Creating your first release

What this guide covers

Build a release from metadata through tracks, stores, review, and submission.

A NORTH release is the source record for the package you send to stores. It connects release-level metadata, tracks, audio, artwork, contributors, store selections, delivery status, identifiers, and royalty splits.

Before you start

• Have final audio and cover artwork ready.
• Confirm the release title, artist display, label, dates, copyright information, and track order.
• Collect contributor and songwriter details before submission.
• Know whether the music has been released previously and whether existing UPC/ISRC identifiers must be retained.

Step by step

1. 01

   Open Releases and choose New release.

2. 02

   Complete release metadata including title, release type, artist identity, label, copyright lines, genre, language, and dates.

3. 03

   Add each track and complete track-level metadata, contributors, songwriting information, and audio upload.

4. 04

   Choose your delivery stores and any supported store-specific settings.

5. 05

   Review every section, resolve blocking issues, and submit the release to NORTH. Before continuing, compare the change against the release summary so you do not create a conflicting title, artist, date, or identifier.

Check your work

• Every track has the correct audio file.
• Artist and title spelling is consistent across release and tracks.
• Dates and identifiers reflect the actual release history.
• The review step has no blocking validation errors.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Creating a duplicate release to fix a small metadata issue.
• Changing artist identity after delivery without considering store mapping.
• Using an existing identifier for a different recording.
• Submitting too close to the requested release date.

What happens next

After submission, use the release details page as the canonical place to follow review, revisions, delivery, metadata, and splits.

If the result on screen does not match what this guide describes, stop before creating duplicate catalog records or repeating a financial action. Use the visible status and error information when contacting NORTH support.