The Basics

Completing your artist profile

This is where you express the public face of an artist. An artist profile is an opportunity to show fans who you are, what you care about, and make a lasting impression. The content you write here will serve as tags and keywords to guide fans to find and connect with your releases. Genres, influencers, and contemporaries you list here help will categorize your music within music services.

To complete your artist profile, follow the steps below:

• Click Rights Holders from the main navigation menu.

• Click the “+ Add Artist” button on the right side of the page.

• Upload an image in JPG or JPEG format. We recommend an image that is at least 1400 by 1400 pixels and 300dpi.

• Enter the Official artist or band name as you would like it to appear in stores and elsewhere online.

• Fill in a biography. This helps listeners identify the artist in search results.

• Enter the location the artist or band is most strongly connected to. You can write either city and country, or just the country if you’d like.

• Add the genres that best describe the music. Feel free to include as many as you think apply.

• Name some of the influencers who may have inspired the artist.

• Identify some contemporaries who create similar music to the artist, or have audiences you would like to appeal to.

• Under Years Active, choose the decade(s) during which the music was released.

• Select whether the artist is signed to a label. If so, write in the name of the current record label.

• Don’t forget to click Save to confirm your changes.

Uploading assets

Any music assets you have that are not currently available on music distribution services, you can upload directly through Revelator. Make sure that all your metadata is complete so your fans will be able to search and find your content easily on stores and services. Once your songs are uploaded you will be able to distribute and promote your content across all platforms as soon as you’re ready. Uploading your music also allows you to generate both revenue and marketing data, which you can use to measure and improve your business. Before you upload a release, first prepare all your files, including audio, images, album and song credits. Make sure to upload uncompressed WAV audio files with minimum 16 bit, 44.1 Khz specs. Always upload the highest quality files possible, and the Revelator platform will automatically transcode and prepare the right file type for each of the stores and services requirements.

To upload music, follow the steps below:

• From the main navigation menu, click Assets.

• Then click the Actions button on the right side and select Create new album. You will be taken to the “Main info” tab of the upload wizard.

Main information:

• Upload a cover image that will identify the release across all platforms. In order to comply with each service’s minimum requirements, the image must be:

  • File format: JPG or JPEG

  • Color space: RGB

  • Minimum dimensions: 1400x1400 pixels but highly recommend: 3000x3000 pixels.

  • Square image: width and height must be the same.

  • Images may not contain more than 50 megapixels or be larger than 10 Mb.

  • Your image cannot be stretched, upscaled, or appear to be low-resolution.

  • Any information displayed on your cover art must match your album title and artist name.

  • Website addresses, social media links and contact information are not permitted on album artwork.

  • Your cover art may not include sexually explicit imagery.

  • Your cover art cannot be misleading by displaying another artist's name more prominently than yours.

  • You may not use a third-party logo or trademark without the express written permission from the trademark holder.

• Choose the language you will be writing your titles, artist name(s) and release description for your content. This exclusively refers to the language of the metadata being entered, not the language of the song or the lyrics.

• Choose the release type. You can choose LP, EP, ringtone, single, or video.

• In the title section, enter the name of the release, and specify the title version if necessary. You may enter the title in other languages as well. We recommend this especially if the title is in non-Latin characters, or your listeners will likely be searching for the release in other languages.

Note: click here for info on what to include in your album title and what not to include.

• Select whether the release is by a single artist, or is a compilation of various artists.

  • If the release is not a compilation of various artists, add the artist name and any additional artist names such as a remixer or featured artist. As you begin typing, matching names from your existing catalog will appear, and you may select them.

  • If the release is a compilation of various artists, select this option and you will be asked to enter the artist information separately for each track on the next page.

Note: Click here for more info on entering artists.

• In the Release Info section, enter at least one genre.

Note: Click here for more info on Genres (especially if it is classical).

• Enter the year the rights were retained and the name of the Publishing Copyright holder in the text box labeled (P) Copyright.

• Enter the year the rights were retained and the name of the Artwork Copyright holder in the text box labeled (C) Copyright.

• Select whether this album has been previously released. If it has been, you will need to enter the existing UPC/EAN/JAN code* for the album. You may also provide the existing ISRC codes for each track on the following page.

• Select if this album is on a record label. If yes, enter the Label name.

• Click Next to confirm your entries and advance to the track information tab.

Note: UPC, EAN and JAN are the barcode standards controlled by the US, the EU and Japan, respectively, that would be printed on any physical version of a release. This code is used to identify album sales across all platforms.

Note: Click for some miscellaneous tips.

Track information:

• If you have previously uploaded other tracks, you may select them to be included on this release.

• Click “+ Upload a new track” to add new files to this release.

• Either click the “Audio file” text box, or drag a file from your desktop to upload a new file.

• We currently accept audio in WAV only. All files must have 2 channels with a sampling rate of 44.1Khz and 16-bit resolution. Audio length must be longer than 2 seconds, and shorter than 60 minutes.

• Revelator will automatically transcode and prepare files for distribution to each service.

Note: Select or drag only one file at a time for each track.

• Select the language of the lyrics in the performance. If there are no lyrics, select Instrumental.

• Enter the track title and accompanying title version such as “Bonus” or “Remaster” if relevant.

  • Click “+Add a title in another language” to do so. We recommend this especially if the title is in non-Latin characters, or your listeners will likely be searching for the release in other languages.

• Enter the Artist name if the release is a compilation of various artists. If the release is not a compilation but the track has more than one artist performing, click to add each additional artist or contributor featured.

• Select whether you do or do not already have and ISRC code. *If the music has not been previously released, Revelator can generate ISRC codes for you.

• Select whether the track has explicit lyrics or does not.

  • Note: Click 'yes' if your song contains one or more of the following:

    • anything unsuitable for children

    • strong language

    • references to violence or abuse

    • sexual content

    • anything that might be regarded as racist, homophobic, discriminatory, or misogynistic

    • anything that encourages or celebrates criminal behavior

• Select whether this is an original song or a performance of a song in the public domain. The relevant publishing information required will be entered on the next page.

  • Note: Original compositions and public domain compositions are defined as such:

    • An​ ​original​ ​composition​ ​is​ ​a​ ​track​ ​to​ ​which​ ​you’ve​ ​contributed lyrics​ ​and/or​ ​music,​ ​but​ ​which​ ​does​ ​NOT​ ​borrow​ ​elements from​ ​previously​ ​created​ ​works.

    • Public​ ​domain​ ​compositions​ ​are​ ​ones​ ​in​ ​which​ ​the intellectual​ ​property​ ​rights​ ​have​ ​expired​ ​or​ ​been​ ​forfeited. This​ ​generally​ ​applies​ ​to​ ​songs​ ​written​ ​before​ ​1923.

• Under Additional Info you may:

  • Edit the genre or copyright information for this song if it is different than the album.

  • Choose the starting point, written in seconds, that you would like a short preview on some download services to begin. For example, if you would like the 30 second preview to begin 1 minute and 20 seconds into the track, enter “80.”

• Expand the Lyrics section to optionally enter the lyrics to the song.

• Once you have uploaded all the files that will be included in this release, confirm that the track order is correct. If you would like to rearrange the order, you may do so by simply dragging the track title to the correct position on the list.

• Click next to confirm your changes and advance to the Publishing information tab.

Note: All artist names and contributors entered in this section will appear in metadata, and do not affect publishing details.

Note: ISRC stands for “International Standard Recording Code” and is a system for identifying sound recordings and music videos. It “provides the means to automatically identify recordings for royalty payments.” This is also the code used to report plays for Nielsen SoundScan, the UK Official Charts and other charting organizations.

Publishing Information

Accurate publishing information is a vital part of managing royalties and here you can fully account for any writer who contributed to a release, separate from any performers.

To add publishing information for each song, click the title of track you would like to edit, and then complete the following steps:

• Enter the full name of a writer of the song. As you begin typing, matching names from your existing assets will appear, and you may select them. If there is more than one writer, you may repeat this process as many times as necessary.

• Select the role of the current writer. The options are:

  • Arranger

  • Composer

  • Writer

  • Writer-Composer

• Enter the percentage share of the rights the writer is entitled to. This will be used within Revelator to calculate royalty payments and within accounting reports.

• Select the publishing type. The options are:

  • Copyright control (self published)

  • Public domain (no publisher)

  • Published (managed by a publisher)

    • Enter the name of the publisher. As you begin typing, matching names from your previously entered publishers will appear, and you may select them from the list.

• Click “+ Add another writer” to do so.

• Click Save to confirm your entries and return to the Publishing information tab.

• Repeat this step for all available tracks as necessary.

• When all tracks have publishing information completed, click Next to continue on to Review & Save your new release.

Note: The share percentage must add up to 100% for all writers included on each track.

Note: Click here for more info on the publishing tab.

Review and Save:

This is the last step before your release and all included track uploads are saved to your Revelator profile. Make sure to:

• Review the information you have just entered for all tracks within this release.

• If you notice any errors on any tracks, return to the relevant tab, correct the information as necessary, and make sure to save all changes.

• If all information is correct for all tracks within the release, click Approve to save your release.

Once you have completed and approved your release you may:

• Send release to stores & services

• Create another release

• View your catalog

Distribute your release

Releases from your catalog that you would like to add to DSPs can be directly distributed from Revelator. Scheduling a coordinated rollout is simple and lets you market a release for when you’re ready. If you choose to distribute a release that has been uploaded to Revelator, the application can easily send the complete package of files and metadata to any or all available services at once. All popular services are available including:

• iTunes/Apple Music

• Spotify

• Amazon

• Youtube Music

• Pandora

• Tidal

• Deezer

• Shazam

• and over 20 more of the world’s leading music DSPs

• From the main navigation menu, click Assets

• Select the asset you want to distribute

• Click on the Distribution tab

• Click on Distribute now

• Choose your Release Date. This can either be as soon as possible or on a specific date.

  • As soon as possible primarily depends on the response time from each service. Typically this requires anywhere from a few hours up to a few days. Each service has their own requirements and will make the release public independent of any other service.

  • On a specific date allows you to choose any date in the future. For unreleased material, this helps control the rollout so that your release appears publicly on all services at the same time, when you’re prepared to promote it.

• Choose whether you would like to distribute worldwide or only in certain territories (countries).

  • If you choose to limit distribution, choose either of the following options and then select all relevant countries from the drop-down list.

    • “Distribute only in” to include a list of countries you would like to release your music in.

    • “Distribute everywhere except” to exclude specific countries from your public release.

• Select any or all services you would like to distribute to.

  • For Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes/Apple music, which are download services, you can choose album tier and track price point for your release.

  • For the remaining streaming services, simply choose whether you would like to include your release on their platform.

• If you previously chose a specific release date in the future, you can choose to allow a pre-order start date for all selected download services at least one day in advance of a public release.

• Click Send to confirm your selection and distribute your music to all selected platforms at once.

• You will be asked to confirm your final selection, certify your legal right to distribute the release, and lock your release for distribution.

• Congrats! Your music is on its way to your listeners!