Apple Music & iTunes Content Guidelines

Apple Music has a set of guidelines to ensure all content meets its quality and metadata standards. To streamline the release process and avoid delays, our team, along with Apple Music’s Quality Assurance team, will review your content before it goes live.

Following these guidelines reduces the chances of rejection and helps your music get published on Apple Music and the iTunes Store more quickly.

You can review the full Apple Music Guidelines here: Apple Music Style Guide

Common Reasons for Rejection:

Below are some of the most common reasons for rejection, so you can take the necessary steps to avoid them:

Metadata Mismatch

The text on the artwork does not match the metadata due to a spelling discrepancy in the Artist Name, Song Name, or Album Name.
Example:
Artwork: John Doe – Summer Vibes
Metadata: Jon Doe – Summer Vibez

The metadata credits multiple artists, but the artwork only features one artist’s name.
Example:
Metadata: Artists: John Doe, Jane Smith, Mike Brown
Artwork: John Doe – Summer Vibes

Side-by-Side translation

The title includes a side-by-side translation, which is not allowed. Please provide the title only in the default language to avoid rejection.
Example:
Incorrect Title: Amor Eterno (Eternal Love)
Correct Title: Amor Eterno

Irrelevant Credits

The music producer is incorrectly credited as a main artist or co-artist on the track. If the producer has not performed on the song, they should only be credited under the “Producer” role and not as a primary artist.
Example:
Incorrect Metadata: Artists: John Doe, Jane Smith, Mike Brown
Correct Metadata: Artists: John Doe, Jane Smith | Producer: Mike Brown

Duplicate Content

Submitting multiple versions of the same content with slight variations, such as different titles or artist names, is discouraged and can lead to rejection. Focus on delivering unique and original content.

Misuse of Capitalization and Special Characters

Using all caps, all lowercase, or unnecessary special characters in titles and artist names can lead to rejection. Follow standard capitalization rules and avoid excessive use of special characters.

Detection and Resolution

If your release has been flagged as ineligible by our content team for not meeting these requirements, you can create a ticket and provide us the corrections in metadata or artwork for approval.

If you disagree or need further clarification to make corrections, you can create a ticket, and our team will assist you.

Kindly Note: The QC process takes approximately 3-5 working days and cannot be expedited. Therefore, we recommend submitting your releases at least 8-10 working days before the release date.