Your release isn’t on platforms: what to check

If release day has arrived and your track is missing, gather the facts for each platform separately. “Uploaded,” “reviewed,” “delivered” and “available to listeners” mean different things. Start with your submission number and its latest message: publication may be waiting for your response to feedback, even though you uploaded the files some time ago.

Record the last update time and the exact status wording. If its meaning is unclear, ask support whether delivery to that particular service has been confirmed. Don’t change the date or submit another copy until you know what happened to the first.

Open the submission and check comments on the audio, cover art, contributor names and rights. Address each point in the same conversation: attach the corrected material and explain what changed. Resubmitting the same file without an explanation doesn’t resolve the reason for the requested changes.

For preparation issues, use the file and metadata checklist and our separate cover art requirements guide. Avoid changing the master, title, artists and date all at once “just in case”: every change makes versions harder to compare.

Ask about the delivery result: did the platform accept the data, return feedback or request a correction? Internal approval does not replace the platform’s response. For each submission, keep a simple table with the service, delivery date, known status, link and next action.

Spotify’s help center gives a five-business-day timeframe for new music to appear and directs artists to their distributor if the music was delivered more than five business days ago and is still missing. That is Spotify’s guidance, not a universal deadline for Yandex Music, VK or creator. Count from confirmed delivery to the service, not from the first time you saved a draft.

Searching by title isn’t enough: songs may share titles, and an artist may have several profiles. Open the direct link from your publication confirmation and follow it to the artist page. Compare the artist name, title, version and contributors with your submission. Save page URLs, not just screenshots of search results.

A recording assigned to someone else’s profile is a separate matching issue. Follow our guide to correcting an artist profile assignment. If the direct link works but search finds nothing, send support both results. Absence from search alone doesn’t prove delivery failed.

Check the selected territories and availability date. Ask the listener for their country, app, time of checking and error message. A VPN may change the territory the service uses to determine availability; one such test doesn’t describe every listener’s experience. Don’t promise worldwide availability if your rights or delivery settings are restricted.

Yandex Music, a streaming service with its own licensed catalog, explains that catalog availability depends on licensing agreements. A grayed-out track may reflect an expired right to use it. But one symptom doesn’t establish the cause of your case: ask your distributor about takedowns, territory changes or release feedback.

Put everything in one request rather than sending several messages saying “my track isn’t out.” List the symptoms for each service separately. Never send your dashboard password: support needs release identifiers and a description of the problem to find your submission.

We explain the identifiers separately: UPC identifies a release, while ISRC identifies a particular recording. If a code hasn’t been assigned yet, give your submission number. Don’t invent a code just to complete the request.

Leave time between submission and your announcement, check artist profiles in advance and keep a record of your final materials. After publication, test links on your main platforms before starting ads. For your first release, start with our complete music release guide. You can find creator’s distribution features on the home page.

Don’t promise listeners a fix by a particular hour without confirmation from the service. If you have already announced a date, share the links that work and update them as more become available. Troubleshooting means finding the responsible stage and fixing a specific cause, rather than creating another delivery with the same problems.