product、および the label should decide that knowingly.
Migrated releases land as drafts, masters および artwork are uploaded against the matching tracks、および nothing is delivered until the release has its cover, audio, label および credits および has passed the same quality check as any 新着 release. If something goes wrong partway 経由, a batch that has ではない moved past draft can be rolled back cleanly.
The short version
Switching distributors is safe when three things are true: the ISRCs および UPCs お客様 redeliver are the ones お客様 already had、 audio および metadata match the existing release、および the old version stays 稼働中 until the 新着 one is. Everything else is paperwork.
Frequently Asked よくある質問
Will I lose my Spotify stream counts if I switch distributors?
Not if the 新着 delivery carries the same ISRC および matching audio および metadata. The ストア can then リンク the 新着 version to the existing one および keep its history. If the ISRC changes、 ストア treats it as a 新着 recording および the history does ではない carry over.
Should I keep the same UPC when moving a release?
はい, where the release is the same product with the same tracklist. Keeping the UPC tells stores it is the existing release rather than a 新着 one. A release redelivered without its original UPC is treated as a 新着 product.
When should I take my releases down from my old distributor?
Only after the 新着 deliveries are 稼働中 on the stores. Taking the old versions down first creates a gap in availability および income、および can break links および playlist positions.
Can I migrate a catalog if my old distributor's export is incomplete?
Usually. UPCs および ISRCs can be recovered from the 稼働中 ストア listings、および many distributors can provide a DDEX package of お客様の releases. What cannot be recovered from a ストア is the master audio, so keep お客様の own archive.
Why did my first statement after switching look wrong?
ストア report on their own schedules, so earnings from the weeks around the switch can land with either distributor. Reconcile track by track for the first few periods before assuming anything is missing.
Related reading: メタデータ Matters: The 22-Point Checklist, DDEX ERN 4.3 Explained, Why Direct Access to ロイヤリティ Reports Is Essential.
出典: Spotify Community: Switching distributors および playlist positions. Corrections: support@tonegrid.pro.