By Jacqueline Rosokoff
Not too long ago we were on a formatting kick. We went over how to correctly enter your release information, and then we covered artwork, so now we’re talking audio, arguably your most important distribution asset.
Stay with us as we tackle everything audio.
Required Format
iTunes, Amazon and other digital stores have certain requirements when it comes to the audio files they accept. Makes sense, right? They want music with high-quality sound, which makes them, and you, look better.
In order to properly upload your music to TuneCore for distribution to the digital stores, all audio files need to meet certain specs.
Audio Format Checklist:
– 16 bit (sample size)
– 44.1 kHz (sample rate)
– 1411 kbps (bit rate) stereo WAV files
How to Convert
If the words above don’t mean much to you (bit rate? whaaa?), we can help.
You can use your iTunes store application to convert your files into the required format.
Just click here for step-by-step instructions on converting your audio through iTunes.
If you’re using an audio converting website that is not professional software or iTunes, it’s a good idea to convert your audio again in iTunes afterwards, just to make sure the files are in tip top shape for distribution. Some converting programs can hide coding within your files, which can make them unrecognizable by the digital stores.
Don’t Embed!
Artists often ask us if they can embed metadata (e.g. producer and composer information, band websites, or even artwork) into their audio files. Unfortunately the answer is no—the digital stores don’t accept these kinds of files. If you upload embedded files into your TuneCore account, this will likely cause a delivery issue and result in your music not going live in stores.
But don’t worry, you’ll still be able to get your important release information to the stores. During the distribution process you’re prompted to enter your album title, artist name, song titles, genre, etc., and we send that information to the digital stores to be displayed with your album.
Press Play
After you upload your tracks in your TuneCore account, you’ll see that a ‘play’ button has appeared next to each song listing. Take a listen and make sure you uploaded the correct file.
Don’t be alarmed if the playback of your song isn’t as high in quality as your original file. This lower quality is only in the playback feature, and does not affect the file going to stores. We deliver the highest-quality file that each store accepts, usually the exact same file that you uploaded.
As always, if you stumble at any point in the process, please let us know so we can give you a hand!
Ready to upload your songs and get them to the digital stores? Start here.
Tags: audio australia distribution formatting indie sell my music on itunes tunecore