How do I transfer my releases to UnitedMasters from another distributor?

We are very excited that you are considering moving your music to UnitedMasters from your previous distributor! In doing so, there are a few things you need to be mindful of during the process.

The first step is understanding whether or not you’re under any agreements that prevent you from moving your catalog to UnitedMasters. This is something that you should be able to reference in the distribution agreement you have in place, or you can just reach out to your current distributor to find out.

There is no way to transfer accounting, rights ownership or the actual assets in back-end systems. So you will need to prepare your catalog to manually upload it to your UnitedMasters account as a second step. Assuming that you are not under a current agreement, and are free to move your catalog to UnitedMasters, you can start uploading your music to your account. 

Transferring Stream Counts on Past Releases

In order to maintain your stream counts on past releases, please ensure that you are following the below guidelines when uploading your music:

1. Make sure all metadata on your new release is an exact 1:1 match with the metadata in your old release, this includes:

• • Artist Names
  • Track Titles
  • Track Count
  • ISRCs
  • Language Data
  • Parental Advisory
  • Label Name
  • Songwriter names
  • Producer names 
  • UPC (not necessary but advised for mapping) [please also note that using your existing UPC is required for linking tracks on TikTok] 

2. Make sure you use the exact same audio file from your previous releases. Please note that even a slight variation in your audio file will result in your track not being linked.
3. The track must be delivered to Spotify with 5 days lead time to allow their systems to recognize the duplicative content, and transfer over stream counts.

Once stream counts have successfully transferred, the new version of the track will have the same play count as the old version of the track. If stream counts have successfully transferred over, you can now initiate takedowns with your old distributor. Please note that it is important to not initiate takedowns with your old distributor until you have confirmed the successful linking of your tracks.

If you have any other questions throughout the process please don’t hesitate to reach out to support@unitedmasters.com!