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      How Do I Transfer My Music to Family in Music?

      Transferring your music catalogue from another distributor

      Transferring your music requires a bit of detailed work, but is fairly easy! This is how it works:
       

      1. Create a new release(s)

      First, navigate to your Family in Music Distribution Account by clicking on Tools > Distribution > Go to Distribution. Once you're there, create the assets by clicking 'Create Release'.

      2. Ensure metadata accuracy

      In order to maintain your streaming data, please ensure to follow all these steps when creating the assets:
        • The song titles, artist name and artwork and other metadata need to be identical
        • Audio files need to be identical. Track length and format need to be identical
        • You must use the original ISRC and UPC codes
        • You must choose 'Yes' when asked if 'Has it been previously released?' on the 'Release History' section when creating the asset, and include the previous release date correctly

      3. Distribute release(s)

      Once you have created the releases, you need to distribute them again.

      ⚠️ Note that the procedure to ensure track-linking and no downtime for releases differs between DSPs. Some DSPs require redelivery under the new distributor/deal first, and others require takedowns first before redelivery to ensure the sync happens correctly. See the details below:

      1st Redeliver, then Takedown DSPs(72 hours later):

      1. Re-distribute the releases to the stores that require Redeliver 1st*.

      2. 72 hours later, request a takedown from your previous distributor. 

      *The stores that require redeliver 1st are:

      7Digital, Anghami, Apple Music, Deezer, FB Audio Library, FB Rights Manager, Mixcloud, Peloton, Spotify, Youtube Music/Youtube ContentID*, Amazon, iMusica, Nuuday, Pretzel, Tidal, Jiosaavn, KKBOX, Pandora, Netease, AWA, Audiomack, Kuaishou, TikTok/Resso, SoundCloud.

       

       1st Takedown, then redeliver (72 hours later):

      1. Initiate a takedown of the releases (on your previous distributor) for the stores that require the takedown to be done first*.
      2. 72 hours later, resubmit the releases to these stores via Family in Music.

      *The stores that require Takedown 1st are:

      Flo, Jaxsta, TenCent, Rhapsody/Napster.

       

      Duplicated release

      In some cases, it could happen that you will have a duplicate release up for a couple of days – that’s ok. It will say “1 more release” on Spotify (see screenshot below)
       
      1_more_release

      How to make sure whether the tracks are linked?

      You can verify this by using for instance the Spotify app (not the web version) and then comparing the play counts of each track.
      If you have any further questions about the process, please feel free to reach out to us and we will be happy to help you further and make sure your transfer goes smoothly!
       

      What happens when I move my music from another distributor?

      The migration process affects in a different way to your music's data depending on the DSP.
      Once you have transferred your music from another distributor and the tracks have been successfully linked:
      SPOTIFY
      • The new release should retain all play counts 
      • The new release will remain on any including playlists 
      APPLE MUSIC
      • Chart history & popularity should be retained
      • Ratings & reviews will be lost
      YOUTUBE MUSIC / YOUTUBE CONTENT ID
      • Migrating will cause all play counts/views to reset.