How to switch distributors without losing your streams

Why your streams can survive the move

Stores recognise a release by its UPC and each track by its ISRC. When the same codes arrive from a new distributor with the same titles and artists, the store treats it as the same music under new management: play counts, saves and playlist placements stay attached.

What breaks a move is new codes. A track delivered with a new ISRC is a new track to Spotify — zero plays, on no playlists — and the old one disappears when it is taken down. So the codes are the whole game. See What is an ISRC code? and What is a UPC code?

Before you start: gather your catalogue

For every release you want to move, collect:

• The UPC of the release and the ISRC of every track
• Titles, artist names and featured artists, spelled exactly as they are in the stores
• Track order, release date, genre and label name
• Songwriter and producer credits
• The final audio files (WAV, FLAC or AIFF) and the artwork
• Your Spotify artist link and Apple Music artist ID, so the releases land on your existing profiles

Most distributors let you export this from your account. Do it before you cancel anything there.

The move, step by step

1. Open your new accountSet up your artists with their Spotify and Apple Music profile links first.
2. Rebuild each release with the same detailsSame titles, same artists, same track order — and enter the existing UPC and ISRCs instead of letting new ones be generated.
3. Deliver to the same storesSend the release to every store it is on now. For a catalogue, start with a few releases and confirm they behave as expected before moving the rest.
4. Wait until it is live everywhereCheck each store. For a short time the release may appear twice; that is expected and resolves once the old delivery is removed.
5. Then take it down at the old distributorOnly now. Taking down first leaves a gap in which the release is gone, and playlist placements can be lost for good.
6. Check your profilesIn Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists the release should show its full history.

YouTube needs one extra step

On YouTube each recording can have only one owner in Content ID. While your old distributor still holds the asset, a new delivery cannot claim it, and the two can end up in an ownership conflict.

Ask your old distributor to release Content ID for the recordings you are moving, or include YouTube in the takedown, before Content ID is switched on with the new one. If you are moving to TempoDigital, tell us and we will plan this part with you; we run our own Content ID networks.

Do not lose the last payments

Stores pay in arrears — for most of them about two months after the month the streams happened. Streams from your last weeks with the old distributor are paid to that account months later.

• Keep the old account open until the final statements have arrived, typically three to four months after the takedown
• Withdraw the balance before you close it
• Update royalty splits and payment details in the new account before the first statement

Moving checklist

1. Export UPCs, ISRCs and metadata from the old distributor
2. Set up artists with their store profile links
3. Rebuild releases with identical details and the original codes
4. Deliver, and confirm each release is live on every store
5. Sort out YouTube Content ID ownership
6. Take down at the old distributor
7. Keep the old account open for the last payments