How to Upload Music to Spotify, Apple Music and Everywhere Else

A lot of new music artists wonder how to upload music to Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Tidal, Amazon and all the other major digital music platforms.

So in this post we’re going to go step-by-step through how to release a song/album to all platforms online, so you can get your music out there ASAP.

You can’t upload music directly to streaming services. But below you’ll learn how to release music on all platforms – whether you release a song or a full album – using a major digital distributor. We like TuneCore.

We’ll show you exactly what to do step-by-step, where and how to do it, and then get into more detail about Spotify music distribution in the 21st century.

Let’s get into it.

How to Upload Music to Streaming Services Step-By-Step

Below, we’ll get into much more detail on each step, with screenshots.

You’ll also need to enter in details on how you want to be paid out for sales and streams you make (iTunes digital downloads, etc).

And that’s it! Your music will be ready for the Spotify library and all other major digital platforms. If you’re wondering how to upload music to Apple Music or Tidal, this process takes care of it for you!

An Overview of How to Get Your Music on Spotify

The very first thing you need to worry about when you become an independent artist is making sure your music is GOOD ENOUGH to be out in the world.

So before you ask “how to put my music on all platforms” make sure it deserves to be out there for public consumption. Not every song you ever make has to see the light of day…

Got songs you’re really proud of? YES?

OK. Next question.

Can you upload music directly onto Spotify as an independent artist?

The answer is NO.

So how do you get your music on Spotify and other streaming services, then?

To get your music on those major platforms you need to work with a “music distributor/aggregator” to add your music to their libraries.

Who To Use to Upload Your Music:

Here’s our take on how to upload music on all digital platforms – music stores and streaming platforms – the best way. You’ve got a few options, but…

1. TuneCore is our #1 recommended service!

There are a lot of others out there that allow you to release music on all platforms, but the above 2 are the best (with TuneCore being the “OG top of the top!”).

You have to pay a fee (both are subscription based), then you can upload your song/album and enter all the applicable information (release date, artists/features, title, cover art, etc).

A couple weeks later, you’ll be able to access your music everywhere.

Click Here Get All Your Music On Streaming Platforms Quickly and Easily!

Uploading Your Music to All Platforms – Detailed Walkthroughs

In this section we’re going to show you exactly how to get your music on streaming platforms, step-by-step!

We’ll start with our #1 pick (TuneCore) and then do a similar walkthrough on how to upload music on all platforms using DistroKid right after.

Step By Step – Using TuneCore to Get Music on Spotify

The process to distribute your music via TuneCore is SUPER SIMPLE.

Step 1: Create a Free Account

First off you have to create a free account entering in your basic info (name, email, etc).

After you sign up, you’ll have to verify your account.

They’ll send you a confirmation email. So next go to your inbox, and find the email from TuneCore. If you don’t see the email, check your spam folder or “promotions” tab if you’re using Gmail.

Step 2: Begin Your New Release

Once you click the link in the email, you’ll get to a page like below:

If you have more than one song to release choose “Album” and if you only have a single song to release choose “Single.” After that you’ll see a screen where you have to enter in all your information about the track. In the example below we use a single.

First, just enter the details of your music – song title, artists, genre, and language. And choose if there are explicit lyrics or not. Then if you scroll down, you can enter additional details if you’ve already released this song before. If you don’t know what any of that info is, don’t worry about it. It’s mostly optional info anyways.

Step 3: Upload Track Artwork

After you hit the “Create My Single” button you’ll be taken to a new page as shown below, where you can upload the track’s artwork.

Press the “Upload or Create Artwork” button on the top left, and you’ll see a page like this one:

Take a quick look at the requirements of to make sure your artwork is compatible with TuneCore (and therefore compatible with Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, etc). Then hit the blue “Upload Artwork File” button to choose a file from your computer. If you don’t have artwork that fits the requirements you can scroll down and have compatible artwork created for you.

Otherwise, after upload you’ll see this:

Just hit “Save And Continue” and you’re almost ready to finalize your release.

Step 4: Upload Your Music File (WAV Only!)

Next, we’ll upload our audio file.

Your file MUST be a 16 bit 44.1 khz WAV file, so make sure it’s correct before trying to upload it. Just scroll down a bit and click the “Upload” button in the “SONG” section.

Choose your audio file from your computer and you’re good to go!

One of the cool things about using TuneCore when releasing music to streaming services is you can setup your release before your master audio files are even ready. That way you save yourself some time while waiting for your engineer to get back to you.

Step 5: Enter Songwriter Information

Next, enter the songwriter and artist information below the “track upload” area. It’s important to enter proper full names in the songwriter section of the people who actually wrote the song! This matters for royalty payments so make sure it’s correct. (Sometimes this is different than the people who record/perform the song).

After that scroll down a bit to see more options available to you.

Step 6: Choose Stores and Additional Options

Here you can choose which online stores can carry your music. Spotify is the most popular music service so make sure that’s checked! There’s no real reason to customize this, so you should just leave it at ALL STORES. It’s important to upload music to all platforms so any potential fan has the ability to find it.

It’s also a good idea to add the “Store Automator” feature because any new stores that get started will get your music automatically without you having to re-submit to them in the future.

If you’re trying to sell physical CDs as well (lol) you can do so by choosing the “Amazon On Demand” feature. If you want to let fans “pre-order” before the release, you can set that up there too. After that, scroll up a bit and hit the SAVE button on the track information.

Step 7: Finalize Your Release

We’re almost done! Once you’ve saved your info you’ll be asked to choose a subscription type.

I usually go for the 1 year in most cases, but if you want to save a bit over time, you can go with a multi-year subscription. Once you hit the “Add to Cart” button you’re taken to a page with all the items you’re purchasing for this particular release:

Scroll down and hit the “Proceed to Checkout” orange button and you’ll be able to enter your payment information.

You’re able to pay with either PayPal or Credit Card. Once you’ve paid you’re taken to a confirmation page with the release information and you’ll be emailed a receipt. And that’s basically all you’ve got to do! Your single or album will be released to all stores on the date you set.

Congrats! You just learned how to release music on all platforms using TuneCore.

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More About Getting Your Music on All Digital Platforms

Here’s a couple things a lot of people wonder about how to get music on Spotify and all other digital platforms

What Company You Should Choose to Upload Your Music Online

TuneCore is our preferred partner for getting music onto streaming sites because it’s hands-down the best in the game… and they’ve been in the game a LONG time.

It’s got the best payout structure, tons of extra features plus it’s super effective and simple to use.

The best part about TuneCore, though, is you get to keep 100% of ALL your royalties, and there are no hidden fees. With other services (like DistroKid) you don’t always get the ALL of the royalty payout (learn more in our distrokid vs tunecore comparison).

Here’s more on why TuneCore is our #1 CHOICE when getting your music out there:

• Addons like handling Publishing Administration (collecting your royalties for you)
• Film/TV/etc sync placement opportunities for your distributed songs (if you addon the Pub Admin.)
• Addon service for handling your Social Media management
• Excellent customer support and best payout structure

One of the world’s biggest Hip-Hop artists – Russ – used TuneCore to go from 0 to over SIX FIGURES in music royalties PER MONTH from streaming. He did that by using TuneCore to release a new song every single week, for years.

Guess what? We partnered with TuneCore to offer you 20% OFF your first distribution! Click Here to Claim Your Discount!!

DistroKid used to be our #1 pick to get music on digital platforms because they were the cheaper option, but not any more. TuneCore has similar pricing now and has much better royalty payout terms. Here’s what I mean…

DistroKid partners with a middleman company called Merlin to handle the collection of money for artists. And unfortunately companies like that often take a percentage of the money they collect from DSPs FIRST, before giving it to DistroKid to payout to artists and rights holders.

So even though DistroKid pays out 100% of what they get, they don’t get 100% of the entire royalty payout from the DSP.

On the other hand, TuneCore negotiates DIRECTLY stores like Spotify – no middleman. And they payout more (100% of 100%) to actual artists and rights holders.

That doesn’t mean DistroKid is bad platform. And we absolutely still recommend them if you’re wondering how to upload music to streaming services.

They have a couple of exclusive features we love, and also offer additional services like help with social media, publishing and more.

Bottom Line:

We still think that choosing TuneCore to release music on all platforms is the better choice for most artists.

With TuneCore you get higher payouts, peace of mind and excellent support + extras when getting your music on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and everywhere else.

SPECIAL OFFER: Click Here to get 7% OFF DistroKid Today!

What About “Spotify for Artists?”

Spotify has a feature called “Spotify for Artists” that you should definitely sign up for. It can be used to manage your artist profile on Spotify, but unfortunately you can’t use it to put your music directly onto the streaming platform anymore.

Still, it’s a really great resource for independent artists, so make sure you sign up for it.

How to Get Your Music Ready for Release

Before you get your music on Spotify or Apple Music, you need to get your music properly mixed and mastered for streaming services.

If you don’t know what mixing and mastering is, you’re not ready to release any songs. Get in touch with a mixing engineer so they can get a more polished, clean and pro sound to your song.

When you get your mastering done, make sure the mastering engineer sends you audio files that are mastered for STREAMING (not for vinyl, CD, etc) with proper loudness levels.

When you upload music to all platforms using local files from your computer, make sure they are high quality (44.1khz, 16-bit minimum) WAV audio files. Do NOT Use MP3s! USE WAV FILES! MP3s suck.

And finally, get all your metadata and additional media ready before you start the release/upload process above – artist + feature names, song/album name, song files, song/album artwork files, etc.

Read more about how to release new music properly.

How Much Do DistroKid and TuneCore Cost?

TuneCore used to be more expensive than DistroKid, but they recently changed everything up and are now CHEAPER than DistroKid.

Both services offer unlimited releases on their subscription plans. That means you can release as much music as you want for a yearly fee.

DistroKid has 3 different membership levels ranging from $19.99/year up to $79.99/year – the higher up membership levels are mostly meant for people that need to release music for multiple artists. If you’re running an independent label choose the $79.99 “Label” membership, otherwise one of the others will do.

Also remember, there are additional options you can choose for your releases on DistroKid that cost extra.

TuneCore has 4 subscription options:

• a FREE tier that lets you release music to social platforms (but not streaming sites)
• Rising Artist Tier @ $14.99/year – get your music on 150+ digital stores + streaming sites
• Breakout Artist Tier @ $29.99/year – adds advanced features to customize your release (ex/ Store Automator + Cover Art Creator)
• Professional Tier @ $49.99/year – meant for labels with premium product/service access

If you’d like to add music publishing and sync licensing support it costs $75.

How Long Does it Take to Upload Music to All Platforms

Once you finish filling in all the information you’ll be asked to upload audio/image files and make payment. It usually takes some time (a day or so) for the Aggregator staff to review your submission.

After that there are different wait times before you’ll actually appear on all the different streaming platforms.

• iTunes: Though the time it takes for music to go live on iTunes can vary, releases typically go live within 24-48 hours
• Amazon Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio: 3-7 business days
• Amazon On Demand: 6-8 weeks
• Google Play: 1-2 weeks
• Spotify: 5 business days
• All other stores take 1-3 weeks

Where Will Your Music Be, Once Released?

Now that you know how to release music to all platforms, you’re probably wondering where else your music will be placed. Both companies release your music to over 150 digital stores across the globe.

Both will get your music on:

• Apple Music
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• Google Play
• Tidal
• Pandora
• Napster
• Deezer
• YouTube Music
• iHeartRadio
• eMusic
• many other platforms

You Got Your Music On Spotify, What Now?

Thinking to yourself “I know how to put my music on all platforms now, I’m done!”?

You ain’t done yet! I suggest you look into Performance Rights Organizations next. They’re an important part of you collecting music royalties.

And you want to make money from your music don’t you?

But there’s another thing to be aware of…

All the music streaming sites out there have millions of tracks in their library to choose from.

And you don’t want to get lost in the crowd.

So, after releasing new music you NEED to actively promote your music to new fans and get new listeners from other online platforms.

There’s just one big problem – the sheer amount of music out there. Hundreds of new songs are released everyday, so you’re going to have to find creative ways to gain attention.

Whatever you do, DO NOT just spam people on social media with your Spotify or Apple Music links. That’s the worst and will actually make people hate you before they ever hear you.

Upload music videos (or picture videos) of your songs to YouTube. Upload MP3s to places like SoundCloud, BandCamp, SoundClick and anywhere else you can think of where people find new music.

Start interacting with music-based communities/forums online (don’t spam your music!). Be helpful. Become a part of the community. Engage with the people. And then eventually share your stuff.

Make sure your music’s available on TikTok (TuneCore and DistroKid will help with that) and create videos using it. Get your friends and any fans you do have to do the same.

Reach out to independent playlist curators on Spotify or other streaming sites. Search for opportunities online to get your music synced in ads, movies, video games or tv/film. Reach out to small podcasters and YouTubers and offer them your music for their shows/videos.

Play open mic nights in your city and throw your own live music shows. Collaborate with other artists in your town and online. Just get yourself and your music out there any way you can.

The point is, just because your music is online, doesn’t mean anyone will listen. You still gotta grind it out and build up a fanbase.

Frequently Asked Questions