Validation and release review
What SpaceMedia quality control checks before a release is delivered, how to clear blocking errors, and what to do about Changes Needed.
Your release is checked twice: automatically as you build it, and by quality control after you submit.
| Type | Where | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Warning | While building | Asks you to confirm something. Does not block submission. |
| Blocking error | While building | Must be fixed before you can submit. |
| Changes Needed | After submission | Quality control returned the release with specific fields flagged. |
Clear it before you submit
Open every section, including collapsed panels. A blocking error in a section you never expanded still blocks the release, and this is the most common reason people think submission is broken.
Check each of these against the release itself, not against what you meant to enter:
- Artist mapping and display credits. The single highest-cost error. See Artist profiles.
- Audio matched to the right track title and version. Track 3's file on track 4 is easy to do and hard to spot.
- Artwork quality and text. No logos, URLs, prices, or format words. See Audio and artwork.
- Writers and contributors with legal names, in the correct roles.
- Explicit-content status, set honestly. Mislabeling gets releases pulled by stores.
- Language, genre, copyright, and ownership.
- Destination selection and release date.
Fix the message at the field it points to. Re-uploading the same file or resubmitting unchanged information does not clear a content issue, and each resubmission goes to the back of the review queue.
Changes Needed
The release comes back to you with specific fields identified. Change those fields, then re-check anything related to them before resubmitting. If the artist mapping was wrong, the credits probably need looking at too.
Do not treat it as a rejection of the music. It is a list of corrections, and most take minutes.
Approved is not live
Review approval means the release can proceed to delivery. It does not mean any store has published it. Those are separate stages with separate timing, explained in Distribution and dates.
The message does not make sense
Send support the release title, the visible release reference, the exact validation text, the field it appeared on, and the time you saw it. Screenshot the whole screen rather than cropping to the message, because the surrounding state is usually what explains it.
Never send audio download credentials or account cookies.
Common questions
How long does review take? It depends on the queue and on how complete the release is. A release that comes back once and is resubmitted takes at least twice as long overall, so front-load the checking.
Can I cancel a release while it is in review? Wait for the outcome rather than submitting repeatedly. Repeat submissions lengthen the queue for everyone, including you.
A warning will not go away and I know the data is right. Warnings ask for confirmation and do not block submission. Blocking errors do. If a blocking error persists after a genuine fix, capture it and contact support.