Music Distribution FAQ

Octiive is a music distribution service for independent artists and labels. We deliver your music to 260+ stores and streaming services in 140+ countries, including Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, YouTube and Beatport. On top of distribution you get real people on support, plus services like Content ID, neighboring rights, PR and playlist pitching. Octiive is part of the GoDigital Music family.

Create a free account, pick a plan or pay per release, then upload your audio, artwork and track details. Choose a release date at least 30 days out and submit. Our team checks your release before it goes out, then we deliver it to every store you selected. You can follow everything from your dashboard.

Upload a 16-bit, 44.1 kHz WAV file for the best sound. That is the worldwide CD-quality standard and what stores expect. We also accept MP3, but WAV always sounds better on streaming services. We run a quality check on every file before it goes to stores. Want your track louder and cleaner first? Our engineers can master it for you.

Your cover art should be a square JPEG of 3000 x 3000 pixels. Stores also reject artwork with blurry images, website addresses, social handles, prices or other brands' logos, and text that doesn't match your artist name or release title. If your artwork still gets declined after you've checked all of this, email us and we'll help you sort it out.

Yes, as long as you have the right to. Recording a cover is usually fine, but you need a mechanical license for the song before it goes to stores, and several online services sell these quickly. Remixes, samples and anything using someone else's recording need written permission from the owner. We don't accept public domain recordings, because most stores no longer allow them.

You can pay once per release or go unlimited with a plan. A single costs $9 and an album $19, with no yearly fee. Essential is $5 a month or $29 a year for one artist with unlimited uploads. Pro is $69 a year for 2 to 4 artists, and Executive is $190 a year for up to 20 artists. No per-store or add-on fees, and Beatport is included.

Yes. Every Octiive plan comes with unlimited uploads, starting at $5 a month for one artist. Release as much music as you make, with free UPC and ISRC codes and no per-store, per-region or per-release fees. You also keep 100% of your net royalties on every plan.

If you release one or two songs a year, paying per release is simple: you pay once and keep 92% of your royalties. If you release more often, a plan usually works out cheaper and you keep 100%. The yearly Essential plan costs $29, so it pays for itself by your fourth single.

No. Plans are all-inclusive: no per-store fees, no per-region fees, no yearly fee per release, and no charge to deliver to Beatport. Many distributors charge extra for things like Beatport delivery or keeping releases in more stores. Optional services such as mastering, PR or label registration are clearly priced, and you only buy them if you want them.

Plans renew automatically on the same date each month or year, depending on what you chose. We email you before each renewal so you can update your card if needed. There are no cancellation fees, and if you stop paying, your music stays live.

On any Octiive plan you keep 100% of your net royalties. If you pay per release instead, you keep 92% and Octiive keeps 8%. Net royalties are what the stores pay out after their own fees. Either way, distributing with Octiive doesn't change who owns your music.

Your music stays live. If a plan payment fails, we try to charge your card three times and email you each time. If it still doesn't go through, we don't take your releases down. Your account switches to pay as you go: you keep earning, Octiive keeps 8% of royalties, and your streams, playlists and stats stay where they are. Restart a plan any time to keep 100% again.

Your earnings show in your dashboard as stores report them, and you can request a payout whenever you have a balance. We pay by bank transfer through Tipalti, with no Octiive fees. If you need an international wire instead, there's a $20 fee. Payments go out by the 15th of the month after you request them, and anything you don't claim rolls over.

Because stores report late. Most streaming services send sales reports one to three months after the streams happen, so this month's plays usually show up in a statement two or three months from now. That is standard across the music industry, not an Octiive delay. Once a store reports, we add the earnings to your dashboard.

Octiive delivers to 260+ stores and streaming services in 140+ countries, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Deezer, Tidal, SoundCloud and Beatport. Some stores only take certain genres (Beatport is for electronic music, for example), and a few, like Pandora, choose what they add. You can opt out of any store you don't want.

Pick a release date at least 30 days out and your music will be on the major stores on that day. That lead time also gives you the chance to pitch your song to Spotify editorial playlists. Need it faster? Our Expedite service gets your release to stores within 48 hours.

Some stores take 24 to 48 hours to show a new release, even when it was delivered on time. Search for your artist name and release title in the store's own app, since stores don't send individual links. If your music still isn't there after 48 hours, email support with your artist name and release title and we'll chase it.

Yes, and it's included at no extra cost on every Octiive plan. Beatport only carries electronic and DJ music, so your release needs to fit those genres. To appear on Beatport under your own label name, register your label with us first ($49, allow about 30 days). Some distributors charge a monthly fee for Beatport delivery. We don't.

Yes. Enter your artist name exactly as it appears on Spotify and choose your existing profile during upload, and the release will land on your profile. If you're new to Spotify, your first release creates your profile and you can then claim it in Spotify for Artists. Wrong profile? Email support and we'll get it moved.

Check everything before you submit, because details like track order, titles and featured artists can't be edited once a release goes to stores. Stores also have strict style rules: small words like "a", "the" or "for" aren't capitalized unless they start or end the title, and all caps are only allowed in an artist name. If something is wrong, email support and we'll help.

No. Some distributors take your music down when you stop paying. We never do. If your plan ends, your releases stay live and we keep looking after them, collecting your royalties for an 8% fee. Your streams, playlists and stats stay right where they are. Want a release removed yourself? Email support and we'll take it down at no cost.

No. Distributing with Octiive doesn't transfer ownership of your songs, your recordings or your songwriting credits. You give us permission to deliver your music to stores and collect your royalties, and that's it. Your rights only change if you choose to sign a separate deal, and that is always your decision.

Content ID finds videos on YouTube that use your music and lets you earn from them. When someone uses your track in a video, the ad money from that video comes to you. If your songs get used in vlogs, edits or reposts on YouTube, it's worth having. You can add it to any release for $5.

Neighboring rights are royalties paid when your recording is played on radio, TV or in public places like bars, shops and clubs. They're separate from streaming money and from songwriting royalties, and many independent artists never collect them. We register your recordings with collection societies around the world so that money reaches you. Add it to any release for $10.

Re-upload each release to Octiive with the same audio, artwork, ISRC and UPC codes and original release date. Once it's live through Octiive, ask your old distributor to take down their version. Because the codes match, stores keep your stream counts, playlists and reviews. Don't take anything down until the Octiive version is live. Our support team can help you plan the move.

Yes. The Executive plan covers up to 20 artists for $190 a year, with unlimited uploads. Add label registration ($49) so your releases show your label name instead of Octiive, and allow about 30 days. All reports and royalties come to you, broken down by artist, store and country, so you can pay your artists under your own agreements.