Upload requirements for audio, artwork, and metadata

What this guide covers

Prepare files and release information so the builder can validate them cleanly.

Stores use metadata and identifiers to match your recording to the correct artist, release, rights information, and reporting. Accurate data is as important as the audio file itself.

Before you start

• Use the final mastered audio file, not a demo or social export.
• Confirm exact track titles and versions.
• Have contributor, songwriter, composer, publisher, genre, language, copyright, UPC, and ISRC information where applicable.
• Use existing identifiers only when they belong to the exact same release or recording.

Step by step

1. 01

   Use the final mastered audio file for every track rather than a preview, demo, or compressed social-media export.

2. 02

   Upload clean square cover artwork without store badges, misleading branding, or information that conflicts with the metadata.

3. 03

   Enter titles, versions, artists, contributors, genres, languages, dates, and copyright information exactly as they should appear.

4. 04

   Run the release review step and resolve every blocking validation message before submitting. Check the value against the final master, credits, and release metadata before moving to the next field.

Check your work

• The uploaded file plays correctly in NORTH.
• Track order and track numbers are correct.
• Explicit-content settings match the recording.
• Credits and composition information are complete and spelled correctly.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Putting version text in the title instead of the version field.
• Reusing an ISRC for a different recording.
• Omitting a contributor because they are not a featured artist.
• Uploading a compressed preview instead of the final master.

What happens next

Once files and metadata are final, complete artwork, store selection, and the review step before submission.

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.