Can you re-release my music that has already been published by another distributor?
Yes, you can. It is a fairly straightforward process but you need to do everything correctly in order to ensure that you don't lose any of your streaming stats or play-counts. (The same process applies to releases that were preciously published only on CD, vinyl, etc)
If you have never created a release with MusicHub, this helpful video tutorial will guide you through the release setup process: https://intercom.help/music-hub/en/articles/5352440-musichub-release-guide-tutorial
When setting up a re-release, make sure you complete the following steps:
Select the option that your release has already been released and enter the original release date:
For each of the tracks on the release, select the option that the track has already been released and enter the same date as you did for the release:
Enter the same ISRC codes for the tracks as the original release.
Note: Having the original ISRCs is an essential step as the synchronisation of these old and new release versions is done through these codes. If you don't know what the original ISRCs are, you search for them on these sites:
Make sure that you do not change the artist names, track order, cover artwork or any other information about the album. Any such changes might result in your release being mismatched or rejected by the streaming platforms.
Finally, only when your re-release has been live on the streaming platforms for at least 48 hours should you ask your previous distributor to take the original versions down from their side. This will ensure that all your streaming and playlist data is transferred to the new version of your release.
One last thing to be aware of:
Every release submitted with MusicHub is scanned against music that is already published online. We do this to make sure that duplicates don’t get uploaded to the streaming platforms and that people do not upload music that does not belong to them. If you submit a release that is already online via another distributor, it could be that our system detects this and issues a copyright warning.
So, when your release is being checked during the quality control process, it could happen that it gets rejected for this reason. In such a case, you simply need to contact one of our customer support team and let them know that you are re-releasing an existing release which you own the rights to.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact our customer support team by email (support@music-hub.com) or via the chat function on our website.