How to Switch Music Distributors Without Losing Streams or Playlists

You can switch distributors and keep your play counts if the new distributor delivers exactly the same releases: the same ISRC for every track, the same UPC for every release, and the same audio files, titles and artist names. Put the new version live first, give the stores a few business days to link it to the old one, and only then ask your old distributor for the takedown.

The order matters as much as the codes. This guide covers why, the safe sequence step by step, what carries over and what doesn't, YouTube Content ID, the money still on its way to your old distributor, and a checklist.

Why the codes and details have to match

Stores don't move music from one distributor to another. They receive a new delivery and have to work out whether it's music they already have.

• The ISRC identifies each recording. The ISRC system's own FAQ says a track keeps the same ISRC for its whole life, even when its ownership changes. A new distributor is never a reason for a new code.
• The UPC identifies the release as a product. Keeping it tells the stores the release itself hasn't changed.
• The audio and metadata have to match as well. Spotify calls this track-linking: a re-uploaded track keeps its play count when the audio and metadata of the old and new versions are the same, including duration, title and artist name (Spotify's guide to re-uploading music).

Change any of these and the new version can look like a different recording that starts again from zero. That includes a new master, a different edit or a title you tidy up on the way. Make corrections before or after the move, never during it. More on how the codes work in ISRC and UPC codes explained.

Before you start: list your catalog

For every release you're moving, write down:

• The UPC, release title, release date and label name
• Each track's ISRC, title, version, duration and explicit flag
• Primary and featured artists, spelled exactly as the stores show them
• The © and ℗ lines
• Your artist profile links on each store
• Where the original audio files and artwork are

Take these details from what the stores show today, not from an old spreadsheet. If a title was corrected after release, the stores have the corrected version, and that's what the new delivery has to match. Also read your agreement with the old distributor for notice periods, takedown terms and what happens to money earned before you leave.

The safe order, step by step

1. Deliver through the new distributor first. Same UPCs, ISRCs, audio and metadata. Enter the original release date where your new distributor asks for it, and send your artist profile links. Spotify's own advice is to give your artist link to distributors that accept it, so the music lands on the right profile (Spotify).
2. Wait until the new version is live on every store. Until the stores link the two versions, a release can show up twice.
3. Give the stores a few business days to link them, then check. On Spotify, open your artist profile in the desktop app and look at the play count next to each song. If the counts of the old and new versions match, the tracks have linked.
4. Ask the old distributor for the takedown. Only for the releases you've moved and checked. Keep a copy of the request and the date you sent it.
5. Check again once the old version is gone. Look at each store, your artist profiles and the playlists that matter most to you.

The mistake to avoid is doing it the other way round. If the old version comes down first, the music can disappear from the stores for a while, and you lose the chance to check that the versions linked while both were live.

What carries over, and what needs attention

• Play counts carry over when the versions link. That's what track-linking is for.
• Spotify for Artists stays where it is, because it belongs to your artist profile, not to your distributor. The job is making sure the new deliveries land on that same profile, which is why you send your artist links with the delivery.
• Playlists need a check. Spotify's documentation covers play counts, not playlist positions, which is why the overlap matters: while both versions are live, nothing drops out. After the takedown, look at the playlists that matter in Spotify for Artists, and contact any curator whose playlist lost the song.
• Artist Profile Protection can hold releases back. Spotify is testing it with a limited group of artists, and if you use its Block releases setting, you have to approve releases for them to go live on time. Approve the new distributor's deliveries, or share your artist key with it (Spotify).
• Label teams need updating. A label's catalog in Spotify for Artists is built from the distributor and label names in the release metadata. When you start using a new distributor, Spotify asks you to send it a couple of example releases so it can add that distributor's releases to your catalog (Spotify).
• Links don't follow you. Replace smart links and pre-save pages made with your old distributor.

YouTube and Content ID

YouTube needs its own handover. If your old distributor put your recordings into Content ID, it holds them there as assets. When your new distributor delivers the same recordings, two partners can end up claiming the same asset. YouTube calls this an ownership conflict, and it typically postpones monetization claims based on that asset until the conflict is resolved (YouTube Help).

• Ask the old distributor to release its Content ID ownership of the moved recordings as part of the takedown.
• Ask the new distributor to confirm when it holds them.
• If your own channel was allowlisted so your videos weren't claimed, ask the new distributor to allowlist it too. Each owner of an asset keeps its own allowlist, and allowlisting stops new claims but doesn't automatically release existing ones (YouTube Help).

Money still on its way to your old distributor

Royalties arrive months after the streams. Stores work in monthly periods and pay after each one has closed. Apple, for example, makes the previous fiscal month's payment information available from the first Wednesday of the next fiscal month, and pays within 45 days after that month's first Friday (Apple).

So the streams from your last weeks with the old distributor are paid to the old distributor, often well after you've moved. Keep that account open, keep your payment details up to date, and withdraw the balance once the final statements have arrived. The background is in how streaming royalties work.

Checklist

• List every release with its UPC, ISRCs, release date and exact metadata, as the stores show them
• Find the original audio and artwork files
• Read your old agreement for notice periods and payments after you leave
• Deliver through the new distributor with identical codes, audio and metadata
• Send your artist profile links with the delivery
• Approve the deliveries if Spotify holds releases for your approval
• Wait until the new versions are live and the play counts match
• Ask the old distributor for the takedown and the release of its Content ID ownership
• Check stores, profiles and important playlists after the takedown
• Replace old smart links, and ask Spotify to add the new distributor to your label team if you have one
• Keep the old account open until the last statement is paid

Key takeaways

• Same ISRCs, same UPCs, same audio, same metadata.
• New version live and linked first, takedown second.
• YouTube Content ID needs its own handover.
• Money earned before the move still comes from the old distributor, months later.

Switching to Stillmore Group

Stillmore Group's catalog transfer tool imports your releases with their UPCs and ISRCs exactly as the stores have them, puts them live with us first, then prepares the takedown request for your old distributor. A person reviews every release before it's delivered. See how switching works, or run a free check of your catalog first to see what stores and distributors would flag.