Welcome to Record Union, where your musical journey reaches the global stage! Whether you're a budding artist or an established musician, understanding how to effectively upload and submit your music is vital. đ¶
Sign up for an account and set up your workspace
The first step is to create an account. Once youâre registered, you can set up your workspace and start uploading your music. Workspaces are part of our new product experience, which is being gradually rolled out to customers. To learn more about workspaces and how to use them, check out this article.
Prepare your audio files and cover art
We strongly recommend uploading your music in WAV or FLAC format for optimal quality. However, we also support formats such as MP3, MP4, M4A, AAC, AIF, ALAC, and WMA. For more details, see this helpful article.
If youâre using samples, instrumental loops, or any other recordings or snippets that you didnât create yourself, you need to have permission to use them for commercial purposes. After uploading tracks that contain third-party sounds, send a copy of your permission or licenses to [email protected].
Cover artwork is often the first impression listeners have of your music, so make sure it represents your release well. Your artwork needs to meet certain requirements to ensure it displays correctly across all streaming services. Check out our cover art guide.
Some types of audio content aren't accepted
Podcasts, nature sounds, ASMR, audiobooks, stand-up comedy, and spoken word content cannot be accepted or delivered to music services through Record Union.
New Age and meditation content can only be delivered if it consists entirely of original music and does not match content that is already available online. We do not accept instrumental meditation releases.
We accept music in classical genres, but we do not deliver classical music that is in the public domain. Visit this page to learn more about our content guidelines.
Upload your files and add important details
Once your files are ready, log in to your Record Union account and click New release. Follow the steps to upload your release and add track credits and other metadata, such as:
Release title
Track title(s)
Artist name(s) (integrated with Spotify and Apple Music so your music is linked to the right artist page)
Genres
Composers, lyricists, and publishers
Production roles such as producers, mastering engineers, and mixing engineers
Other contributors such as vocalists and instrumentalists
Accurate metadata is essential because it helps listeners find your music and ensures you get paid properly. Learn more about our metadata guidelines and adding contributors to your tracks.
Submit your release
Always make sure to double check everything you upload and enter carefully. When everything is correct, choose your release date and submit your release.
Our 100% human content team will review your release to make sure it meets all our requirements. Once approved, weâll distribute your music to your selected music stores. The review and distribution process typically takes around 14 days. With our Rapid Delivery add-on, however, your release can go live globally in as few as 5 days!
Your yearly subscription cost will depend on the product plan and setup your choose. On the Core plan, you pay per release. Each release in your workspace has its own annual subscription and renewal date. You can distribute a release for as little as $14.00 per year. The annual cost of distributing a release depends on the number of tracks it contains, the music store package you choose, and any potential add-ons applied to the release.
On the Pro plan, you pay per workspace. Each workspace has one annual subscription that covers all releases and add-ons in the workspace. Your subscription price depends on your chosen release tier, which determines the number of releases you can have in your workspace. All our available music stores are included in the Pro plan.
See this article for more detailed information about Core and Pro pricing, or visit our pricing page for an in-depth breakdown of all the features included in our plans.
Get your performance data and royalties
As a digital music distributor, Record Union takes care of collecting usage data and royalties your music earns from streaming services. Once your music is live, you can use Record Union to track streams, downloads, video creations and views, as well as your royalties. Your royalty balance is shown on your workspaceâs Balance page.
Royalty reports are delivered monthly with a three-month delay. This means that royalties for releases that went live in January are first reported in April, while releases that went live in February are first reported in May, and so on.
The data from streaming services gives you insights into your audience and can help you plan future releases. Learn more about how royalty reporting works.
With Pro, you'll have access to our new Analytics feature. This gives you a clearer, more detailed view by bringing together key performance data from multiple streaming services that show you trends over time and how listeners are engaging with your releases.
How old do I have to be to use Record Union?
To use Record Union as your distributor you must be at least 18 years old.
If you're under 18, you'll need a parent or legal guardian to manage your account. These are the things that need to be managed by your parent or guardian:
Agreeing to the terms and conditions
Managing payments
Managing royalty payouts
It's that simple
Uploading your music to Record Union is a straightforward process that opens up access for opportunities and audiences for artists. Start your journey today and let the world hear your sound!
If you need any assistance along the way, Record Unionâs 100% human support team is here to help. Don't hesitate to reach out.
Let's release some music!