Release Queue and quality control

Review submitted releases consistently, return specific and actionable changes, and keep your catalog quality high.

Catalog > Review & Delivery > Release Queue is where submissions wait for your decision. It requires the process releases permission.

This is where your platform's reputation is actually set. Everything approved here goes to stores under your brand.

What to check, in order

Artist mapping. The costliest error to fix after delivery. Confirm the release attaches to the right store artist profile.
Audio. Play every track, start and end. Check for wrong files, truncation, silence, and clipping.
Artwork. Square, high resolution, no logos, URLs, prices, or format words.
Metadata. Titles and versions in the right fields, consistent between release and tracks, explicit status honest.
Credits. Writers and contributors with legal names, in roles they performed.
Rights. Review ownership, licenses, samples, cover-song information, and territories.
Dates and destinations. Realistic lead time, and stores that make sense for the content.

Returning changes

Be specific. "Fix your metadata" costs you a second review cycle; "Track 3 version should be in the version field, not the title" gets fixed once.

Name the field, say what is wrong, and say what it should be. Every vague rejection comes back to your queue.

If two people review, they must apply the same standard. Write your rules down, however briefly, and review against them. Customers notice when one release passes and a near-identical one does not, and inconsistency generates more support load than strictness does.

Approved is not delivered

Approving a release lets delivery proceed. It does not mean stores have it, and it does not mean it is live. See Delivery monitoring.

What your customers see

The artist-side view of this process is Validation and review. Reading it shows you exactly what your customer sees when you return a release.