Catalog Migration FAQ - How to Transfer Music to UnitedMasters

What is a Catalog Migration? 

A Catalog Migration is the process of moving (or migrating) your Music over to a new Distributor. 

Generally, music services do not allow ownership of a delivered release to be transferred from one distributor to another, but some have a process called 'track linking' that identifies and associates two versions of the same track.

Not all music services have a track linking process but, for those that do, playlisting and stream counts can be preserved - more information on track-linking below

What is the basic process of a Catalog Migration? 

1. Start by collecting all necessary information for the releases you are hoping to migrate. This should include:
   1. Audio and Cover Art files
   2. Relevant Release Information 
      • Artist Names
      • Songwriter Names
      • Producer Names
      • Track Titles
      • Release Titles
      • UPCs
      • ISRCs
      • Original release date
      • Label Names
      • Genres
      • Lyrical content ratings (Explicit, Not Explicit, Clean)
      • Split information (% ownership and collaborator emails)
2. Upload the re-releases through your UnitedMasters account and submit them for our team's review
   • Be sure to include licenses for any beats or other third-party instrumentals, even if your previous distributor didn't require them
3. Once approved, wait 3-5 days for track linking to occur after the date of approval!

How to confirm track-linking:

• Spotify - Confirm there is a '1 other version' button under the release in question and that both versions have the same stream counts
• TikTok - Search for your artist name and release title(s) in TikTok. If there is only 1 sound available, then the tracks have linked! Further confirmation is if there are already created videos.
• For the requirements of other platforms, please check out our Tips & Tricks article here!

Make sure to confirm that all track linking has occurred before issuing takedowns via your current distributor!

What is track linking and why is it important? 

Track linking is the process of making sure all re-uploaded songs retain their stream counts (Traditional DSPs - Apple Music, Spotify) and associated video creations (Social DSPs - TikTok, Instagram, Facebook).

Failure in track-linking will make DSPs view the re-releases as ‘New’ content with 0 streams and 0 video creations.

Will playlists and saves be affected when migrating? 

Playlisting on certain platforms can be affected when migrating your content. Please view our helpful tips article here to learn more about specific platforms’ criteria, requirements, and track-linking options.