MAZUFA BLOG
Writing about music distribution that you can check
Every figure in the reference articles below was read from the source that publishes it, and each article names that source and the date it was read. Where a company publishes nothing, we say so instead of estimating. Free to read, no account, no newsletter wall.
SOURCED REFERENCE
PLATFORM GUIDEAudiomack for Artists: Verification, AMP Payouts and Supporters (2026)Audiomack pays creators through its Monetization Program (AMP) and fan Supporters. The verification thresholds, the 50% streaming share, net-90 payment timing, Supporters fees, and what changes when a distributor delivers your music.28 October 2026 • 5 min readPLATFORM GUIDEMusic Videos on Spotify: Uploading Full-Length Videos, and the End of Clips (2026)Since 17 June 2026 artists can upload full-length videos in Spotify for Artists, and new Clips uploads have ended. Who has access, which videos are allowed, where they appear, and whether they pay.28 October 2026 • 4 min readPLATFORM GUIDEApple Music for Artists and Shazam: Who Fixes What (2026)How to claim your Apple Music artist page, and who actually fixes each problem: wrong albums on your page, the wrong bio, titles and dates, Shazam lyrics, videos and concerts.28 October 2026 • 4 min readPLATFORM GUIDESpotify Marquee and Showcase: Eligibility, Budget and Who Can Buy (2026)Marquee and Showcase are Spotify's paid campaigns for releases. The stream and listener thresholds, the $100–$10,000 budget range, cost per click, and the list of countries teams must be based in.28 October 2026 • 5 min readPLATFORM GUIDESpotify Countdown Pages: Who Qualifies and How They Work (2026)A Countdown Page lets fans pre-save an upcoming album or EP inside Spotify. The listener threshold, which releases qualify, where the page appears, and the countdown video rules.28 October 2026 • 5 min readPLATFORM GUIDEAmazon Music for Artists: Claim, Stats, Alexa and PitchingAmazon Music for Artists shows streams, fans, sources and Alexa voice requests, and lets you pitch one track per release. How to claim it, the image sizes, the pitching window, and the timings.28 October 2026 • 5 min readPLATFORM GUIDEConcerts and Merch on Your Spotify Profile: How They Get ThereConcerts come from Spotify's ticketing partners, not from you; merch comes from a connected Shopify store. The partner list, the listing rules, and the countries where Spotify does not show merch.28 October 2026 • 5 min readRIGHTS GUIDESongwriter Royalties in the Arab World: Which Society Collects Where (2026)Streaming pays the recording and the song separately. The song side is collected by authors' societies, and in much of the Arab world they are new or missing. Country by country, with sources.28 October 2026 • 6 min readRIGHTS GUIDEA Content ID Claim on Your Own YouTube Video: Why and What to DoWhen your release is in YouTube Content ID, your own uploads can be claimed too. How channel exemption (the allowlist) works, why existing claims stay, and your options if a claim is already there.28 October 2026 • 5 min readPLATFORM GUIDEYour Spotify Artist Bio: the Rules and How to Write OneSpotify allows up to 1,500 characters, @tags that link to your music, and edits by Admins and Editors only. The rules, plus a practical structure for a bio that new listeners actually read.28 October 2026 • 4 min readPLATFORM GUIDEHow Spotify Counts Your Streams: the 30-Second Rule and MoreA stream counts after 30 seconds. Offline plays count when the listener reconnects. Release totals, songs on several releases, what happens after a takedown, and why your day ends at midnight UTC.28 October 2026 • 4 min readRELEASE GUIDESong Credits on Spotify and Apple Music: Producers, Writers, EngineersCredits come from the metadata your distributor sends, not from the services. Which roles each service shows, Apple's rules for writing them, how long fixes take, and how to collect them before release.28 October 2026 • 5 min readPLATFORM GUIDEApple Music Motion Artwork: The Rules That Get It RejectedMotion artwork is the animated cover Apple Music can show for an album. Apple's published rules: based on the cover, starts on the cover, no flashing, square pixels, a full-frame 3:4 version, and more.28 October 2026 • 5 min readPLATFORM GUIDEYouTube Topic Channels and Art Tracks, ExplainedWhy your released songs appear on YouTube as still images under "Artist - Topic", who creates them, why comments are off, and why the same song can appear twice.28 October 2026 • 5 min readRELEASE GUIDESingle, EP or Album: How Stores DecideApple Music classifies a release by track count and running time, not by what you call it. The exact rules, what happens to a single that later goes on an album, and how to plan a run of releases.28 October 2026 • 5 min readOPEN DATA REPORTWhat 27 Music Distributors Publish About Payouts: October 2026 ReportCounted from an open dataset of 27 distributors' own pricing and help pages: how many charge subscriptions, where "keep 100%" has exceptions, payout minimums, payout schedules and currencies.28 October 2026 • 6 min readPLATFORM GUIDESpotify Artist Profile Images and Artist Pick: Specs and RulesAvatar 750 × 750, header 2660 × 1140, gallery 690 × 500, 20 MB maximum. Where each image appears, what Spotify removes, and how to use the Artist Pick slot for 180 days.28 October 2026 • 5 min readRIGHTS GUIDEReleasing a Traditional or Public Domain SongFolk songs and old classics can be recorded freely, but only the song is free, not someone else's recording. How public domain differs by country, how to credit the composer, and why stores and YouTube treat these releases differently.28 October 2026 • 6 min readPLATFORM GUIDESpotify Canvas: Specs and How to Add OneA Canvas is the 3 to 8 second vertical loop that replaces your cover art on Spotify's Now Playing screen. The exact specs, who is allowed to upload it, and the mistakes that make it look wrong.28 October 2026 • 4 min readPLATFORM GUIDEHow to Get Your Lyrics on Spotify and Apple MusicLyrics do not travel with your audio. Who actually supplies lyrics to Spotify, how to verify and sync your own for free, the transcription rules, and how long it takes.28 October 2026 • 5 min readRIGHTS GUIDEReleasing a Song on a Leased BeatThe difference between a lease and an exclusive beat, why a leased beat can never be claimed through YouTube Content ID, and the paperwork to keep before you release.28 October 2026 • 5 min readYOUTUBE GUIDEHow to Get a YouTube Official Artist ChannelThe four requirements YouTube publishes for an Official Artist Channel, who can request one, what gets merged into it, and the one thing that takes it away.28 October 2026 • 4 min readRIGHTS GUIDEHow to Release a Cover Song LegallyWhich licence a cover needs for streaming, downloads and video, how the rules differ inside and outside the US, and the credits that keep a cover from being taken down.28 October 2026 • 6 min readRELEASE CALENDARRelease Calendar 2027: National Days and OccasionsThe 2027 national days and big occasions of English-speaking countries, and the Friday to release on for each.28.10.2026 • 5 min readSOURCED REFERENCEAI Music: Disclosure and Platform PolicyWhat AI-generated and AI-assisted music must declare, how DDEX disclosure travels, what each platform does, and what the law requires. Sourced and dated.10 September 2026 • 18 min readSOURCED REFERENCEArabic, Persian and Urdu titles that survive deliveryWhy a Latin token inside a right-to-left title moves the punctuation to the wrong end, what Unicode UAX #9 actually does, and how to type titles that hold.9 September 2026 • 8 min readSOURCED REFERENCECopyright Registration & TerminationWhat copyright you get automatically, what US registration adds, the current and incoming fees, and how §203 termination lets you take a transfer back.10 September 2026 • 18 min readSOURCED REFERENCEIf Your Distributor Shuts Down or Is SoldWhat happens to a live release, your ISRCs and UPCs, and unpaid royalties when a distributor goes bankrupt, shuts down or is acquired — and what to do.10 September 2026 • 18 min readSOURCED REFERENCEGetting Paid, End to EndWhere royalty money sits between a stream and your bank — reporting lag, payout thresholds, rail fees, FX spreads, failed cards, withholding.10 September 2026 • 17 min readSOURCED REFERENCEHow a Stream Becomes a PaymentFollow one play from a listener's phone to money in an account, and see which identifier does what at each hop, and exactly where the chain breaks silently.9 September 2026 • 10 min readSOURCED REFERENCEWhen You Actually Need a New ISRCWhat an ISRC identifies, why a remaster usually does not need a new one, and how to check your own UPC or EAN barcode digit by digit.9 September 2026 • 8 min readSOURCED REFERENCELoudness Normalisation, Published vs ReportedOne streaming service publishes a loudness target. Five publish none. What is specified, what is only reported, and what over-limiting actually costs you.9 September 2026 • 8 min readSOURCED REFERENCEMechanical Royalties and the MLCWhat a mechanical royalty is, the 2026 US statutory rates, registering works with the MLC, black-box royalties, and how mechanicals work abroad.10 September 2026 • 18 min readSOURCED REFERENCENeighbouring Rights: The Complete ReferenceWhat neighbouring rights are, who is paid, which society collects in each territory, why the US is different, and how an independent artist registers.10 September 2026 • 19 min readSOURCED REFERENCESample Clearance: A ReferenceThe two permissions a sample needs, why de minimis will not save you, how deals are structured, and what happens if you release uncleared.10 September 2026 • 15 min readSOURCED REFERENCEThere Is No Per-Stream RateSpotify says it does not pay a per-stream rate. Revenue is pooled and split by streamshare, so the tables you have seen are averages, not rates.9 September 2026 • 8 min readSOURCED REFERENCEUS Withholding and the W-8BEN, ExplainedIf you live outside the United States, 30% of your US-sourced royalties is withheld by default. Here is what a W-8BEN changes, and what it cannot change.9 September 2026 • 7 min readSOURCED REFERENCEWhat Actually Gets a Release RejectedThe metadata mistakes that actually cost money, ordered by what they cost, starting with the one that never triggers a rejection and does the most damage.9 September 2026 • 11 min readSOURCED REFERENCEWhat a Free Distribution Tier Actually CostsFree distribution tiers are revenue shares. Here are the published percentages, withdrawal fees and payout minimums — and the companies that publish nothing.9 September 2026 • 9 min readSOURCED REFERENCEYour ISRCs When You Change DistributorYour ISRCs stay with your recordings when you leave a distributor. The prefix does not. Here is exactly what you keep, what you cannot mint again, and when to get your own registrant code.9 September 2026 • 9 min readSOURCED REFERENCEWhy Immersive Masters Fail QCAn immersive deliverable can open cleanly, sound correct and still be rejected. The audio and the metadata are two separate things that must agree exactly.9 September 2026 • 11 min readSOURCED REFERENCEYour meter is lying about your peaksWhy a master that reads 0.0 dBFS still clips after encoding, what oversampling actually buys you, and which of the three loudness meters answers which question.9 September 2026 • 9 min read
GUIDES
GUIDEHow to Get Verified on Spotify for Artists (2026 Guide)Claim your Spotify for Artists profile, get the verified check, and fix the metadata problems that stall the process — a practical walkthrough.22 July 2026GUIDEHow to Get Playlisted on Spotify (2026 Guide)How Spotify playlist pitching actually works, what you control, and the release-week routine that gives your song a fair hearing.22 July 2026GUIDEMusic Metadata Explained (Complete 2026 Guide)How artist names, titles, credits and codes decide whether your release ships, stays on one profile, and pays the right people.22 July 2026GUIDEHow to Release Your First Single (Step-by-Step)What to do, in what order, to get a finished song onto digital services without the mistakes that cause rejections and delays.22 July 2026GUIDEFree vs Paid Music Distribution: What Artists Need to KnowHow free and paid music distribution actually differ — fees, commission, takedown risk, ISRCs, tax withholding — and how to decide without guesswork.26 June 2026GUIDEHow to Distribute Your Music in 2026: A Complete GuideWhat actually happens when you release a song — audio, metadata, identifiers, delivery and payment — and how to get each step right the first time.26 June 2026GUIDEHow to Make Money With Music Distribution (2026 Guide)How streaming money is actually calculated, what quietly reduces it, and the release habits that keep more of it reaching you.26 June 2026GUIDEHow to Release Your Song on SpotifyWhat actually happens when you release a song to Spotify, Apple Music and other digital services — and how to prepare so nothing gets rejected.26 June 2026GUIDEHow to Start Your Own Music Distribution Business in 2026What a distribution business actually has to do well — metadata, identifiers, masters, rights paperwork and royalty accounting — and how to build it.26 June 2026