How to Prepare Music for Distribution

Preparing music for distribution means checking the master, the artwork, the metadata, the rights, and the reporting before the release leaves the studio.

The master should be in a final, playable format. The artwork should pass the screen. The metadata should be written and checked against the credits. The identifiers should be assigned.

The most useful habit is a pre-ship rights check. It takes minutes, and it prevents the dispute that would take months to resolve.