Most labels that want to leave a distributor do không stay because they are happy. They stay because moving looks dangerous. Years of stream counts, playlist placements Và algorithmic lịch sử feel like they belong to the old distributor, Và nobody wants to be the nhãn that switched Và watched its catalogue reset to zero.
That lịch sử does không belong to của bạn distributor. It belongs to của bạn recordings, Và it is held together by a handful of identifiers. Get those right Và a migration is an administrative job. Get them wrong Và it really can cost Bạn everything the catalogue has built.
What a cửa hàng actually remembers
A cửa hàng does không know or care who delivered a track. When a mới delivery arrives, it tries to decide whether this is a recording it already has or a mới 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 mới delivery matches the old one, Và the rest of the metadata lines up, cái cửa hàng can liên kết the two versions Và carry play counts, saves Và playlist positions across. When the ISRC changes, cái cửa hàng sees a brand mới recording with no lịch sử at tất cả. That is the whole risk, Và it is almost always self-inflicted: a mới distributor minted fresh codes because nobody gave it the old ones.
Linking is không guaranteed even when the codes match. Spotify's own community moderators are clear that track linking works best when the audio is identical Và the title, version, artist Và duration match as closely as possible, Và that every difference lowers the chance of a clean liên kết. Treat "same ISRC" as necessary, không sufficient.
The migration checklist
1. Export everything trước Bạn give notice
Pull a full catalogue export from của bạn current distributor while Bạn still have access: every release, every track, with UPC, ISRC, hoặciginal release date, nhãn name, P-line Và C-line, genres, explicit flags, contributors Và splits. If the export is incomplete, cái cửa hàng pages themselves are a fallback source for UPCs Và ISRCs, but do không wait until của bạn account is closed to find that out.
2. Get của bạn masters Và artwork, không cửa hàng copies
Cửa hàng give Bạn lossy, protected streams, không masters. You need the original WAV or FLAC files Và the original cover art from của bạn own archive or của bạn artists. If a cover is below the resolution stores Hiện nay require, fix it trước redelivery, không after a rejection.
3. Check every mã số trước it goes anywhere
The most common way to destroy an identifier is a spreadsheet. Open a CSV of UPCs in Excel Và a 12-digit mã số quietly becomes 8.40E+11. Save it Và the original number is gone for good. Before import, validate every UPC check digit Và make sure no ISRC is duplicated across two different recordings.
4. Keep the original release date
Redeliver with the original release date, không today's. It keeps the catalogue in the right order on artist pages, Và it tells the cửa hàng this is an existing product rather than a mới launch.
5. Overlap, cáin take down
Keep the old releases đang hoạt động until the mới deliveries are đang hoạt động Và, where Bạn can check, linked. Only then ask của bạn previous distributor to take down its copies. A gap between the two is lost income. A takedown trước the mới version is đang hoạt động can break links Và playlist positions that will không come back.
6. Watch the first statement closely
Của bạn first statement from the mới distributor is where migration problems surface: a track kiếm tiền nothing on a cửa hàng where it used to earn, hoặc earnings still landing with the old distributor for a period. Reconcile the first two or three periods track by track trước Bạn call the move finished.
ToneGrid như thế nào handles a migration
ToneGrid's catalogue migration was built around one luật lệ: identifiers are never invented. A nhãn's existing UPCs Và ISRCs are brought across exactly as they are, with the original release dates.
There are three ways in, depending on what the nhãn has:
- A spreadsheet, one row per track.
- A cửa hàng lookup, where the team pastes UPCs, ISRCs or album links Và the release details are read from the đang hoạt động cửa hàng listings, so a nhãn with a thin export does không have to rebuild its metadata by hand.
- A DDEX package from the previous distributor, read directly (both ERN 3.8 Và ERN 4.x).
Every row is checked trước anything is created. A UPC with a bad check digit, a mã số mangled into scientific notation, hoặc an ISRC that already belongs to someone else stops the import instead of slipping thông qua. Missing codes are flagged clearly, because a release imported without its original UPC will be treated by stores as a mới product, Và the nhãn should decide that knowingly.
Migrated releases land as drafts, masters Và artwork are uploaded against the matching tracks, Và nothing is delivered until the release has its cover, audio, nhãn Và credits Và has passed the same quality check as any mới release. If something goes wrong partway thông qua, a batch that has không moved past draft can be rolled back cleanly.
The short version
Switching distributors is safe when three things are true: the ISRCs Và UPCs Bạn redeliver are the ones Bạn already had, cái audio Và metadata match the existing release, Và the old version stays đang hoạt động until the mới one is. Everything else is paperwork.
Frequently Asked Câu hỏi
Will I lose my Spotify stream counts if I switch distributors?
Not if the mới delivery carries the same ISRC Và matching audio Và metadata. The cửa hàng can then liên kết the mới version to the existing one Và keep its lịch sử. If the ISRC changes, cái cửa hàng treats it as a mới recording Và the lịch sử does không carry over.
Should I keep the same UPC when moving a release?
Đúng, where the release is the same product with the same tracklist. Keeping the UPC tells stores it is the existing release rather than a mới one. A release redelivered without its original UPC is treated as a mới product.
When should I take my releases down from my old distributor?
Only after the mới deliveries are đang hoạt động on the stores. Taking the old versions down first creates a gap in availability Và income, Và can break links Và playlist positions.
Can I migrate a catalogue if my old distributor's export is incomplete?
Usually. UPCs Và ISRCs can be recovered from the đang hoạt động cửa hàng listings, Và many distributors can provide a DDEX package of của bạn releases. What cannot be recovered from a cửa hàng is the master audio, so keep của bạn own archive.
Why did my first statement after switching look wrong?
Cửa hàng 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 trước assuming anything is missing.
Related reading: Metadata Matters: The 22-Point Checklist, DDEX ERN 4.3 Explained, Why Direct Access to Tiền bản quyền Reports Is Thiết yếu.
Sources: Spotify Community: Switching distributors Và playlist positions. Corrections: support@tonegrid.pro.